The Ten Best In-Water “Big Animal” Experiences... There really is something quite unique about an eyeball-to-eyeball underwater encounter with a big animal. You are after all but a temporary visitor to their domain. One they may not be the absolute master of, but are far more in control than you can ever hope to be. So, the first thing to understand is that the encounter will take place on the animals’ terms. You can (and I have…) travel half-way around the world. At not inconsiderable expense, to get the opportunity to be in the water with the specific animal. Only to discover they just are not interested in any kind of …
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The Australian Grey Nurse Shark
The Australian Grey Nurse... Large enough to get your complete and undivided attention. Probably the best way to describe an encounter with a Grey Nurse Shark (Carcharias taurus). Big and fierce looking, with a set of prominent sharp teeth. Grey Nurse move through the water in a slow but determined manner. Which creates a physically intimidating presence guaranteed to raise the blood pressure of the uninitiated observer. My first such encounter was many years ago at Flat Rock near Stradbroke Island in Queensland. I was diving the shark gutters on the northeast side of Flat Rock, where Grey Nurse gather from June to October each …
The Great White Shark Down Under
The Great White Shark, Carcharodon carcharias is one of the ocean’s most magnificent creatures. Superbly evolved, they are truly an apex predator. But, unlike their terrestrial equivalents, there is very little reverence for them. Instead, and they have become widely demonized as brutal man-eaters that silently prowl our coastal waters. In a seemingly perpetual search for victims and then pouncing with ruthless and terrifying efficiency. And it is true that great whites have been held responsible for more deaths of swimmers, surfers, and divers than any other shark. But what is the reality about these creatures? Are they really …
Tiger Sharks of Grand Bahama
Tiger Sharks of Grand Bahama... Tiger Beach is firmly established as one of those global diving destinations that almost everybody has heard of. With that fame largely derived from the many published images of its most celebrated visitor - Galeocerdo cuvier, the tiger shark. Tigers are considered one of the “big three” most dangerous sharks. And, along with the great white and bull shark, are believed to be responsible for the vast majority of unprovoked attacks on humans. Renowned for their inherently predatory behavior. Where, much like their terrestrial namesakes, they close in their intended prey slowly and silently. Before …
Diving New Ireland Province in PNG
Diving New Ireland Province... Located along the edge of the Bismarck Archipelago, the province of New Ireland forms the eastern flank of Papua New Guinea. It is quite remote from the main island of New Guinea. And the province has its own remarkably interesting and quite distinct traditional cultures, together with some fantastic diving. It is also world renowned for its fabulous malagan carvings and tatanua masks. Together with its kulap sculptures and overall, the province offers an experience that really is quite different to the rest of PNG. The province consists of the large, musket-shaped island of New Ireland, which is …
Great Hammerheads of South Bimini
The Great Hammerheads of South Bimini... Like a fashion model up on the catwalk, great hammerheads sashay into your field of vision. And, if they were human, you would probably say they have just “made an entrance”. Their strange mallet-like head, robust body girth and tall sickle-shaped dorsal fin makes them well-nigh instantly recognizable. With most other sharks in the immediate area spot that too and give them a wide berth. The Great Hammerhead has a unique and distinguished presence in the water. Cautious but confident and seemingly in control of the environment. Their space… And as they approach, their distinctive head sweeps …
Diving New Britain Island in PNG
Diving New Britain Island... Papua New Guinea’s “second island” sits right on the interface of some incredibly powerful forces of nature! Physically located along the infamous Pacific Ring of Fire. New Britain is a large crescent shaped island that is defined by the incredibly high mountain ranges that run down its spine. Together with its many volcanoes… So high are those mountains, they create separate and independent weather systems on the north and south coasts of the island. Making New Britain a remote, different and very interesting place that has some really great diving! Diving New Britain Island – The Benjamins… While Bob …
Cat Island Oceanic Whitetip Sharks
Cat Island Oceanic Whitetip Sharks... It seems almost unbelievable that as recently as the mid-1960’s the Oceanic Whitetip shark, Carcharhinus longimanus, was widely considered to be one of the most abundant large animals in the world. And now, almost 60 years later, these sharks are on the IUCN Red List as "Vulnerable" globally. And "Critically Endangered" in the north and central western areas of the Atlantic Ocean. Largely because a diminutive, but incredibly resilient, former general seized control of the Middle Kingdom. Unleashing the economic reforms that have lifted hundreds of millions of people out of abject …
Diving New Guinea Island in PNG
Diving New Guinea Island... When the 16th century Portuguese and Spanish explorers first arrived in the far-eastern part of what was then called the Malay Archipelago. They had no way of knowing they had stumbled upon the second largest island in the world. Neither could they possibly know that the island is one of the most biodiverse places in the world. Occupying just 0.5% of the Earth's surface, but with almost 10% of its species ... And that is just on the land! What they did note though was the similarity between the indigenous people and those of the Guinea region of Africa. Which is how the island came to be called New …