The Amazing Australian Giant Cuttlefish - Every year come May, Whyalla in South Australia's Spencer Gulf is host to an incredible animal aggregation. For as the water temperature drops, literally hundreds of thousands of these amazing Australian giant cuttlefish arrive. They come to this sheltered area at the upper end of the Gulf for one specific and very simple reason - sex and the continuation of the species! Normally solitary creatures, Sepia Apama only aggregate together when it is time to mate. But those mating aggregations are usually no more than 10-12 cuttlefish. Whereas at Whyalla there are so many of them it …
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Nikon D500 First Impressions
The Nikon D500 Underwater... Why Nikon never released a D400 follow-up to the successful D300 “prosumer” DSLR will probably never be known. Certainly though, the internet forums have plenty of theories! My opinion is that a D400 never saw the light of day is because Nikon had a carefully calibrated strategy. Nikon wanted to get as many photographers as possible to embrace it’s full-frame FX cameras before it replaced the D300. Nikon has a long history of releasing slimmed down versions of their top of the range professional cameras. In the film days that was personified by the F100, which had much of the technology from the …
Aircraft Wrecks of PNG
The aircraft wrecks of Papua New Guinea offer some of the best and most interesting, dives in the country... PNG was a major battle theater during the Second World War. Many lives were lost on both sides in the bitter fighting between the invading Imperial Japanese forces and the Allies. Thus the tide was turned, halting the PNG's occupation and the planned invasion of Australia to the south. Aircraft Wrecks of Papua New Guinea - Lost Souls Allied and Japanese aircraft played a very significant role in the fighting in PNG. Because of that many planes were lost - either shot down in combat, mechanical failure and simply …
Azores Diving – Big Animals
Azores Diving... This incredible group of nine islands rises up from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge some 2000m below. The islands act as beacons to the large migratory mammals in this part of the northern hemisphere. Plus they are home to a resident population of sperm whales and blue sharks. In September last year I set out on the marathon journey from Sydney to the island of Pico in the Azores. An odyssey of nearly 40 hours and four flights! I must admit that before I left I only really knew two things about Azores Diving. The first being the presence of sperm whales... Secondly, and most importantly, that it is possible to get …
Resort Based Diving in Raja Ampat
Resort based diving in Raja Ampat - is it a real option or is a liveaboard the way to go? Raja Ampat is one of the top dive locations globally. Certainly it is the most popular diving region in Indonesia. Deservedly so because there is some spectacular diving to be had there! Come the start of the main dive season in mid-October, liveaboards start to arrive in Sorong in droves. Where just ten years ago you could count the number of those boats on the fingers of both hands and still have a few digits left. But these days, there at least 50 boats operating during the season... So popular has Raja Ampat become that there are now …
The Manta Rays of Milne Bay
Milne Bay Manta Rays - At the southern end of the China Strait is a small island called Gonu Bara Bara. It is quite simply the best place in the whole province to see the manta rays. In fact it is probably the best place in all of Papua New Guinea to see these wonderful creatures!. From a distance there is little to distinguish the island from the myriad of others in this part of southern Milne Bay Province. Reef manta rays - Manta alfredi - had been known to patrol its northern beach of Gonu Bara Bara for many years. But all attempts to try and interact with them were random at best.... Maybe you would see one or more, maybe you …
The Tiger Sharks of the Bahamas
The Tiger Sharks of the Bahamas... Open water (no-cage) encounters with Tiger Sharks are incredible experiences. They are large and extremely powerful creatures that exude total confidence. And they have a commanding presence that allows them to completely dominate the proceedings. Tigers are rarely seen underwater and, even when they are, the encounters are typically fleeting at best. Everywhere that is except for the Bahamas. Where at key locations and at certain times of the year, they are almost a permanent fixture! So what is so special about this island nation in the western Atlantic? With what now looks like incredible …
The Humpback Whales of Tonga
The Humpbacks of Tonga... Swimming with and photographing the humpback whales of Tonga had been on my personal "to do" for quite some time. Last year I finally got to spend 3 weeks in the Pacific island nation doing just that... Being in the water with such large, but gentle-natured, animals was an all-round fantastic experience! Quite unlike anything I have done previously! Basically it changed my whole focus towards scuba diving and underwater photography. I can now openly admit that I have caught the "big animal bug". Unfortunately that brings with it an expensive looking wish list... But such encounters really are …
Kavieng’s WWII Wrecks
Kavieng's WWII Wrecks... The small town of Kavieng was seized by the Japanese in January in 1942 when they invaded PNG. That invasion came just seven weeks after the surprise air attack on Pearl Harbour which brought America into WWII. Although it played second fiddle to the huge Japanese naval base at Rabaul in New Britain. Kavieng was in fact a very strategic location for the invading Japanese forces during WWII. The town's location in New Ireland Province meant that it protected their rear. It was also an important part of their military supply chain. Fighting as they were to gain complete control of PNG and then prepare …