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  #26  
Old 06/29/2006, 07:05 AM
Mr_Flibble Mr_Flibble is offline
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Join Date: May 2006
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I'm voting for the maldives for warmwater diving.
The fish there are brilliant although it does get a bit unnerving having them follow you everywhere chasing your bubles.

For coldwater diving Canada was pretty good.

(I'm still waiting on my trip to the redsea).
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  #27  
Old 07/10/2006, 12:48 PM
dvlhzdu dvlhzdu is offline
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I loved Bora Bora for the large sea life, Mantas are amazing in to watch. As for Belize its an independent country not an island owned by Hondouras. San Pedro is an island off the coast owned by Belize popular for divers. Diving there was good. whale sharks are more south than SanPedro and prevelant in April.
  #28  
Old 07/20/2006, 08:01 PM
yarquint yarquint is offline
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For wreck diving, it's Truk Lagoon- hands down. Difficult to get too, but worth it- Remember to check into local safety and how much you want to deal with PNG is not a safe place, neither is Truk really, so you'll mostly be confined to a live aboard or your resort- I just spent a month in Truk and it was an experience to say the least...I'm in Samoa now, so i don't get on here too often- any questions, send a pm -
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  #29  
Old 07/20/2006, 10:01 PM
serial killer serial killer is offline
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ambergris caye, belize its great i got certified there.
and its the only reef that hasnt been affected by worldwide bleaching. and the air is clean there you rent out electric golfcarts to get around, and the grub is the best.
  #30  
Old 07/21/2006, 03:26 AM
edr42 edr42 is offline
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I'll go for the Great Barrier Reef, but not the usual places. Remember that the reef system is HUGE, so there are an enormous number of places out there which have never been seen.
There are so many outer reefs which are spectacular, and probably 90% of them will never see a dive boat.
If you want to lose yourself for years, there is no better place to do it.
  #31  
Old 07/21/2006, 07:09 PM
thor32766 thor32766 is offline
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your a lucky bastard edr42.
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  #32  
Old 07/21/2006, 07:17 PM
hogpark7430 hogpark7430 is offline
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I am heading to Roatan in march I will keep you posted.
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  #33  
Old 07/28/2006, 11:02 PM
Nammy Nammy is offline
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Been to the red sea twice, loved it
  #34  
Old 07/30/2006, 02:14 AM
rmougey rmougey is offline
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Hey Snorvich,

Sorry to be late responding to you. We spent 23 days on the Naia, diving both Vanuatu and New Caledonia. It was our second trip to Vanuatu, one of the only places where I've seen Nautilus on a night dive.

This was a special exploratory trip for the boat to New Caledonia. They received special permission to bring the boat in and once we cleared customs, the diving over the next 11 days were great!

We started at Lifou, using one of the local dive guides from the island. The diving was good with lots of fish life, including good peleagics. We proceeded to Ouvea, where the diving was similar. Great reef healthy reef formations and very knowledgeable local dive guides from the island.

Both of these small islands offer day dives through the local shops, They cater to French and Japanese tourists. generally. English is spoken, but French is predominant.

From there we proceeded to the northern part of New Caledonia, moving up the east coast past Belep Island and basically doing exploratory dives. To say that it was some of the best diving I've done in the last decade would be an understatement.

As we ventured north, we would dive the reef walls that run parallel to each other at the top of the country. There are no local dive shops here and it's basically reef flat and channels into the lagoon formed by the parallel reef walls.

We would look for a channel, anchor in the lagoon and take the dingys out to the outer walls. After checking current (which ran 3-4 knots at times) we'd get in on the outer wall and let the current take us through the channel and into the lagoon. It was a hell of a ride.

We continued to the northernmost reef and then came down the west side of the island, eventually stopping in Noumea where we disembarked and headed to Sydney for a return trip home to the US. The best diving is on the east coast and the eastern and northern fringing reefs. The west coast offered some pretty sites, but the water was much more turbid. Currents tended to blow everything out the channels into the ocean on the west.

If Naia ever gets permission to return, which is doubtful, I will be the first in line. The only other boats we saw while diving the northern reefs were surfing boats. And even then we only had two encounters. It is truly wild, unexplored, fabulously healthy reefs at their best.

-Rob
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  #35  
Old 07/30/2006, 10:06 AM
killagoby killagoby is offline
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Thumbs up Curacao Trip

I'm leaving to dive Curacao in 2 weeks. Any suggestions on what spots I should dive at?
  #36  
Old 08/04/2006, 01:34 PM
Shoreliner11 Shoreliner11 is offline
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I've taken day trips and liveaboard trips out of Townsville and Cairns in Queensland but out of all of them the best overall reef I went to was Wheeler reef in a green zone area of the gbr. Coral cover is outstanding and it was the healthiest looking reef I saw while in QLD for 5 months. Yongala shipwreck is also an amazing dive...a night dive on the wreck is something to remember.
Aaron
  #37  
Old 08/13/2006, 04:49 PM
fnicklaus fnicklaus is offline
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I thought that Belize diving was very good, especially the night dives....best ever. Little Cayman's Bloody Bay wall is also great. I never went to Australia, but I dove with someone that had, and he felt that Little Cayman was the best diving that he had ever done. Me too. But for non divers, there is not much to do on the island. Ditto for Belize. I would not recommend hanging out in Belize city as a tourist or as a Belizian.If you choose Pacific, choose Bali. What an incredible place.
  #38  
Old 08/13/2006, 04:53 PM
fnicklaus fnicklaus is offline
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P.S. Go to Gladden Spit, Belize in April to swim with whale sharks.
  #39  
Old 08/13/2006, 10:01 PM
ezhoops ezhoops is offline
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Location: Royal Oak, Michigan
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place I enjoyed just recently was Heron reef on heron island on the GBR, saw Manta Ray's , sharks, clownfish.
  #40  
Old 08/13/2006, 10:47 PM
edr42 edr42 is offline
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I'll agree that Heron Island is pretty good. JCU (the uni i go to) has a research station there, so field work is a real pleasure.
  #41  
Old 08/31/2006, 12:55 PM
smokinprice smokinprice is offline
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Sorry for digging this thread up but I just got back from Bermuda. Awesome snorkeling and diving. The water was 85 degrees. Supposedly (according to them) it is the healthiest reef in the world right now. Just my two cents
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  #42  
Old 08/31/2006, 03:00 PM
dvlhzdu dvlhzdu is offline
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Belize

Not sure about fnicklaus' comment on Belize, we had a great time in Belize City and sorrounding area: the Belize Zoo, Mayan ruins, and Crooked Tree Avian reserve are all amazing. They have a great culture and english is the first language so no communication barriers. Becareful when/where ever you travel but there is lots to see in Belize above the water. We plan a return trip in 07, my wife is a bubble watcher and the jaguar reserve, cave rafting and manatees are on her list of things to experience.
 

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