Egypt, Manado and Malapascua are on the radar this week!
Egypt: The Southern Red Sea has been a hive of activity this week and the divers on Miss Nouran have spotted just about everything you could want. A baby whaleshark has been hanging around Daedalus for the past 3 weeks now and the hammerheads are still being seen. Divers got up close and personal with dolphins whilst St Johns was home to grey reef sharks and manta. A big week with big encounters for everyone!
Manado: Just announced! Oxygene Manado and Kima Bajo are playing host to a very important guest in October – Anna and Ned DeLoach. This duo have co written one of the best selling marine ID series and will be running a Critter Hunt along Bunaken’s shores. The aim is to find the most elusive and strangest critters – something Manado has plenty of! There will also be a photo workshop running alongside. So once you have found that hard to spot marco life, you can get a photograph you will be proud of.
Philippines: Malapascua has been packed with thresher sharks sightings at Monad of late. Not one or two but multiple threshers have been seen. More impressive for these timid and shy sharks are that they have been coming close enough for divers to get a really good look in person. Exotic Divers are thrilled at all of these sightings. They have worked tirelessly to protect Monad and have together, the islanders have put a stop to illegal fishing. Great news for divers but even better for the thresher sharks.
Call the travel team 0800 072 8221 to discuss these or any other holidays for your next diving thrill
Do you dive tech?
We have all seen tekkies about to go off for a dive (usually the guys with a lot of tanks and a serious look). Be it on a boat or lakeside or on the decks of a liveaboard in a far flung country, you can find technical divers everywhere.
UK divers are very much at the forefront of technical diving. Our wreck laden costal waters hold many treasures below the 40m recreational limit. So perhaps it is no surprise that many divers convert to mixed gasses. The advent of the rebreather too has revolutionised technical diving. No bubbles, even longer bottom times and substantially less gas to carry… what’s not to like?
Well for some people, it is just a bit too much faff! You have to be a meticulous person to dive tech as there is a lot to check. Top notch training is critical, as is the gear you carry. The deeper we dive and more decompression we log, the greater the risk. Our technical knowledge has come at a cost.
Are you content to grab a single cylinder and roll into the sea? ?Does technical diving seem just too risky to contemplate?
Or does the lure of the deep call you down? Are you in love with the bubble free dive?
Do you fancy going tech? Not sure about which training agency to use?
Let us know your thoughts in this week’s discussion topic!
The Maldives is the hottest place for manta this summer
Traditionally the summer months are quiet in the Maldives.. but not if you are heading up to the northern atolls! Hanivaru (or Hanifaru) leapt into the headlines in 2009 as the place to be to see huge congregations of manta. And we don’t just mean 5 or 10. In the height of the summer anything up to 100 manta can be found gorging on the plankton rich waters. This spectacle continues right through to November. Diving bliss (and the snorkeling is pretty mind blowing too!)
It is an incredible sight and Monsoon is the only liveaboard that goes there every week. Alex Mustard is off on a special photo trip to see the marvel for himself – watch this space for some incredible pics!
But the manta do not end in Hanivaru. ProDivers at Kuredu and Komandoo have had a bumper start to their summer, logging over 100 manta sightings at Dhanivaru alone! The manta have been logged as traveling over 200km away. As individual manta are identified by their unique belly markings, they also get a name. This is an invaluable record to help everyone understand these gorgeous beasts all the more.
Join the manta mayhem in 2010
Call the travel team on 0800 072 8221
Egypt: This week’s hottest news in Egypt is our auction on Sea Serpent! Departing 18/8/10 and heading down to the lovely Daedalus (a whaleshark was spied there last week), Rocky (deep walls – you never know what you will find) and of course Zabagad (we love the south plateau – turtle heaven but there is the mystery wreck too!). This is an itinerary with class.
In an amazing one off, we are asking for your offers! The top 20 bids entered into the auction will bag a spot on this fabulous trip. Auction closes on Monday 26/7/10 at lunch time so the only question left… how much is your bid?
Maldives: Our summer months are undoubtedly the best months for manta sightings in the Northern atolls. As Hanivaru gets under way, guests in Kuredu have also enjoyed a bumper month of sightings. Dhanifaru has seen over 100 distinct mantas at this one site alone in 2010, each individually identified. Tracking their movements, a single female has traveled from the north to Ari atoll (250km away!) whilst another pair were later seen at Haa Alifu atoll (over 170km).
Cocos: This is a tiny island with a huge reputation and the guys on Argo recently saw just why. A phenomenal trip packed with hammerheads, black tip, manta and mobula. But this is just an average day in Cocos! The really special sightings this week were a humpback whale (wow!) and a tiger shark that suddenly appeared amid a group hunting whitetips. Serious adrenalin diving.
It's never too late to book your next diving thrill!
Sea Serpent goes to auction!
Will yours be the winning bid?
This is a one off special offer where you can decide the price! Take a trip on board the luxurious liveaboard Sea Serpent whilst she cruises the Southern Egyptian Red Sea.
Visiting Daedalus and Rocky this itinerary has it all, from plunging walls to intricate shallow caves. Meander between soft coral pinnacles or gape at the enormous hard corals that flourish on healthy and vibrant reefs. The Daedalus and Rocky itinerary mixes up big fish encounters with plenty of macro and reef fish to interest even the most seasoned diver.
HOW IT WORKS
To make us an offer simply give us a call on 0800 072 8221 or email us on dive@scubatravel.com with the subject ‘Sea Serpent Auction’. Let us know you maximum bid per person and how many spaces you would like to bid for.
Please only bid if you are available to travel on this trip date.
WHAT YOU ARE BIDDING ON
This trip departs the UK on the 18th August and returns on the 25th August. This holiday includes flights from London Gatwick, transfers to/from Sea Serpent, 6 nights (full board) on Sea Serpent, Marine Park fees, FREE NITROX and 1 night (half board) in a hotel.
WHEN DOES THE AUCTION CLOSE?
Bids will be collected until 12.00pm on Monday the 26th July and all winning bidders will be contacted on Monday afternoon to confirm places.
Happy bidding!!
If you would like more information about this trip or any other scuba diving adventures please call one of our diving holiday experts on 0800 072 8221 or email us on dive@scubatravel.com to discuss your next holiday.
