By Joanna Lentini

The Coral Triangle is an established mecca for marine flora and fauna, a nature enthusiast’s dream.  The biodiversity of life is immense.  In fact, it’s widely considered the greatest on Earth!  And so, it comes as no surprise that our annual trip to the Bird’s Head Peninsula in West Papua, Indonesia attracted scuba divers from around the world.  Our mission: To investigate changes to the reef system and document the congenial relationship of man and whale shark.

Read more ...

By Leticia Sanchis

The National park of the Similan Islands is open again to the public, much to the delight of divers and snorkelers! Considered the jewel in the crown of Thailand diving, the Similan and Surin Islands won’t disappoint you! Thriving reefs with over 200 species of soft and hard corals and impressive sea fans abound, as well as an incredible variety of marine life including ghost pipefish, color-changing cephalopods, schools of barracuda, nudibranchs and even beautiful seahorses. There is also plenty of larger life to see with sea turtles, Napoleon wrasse, bumphead parrot fish, leopard sharks, manta rays and of course the majestic whale shark!

Read more ...

About Cocos (Keeling) Islands – some secrets you have to share!

Story by  Sarah-Jo Lobwein & Images by Brett Lobwein

Itching for sandy feet, salty skin and the urge to break free from everyday life, my husband and I spontaneously booked a late January escape in 2015 to an enticing coral island group we had heard about lazing in the waters of the Indian Ocean, approximately 2,750km north-west of Perth, Western Australia.

We had travelled to the remote Australian external territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands. This collection of approximately 27 coral islands at low tide, 26 in the main atoll plus North Keeling Island, are actually closer to East Java than the mainland of Australia. While Cocos Islands in Costa Rica are on many SCUBA divers’ bucket lists, these little known ‘other Cocos Islands’ are just a four-hour direct flight from Perth and should be definitely added to said list!

Read more ...

By Gary Peart

Shark feeding dives are a controversial issue. The argument against them is that feeding sharks or any large predator is a disaster waiting to happen and that associating food with humans can only end in trouble. Supporters, however, maintain that it is the best way of getting divers to see and better understand shark behaviour, and that shark tourism makes sharks far more valuable to the local economy alive rather than dead. 

On a fringing reef of Fiji’s main island Veti Levu, Shark Reef Marine Reserve was established in 2004, a complex agreement between Beqa Adventure Divers and two local fishing villages. For a levy raised from each diver the villagers are compensated not to fish on the reef.

Read more ...