best KLEIN Bonaire dive(s)

[meekal]

i've been trying to do my homework on best dives in Bonaire and have come up with a delightful list of MUST DO's. Add that to the list I have from last year and i'm pretty sure we'll be as swamped, but what i'd like to if it's worth the money and time to do any of the Klein Bonaire sites? i can't remember where, but i've heard of a couple of spectacular 'walls' on Klein and such.... we'll be staying at a 'sister' hotel of buddy dive and from what i remember they do specific sites on specific days...

thanks in advance.

 

[diversteve]

Forest for Black Coral in 70' and Hands Off for drift diving come to mind.

 

[Biodiversity_guy]

When are you headed out Meekal? My wife and I will be there for 2 weeks in December. Buddy Dive was our choice. It will be our first visit.

Would love for you to share your MUST DOs!

 

[meekal]

we'll be there in the 2nd week of july. you can read about our first trip (and grab a video while you're there!) at my home page ...

http://piddlefish.servepics.com/SCUBA/2005-07-24-264-Bonaire-BuddyReefOrientationDive.html

crusing through these THREADS and magazines and online resources i have found these: (so far)

- 1000 steps
- Salt pier (you need to hook up with a DM at one of the shops to do this)
- Alice in Wonderland
- The Hilma Hooker (easier to do as a boat dive though)
- Witches Hut
- Andrea II (just south of Witches Hut)
- Angel City (next to the Hilma Hooker)
- Something Special
- Oil Slick
- The Cliff- Highway of Creole Wrasse
- Jeff Davies Memorial.
- Barcadera was very good.
- Andrea I and II good also.
- Petrie's Pillar was nice too...
- Tori's Reef: probably the best for macro photography. What a lot of dives don't know that if you take an immediate left out of the channel you enter through you will find large coral heads of fire coral with spectacular fishlife, mostly juvenile. Last time I was there I saw 6 types of eels, countless juvenile fish including angels (queen and french), spotted drums, so much! just have to take your time. Great snorkel to if your partner doesn't dive.
- Margate Bay: This is great! Shallow reef to start, huge amounts of soft corals, lots to see in them, turtles. just Amazing.
- Invisibles
- Salt Pier esp. when the sun streams through the pilings.
- Bari Reef for fishlife/species - Bonaire Dive/Adventure's house reef, it's a REEF survey site.
- Vista Blue for sheer profusion of corals/fishlife - when there's no current.
- Rappel - if you're looking for a boat dive.
- Small Wall at Black Durgon Inn - Yep, only way to dive Small Wall is by boat or to stay at Black Durgon
- 18 Palms at the Plaza: is a great dive with multiple ridges, each one deeper than the one before. It's pretty dead shallower than about 30 feet, but the deeper areas more than make up for it. When I stayed at the Plaza, I made a dawn dive every morning.

NORTH
- Ole Blue,
- 1000 Steps
- La Dania's Leap
- Karpata are not to be missed. Rent a truck.

Wildside Diving with Larry Baillie

BOAT - KLEIN
- Forest for Black Coral in 70'
- Hands Off for drift diving come to mind. (thanks SJSPECK!)
- Yellow Submarine (www.dive-friends-bonaire.com) took our small group to Bonaire's satellite island, Klein Bonaire, where we did two tanks, the first on Monte's Divi, where we spent some time with a young hawksbill, and the second, a drift dive that started at Mushroom Forest and ended at Southwest Point. Getting on a boat at least once during your stay, to make the quick trip to Klein, is worth it, even as awesome as the shore diving is on the mainland.
- Rappell - the variety of fish life in the shallows is awesome
- Karpata

 

[Tom Smedley]

Karel's Hill

 

[ScubaBob92651]

we'll be there in the 2nd week of july. you can read about our first trip (and grab a video while you're there!) at my home page ...

Wish I would have caught you before you left. I'm heading back for two more weeks of Bonaire in September (yes, I'm still a glutant for punishment in hurricane season, even after having been in Bonaire when hurrican Ivan hit in 04). This will put me at over a month of Bonaire Diving in the last five years! Looks like you already had a great list of dive sites to visit, hope you guys are having, or have had at this point, a great trip. I would have also added BOPEC (if you are still allowed to dive there - I've heard confligting stories) and some other sites north of there (before slagbai - and I know you guys already visited the national park last time.)

Looking forward to your video (I know I still owe you some!) and text recaps - and can't wait for Sept!

 

[DeputyDan]

Hello:

You need to chill on your lists.

Bonaire is great and your dives will be fine. You won't be able to do everything but thats OK cause by trip #12 you will have most on them covered.

 

[Talon]

Just got back. Best Kline site of the week was Carl's Hill. Very beautiful structure and has more stepper slope to it then most of Bonaire's sites.

 

[meekal]

whew.... what a trip... as always - deputy dan is right, but when trying to coordinate 10 folks and they actually believe when the brochure write up says "GOOD PLACE TO SEE TURTLES" or "FIND FROGFISH" - you gotta start somewhere...

but i did find my new favourite dive - KARPATA - the structure on this reef is so different from the others and it's absolute breathtaking to round the corner and see the lengthy drop fingers - going down to the abyss... sounds like TALON'S Karl's Hill - we just never got on a boat.... but certainly give it a try next time...

thanks all for the feedback... hope somebody else heading to bonaire will find this thread... look for details on www.piddlefish.com/scuba and it'll have a little video in the next couple of weeks...

 

[scubarealtor]

meekal,

how was the weather? did you have the nice ocean breeze? i have heard it is absent during the summer.