ginamarina:
My husband and I are fairly new divers--just a couple of long weekend dive trips in Malaysia and a four day liveaboard in the Similans. With that info, any specific advice?
Just to take things in stages -- challenge one skill at a time. There are lots of great dives that fit this description. Save the more challenging dives for later.
Which of the dives were the most advanced dives? Which were the least?
Unfortunately, the best dives in Palau (i.e., the ones you go to Palau to experience) are, I think, the most advanced dives.
By far, the most advanced dives were at Peleliu -- there were updrafts and downdrafts and getting separated from the group meant the real possibility of being blown out to the open ocean. Also, with 4 foot swells, getting into the boat could be a challenge. The thing is, these were my favorite dives because we saw 15 or more sharks in a giant school and other big animals.
Siaes tunnel represents an overhead environment at depth. These, individually, can be tricky but, together, represents a substantial opportunity for error. My computer is pretty conservative so I only had 8 minutes of bottom time by the time I got the first tunnel opening -- I chose not to enter.
Chandelier cave is also an overhead environment that includes some tight spaces and darkness. I know some very good divers that had to abort that dive in the middle because it made them feel very uncomfortable.
Many dives in Palau represent skills beyond those that come from an openwater certification. There were many wall dives -- if you don't have good control of your buoyancy, this can mean going a lot deeper than you intended. Lots of the dives are deep and this requires paying close attention to your bottom time and your air consumption. Several of the dives are drift dives and this can mess with your buoyancy -- particularly when the current is ripping. If you go through your air pretty quickly, you'll have to surface before the rest of the group and subject yourself to the possibility of being separated from the group by the current or bouncing off some of the copious boat traffic in the area.
As for easier dives, the Jake seaplane was dead easy. Also, German Channel was a straight-forward dive (and provides the opportunity to see Mantas). Jellyfish lake was a simple snorkle and a must-do.
Also, where did you get your best information for what time of year to go, etc.
A lot of this information came from Undercurrent (
www.undercurrent.org) magazine and their yearly chapbooks. Other info came from discussing trips with other divers (e.g., at the Long Beach scuba show and here, on scubaboard).
My wife also planned around the moon phases. The least current is found when the moon is half-full. The swiftest currents happen during a full moon (the currents tend to be a little less during a new moon).
Did you post a review of your Fiji trip?
No, I didn't (but my wife posted a trip report to undercurrent and subscribers can get access to this info via their online chapbooks). We went to the Beqa Lagoon Resort at the recommendation of Joe Liburdi (he owns a local dive shop) and we loved it -- the diving was pretty easy and there were lots of beautiful fish. After that, we went to Wananavu (sp?) resort and dived with Kai Viti divers. That diving was more challenging but gave us the opportunity to see bigger animals and more interesting drift/wall dives (like High-8). The food was great at Beqa and the water was absolutely drinkable while the meals were just okay at Wananavu. You can find underwater pix of our trip at
http://travel.adventure101.com/fiji. We don't have our Palau pix up yet (and there aren't as many of them -- our photographer was out much of the time with an ear infection).
If you have any other questions, feel free to contact me (wade@adventure101.com).
P.S. Did you post a review of your Fiji trip? My husband has sabbatical soon and we are still deciding what to do.
