peterjmaerz
Guest
Hi Taxgeek,
I'm booked on the City Seahorse Ondina trip for this November 21 - December 2. Regardless of what the website says, they're sold out on all Fall 2006 Raja trips (though I think they still have room on the longer Banda Sea excursion). I know because an occasional dive bud of mine wanted to get on the Thanksgiving trip with me (the one that still shows two spaces on the web) and was told there's already a waiting list.
Anyway, in the Pacific, I've dived Fiji, PNG and the Solomons, in that order. Other than soft corals, for which Fiji holds the undisputed crown, I found PNG best for sheer diversity and the Solomons a close runner up in that department and the king of corals--acres packed with flawless corals of every description (including soft!), plus loads of Pacific fish and macro exotica. (I was even treated to a near-brush swim-by from a whale shark and a fairly close encounter with a manta.)
Deb Fuggitt, leader of the Ondina expeditions, swears that Raja blows the Solomons away and far outweighs any other Pacific destinations in terms of abundance and diversity. She's been extremely customer friendly during the dozens of emails we've exchanged, replying within hours, if not minutes, to each one I've sent. She seems like a master planner, pulling together the disparate strands of fickle Indonesian flight schedules and multiple guests' international flight itineraries to make this trip as comfortable as possible for all.
I'm counting the days till this one and will be interested to find out if the reality lives up to the reputation.
Best,
Peter
ps...Lee, can I borrow your photos to show friends after my trip?
I'm booked on the City Seahorse Ondina trip for this November 21 - December 2. Regardless of what the website says, they're sold out on all Fall 2006 Raja trips (though I think they still have room on the longer Banda Sea excursion). I know because an occasional dive bud of mine wanted to get on the Thanksgiving trip with me (the one that still shows two spaces on the web) and was told there's already a waiting list.
Anyway, in the Pacific, I've dived Fiji, PNG and the Solomons, in that order. Other than soft corals, for which Fiji holds the undisputed crown, I found PNG best for sheer diversity and the Solomons a close runner up in that department and the king of corals--acres packed with flawless corals of every description (including soft!), plus loads of Pacific fish and macro exotica. (I was even treated to a near-brush swim-by from a whale shark and a fairly close encounter with a manta.)
Deb Fuggitt, leader of the Ondina expeditions, swears that Raja blows the Solomons away and far outweighs any other Pacific destinations in terms of abundance and diversity. She's been extremely customer friendly during the dozens of emails we've exchanged, replying within hours, if not minutes, to each one I've sent. She seems like a master planner, pulling together the disparate strands of fickle Indonesian flight schedules and multiple guests' international flight itineraries to make this trip as comfortable as possible for all.
I'm counting the days till this one and will be interested to find out if the reality lives up to the reputation.
Best,
Peter
ps...Lee, can I borrow your photos to show friends after my trip?
