Palau Dive Travel Guide - Release Scheduled for June 15th
While you're waiting .....
We're grinding away at editing, re-editing, and editing again all of the 15+ hours of Hi Definition footage we shot in Palau. We just started on the voice overs, music, animated graphics and authoring - ah, the joys of video creation.
We thought we'd tell you about the logistics of our trip and share some pictures, small clips and information as it becomes available.
The journey
Getting to Palau from the United States can be challenging. We flew through Tokyo, to Guam and onto YAP where we dived first. Then we flew direct from YAP to Palau. The return was Palau to Guam to Hawaii to Los Angeles and home to Salt Lake City. We arrived into Salt Lake City at 7:30 a.m., went home for a quick shower and back to our day jobs. It took about one week to feel normal again, but it was so worth it.
We stayed at the Cliffside Hotel. The best feature of this hotel is the view! Really. We woke up to a beautiful sunrise through the window every day. The room we were in was very large. The decor could use a little updating, but it was very comfortable. The Cliffside was accommodating with early check-in and very late check-out that corresponded with our plane itinerary. Overall this hotel was a very good value. The internet was free but a little iffy. We met several folk sitting in the hallway outside their rooms, where the signal seemed a bit stronger. Interesting way to meet your neighbors.
Palau diving logistics
We dove with the fine folks at Neco Marine. They were very accommodating as geeks like us need space for camera gear, sound equipment and equipment repairs. We dove off of a 35 foot boat that was well set up for divers.
The boat ride out to the reef averages about 40 minutes depending on where you go. Since the ride out is inside the barrier reef it is very smooth and I didn't experience any motion sickness (as I am prone to do - of course the prescription motion sickness patch doesn't hurt either). The views along the way are also quite spectacular (see banner at the top of this page) and made the trip seem quick.
Everyone's heard about the currents
We heard that the currents at certain Palau dive sites can be so strong that they can rip the mask off of your face. And even though there are plenty of extraordinary, calm wall dive sites, that is not what most divers want to see when they go to Palau.
Can you say Blue Corner? That's why people go to Palau. It's a place on the reef where currents provide a plethora of nutrients for fish of all sizes. While we didn't experience those "mask ripping" currents, we did need to use a reef hook so that we could stay in one place long enough to observe the action. The currents were strong enough to let us "fly" in place.
Ok, so I "envisioned" a huge hook attached to a long rope that could be employed as a game fishing rig when we weren't using it. In "reality" it was a small 4" S hook on a 5' long, thin rope. You can see Guenther and Julia above "hooked in" watching the action. The process was not difficult at all and it provided us with a great view of the action. Just don't forget to let out the air in your BC BEFORE you take your hook out of the reef.
The People You Meet
While we were in Palau we met a dive instructor named Jim Campbell. He and his friends have taken some great tropical photos and collected native art. You can check out the photos and native art at Jim's website www.jcscuba.com.
The Palau marine life
We've been fortunate to dive in many places. Palau lived up to the advertisement. Huge schools of Barracuda, Snappers, Moorish Idols and bait fish. There were so many Gray Reef and White Tip Sharks that we stopped counting.
The corals were lush and healthy. We'd heard rumors about a coral bleaching event 10 years ago but did not find any evidence of it.
Special dive sites
Chandelier Cave, Jellyfish Lake and the Japanese Zero are all fun side trips that make Palau even more interesting and, you'll either love or strongly dislike each one depending on your taste. We loved Jellyfish Lake - the best of the three. Here is a short video clip in anticipation of the release of the Palau video.
Palau World War II history
We took the land tour of Peleliu during one of our surface intervals. The tour is a must do as each person interpreted it differently. For the military members of our group it was emotional. For those of us who had not experienced war, it was educational and heightened our appreciation for those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. We stood on such a beautiful place, that was once covered in the blood and horror of war.
The monuments are well done, unfortunately, the museum needs help in preserving their fragile artifacts. The tour also visits land based artifacts like tanks, caves and half tracks. The tunnels still house human remains and artifacts that give the area a very eerie quality.