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G'day from Diversion Dive Travel,

I hope everyone is looking forward to some good diving this year. If you plan to do them in our region there are certainly a lot of good options.

In this newsletter we have started to incorporate reports of some of the "check-out" trips we had to do in the last couple of months. (Well, someone's gotta do it!) If you want to contribute your reports, please send us a note.

THIS EDITION:

Australia

Nimrod Explorer -
Top 5 placegetter in annual Rodale's Awards

In a stunning result, Nimrod Explorer has scooped 2 major awards in the annual Rodale's Scuba Diving readers poll. The popular US-based Dive Magazine's readers are notoriously difficult to please, but Nimrod has them smiling. Nimrod scored #4 in the Worldwide category of Top Live-Aboards, with another #4 result in the Worldwide category of Top Value for money.

Fully aware of the need to change with the times, Nimrod has released new schedules with a mind to meeting the divers' needs of more variety and easier access. Please click here for details.

Return client special: If you have been on Nimrod since October 1999 and come back with a friend in 2003, you receive a 20% discount per friend you bring along on the same trip: bring five friends and you go free!

Phil's Trip Report on Aquarius III to the SS Yongala
Date: Friday 15 Nov to Sunday 17 Nov 2002
Trip: 2day/2 night Outer Great Barrier Reef & Yongala
Vessel: Aquarius III
From/to: Townsville Marina.

Aquarius III takes a maximum of 16 guests although there were only 13 (all divers) on this particular trip, the passenger/crew ratio was excellent.This is a really nice vessel, in a very good state of repair, and the additional stabilisers ensure that it stands up well in all conditions.

Wheeler Reef, over 70kms off shore was the first stop. It is quite a small reef but what impressed me greatly was the abundance of the fish & coral life.
Throughout our stay at Wheeler we came across LOADS of fusiliers of all different varieties, plenty of delicious looking coral trout, trumpet fish, fluorescent stag horn coral, an inquisitive ray and even a grey whaler shark which came over to take a look for a short while, amongst plenty of other marine life.
We were also rewarded with some schools of barracuda, giant potato cod and white tips basking on the bottom at around 28 metres, whilst back in the shallows we observed the busy life of a juvenile yellow box-fish and a couple of green turtles.
Visibility was around the 20-25 metre mark - very acceptable for Great Barrier reef diving.

After an overnight sailing, we then completed 2 dives at the Yongala on Sunday morning. I had heard stories previously that you sometimes couldn't see the wreck for all the fish life, but it really is true !

The coral growth and the isolation of this "artificial" reef makes the Yongala one of the best "fish soup" locations around - fusiliers everywhere, eagle ray with juvenile, countless banded sea snakes, the largest moorish idols I have come across, shovel-nosed (guitar) shark, loggerhead & green turtles, batfish by the dozen - there's always something to see, and loads of it !
Apart from the sheer volume, colour and diversity of the marine life there's the structure of the wreck itself, which, lying on it's starboard side in 35 metres is still clearly identifiable. This is one place I could dive for a week and every dive would have been different.
We arrived in Townsville at 16:30 on Sunday afternoon, slightly ahead of schedule.

The crew were totally professional and very friendly, they have a very well-oiled procedure at the Yongala and are all very knowledgeable when it comes to the marine life we encountered and its environment.
The meals were hearty divers fare, nothing special, but lots of it and well appreciated. Filtered water, tea, coffee & cordial drinks were available throughout at no extra charge.
The only reason anyone was unhappy at the end of the trip, was that they had to get off !

Ken's Trip report on Spirit of Freedom's maiden voyage
"Gosh, it was nice to get out of the office for a while and back underwater to rediscover why we all got into this dive travel business in the the first place. Believe it or not, we actually call researching, experiencing & providing feedback on the maiden voyage of vessels we recommend, as "work".

I had a great time on the trip on Spirit's first trip. She really is an excellent vessel.

Spirit of Freedom is probably the most luxurious live-aboard vessel that I have had the pleasure to have been on. In fact, one of the other guests on-board the trip (a very, very experienced diver with multiple live-aboard experience) considered Spirit to be an equal vessel in luxury to the benchmark for all live-aboards, the Truk Odyssey in Micronesia. That's a pretty nice league to be compared to.

With Spirit being a quite large vessel, she absorbs her amount of guests very easily and with so much common space and areas, she comes across as part live-aboard, part cruise ship. Cabins are spotlessly appointed, spacious and super-comfortable.

Crew - fantastic ! More than willing to help with the smallest problem, always friendly and super-efficient. Some crews can sometimes come across a bit stand-offish, but Spirit's guys and girls were great. All the greater, considering it was a maiden voyage and systems were being put in place. I particularly liked the touch of all divers being offered and encouraged to drink plenty of water by hosts/hostesses wandering around with a tray of water glasses as we were gearing up for the dives.

Keith's (The Chef) food - outstanding !!! I have never been served 'a la carte' on any live-aboard before, as we were for several meals on this trip. My best ever experience with meals on a live-aboard.

Length of Dives - Again outstanding ! Whilst many of vessels will limit their divers to 40 to 45 minute dives, I think the shortest dive I did was 65 minutes. None of the "tick-tick-tick..time is a wasting" mentality some dive crew have.

The sites on the 4 Day Coral sea section of the itinerary, such as "Nonki", "Amazing" & "Predators Playground" at Holmes Reef were absolutely outstanding with coral & fish life. There were huge Gorgonian sea fans at "Nonki", and up to 20 Whitetip Reef Sharks on one dive at "Amazing".

The 3 Day section of the itinerary that visits the Cod Hole/Ribbon Reefs dive sites is fantastic. The reefs in that region are in fabulous condition and sites such as "Cod hole", "Pixie Pinnacle", "Steve's Bommie" etc etc (I could go on & on here..) are always a pleasure to dive, no matter how many times you dive them. I love it up there."

If you want to combine both Phil & Ken's experience on Aquarius III and Spirit of Freedom, we can book a complete 7 Day/7 night Coral Sea & Yongala package for you. Prices start at AU$$1595 per person. Please e-mail us for details.

Santa on the Reef
Passengers on the 25th December Diversity trip were surprised to find themselves sharing their underwater world on Christmas day with a large, jolly man in a red suit. Having visited all the children in the southern hemisphere, Santa interrupted his hectic schedule for an impromptu fish feed at the Cod Hole. In a short interview Mr Claus said "I always enjoy tropical diving and opportunities like this are limited at the North Pole. It is also nice to have a few minutes down time from Rudolph, Blitzen, Prancer and the gang." With that Santa mounted his sleigh, consulted his GPS, and flew north.

Papua New Guinea

Rodale's awards - PNG does it again
Rodale's Scuba Diving certainly keep their readers busy. If voting the Nimrod Explorer in the Top 5 in two categories wasn't enough, they managed to vote PNG diving in the following categories :

#1 in Healthiest Marine Environment in the Pacific/Indian Ocean.
#1 in Top Advanced Diving in the Pacific/Indian Ocean.
#5 in Top Wall Diving in the Pacific/Indian Ocean.

Year in, year out, PNG never fails to disappoint !

Telita Great Specials

Telita provides a nice, intimate live-aboard experience with only 10 guests maximum on-board, in the fantastic critter capital on PNG, Milne Bay. Even better considering the great special that is available at the moment for trips booked between now and 30 June 2003. If you're interested, just between you and me, it would in your best interest to book the special rate as soon as possible. It just might be that Telita will change ownership shortly, and those special rates will increase dramatically. If booked and deposited now, we can hold the special rate. The good news is with the possible ownership changes, Telita's excellent standard of service will continue.

Please click here for special rates and itinerary details .

Dirk's Lissenung Island revisited

First week of December, it was time for Claudia and me to get away for a week. We needed some relaxing time out, with two or three good dives a day, a personal atmosphere and "away-from-it-all". Lissenung Island Resort in Kavieng, was exactly that and more.

The resort is situated on a private island, 20 minutes from Kavieng by boat. It takes a maximum of 10 guests at a time, in widely spaced bungalows. The newest bungalow has two apartments with private bath. All bungalows have large balconies where you can spend the surface intervals reading or relaxing in a hammock …

The main building is built like a traditional Pacific "house wind" open to three sides with sand floor and a high thatched roof. The meals out of the kitchen were spectacular, given the remoteness of the location. Our favourite meal is chili mudcrabs. Washed down with PNG's own "South Pacific Brew", this was all my taste buds needed at the end of a day.

However, we really came for the diving. December is part of the official" rainy season" in these northern parts of PNG. We were lucky and only had the occasional downpour. The variety of dive sites within 20-30 minutes of the island, allowed us to dive a different location every day. There is a channel, only 15 minutes from the island, which we all requested to dive as much as possible; Albatross Passage is definitely among the top five dive sites I have had the pleasure to explore. Walls overflowing with black coral and huge coral ferns, big pelagics hunting in the current, minute pygmy seahorses, large rays, colourful nudibranchs, sepia, soft coral, … Take a Pacific fish & reef guide and you can most certainly identify 75% of the described species on this dive site alone!

On an exploratory dive, we dropped down a magnificent wall with patrolling sharks, large fans, soft corals, etc. Ask for the "Diversion Drop" next time you get to Kavieng to check out this beautiful spot.

The most positive impression we took home, is that this part of the Pacific is very healthy and teeming with life. (see Rodale's Reader ratings above). The worst part was that 7 days pass too quickly.
With only half a day travel from Cairns to Kavieng, we will be back soon.

Take advantage of the special offer in February until end of May:AU$$ 1170.- p/p Standard bungalow, twin/double share. Package includes: 7 nights accommodation, transfers, all meals, 6 dive days with 2 boat dives per day, unlimited shore diving, tanks & weights.

As always, please contact us for details.

Golden Dawn
Golden Dawn is gaining more fans with each year. Operating seasonally in 4 different major areas around PNG, there is always something new to discover, even for loyal return clients.

We just received this feedback from Paul who was on board Golden Dawn on an Eastern Fields cruise last November:

"Our trip with Craig Dewit and the Golden Dawn was fantastic, in every way. They produced a real roast turkey for our Thanksgiving, they kept the seas mirror-calm for most of the trip (the kind of calm where the horizon disappears), and they provided some of the most enthralling diving I've ever experienced. The night dive on the "Pacific Gas", where the only flashlights were the flashlight fish, will be one of my top "lifetime memories". All the arrangements went perfectly smoothly, from arrival at Port Moresby and transfers to and from Loloata Resort and to and from the Golden Dawn.
We appreciate your role in all of this, and are dreaming of our next opportunity to "get under down under". As I write this, three of our group are heading back out there - to Milne Bay - seriously straining their relationship with those of us who through some misguided notion feel they still have to work ..."

Check out the 2005 departures for Golden Dawn

Walindi Airport update
Following the volcanic activity in late 2002 that closed Hoskins airport, aficionados of Walindi Plantation Resort will be pleased to know that West New Britain has airport facilities once more.

An alternative airstrip at Talasea is servicing Walindi with her dive resort guests. Full Daily services between Port Moresby and Talasea are a regular fixture on the Air Niugini schedule with same airline connections to Australia, Singapore, The Philippines and Japan.

Cairns still the international gateway to PNG
Cairns is still the best and major international gateway to PNG. More Air Niugini flights daily to Port Moresby than other other city and with better connections, establish Cairns as the unofficial off-shore "capital" of PNG.

If you're flying from the US or Europe, get yourself to Cairns, and let us take care of you from there with our special discounted fares to PNG. Fares & Flights also available to PNG from Brisbane, Sydney, Singapore & Tokyo. Enquire for details.

Micronesia

Yap Feedback - Traders Ridge Resort
It's no secret that Yap offers one of the World's ultimate manta ray experiences but it's worth considering that it also hosts a huge remote and pristine reef system.
Recent reports from one of our regular divers have confirmed once again that the Trader Ridge Resort & Beyond The Reef Dive Services are doing a great job in Yap:

"Phil, Just got back from my trip. Yap was fantastic - Traders Ridge is an excellent resort and Beyond the Reef was also excellent - both groups couldn't do enough and I would recommend this combination to anyone. The diving was also top notch - although the mantas are awesome I also dove on some exceptional walls which rivalled Palau"
Paul S. - Canada

"Hello Ken, Yap was great! The Traders Ridge and their service is superb and the food is delicious.
The island and scenery is really impressive and the people are so friendly, a
real tropical paradise.
Last but not least, the diving was perfect for us. Sometimes the visibility
in the manta channels was a bit poor (5m), but who cares if the mantas come
closer than 1 metre ! Belinda as well enjoyed the diving very much and she's
really looking forward to our next dive vacation.
To sum this up, we really enjoyed our days in Yap and spent a relaxing and
beautiful time there.
Thanks again for this trip."
Michael & Belinda, Switzerland

Traders Ridge & Beyond The Reef offer accommodation/diving packages from 3 nights duration and much more. Check out their Yap packages at:
http://www.diversionoz.com/en/tradersridge.htm
http://www.diversionoz.com/en/beyondthereef.htm

Truk Odyssey - Rodale's Big Winner

……And coming in at #1 in the Rodale's Scuba Diving awards in January 2003, is the Truk Odyssey. Winding her way through the wrecks of Truk Lagoon in Micronesia, Truk Odyssey scored #1 readers ratings in the Top Live-Aboard and TopValue for Money, and Top Live-aboard Staff categories.

As such, we remind everyone interested in experiencing one of these great trips, that Truk Odyssey bookings are very difficult to secure. She's always full ! Please plan your trips as far as possible in advance (at least 6 months in advance, or even better, 12-18 months beforehand) and if you can flexible that also increases your chances of securing your booking. To take a look at the Truk Odyssey, please click on the following link http://www.diversionoz.com/en/odyssey.htm

Guam - Cyclone Report
Super-typhoon Pongsona struck Guam on December 8 2002, five months to the day after Guam's last typhoon hit. Pongsona left more than USD$73 million damage and its public schools have not been open since, many homes still don't have electrical power or running water.
Another casualty is the local dive industry. Pacific Sports Divers (PSD) were forced to close up in August 2002 and now the recent typhoon has caused extensive damage to the vessels of the other major dive operators in Guam.
Divers planning to visit Guam should note that, until further notice, there will be very little in the way of recreational diving opportunities available to them on the island.
However, other dive destinations in the region such as Palau, Yap & Chuuk were unaffected by the typhoon.

Solomon Islands

Tropical Cyclone Zoe
It's that time of the year: Although the effects of Tropical Cyclone Zoe (Jan 03) were quite dramatic in the Solomons/Vanuatu region, it has to be said that the devastation was somewhat localised and restricted to the very remote islands to the far South of the Solomon group.
The capital, Honiara, along with the Georgia & Russel Island groups avoided any major damage and it's "business as usual" throughout this pristine diving destination.

Live-aboard diving in The Solomons
Bearing in mind the inconsistency of domestic services nowadays, live-aboard diving offers by far the most exciting and accessible of diving options in The Solomons.
The wreck and reef diving in this region is truly awesome in this unspoilt wilderness.
MV Bilikiki & MV Spirit of Solomons offer an extensive schedule throughout 2003 featuring excellent 7,10 & 14 night cruises which tie in with the international flights.
http://www.diversionoz.com/en/bilikiki.htm
http://www.diversionoz.com/en/spiritofsolomons.htm

Web-page update

Need a Car in Australia ?
In partnership with the Europecar's extensive Australian network, we are very pleased to offer a comprehensive online car rental programme.
This features a large range of vehicles at excellent inclusive rates from AU$50 per day for a short term rental, and even lower rates for 7 days hire or more. Rates include unlimited mileage and offer a high level of flexibility.
Very shortly you will be able to obtain instant online quotes and confirm your own reservations directly through our website. In the meantime, please contact us if you would like more information.

Other topics

Tiger Shark tracking by Satellite
In a joint program Digital Dimensions, CSIRO Marine Research (CMR) and Undersea Explorer scientists are studying the movement patterns of tiger sharks in the Far Northern area of the Great Barrier Reef.
The scientists hope to discover:

• whether tiger sharks mix between different areas within Australia
• whether they leave Australian waters
• where they go in different seasons and whether that changes between years
• what areas are important to them (such as feeding, breeding or nursery grounds)
• what pathways they follow
• how long they stay in and how frequently they visit particular places.

In 2002, an expedition was mounted to the waters surrounding Raine Island to satellite tag Tiger Sharks , please click on the following link to view details of this exciting research http://www.sharkresearch.com/tiger_shark_tracking.htm

Shark Tag provides important data feedback
Tag #8202 was applied to a Blacktip Reef shark (Carcharinus tilstoni) back in September 1984, when Boy George was cool, Michael Jackson wore a silver glove and had a real face, Ronald Reagan was the American President and Margaret Thatcher, British Prime Minister, wore down coal miners in the North of England.

In a good news story, Australian Marine biologists are excited by the return of a tag attached to an Australian Blacktip Reef shark almost 20 years ago. The tag yielded important information, including that the species definitely lives at least 20 years, and grew over 35 centimetres (just over one foot).
For more information, please click on this link for details

Specials
Please bookmark the following link for all the latest and greatest specials.

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