Driving up the West Coast of the USA

Have gone from this...

View from Havaika Pearl Guest House beach bungalow

...to this...

View from Best Western - Pismo Beach

Travelling up the coast in California.  Arrived on Monday morning - and after about 2hrs of queuing to get through immigration and customs, we finally made it to the rental car place by about 10am.

Swung through Hollywood on our way out of LA - back to a big city and Nick wanted to escape as soon as possible.  Managed to miss taking a picture of the Hollywood sign...

Not the Hollywood sign

...but got a taste of our first big American meal - breakfast at a cafe on Sunset Boulevard.

However, we did manage to get as far as Santa Barbara in time to catch a couple of tasting rooms before closing time on Monday afternoon and enjoyed a chat to a few people and a few good wines.

Dinner on the pier at a sea food place - Santa Barbara Shellfish Company - clam chowder and crab cakes.

After sitting up for most of the night with ear ache - we went looking for a pharmacy on Tuesday morning for some advice.  Looks like I might have picked up an ear infection in Tahiti.

But we did manage to drive north in the afternoon, caught a tasting at the Gainey Vineyard around lunch and had a picnic in the sunshine afterwards.  After getting a motel for the night, we also made tasting at two of the tasting rooms in Solvang as well.

Another vineyard on Wednesday morning, then back to Solvang's Farmers' Market and then a drive up Highway 101 to Pismo Beach.

Enjoyed a slap-down meal - literally the food is emptied out on the table in front of you - at the Cracked Crab.

Loads of food...

Half eaten bucket of two types of crab and crawdads

...and very trendy bibs to wear.

Nick in a crab bib

Diving in Fakarava

We were told the diving in Fakarava was some of the best in French Polynesia.  I was still ill so couldn't dive the first day - so we extended our stay by a day to make the most of our time here and get some more dives in.

I've added some more photos in the Diving in French Polynesia set on Flickr taken diving on the northern part of the atoll at Ohotu.

Underwater ML

Not sure I look all that well still.

Beach Bungalow on Fakarava

Left Rangiroa at noon today and flew 35 mins to another atoll in the Tuamotus - Fakarava.

The Havaiki Pearl Guest House, where we are staying, has bungalows on the beach - a proper wood, coconut palm and bamboo construction right on the sand.

Giving myself another day in the hope I get fit to dive again, we settled down for a relaxing afternoon on the beach and in the sea.  Snorkelling out over the clumps of coral looking at shrimp gobies, Picasso trigger fish and goat fish.

Then sat and watched the sunset across the lagoon from the bungalow's verandah.

Have booked half board as there didn't seem to be an option but have already found the food to be better than lots of places where we've eaten so far in French Polynesia.

Diving in Rangiroa

Our diving in Rangiroa was cut short a little sooner than we'd hoped after I got a cough and the start of a cold.  So we had only been out with the camera for a couple of dives so didn't get to many pictures.  But I've posted a few on Flickr.

Didn't have the camera at all when I was hand feeding the turtle and it was trying to eat my BC and then the current was so strong when the manta ray swam over our heads in a small canyon, that Nick couldn't let go of the rock to take a picture.  So here is one from the dive club's website - might even be the same manta.

It was pretty magical to watch as it passed over, turned back towards us, then was off in the current.

Sundown over the Lagoon

After three nights in Tahiti, (we thought it was going to be two but got confused with the International Dateline), we have arrived in the Tuamotus - a series of atolls to the north and east of Tahiti.  The one hour flight on a smallish (a couple of buses long) plane with propellers had Nick closing his eyes a little on take off and landing.  Which was a shame as he missed the spectacular views of Rangiroa as we came in to land.

We were met at the airport by Alain, the owner of the pension where we are staying (Pension Bounty).  He is a diver himself so asked if we wanted to get a dive in today - so he took us straight round to the dive centre where he dives, The Six Passengers.  Though very busy, it is Easter, they had space for us to join a group on their 2pm dive.

Alan took us to the Pension where we had time for a snack and to unpack our luggage and sort out our dive gear in time for the pick up from the dive centre.

So this afternoon, we've been out on the ocean side of the atoll, swimming in the blue then along the reef, watching the huge amounts of fish swim by, as well as a turtle (which I hand-fed), a few reef sharks and a mother and baby dolphin - very lovely.  The corals are not a colourful as Fiji but the fish are much more plenteous.

Then back to the pension and a stroll down to the beach to watch the sun going down over the lagoon!

Last Day in NZ

We wanted to go on a Maori cultural experience today.  Last chance as our last day here.  We'd not booked in advance but set off across the road from the hotel to the i-site office, hoping we'd be able to get on.  However, the guide had unfortunately been taken ill so they weren't running the tours.

So we went up the SkyCity Tower instead - the entrance was right next door to the information office.  Great views of the city and also the people mad enough to sign up for the "jump" off the tower.  Not able to persuade Nick he wanted to do this...it was hard enough to get him to stand on the glass floor on the observation deck.

Then spent the afternoon sorting out our internal flights in Tahiti.  Should have done this before really but had too many other things to organise.  Just need to book rooms and hope the Easter holiday doesn't mean everywhere is fully booked.

Diving in Fiji

We are back in Auckland after spending a week in Fiji diving the Vatu-I-Ra Passage.  Some fantastic dives in crystal clear blue water with 30m viz with time to chill on some beautiful dive sites like Mellow Yellow and Black Magic Mount.

Volivoli Beach Resort at Rakiraki was also a great place to stay, even if the food left something to be desired (an issue the owners are working on), but the accommodation in the Studio Vale was excellent.

Have now posted some of our pictures on Flickr.

Relaxing in Fiji

Enjoyed the views from our terrace in the late afternoon at Volivoli Beach Resort, after a couple of great dives earlier in the day.

Diving the Poor Knights

[updated: homophone corrected - NK]

We enjoyed a day's diving out of Tutukaka at the Poor Knights on Friday. It was a bit colder than we've been used to so far this year at a mere 20 degrees. So we hired 7mm wetsuits from the dive company - Dive Tutukaka - which saved drying our own suits for our flight to Fiji tomorrow. It took a bit of getting used to the extra buoyancy again.

The water was crystal clear blue - again we were lucky with the weather and a sunny day. The diving reminded me very much of the diving we did in Northern Island Ireland - only slightly warmer.

I've put a few of the pictures up on Flickr.

Theatre

We went to the theatre tonight to see an "adult" and "humorous" take on fairy tales. Nowhere did it mention that it would be through the medium of dance.

Towards the end of the excruciating first half, the old chap behind me slowly collapsed and someone said they needed an ambulance. I dashed to alert the staff and we waited for the ambulance with the show continuing on stage. (Not) soon enough, the interval arrived and someone presented themselves as a GP, so we left them to it and all waited in the lobby.

ML and I realised this was the perfect opportunity to escape the second half (and who can blame us, was one casualty already), so we cut our losses and bravely sneaked away to the brewery next door. On our way we saw the ambulance arrive, but I did have to wonder whether the old fellow was making some sort of critical statement...?

Travelling North

Very bizarre – we are sat in the campervan in a car park by the ferry terminal in the centre of Wellington.  Back doors up against a main road into the city centre.   Out the front there is just about views over the harbour passed a row of campers and between the buildings.  Very different from the rural peace and quiet of our first two nights in Hanmer Springs.  Though we have been building up the noise levels over the last few days.  The campsite in Blenheim where we spent the last two nights nestled under the flyover of the main road from Picton to Christchurch and had a few truck rattling over in the evening.

We have now left the South Island behind and starting our journey north towards Auckland.  Maybe we will get some wild camping in on the way…no use having a self-contained camper and not use all the facilities.  We are yet to try out having a shower ensuite!

Non-Diving Photos

A couple of posts have (finally) had images added, so now you can see the beautiful but terrifying Blue Mountains and the glorious Doubtful Sound, in full colour.

Diving Photos

See more pictures from our trip diving on the Great Barrier Reef and from Chuuk and the Philippines.

Five Nights in Queenstown

We hadn't planned to stay in Queenstown for so long, but it worked out that way.

Having arrived in Christchurch on Thursday afternoon, we picked up our slightly down-market Nissan Bluebird and set off south. We got to Omarama (after a stop at a supermarket for groceries) around 8pm, where we were booked in at a motel for the night. It was just getting dark as we arrived, so we didn't appreciate the fantastic views from the window till we opened the curtains the next day to bright blue skies and the hills in the distance.

After breakfast, we started out on the road to Queenstown after stopping to photograph Omarama's monument to the merino sheep. We got as far as Cromwell around lunchtime so stopped for a break, a visit to the i-site office and lunch at the Tin Goose Café.

Then the drive through wine country (Bannockburn and Gibbson Valley) and passed old gold mining excavations to Queenstown, stopping at the info centre to get accommodation sorted out.

Great apartment at The Whistler. No views of the lake from here but we could look out across to the Skyline gondola ride. A lazy evening with a run to the supermarket, then a few beers and roast chicken dinner.

We had planned to go on a wine tour on Saturday - only it was fully booked - so we had a lazy morning and then set off with a packed lunch for a walk around Lake Hayes.

Sunday we got on the Appellation Wine Tour. Pick up from the apartments at 9.30am, and we were whisked off to Gibbson Valley to the first of four wineries. The trip also including a fantastic lunch (where we "bumped" into Jeffrey Archer), a not so good trip to a wine cinema and a walk round old Cromwell. Came back a little more light headed at 5pm and had more chicken and prepared for an early start the next day.

Taxi pick up at 6:45am then a transfer to a bus in town for a trip to Doubtful Sound. A bit too early to enjoy the chirpy commentary from the Maori bus driver on the way to Manapouri (which included a transfer to a second minibus). A trip across the Lake to West Am. Then a bus on the highest pass in New Zealand for tour buses and a very steep descent into Doubtful Sound where we picked up the boat for a 3 hour cruise. The weather was so calm we were able to go right out into the Tasmin Sea (something they can only do about once a month) and the sky so clear (it rains two days out of three), the photos came out brilliantly. On the bus back to West Am, we also got a trip inside the hydro-electric power station – a 2km drive to the mountain side.

Doubtful Sound - view up Crooked Arm

Then the lake ferry and the bus back to Queenstown made for a long day, and we didn't much feel like getting up early to move on the next day, so we arranged another night at The Whistler and had an easy morning and then a walk up Queenstown Hill with views back down into town and across the lake. It was a stunning if not a very steep climb. We didn't make the summit as the clouds were rolling in and it was getting cold, so we headed back into town and found a great Indian restaurant for dinner. It was BYO so we enjoyed the bottle of Olssens 2010 Summer Dreaming Rose, purchased at the cellar door. An enjoyable last night in town!

New Zealand, brrrrr-illiant

After two months in a t-shirt and shorts, I spent today in long trousers, t-shirt, two jumpers, two pairs of long-johns, a gillet and an anorak. And an extra hat (so that's two) too.

Great day in Fiordland - pic's to follow.

Dive centre review: Action Divers

Action Divers on Mindoro Island, Philippines, are a friendly, safe and professional beachside op I would definitely recommend and use again.

Low point: of about 15 dives I did with them, one was a bit crap. It was a weekend (so several "weekend" divers) and there was only one guide available, so I spent the entire dive fuming at photographers (holding on to coral or kicking coral with their fins whilst trying to take photo) and other bad divers. Or perhaps I was just in a grump.

High points: Great staff and guides; location, location, location (most dives within a few minutes boat ride and have never before seen such abundance and variety of life); pygmy seahorses (tiny pink knobbly bits on knobbly pink fan coral); being the sole diver on a 27m guided dive - shown an octopus (invisible amongst the rocks) and a Leaf Scorpionfish (white thing on white coral - even being shown it did not see it until I realised what I was looking at and so what to look for).

Dive centre reviews

Action Divers - Philippines
Thorfinn - Chuuk
Spirit of Freedom - Australia
PURG (Port Macquarie Underwater Research Group) - Australia
FishRock Dive Centre - Australia

WTF?!

At first I thought these were feet and that they were pretty tasteless. Then I realised what they actually are...

I love Australia

We are off to New Zealand tomorrow, but so far I have liked Australia as much as I feared I would: great weather - including proper storms (sheet and fork lightening several times a minute for an hour); great diving; lovely people; avocado with everything [ML: beetroot]; great wines; space; very little litter (rubbish bins everywhere with recycling bins too); organised sport and fitness outdoors; outdoor lifestyle; etc.

If I can just become a man of independent means, I would be very tempted to move here.

Sunday in Sydney

Arrived in Sydney today from the Blue Mountains. Checked into a hotel near the city and dropped the car off at the airport. Then went to Oz Tek - seeing as we will be missing LIDS this year. Met up with some of the people we've been diving with on the trip so far at the exhibition as well.

Then went out for a Thai...no change there then!

Blue Mountain Adventures

We went on a walk in the Blue Mountains National Park today. After a delicious breakfast of herbed mushrooms and poached eggs at the Conservation Hut, we headed out to follow the National Pass walk.

It started with the descent to Empress Falls - it was an awfully long way down - and I was a bit worried when we watched someone slide off the edge of the path into a pool!

Then headed around the side of the canyon along the National Pass with breathtaking views across Jamison Valley. Nick was a "little" worried about the drop to the bottom.

We made our way around to Wentworth Falls. There we had to ascend the steep steps back to the top of the cliff. Though we had to stop and shelter from the rain when a storm came over, obliterating the view with clouds for 15 mins.

At the top we took the Undercliff walk as far as Princes Rock Lookout. Then ended the walk taking the Short Track back to the Conservation Hut and a cup of tea.

[NK: Breathtakingly terrifying pictures to follow, images that will strike terror into the heart of all but Himalayan Mountain Goats - not recommended for acrophobics.]

Wine List

AUSTRALIA

We tried quite a few wines at several cellar doors during two days in Hunter Valley, but listed below are the ones we thought good enough to buy a bottle of and have drunk (so far):

Tyrrell's Wines – Old Winery Brut NV
Windsor's Edge Estate - Solera 9yr Port
Tyrrell's Wines – Special Aged Tawny (South Australia)
Pepper Tree – Limited Release Sauvignon Blanc 2010 (Orange)
Vinden Estate – Alicante Bouschet 2008 (Hunter)
Constable Estate – Mosato 2010 – Sparkling (Hunter)
Vinden Estate – Sparkling Alicante Bouschet 2009 (Hunter)

To buy a t-shirt or not to buy a t-shirt?

Got myself stuck with a bit of a problem today - should I buy a dive shop t-shirt or not?

I've found myself with a bit of a collection since the start of the trip. My Aussie t-shirt which has seen me through many a dive trip is starting to look a bit worn out and on SS Thorfinn, I noticed they had purple t-shirts with a choice of wrecks on the back which included my particular favourite - the Fujikawa maru. So I bought myself one.

Then after our second visit to Action Divers in the Philippines and we said our goodbyes again, we were both give t-shirts by the owner. (A bit of a marketing exercise I suspect.) So suddenly, I have a t-shirt from both places we'd dived.

Then we were diving on the Great Barrier Reef, on the Spirit of Freedom...should I buy one of their expensive t-shirts? They did have a very nice long sleeve on with a great shade of grey - so the answer was yes!

So today I had the dilemma of whether to buy a Fish Rock Dive Centre one or not? They were particularly good, as it has a map of the Fish Rock Cave, which we went out to dive today and they did come in a wide range of colours and styles. But the price tag was 20 quid...so the answer was no, and my collection has come to a standstill.

Still not sure if PURG - the Port Macquire Underwater Research Group - who we dived with on Sunday would have had anything like that for me anyway.  Though we did come away with a cerficate to say we took part in "Clean Up Australia Day".

Eight Days in Chuuk - Day Six

Today was going to be a two tank dive from the tender in the morning, so after breakfast, we packed a dry bag with sunscreen and hats and headed off a little further than usual for the first dive…

Dive 17 – Fumitsuki Destroyer – 1,913 ton Mutsuki Class destroyer. This is one of only a few Japanese Naval ships in the lagoon and quite small so no wreck penetration, but it was so covered in life it was a really enjoyable dive, making our way along the decks. I spotted a shark in the blue. Artifacts on the deck included pages from a book. Ended up with longer deco on the Suunto Mosquito than the others so we were last out of the water.

What a lovely pair!

Between dives we headed to Udot Island where the tender tied up for about ½ hour. This is Tomo’s home island and we met his brother when we took a short walk to a rather grand house, which had been built by some politician by the jetty. Tomo’s brother is caretaker. Tomo climbed a tree and cut down coconuts for us to drink the milk – a very refreshing between dive beverage. And we took lots of pictures of the children who came down to the boat to meet us all. Then we headed back out to the lagoon for…

Dive 18 – Shinkoku Maru – 10,020 ton 500 ft long naval tanker. This had great marine life on it. It’s out in a more exposed area of the lagoon where there was more current so the decks are covered with coral and schools of fish were hanging out around the ship. Tomo took us inside to see the infirmary in the bridge area, but there were many other holes to poke a nose into and look around.

Again a long ride in the tender back to Thorfinn for late lunch. The Chances where leaving the next day so had finished diving for the day, so Nick and I suggested, we would be happy to just do one more for the day and made it a bit later start in the afternoon. So had time to relax before setting out at 3:30pm for the third dive of the day…

Dive 19 – Fujikawa Maru – the fantastic cargo ship which Nick missed diving earlier in the week. Did the same route through the wreck – still looked like a maze but Tomo guided us fantastically around the engine room and tool shop – spotted different thing in there this time. The storeroom was full of electric fans, and all the electric cabling for the lights around the ship was hung about. Another great dive. (Done the dive twice so brought the T-shirt!)



Changed for dinner and then chatting with Colin and Caitlin in the evening and got quite late before going to bed (10pm!)

Eight Days in Chuuk - Day Five

Weather was a bit wet and windy again today and I also felt a little weary in the morning as we got up and had bacon and omelette for breakfast. Soon off for first dive at 8am…

Chances on the line

Dive 13 – Nippo Maru – 3,764 Cargo ship and Naval water carrier. Split into two groups for this deeper dive. Buster off with the Chances and Nick and I were with Tomo. As we dropped down on the frame and then into the hold area, I was too busy taking photos to see that Nick was trying to clock 45m on his computer - he didn’t quite make it! [ 44.85m, grrrr - NK] Along the deck, we passed guns and then went into the bridge where all the steering equipment was still intact. Around the bow and then watching schools of fish in the blue bait balling around as we ascended away from the shot line as the other group were there.

Bye Woody!

Had to say goodbye to Woody as he was taken back to Weno between dives, so late start to…

Dive 14 – Yamagiri Maru – 6,438 ton passenger cargo ship on its port side. Caitlin sitting this one out so only three as we started out. However, Nick found he couldn’t clear his ears at 6m so had to abort the dive and he returned to the tender [NK: ears and nose were fine, but exquisite toothache in top teeth on one side - sinuses, I guess]. So I continued with Colin and Tomo. Descended and along the boat then went in through the torpedo hole and through the ship and out on the top deck. Then to the engine room where Tomo pointed out the skull of one of the engineers from the boat. It was fused to the superstructure. It was quite dark and cramped in there, which was almost too much for Colin on his first wreck penetration dive. Then out and around the stern and the props and back over the top of the boat and ascended for safety stops.

Back on board Thorfinn for lunch and quick change around for…

Dive 15 – Sankisan Maru – 4,776 ton cargo ship lying upright but in two parts. There were all four of us with Tomo on this dive. Looking in and out of holds including one with piles and piles of small glass bottles in different colours. Also looking at aircraft engine parts and lots of armaments including thousands of bullets. Up to bow then we dropped behind the group and taking lots of pictures eventually making out way up the mast for safety stops while looking at a school of fish hanging out with a Napoleon wrasse.

There was a little more time between dives to sit around and catch up on the logbook but Nick wasn’t feeling too good so decided to sit the next dive…

Dive No 16 – Hoyo Maru – 8,691-ton naval tanker. Just Colin and me with Tomo on this dive. Called the “ghost ship of Truk Lagoon” – as one of the American pilots who bombed the boat during WWII actually died while diving the ship many years later. Spooky story but no strange observations among the hard corals on the underside of the ship, which is lying mostly, upturned. We were able to see inside the engine room as it was exposed by bomb holes in the hull.

Back to shower and change for dinner of spicy soup and chicken and to hear the full ghost story from Captain Lance at the dinner table, before another quiet evening in the lounge.

Diving on the Great Barrier Reef and the Coral Sea

Infornation on the dive trip we were on for 7 days in Australia has been posted on the Spirit of Freedom website - the liveaboard with trips out of Cairns up the Great Barrier Reef and into the Coral Sea.

The first part of the trip included the Cod Hole and finished at Lizard Island. The second part of the trip took in Osprey Reef and back down the Ribbon Reefs to Cairns.

Can you spot us in any of the pictures? Theirs are slightly better than the ones we took!

Fun with Koalas

Got to stroke two koalas yesterday at Sydney's Koala Park.

Here's me with Tassie.

Nick was less keen just in case they savaged him.

The kangeroos were pretty cute to feed too.

Eight Days in Chuuk - Day Four

China from the Kansho

For what was to be Woody’s last morning of diving, it was decided to do the San Francisco – Truk Lagoon’s signature dive.  At 50m, it was a deep one and when Nick woke up still feeling unwell, he decided against it.  I didn’t fancy doing it without him, so pulled out as well.  This left Woody to go off with Tomo on his own.  However, the weather was really rough – with wind and rain lashing Thorfinn, the dive looked like it might be called off before they set off.  However, Buster in charge of the tender and Tomo tried their best to get Woody on the wreck, but it wasn’t to be and they eventually turned back to a different site out of the wind and waves.  So we were quite pleased we had staying on Thorfinn and had enjoyed a relaxing time in the lounge with a coffee and our log books.

More heavy rain delayed the second dive of the day, which was to be…

Dive 10 – Kansho Maru – 4,862 ton passenger cargo ship.  Had fun with computers bleating, as we exceeded their MOD for 32% in the very interesting engine room.  There were a few tight squeezes and we were in single file in the maze of gangways across two or three decks.  There was a great set of spanners (as in huge!) still on the wall in one part.  Out through bridge and another fully kitted up kitchen.  Finished on mast for safety stops.  It was Woody’s last dive of his trip.

Back to Thorfinn and straight to lunch where we were joined by two new guests, Colin and Caitlin Chance.  They had been living in Guam but about to go back to the US so taking the last opportunity to come and dive in Chuuk.

So there were four of us who set off for the dive at 2pm…

Nick on the Unkat

Dive 11 – Unkat Maru No 6 – 3,230 cargo ship.  We were guided this time by Buster - the Chances were with Hayley.  It was a very choppy ride to the dive site in the rain – not a good start to their Truk adventure for the others and not the best diving experience for Caitlin.  No penetration on this dive but lots of life on the decks including a turtle, a shark and a school of barracudas.

By the time we were back on Thorfinn, it was quite late so the next dive was postponed to 5:30pm, which gave us time for a coffee and sit in the lounge.

Dive 12 – Sutzuki – patrol boat.  Much calmer weather conditions so was a shame Caitlin decided she’d had enough for the day after the earlier dive.  So just three with Buster guiding again.  Much shallower dive than any other so far in the week, averaging only 6.1m.  Bit of a current at surface but ok around the wreck.  Started at the stern – swimming between the props and the rudder, then made our way along the ship which was sunk on its side.  Lots of corals and I took pictures.  Nick suffering with sinuses again particularly at 6m safety stop so surfaced earlier than the rest of us.

Woody’s last evening on board so we were up chatting with him and the Chances after dinner.

Eight Days in Chuuk - Day Three

Into the swing of getting up in time for breakfast at 7am (today waffles) and out of the first dive at 8am.

Dive 6 – Hoki Maru – 7,112 ton cargo ship. Were supposed to be getting some depth progression today. However, as we dropped into the blue above the wreck, Nick got a pain in his teeth, so Tomo made decision not to go to depth point at the props, but instead started straight into the cargo holds, though still did 42m. In the holds were bulldozers, jeeps and trucks (very like the Thistlegorm) and we made our way through the vehicles then on to another hold with depth charges all about. The front half of the ship was destroyed by a blast so we head outside along to this and back along the starboard side looking at the coral and fish.

No time to spare before next dive although delayed due to a rainstorm…
Dive 7 – Kiyosimi Maru – 8,614 ton passenger-cargo ship. A huge ship on her port side. Descended down to the torpedo hole and swam inside, passed a box of shells then worked through the levels of the ship to what was the top deck. Then headed along the ship in and out of holds including one with a bicycle leant against a wall. Looking up along the decks, the boat towered above us and the masts and stack were stretched out over the seabed. Managed to make it right to the stern and then swam back along the starboard side. More artifacts laid out on the top including chinaware.

Late back for lunch (pasta bake) so quick turn around for next dive. Nick decided against it, as his teeth issues seemed to be sinus related and he thought he should rest them. So it was just me and the lovely Woody following Tomo for…

Fighter planes in hold

Dive 8 – Fujikawa Maru – 6,938 passenger cargo ship. Ed said this was a stunning dive during the brief – and it was fantastic and probably my most stand out of the trip! This disappointed Nick left back on the boat but Ed promised we would get another chance to dive it again later in the week. We descended down to the top deck then through the living quarters: kitchen with wok still on the stove and coffee machine, passed the bathroom and down into the engine room. Woody “walked” down the stairway. We then weaved our way through the engine rooms including the machine shop with milling machine, lathe and vices. Then started through the holds one full of barrels and then turn a corner and we were in a hold full of fighter aircraft. The light was just perfect breaking through to deck to illuminate the scene. Even tried the joystick in a plane and it still moved around. We then went through holds with plane spares and suicide torpedoes. We emerged on the top deck and made our way to the bow gun, back along to look at some memorials which have been placed on the deck, then up the mast to do stops and watch the fish. Tomo played with one little one who was swimming in and out of a hole.

Back on Thorfinn, I found Nick dozing in bed with a headache so he’d ruled out diving again that day. But we had a bit of time to relax before...

Dive 9 – Emily Flying Boat. Woody and I decided we were happy to keep it short. All split up and pootled around the plane – I swam across the wings and looked around the engines. After about 20 mins, I looked up to find I had completely lost the others – they had both gone off to the surrounding reef and in the dusk light, vis was down to 10m so I couldn’t quite see them – though they both had a eye on me. All decided we’d done enough and ascended.

Night dive ruled out again (too tired), so showered and changed for dinner and again spent the evening relaxing in the lounge.

Pygmy Seahorses

Got to see a couple of these today...very cute!

Eight Days in Chuuk - Day Two

Woody

Second morning, with the other groups about to leave, divers were down to three – us two and Woody, a retired pilot from Alabama, who’d arrived the day before us.

Dive 2 – Seiko Maru - a 5,000-ton cargo ship. Early morning deep dive – down to 43m. Following our guide for the week, Tomo and spotted a grey reef shark swimming around the deck as we descended. Took a bit of getting used to diving deep, getting into deco and watching our air. Swam around the holds, one with torpedoes, and round the bows, then back to the line to start ascent at 100 bar.

Then started the usual liveaboard routine – eat, dive, eat, dive, eat, dive, eat, dive, eat, sleep! Just about time to shower, rinse off swimsuit and eat a cake before the next dive. Slightly longer break before the next dive, as the tender was off to take the other guests back to Weno. However, we weren’t long before we were off to…

Dive 3 – Heian Maru – 11,614-ton submarine tender, sunk on her port side. Dropped down to the wreck making our way to the bow to see the name on the side of the ship. Then in and out of holds, saw torpedo warheads stacked on the deck and periscope tubes piled in a gangway. As we swam along, we got a sense of just how vast the ship. Managed to make our way right to the stern and up over the propellers, which were covered in life and back along the starboard side to the shot line and safety stops.

Dive 4 – Yubae Maru - 3,217-ton army cargo ship on port side. This is the wreck with the sewing machine in one of the holds. Couldn’t do too much penetration as it’s starting to collapse but we went in a few holds and saw lots of chinaware. Spent quite a long time at the propellers (where the shot line was) looking at the plentiful life growing on and swimming around them before it was time to ascend for stops.

One of the Betty Bomber engines

Dive 5 – Betty Bomber – Mitsubishi G4M3 Navy type attack bomber. More a dusk dive starting at 5:20pm. We descended down to the wreck but immediately set off over the reef to see the engines, which settled a hundred yards beyond the rest of the plane. Had the camera out for the first time in Chuuk and got a few shots before the light started to fail. Was too scared to swim through the body of the plane as it needed a bit of a wiggle to get out at the tail but went inside to see the thousands of glassfish. As the fourth dive of the day, we were all getting a bit tired so dive didn’t last too long despite being over 10m shallower than any of the others that day.

A general consensus between the three of us that we didn’t want to do a night dive after dinner (much to the delight of staff) so instead showered and changed for dinner and the evening. After eating, we moved rooms to the lower deck – with only one other guest, we had the choice of any cabin for the week. Then an evening of relaxing in the lounge before another early night.

Eight Days in Chuuk - Day One

Another overnight journey – two short flights and a several hours at Guam airport – and another time zone changed left us a bit tired again. However, as the plane came in to land and we circled over the outer reef and the blue seas sparkled it was enough to give us a boost. A real tropical island paradise!

Landing was exciting…coming in over the sea…wondering if the runway will appear before the wheels hit the water, but it’s just another regular landing at Weno Island. And as a small international airport is very quick to clear immigration and customs, we were soon out in a taxi making our way (slowly) to the Blue Lagoon Resort. Recent rain and serious potholes in the road meant winding around pools of muddy water but we were soon at the resort where we were to be collected by the tender from SS Thorfinn. The rain started again which meant a slightly wet journey across the lagoon to the ship – but despite being soaked the welcome was very warm as we were introduced to Hayley, shown around the boat, had time to change and finally went down for lunch.

SS Thorfinn

We were offered a dive immediately – the others onboard were about to go out for the 2pm dive, but we were still a bit tired and felt we needed a chance to get sorted out. So spent a while unpacking the dive gear and getting set up for the later dive. So Dive 1 was on Friday at 5pm on the Futagami, a Hashima Class salvage tug - just a little shakedown dive to 27m. It was covered in life with interesting holds to look in, but as it started to get dark, the others started to ascend so Nick and I followed, despite his reluctance to get out the water.

Back on board we showered and changed ready for dinner. As it was Friday, it was BBQ night as a final farewell to the current group of divers, four from a club from Battersea and a pair from Hong Kong. Nick and I struggled to keep our eyes open after a sleepless night so retired to bed early.

Keep on Truk-ing*

At first I was going to call this post "Chuuk-ing it down", as we arrived to torrential rain and a presumption of crap vis, if there was to be any diving at all.

So, we got soaked on the boat ride out to the live aboard, but weather always seems to be short lived on Chuuk (allegedly it is where the weather comes from) so it was fine for the early evening dive, and what a dive. A wreck with so much of life and colour plus clear and warm water (30°C, nah, I exaggerate, it was only 29°C).

I felt euphoric, and was particularly taken by some tiny box fish which were just so cute. I don't think I was narked as it was pretty shallow and we had nitrox, but it may have been days of sleep deprivation. I wanted to stay and play for hours, but soon it was dark and their mum said it was late and that they had to go to bed. Or
something.

Anyway, "The Ghost Ships of Truk", eh? They are fantastic, and I don't generally like hunks of metal, but, well, beautifully preserved (no ransacking and little to no current) to the extent that woks are still on the cookers and spanners (some add big as me - if less fat) still in the engine rooms... And what engine rooms... Well, you get the idea.

There are wrecks for all levels, we did ones from around 15m to 50m (yes, I was a bit scared on the way down and 24 minutes of deco is just as much fun as it sounds).

As well as ships there are planes and sub's, it is truly as good as they say.

A tank on the San Francisco Maru, at 50m (ish)

* Hey, at least it is a better title than "Up Chuuk".

I'll ketchup

Chuuk was great but there was no wifi (gasp) and not even any mobile phone coverage - unless you get a "local" phone, presumably only for local people...?

Leaving the Philippines

After a week here in Small La Laguna, we are about to leave the Philippines. Have flights to Truk overnight out of Manila, so an early morning ferry to the main island and bus back to the city.

Have done some very relaxing dives here (and some not so relaxed as fighting the current) which have all been interesting. So many new species to see as well as the familiar things from Red Sea trips.

Much more hunks of metal to look at next week though.

Why the big paws?

[updated]

So, I was going to note something funny or interesting each day, oh well. My main memories of the trip so far have been:

• tiredness - from almost psychotically tired after a literally infinite, no exaggeration, amount of time packing and moving-out followed by three days of travelling and jetlag, getting never more than a couple of hours kip at a time before being awake for several more hours; to merely extremely tired after diving in this heat and so micro-sleeping at the table waiting for our food or just going to bed and falling asleep at 6pm;
• how boring BBC World is - it is just about all repeats and trails for things which might be interesting if you only knew when they would be on in my time-zone;
• and, of course the diving, which has been spectacular, with much more colour/diversity/coverage of life than the Red Sea - coral, fish and more nudibranchs than I have ever seen in total.
• [update] the variety and size of the anemones is amazing too - and the clown anenomefish, some of those mothers are just huge!

Allegedly it is the best diving in the world, oh well, off to Truk/Chuuk tomorrow and the Great Barrier Reef a couple of weeks later, so we’ll see...

Tuesday, 25 January

Nick behind barrel sponge

We have now done ten dives in the Puerto Galera area on nine different sites and are starting to feel very chilled. All really great dives with fantastic corals, varied and enormous sponges, tons of fish and loads of different nudibranchs.

Unidentified nudibranch

Started experimenting underwater with the camera today. Might just master it by the end of the four months, but at least we get shots good enough to help with identifying some of the things we've seen. Just need to find a website to find out more about corals and anemones. There's been some huge corals and anemones up to a metre across.

Another two nudibranchs

Yesterday we did three dives including a night dive - very tiring as we were fighting currents on all three. Night dive on a couple of wrecks in the bay saw a fantastic range of sealife. Also, earlier in the day, we were viciously attacked by a damsel fish - it swam up and bit both of us on the hand - Nick has a scar (maybe). Today's three were much more relaxing. The weather was a bit windy and rainy - like the UK only 20 degrees warmer - and the sea got a bit choppy, so we were limited in the sites we could get to in the boat.

Ribs at the Tamarind Restaurant

Today is the first day I've managed to stay up beyond 8pn in the evening. Not sure if the huge plate of spare ribs - the specialty of the Tamarind Bar in Sabang - helped with that!

Sunday

[Posted by ML]

Sunday morning, as the early morning sun sparkles over the bay, eating breakfast sitting by the pool.  Very relaxing.  We are staying at the Portofino Beach Resort.

Basic accommodation but we have a studio room with a kitchenette which means we can make tea and sort out quick snacks of sandwiches and fresh fruit (juicy mango and sweet bananas) between dives.

Another two dives again today - one at Sinadigan Wall and the second on the Alma Jane Wreck.  Saw this type of nudibranch on the first dive of the day - always wanted to see one of those.

After diving, we had a relaxing afternoon.  Went in the pool (though Nick only half in as it's too cold), then to Sabang for a late lunch at the Tamarind Cafe and a bit of grocery shopping.

Still feeling tired and both crashed out early evening (6pm) - now it's 2am and finished the day catching up with the Archers - usual kind of Sunday then!

First Dives of the trip

What seemed like days of traveling and getting more stressed, we final arrived at a proper destination. A tourist coach from Manila and a ferry bancal to Mindoro and the resort of Small La Laguna on Friday, but still too tired to face a dive - we could have just about got one in with the dive centre.

Got up Saturday after the first proper nights sleep, a hearty breakfast and walk into the small town for groceries and then our first two dives of the trip.

Nice gentle dives along the reef at Wreck Point and Sabang Point. Fantastic huge barrel sponges like volcanoes and at least six different types of nudibranch were some of the highlights.

Arrived in the Philippines

Eventually left Singapore on a Ryanair style flight to Manila. Taxi to the city centre and staying in the Citystate Tower Hotel.

Mostly felt like sleeping but organised where we are going tomorrow to start diving.

First stop - Singapore

Not a proper stop just 12 hours to kill before the flight to Manilla. Time to look at the Rough Guide to the Philippines to decide where to go first, have a swim in the roof top pool and get a couple of hours sleep before the overnight works started outside the transit hotel. It sounded like they were drilling a tunnel through the building!

Itinerary

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A (P)	London Heathrow
B	Singapore	19 January 2011
C (E)	Manilla	20 January 2011
D	Chuuk / Truc Lagoon	28 January 2011
E	Manilla	5 February 2011
F (H)	Sydney	16 February 2011
G	Cairns	20 February 2011
H	Sydney	28 February 2011
I	Christchurch	14 March 2011
J (L)	Auckland	Overland
K	Fiji	11 April 2011
L	Auckland	20 April 2011
M	Tahiti / French Polynesia	20 April 2011
N	Los Angeles	2 May 2011
O	San Francisco	Overland
P	London Heathrow	13 May 2011