March 2008 |
we were promised sharks on every dive and it delivered,manta rays,eagle rays,huge huge tuna,the vis on our first dive there at shark airport was forever,a very special place indeed
Date posted: 27-Mar-2008 18:21 by: jasonleejay1968 |
May 2007 |
Awesome diving, I was on the Borneo Explorer. There were some cockroaches on the boat but it wasn't entirely infested. Try the Palau Explorer if bugs bother you. The crew was awesome though.
Date posted: 27-May-2007 07:23 by: divergirl |
May 2004 |
The reefs were endless!! We were drifting for over 60min following the terrain of the walls, and never ran out of reef. When it was time to do our safety stops, we simply drifted over the top of the reefs, still endless. There were reef sharks and turtles on every dive that we lost count. There were also big schools of snappers, jacks, and huge sweetlips.
The other dive group with us dove 35m and saw hammerhead sharks and whale sharks at that level. We could hear dolphins while we were diving but they didn't come near us. Once on our way to a dive site, we crossed paths with a dolphin pod. We weren't given an opportunity to identify their variety.
We saw an eagle ray, and another big one that we can't find in any fish ID book or in the internet. It was thick bodied, more rounded at the edges of the wings, the tail was short and stubby, though it didn't seem that any injury was inflicted on it. There were normally numerous manta sightings and hardly any whale shark sightings; and during the time we were there, no mantas.. it's possible that the whale sharks were eating all their food in the immediate area during that time. There were 1-2 juveniles and an adult. It's possible that a mother chose Tubbataha to give birth and raise her young there then.
The topography is the top of the reef ends at about 3m, so there is really no part of it breaking surface. Then it walls all the way down, with ledges at about 20m, and again at around 35m and so on. At 20m water, you can see the creatures up to 45m below: more sharks, big tuna... The clarity of the water is such that at 18m of water, you look up and think that you are only 9m from the surface.
During this time of year, the waters are flat, most mornings they were as still as glass, that it was almost sinful to break the surface to get underwater.
The reefs are in good condition, not too colorful but healthy enough. There was a time 15 years ago that dynamite fishing was done in the area, and you still see evidence of it in some locations where you have young coral growth over coral rubble. But this is now where you see a lot of sharks resting on the rubble.
The only way to dive Tubbataha is by liveaboard: it is 8 hours away at decent speed from the nearest habitable land.
It's sunny and dry at the times its open.
The main write-up above is erroneous: the dive season for Tubbataha is end of March - early June. You will get more unpredictable weather nearer the start and end of the season.
Date posted: 06-Sep-2005 08:06 by: Pinky |
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