Posts Tagged ‘sites’

going to New Mexico for vacation, anyone recommend and sites or camping areas? Thanks!?

The best dive sites in Bali

The best dive sites in Bali.

By Dive Around Bali.

Detailed information on the best dive sites around Bali per region..

Nusa Penida & Nusa Lembongan:

Toyapakeh: A very nice underwater topography made up of great coral boulders and pillars. The fish life is excellent and the deeper areas offer chance encounters with mola mola and other pelagics. Clear and simple, a great Bali dive site!

Gamat Bay: The water of this tiny bay is always crystal clear, and the reef, a steep, rugged slope leading up into the bay, is exceedingly rich in hard and soft corals and fish life. On a bright day this reef simply glows.

Like other sites of Peneeda, currents can be tricky here. Unfortunally, the surface often looks like a washing machine, even if it is just fine under water.

Crystal Bay: There is a white sandy base to the reef, covered with anemones and soft corals. Following the north side of the bay into the corner, at a depth of 12 metres there is a cave, which opens to the sky that has bats asleep in it. Most of the time there are reef sharks inside the cave. From the bat cave continue following the wall (the reef is not particularly rich) looking out for lobsters that have made their home in the hard coral. The bay is vulnerable to swell, creating up and down currents. When the current is present there is the opportunity to see white tip sharks, leopard sharks, mantas and eagle rays.

SD and Ped: These two sites are also extremely popular for their steep walls and prolific marine life. Drift diving along the steep sloped coral encrusted wall with sponges, hard and soft corals, gorgonians and myriad reef fish is awesome. Larger pelagics such as barracuda, tuna and jacks often put in an appearance here.

Malibu Point:?The dive site is small and often tricky to dive if currents are strong but it is one of the better places to see sharks. Also big dogtooth tuna, rainbow runners and mackerel to be found at this spot.

Blue Corner on the northwest of Nusa Lembongan is a very popular drift dive location. The current can be strong here and can try to pull you downwards. The dive starts east off the point where the lighthouse is. Descend to the slope that starts at 10 metres where you are swept in a drift towards the corner in a westerly direction. At the corner there is a vertical wall with a depth of around 30 metres plus. The main reason to dive this site is because ocean sunfish can be seen here from April to September, but there are marble rays, eagle rays and other pelagics. This is big boy country.

Manta point: The name says it all… This is a limestone rock off the southwest coast of Nusa Penida. The above water scenery is dramatic with limestone cliffs that descend straight into the ocean. This is the place for the big manta’s, but if the manta’s are not present, there is noting much to see accept your buddy. Swells can be really big here, so this site has to be dived at the right time.

Amuk Bay: Candi Dasa & Padangbai:

Tepekong: Dive site The Canyon is a striking structure of angular black boulders. Explore the canyon you’ll be able to see an area with huge schools of sweetlips, batfish, snapper, bumphead parrotfish, unicornfish and big-eyed trevally, all of which can nearly fill the canyon. Sharks are relatively common in this area, usually white tip reef sharks and sightings of Mola Mola is possible. It is very rare not to have a current here. (note: this site can ONLY be dived under good conditions, it is probably one of the most exiting sites in Bali but probably also the most dangerous one. It is nicknamed “the toilet”.)

Mimpang: is remarkably varied, combining wall and sloping reefs. The reefs here are amongst of the richest in the whole of Bali, (reminding of the famous sites of southern Komodo and Rinca). The fish life exceptional, including schooling fish, lots of sharks, and even Molas. A very fine diving area.

Gili Biaha: This tiny island is one of the most beautiful of the Amuk Bay sites. A steep drop-off reef, nicely fissured and terraced in places, rings most of the island. There are fascinating smaller species as cuttlefish, octopus, nudibranch, and rich soft corals, gorgonians, and black corals, many with commensals.

The Blue Lagoon is the location that less experienced divers are usually taken to first, as the dive  sites in this area are generally much less exposed to the strong currents   experienced at the other sites. However, don’t let this fool you into   thinking that this is a second rate area – it’s not. with healthy  bommies and  terrific  general marine life. More of a macro than a wide angle area, there are frogfish, leaf scorpion fish, moray eels, scorpion & stone fish,  blue spotted stingrays and lots of nudibranchs. Blue Lagoon is popular with   tourists from Candi Dasa who go there to snorkel.  The more correct name for the area is Tanjung Sari and there are a number of sites to dive, not just the bay in front of the resort. The relative lack of currents and maximum depths of around 1-18m offer a pleasant combination of an uncomplicated dive site but with plenty to see.

Amed:

Amed walls: These sites are actually reef slopes combined with walls at the two sites of quiet idyllic Jemeluk bay. Incredibly rich in fish life and always a possibility for pelagic around. Trevally, dogtooth tuna, spanish mackerel, eagle ray, cruise amongst swarms of smaller reef fish above a gorgonian and barrel sponges covered reef slope and wall that drops to 60 metres.

There is also a delightful easy dive on old artificial reefs that where put there by the local villagers. Early proof of how well very simple artificial reef structures work. These are just concrete pyramids, about three metres high, but have a dense coral coverage and attract an astonishing amount of reef fish and act as nurseries.

Bunutan: This dive site is something special, but has as most important feature the most hallucinating amount of fish imaginable. Clouds of banner fish, surgeon fish and redtooth trigger fish surround you and actually block your view of the reef. Stingrays are everywhere. Cruising white tip sharks and great barracuda are always there. The start of the dive before you descent to 30 meter where there is a deep reef, is in shallow water at a sandy bottom where you swim trough the biggest field of garden eels you will ever see. There are thousands of them. Then there is the big fish show while you drift with the current for a while before you arrive for the last portion on a very rich hard coral reef flat.

Deep Blue: From here on the exploration diving of Amed starts. This dive site is only dived by a very few local dive operators. You will likely be the only divers here. This a drift dive with an amazing diversity and number of fish. Sharks are also relatively common.

Japanese wreck: A little bay where the wreck lies of a small steel freighter. It rests in very shallow water and is nicely encrusted with gorgonians and black coral bushes. The actual dive site is the reef next to the wreck and is also very rich with soft corals, gorgonians and sponges and shallow fields of staghorn and table corals. It makes a calm wonderful dive, although this dive site is very easily affected by visibility.

Gili Selang: This little island looks like it just broke away from the mainland. This is a very nice dive site and covered everywhere with soft corals – probably the healthiest corals in Bali – but also a lot of fish and a good chance to find turtles, bumphead parrotfishes, tunas and whitetip reef sharks. You dive in a very current-swept area, so this dive is only for experienced divers.

Kafe Garam: Amed has some very decent muck-diving that is rarely visited and we would like to keep it that way. You dive from the beach on very fine gray volcanic sand and among purposely-dropped rubbish. Ghost pipefish and mimic octopus, stonefish and even the Ambon scorpion fish can be found here.

Tulamben:

US Liberty Wreck: the federal shipbuilding company in Kearny, New Jersey built The Liberty. She was 120 meters long, 17 meters in beam, drafted 7.3 meters and grossed 6.211 tons powered by a 2500 horsepower steam turbine engine. Early in the morning of January 11th 1942, the Liberty was motoring across the Lombok Strait, bringing war material from Australia to the Philippines. At 4.15 am the ship was torpedoed by the Japanese submarine I-166. Although crippled by the blow, the Liberty did not sink. Two destroyers tried to tow the ship toward Singaraja where it was hoped she could be repaired, however the ship was taking in too much water so she was beached at Tulamben. Over the coming year anything of value was removed.

In 1963, Bali’s highest and most holy mountain, Gunung Agung, erupted creating a powerful earthquake that rolled the ship in to deeper water and broke her at the bow and stern. The Liberty now lies almost parallel to the beach, the shallowest part of the wreck touches the sandy slope at 7-9 meters and the deepest part is at 28-30 meters. It’s a lovely, easy wreck dive that is popular for photographers as it is totally encrusted in anemones, gorgonians and corals. Tulamben’s black sand provides an excellent colour contrast for the incredible variety of marine life. It’s quite difficult to list what you will see on this dive because you will come across just about everything in any Indo-Pacific reef guidebook. The variety is amazing with minute angelfish, nudibranchs, pipefish and gobies through to the areas of garden eels, huge schools of big-eyed trevally, sweetlips, batfish, butterflyfish set against hard coral, black corals, sponges and sea fans. Current is rarely present and at most it will be mild. The wreck is great for night dives, particularly if the moon is full. You may see Spanish dancers, flashlight fish, or sleeping parrotfish and will notice the different behaviour of marine life compared to the daytime.

Drop-off: The Drop Off is an old lava flow from Mount Agung leading out from a temple onshore. It is located at the opposite end of the bay from the wreck. The dive starts off on a steep sandy slope with nudibranchs, flounder and shrimp (be careful with your fins) at 10 metres. There are big sponges with many varieties of shrimp and lionfish and continuing to the right, the slope develops into a reef with very impressive topography, becoming a vertical wall from 15 metres and descending to below 60 metres. The wall has nice, craggy structure and is exceedingly rich. At a depth of 28 metres you will find a sea fan that is almost 2 metres across.

Octopus, Bumphead parrotfish, scorpion fish etc. Are all quiet common here.

Batu Kelibit: Just around the corner from Tulamben bay, this beautiful site consists of steep, coral covered ridges separated by valleys of bright white sand. The best site in the area to see big animals.

Coral Garden: Just in the front of Tulamben resort in 5- 12 metres of water is a delightfully rich little patch reef, which is dominated by hard coral, including some large table and fire corals, interspersed with anemones and sponges. There is a little bit of everything here. Blue ribbon eels are a very easy find here. The black sand slope to the deep makes an interesting area for good critter findings. It also is an excellent night dive.

Seraya secrets: Notorious muck diving site with seahorse, frogfish, harlequin shrimp and a great number of nudibranch species.

Kubu is a small fishing village north of Tulamben that is very rarely dived but is becoming justly more popular. There are two dive sites and the coral reef is extremely rich with an abundance of fish life.

There is more diving in Batu Niti that lies about half a kilometer to the east. Batu Niti is a volcanic ridge with a lava flow that drops into the sea. Exploration diving!

Menjangan:

Garden Eel point: is one of the more popular dive sites where coral growth is healthiest. Longnose hawkfish can be found on the gorginians here and whitetip sharks are often seen on the sandy bottom at around 35 meters. The garden eel colony is on a slope in roughly 20 meters of water.

Pos II (park service guard post), off Menjangan’s most southeasterly point, is usually done as a drift dive in the gentle current along the wall. An explosion of colour from the wall of soft coral can be seen here and thermoclines are present where upwellings of cold waters from the deep are met. This often brings in bigger visitors such as mantas and sharks. Just west of Pos II are a couple of caves at around 18 meters that are worth a look.

The Anker Wreck: This wreck is actually named for the anchor that still lies about 6-8 meters from the surface. Follow the anchor chain down the steep slope to the flattened remains of the shipwreck at 35 – 50 meters, which lie across about 60 meters of sand. The Anker is a 25 metre long 19th century wooden ship, that carried ceramics and copper, parts of which can still be seen across the site.

Further Away, North Bali muck-diving:

Secret Bay is located approximately 3.5 hours drive from the south in a small bay called Teluk Gilimanuk where the ferries from Java dock. It is about 2 km across and very shallow with most of it less than five metres deep. Gilimanuk Bay is the only bay off the narrow Bali Strait, where currents can reach 7 knots. This means that it acts as a catch tank for many larval fish and other plankton sweeping between Java and Bali.

Be prepared – you are diving on fine black and gray volcanic sand and rubble and not on a coral reef! This place is a great place for the rare and unusual. On offer are a number of rare jewels for the macro photographer including gobies, frogfish, dragonets, nudibranchs, seahorses, juvenile Batavia batfish and many other organisms.

Night diving at Secret Bay is a truly magnificent experience! You will see some unique creatures that you won’t see on the day dive. This is a shallow dive site with no rich coral growth and limited weed and coral beds. The water can be cold and visibility can be very low due to the dark mud/sand bottom.

Puri Jati (PJ): A relatively new dive site for muckdiving lying west of Pemuteran.

You dive from the beach on very fine gray volcanic sand and some seaweed similar to Seraya, Gilimanuk or Lembeh. There are snails, slugs and seahares and even frogfish among the seaweed. You reach a large flat area with sea grass. There are coconut octopuses, hiding in burrows made with shells and pieces of rubbish. On this flat area (6-10m) you also find seahorses, several types of eels, flying gurnard and with good eyes, some hidden scorpionfishes, mostly lionfishes but also the rare Ambon scorpionfish.

There is also a small river close by where you can take a dip.

For more information on your dive holiday in Bali feel free to contact me at Dive Around Bali.

Michel De Ruyck

DIVE SITES & DIVING AMBERGRIS CAYE BELIZE

DIVE SITES & DIVING AMBERGRIS CAYE BELIZE

Diving Ambergris Caye can be an exhilarating experience when you Dive the islands best dive sites.

This small article will educate you on what dives you will want to be sure to Dive when you Dive Belize, I will list some of the very best dives and some of my own personal favorites that you should include when you visit and dive the island of Ambergris Caye.

No matter where you stay on the island (see my other articles) you should be able to dive all the dive sites I list here.

HAPPY HOURS REEF North Ambergris Caye

Located North of San Pedro Because this site is a little out of the way of most dive operators it gets dived very seldom, which means lots of fish life and no signs of damage caused by divers. We particularly like this site as it has a lot of barrel sponges and is wonderful for macro photography due to the abundant small critters found at this site. Another observation we made at this site is at a certain time of the year we have noticed the coral spawning. This site is currently being studied by Professors from Texas AM University and is part of ongoing studied for the year of the reef..

Experience required: intermediate

Depth: 60-80ft

Location: North Ambergris Caye

Type of Dive: Boat

LOVE TUNNELS North Ambergris Caye

This site is located north of San Pedro and the site got its name as a couple got married in the mouth of this huge tunnel. At a depth of 60ft we swim through the tunnel that comes out on the edge of the drop off at approx. 90ft, due to the unseen approach we have spotted many large pelagic cruising the drop-off, as we exit the tunnel.

As we swim along the drop off you see many varieties of hard and soft corals and the usual juveniles and groupers that are abundant in these waters.

At all times you can see the surface as we swim through the caverns and it is quite safe for all levels of experience, as we near the end of our dive we enter another small cavern that takes us to our exit point, a real exciting dive that ‘s a favorite with our visitors.

Experience required: intermediate

Depth: 60-80ft

Location: North Ambergris Caye

Type of Dive: Boat

M&M CAVERNS North Ambergris Caye

Located north of San Pedro town lies M & M Caverns one of Ambergris Caye’s best cavern dives. The underwater topography is deep spur and groove formations formed by the wave action over thousands of years. It is literally riddled with swim through and tunnels.

As you descend down to 90ft you see a small entrance going up through the reef as you enter you see a small light at the end of the tunnel about 40ft away, it is an awesome feeling as you swim literally through the reef to come out at 60ft then enter another, a totally different dive that’s always a hit with our visiting divers.

Experience required: advanced

Depth: 90-120ft

Location: North Ambergris Caye

Type of Dive: Boat

CYPRUS GARDENS South Ambergris Caye

This is an excellent site for all types of coral species, such as huge Pillar Corals, Elkhorn, Staghorn corals and very abundant with small reef fish and critters. Located in 50ft of water, this has long been one of my favorite sites for the sheer quality of the coral formations and the superb Macro photo opportunities. This site focuses on smaller marine life associated with coral reef and is sure to be a hit with visiting divers not to be missed.

Experience required: novice

Depth: 50-70ft

Location: South Ambergris Caye

Type of Dive: Boat

HOL CHAN MARINE RESERVE PILLAR CORALS South Ambergris

Hol-Chan Marine Reserve 5 square miles of protected habitat, makes for some great diving. One of our favorites is Pillar Coral, a 60ft dive with some wonderful Pillar coral formations, great for photography as during this dive there are resident grouper and Snappers that will follow you throughout the dive. It’s easy to position them around the Pillar corals giving the opportunity for some great pictures.

The site is protected and nothing dead or alive may be removed, gloves are not allowed to be worn in the marine reserve and there is entrance fee to the park which is used to maintain the buoys and fund the ongoing research conducted at Hol-Chan marine reserve.

Experience required: novice

Depth: 60-70ft

Location: South Ambergris Caye

Type of Dive: Boat

HOL CHAN MARINE RESERVE THE CUT South Ambergris

Another great site, this is a cut that allows passage through the Belize barrier reef to the open sea. Starting at 8ft and sloping down to a maximum of 25ft, this is an underwater wonderland with literally thousands of fish, including huge groupers and the biggest snappers you have ever seen.

As you enter the cut there are a variety of small caves which hide huge Moray Eels over 6ft in length. Because this park is in a protected area the animal life is abundant. At the buoy, which marks the maximum you may enter into the channel, there is a small swim through cave which usually has a giant Dog Snapper lurking in the back part of the swim, though he casually watches as you swim through. A very scary looking fellow showing his big teeth, but the slightest movement toward him and he’s off.

This site is used as our primary night dive spot. At night it is totally different: lobsters, giant spider crabs, Stingrays, and on many occasions the odd lemon Shark has passed through. All in all this is one of the best sites for marine life found anywhere in the Caribbean.

Experience required: Intermediate due to strong current

Depth: 30ft

Location: South Ambergris Caye

Type of Dive: Boat

EAGLE RAY CANYONS HOL CHAN

This site although not new has recently become known for regular sightings of spotted Eagle Rays. I recently dove this spot with some friends from Rodale,s Magazine. Steve, one of the dive masters, was guiding the dive and during his briefing guaranteed that we were going to see Eagle Rays, and was quite adamant about it. I asked him if he was sure because we now had some excited divers aboard who were expecting to see Eagle Rays and they would be disappointed if they didn’t. Steve assured me and down we went, sure enough after 15 minutes we saw our first 3 Eagle Rays, 5 minutes later we saw an additional 5 a lot closer this time. In addition to the Eagle Rays, lots of coral formations, spur and groove formation and the usual congregation of juveniles.

This is a Marine Reserve so nothing may be touched or taken, we ask that you are careful with your fins and avoid accidentally touching the reef. If you feel you would like to improve your buoyancy, we will be happy to assist you.

Experience required: Intermediate due to strong current

Depth: 60-80ft

Location: South Ambergris Caye

Type of Dive: Boat

AMIGOS BARGE HOL CHAN

One of my favorite sites, and fantastic for photography, is the wreck of an old barge located in 70ft of water in front of Shark Alley. It was sunk by Amigo’s Del Mar, a local dive operator and is named after them.

As you descend, you are literally surrounded by big groupers, lots and lots of Snappers and GUARANTEED Nurse Sharks. Unlike Shark Ray Alley, where it is only 8ft deep, at the wreck you will be able to get a shark silhouette shot and some great close-ups guaranteed, plus some amazing eye to eye encounters with some big groupers. Its amazing that this wreck has abundant marine life and is covered with coral growth.

This is definitely one of Ambergris Cayes best dives. The Wreck is now located in the marine reserve we ask that you conform to the marine reserve guidelines on all dives conducted in the waters of Belize to preserve and protect our resources for future visitor

Experience required: Intermediate

Depth: 60-80ft

Location: South Ambergris Caye

Type of Dive: Boat

SHARK RAY ALLEY HOL CHAN

This is not a Dive Site but I thought I would include it as it is unique and usually included as a surface interval stop so you can snorkel with the sharks and rays.

This is an unbelievable snorkel site similar to Caymans Stingray City except we have in addition to the resident Stingrays, 15 to 20 Nurse Sharks which means double the action. Located south of Hol-Chan Marine reserve, in only 8ft of water, this spectacular site is the only site in the world where you can interact with both Stingrays and Nurse Sharks.

So unique is this site it attracted the attention of Jean Michel Cousteau and Skindiver magazine, who have featured it on the cover page of Skindiver in 2 issues. Jean Michel told me that they are all female juveniles and it is most likely a nursing ground and kept in the area from years of fishermen cleaning their catch and discarding the scraps to the sharks.

Most dive operators offer a complimentary stop at Shark Alley during surface interval the opportunity for photography is endless.

The Nurse Sharks and Stingrays steal the show but the coral formations and other fish life is worth a mention. I visited Shark Ray Alley many times before I discovered the superb coral formations and dense fish populations. Remember to check them out when you visit Shark Ray Alley.

I hope this short article will give you an idea of some of the excellent dives on offer when you dive Ambergris Caye. Be sure to visit my website for additional articles on Diving Belize

Dive Safe

Gaz Cooper

NY Lists State Parks, Historic Sites Set To Close

NY Lists State Parks, Historic Sites Set To Close
More than a third of state parks and nearly a half of historic sites would be closed or have reduced services in the next fiscal year under a recommendation from parks officials to help combat New York’s $8.2 billion budget deficit. The Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation said Friday it’s also proposing $4 million in fee increases. It didn’t specify which areas would be …

Read more on WCBS-TV New York

Vacation trip from Nevada to Syracuse, NY and two weeks go what are some sites to see in between?

Looking for natural as well as original man made wonders. Not really interested in night life. I have been to the Thousand Islands, Niagara Falls, Chittenango Falls, and seen the Statue of liberty. I been to Lake Tahoe. We drove the 3000 miles from NY to NV in 05 in our move out now want to go back and see what we couldn’t in a 2 1/2 days drive.
I lived in ny so I know how pretty fall is and that and i’m not interested in winerys. I lived in NY for 31 yrs I’m interested in whats there to see in the US.