43 replies to this topic

[chinacat46]

Scott,



I agree with Robin whether you stay at KBR or Lembeh you will have a great time as they dive the same sites and the divemasters between the two resorts probably do share everything. Also I've told you my feelings about Wakatobi and the diving there as well. I've only been once but it was awesome. In a word BRILLIANT!!! I try to hit new places but Wakatobi is a place I plan to return to again in the near future. I was there in 2004 and am thinking 2008 would be a good time to return. I was there in September and it was perfect although I've heard the water gets warmer later in the year. The food was awesome when I was at Wakatobi and they had 3 chefs one just for deserts(3 or 4 different ones each night)



Robin,



I want to hear more about your Phillipines trips. I've never been there and it is very high on my list right next to PNG and the Solomons. You can tell me about PNG as well. Where did you dive in both places? Liveaboards or landbased??



Cheers,

Chuck

[Travelnsj]

Chuck,

After seeing what I did in Timor and how you have raved about Wakatobi....That made my decision....but being Robin has been to both areas I would like to see how she compares Wakatobi to Malapascua.....

Robin you have met a couple of divers on this board who are into the type of diving you do...so we are going to pick your brain

[secretsea18]

Just saw your posts.... but have gotta go to work soon, and not enought time to answer you.... will post tomorrow.... any specific questions???

brief info over the years:
Philippines: I have been to Malapascua Exotic two times, Anilao 5 times to Club O
PNG: three times. once Febrina, twice Chertan.... overnight at Loloata (but didn't dive there)
Solomans: once on Bilikiki
Indonesia: twice Wakatobi, once to Gilimanik, Pelagian to Komodo, Adventure Komodo = Kupang to Sorong (two week trip) once to KBR

I am happy to share my experiences with you, but be aware they are my opinions only (disclaimer)

I save up my vacation and $$$ for Indo-Pacific trips. (That's how I get to go these places.) So not so many trips per year, but when I go, I am there for a couple weeks......

[Travelnsj]

Robin,

Here’s a couple of questions

Have you been to Irian Jaya area and the Sorido Resort?

Wakatobi, how do you compare to Malapascua?....I am not a big Muck diver but I really enjoyed the small stuff like Spanish Dancers, 30' sea anemones, 3' worms etc...I saw in Timor....I am to put my final deposit down on Wakatobi in a couple of weeks and can still switch to the Philippines....as I would love to see the Threshers….your “opinion" is appreciated

Chuck,

I just got a DVD of Wakatobi & Lembeh Strait……In the DVD Wakatobi looks a lot like East Timor (corals and marine life)…..but Lembeh Strait….OMG….never saw stuff like that…WOW…you are going to have a great trip…I gotta do that trip to Irian Jaya and Lembeh next year…..I’ll see what Robin says but I think you have convinced me to go to Wakatobi.

[chinacat46]

Robin,



I have some questions as well. First off what kind of diving do you like the most?(i.e. muck diving, hard coral, soft coral, wrecks, macro, pelagics, etc...). I pretty much like it all but tend towards macro and weird stuff. Which do you prefer liveaboards or land based? I'm a huge liveaboard fan but enjoy land based when there isn't a liveaboard option. When you were diving in PNG what areas did the Febrina and Chertan visit and which areas did you prefer? It appears you are a huge fan of the Philippines is Anilao your all time favorite place to go?(if not what is your fav?) What keeps bringing you back there? Where do you want to dive that you haven't been? What time of the year do you like to visit the Philippines, PNG, Solomons...

Do you worry about Malaria in any of the areas you have visited? How was the wine on AK?





Scott,



Go to the Philippines next year with SD in September and I'll meet you in Wakatobi in 2008. Of course she has been to Irian Jaya area where do you think Sorong is? But she was on a liveaboard not Sorido Resort. Scott if you go to Lembeh you will become a muck diving fan.

Edited by chinacat46, 03 November 2006 - 09:15 PM.

[Travelnsj]

Chuck,

You are too funny….Thanks for the geography lesson (I should look at maps closer)… ….Yes I would fly into Singapore to Manado and then to Sorong….well maybe she has dove around Sorido Resort area?…Robin speak up if you have.

Well if I like Wakatobi enough….I’ll go back in 2008….but like you had to do….I have to get a Job one of these days!...... I do want to go to the Philippines sometime. I heard SD is looking at the Atlantis Resorts in the Philippines…..I have a standing invitation to go to either resort by George the owner…..he was the person I was diving with on the Chuyo Maru in Palau in 2004…80’ down and about 20’ from me….George realized he dove on an empty tank …he said I gave him a new Birthday!....In talking to George he said the diving there is pretty much muck diving….so if I am headed to the Philippines, Malapascua is probably the place I will go….. you have a mixture (from what I have heard) small stuff (like Timor) and the big stuff like Palau…..Keith who is a course director and owner of Palau dive (who I have dove with the last six years with in Palau) went to somewhere south of Manila I think he called it the Batangas area....he went this year (when it slowed in Palau) he is adamant I need to go with him as he said he saw stuff he has never seen in Palau….so we have been talking about a trip there together…someday….and will further our conversation in March......If Robin cannot answer your questions, I talk to Keith a couple times a month and can ask the specific place he goes for ya.

Robin we have asked the questions....now we await your answers…..

[secretsea18]

Robin,

Have you been to Irian Jaya area and the Sorido Resort?

Wakatobi, how do you compare to Malapascua?....I am not a big Muck diver but I really enjoyed the small stuff like Spanish Dancers, 30' sea anemones, 3' worms etc...I saw in Timor....I am to put my final deposit down on Wakatobi in a couple of weeks and can still switch to the Philippines....as I would love to see the Threshers….your “opinion" is appreciated

I have only been to Irian Jaya (now called Papua) as part of an itinerary while on Adventure Komodo liveaboard. Nice coral reefs and lots of fish.

Wakatobi has a much larger number of dive sites than Malapascua. You could see the animals you mention in both. Malapascua is the only place you have a good chance of seeing threshers. If that was your most important goal of the trip, then you would have to go to Masapascua and take your chances... they are not guaranteed! After 5 or 6 dives over the two trips, I have seen the threshers, but none of them up close and have no photos of one. There is no real house reef and no 24 hurs diving.

You would see pygmy seahorses for example at both places, and actually teasonably guaranteed in Wakatobi. Wakatobi is a more luxurious dive resort. Exotic is nice but not of the same standard. Food I suspect would be better at Wakatobi. Wakatobi is probably more diverse, and you could dive the same # of dives at each. There is the house reef which is easy to dive at Wakatobi as well and I believe 24 hour diving with buddies (at least when I was there last in 2003.)

I went to Malapascua the first time, as I was already in Cebu for another purpose, and felt I did not have enough time to warrent returning to Manila and going to Anilao. I dived there 4-5 days each time. I travel on my own and never really have a problem with getting to dive my own plan... actually often the diveguide will also work to find photography subjects and that works fine for me.

That all said, I had planned to go to Balicasag Island but changed to Malapascua for my second time there at the last minute. Had a problem with making my arrangements with Balicasag, so opted for Malapascua as a second choice.

Would I go back to Malapascua. Maybe. My preference in PI so far though is Anilao and if I have enough time in springtime, that is where I would go. For other times of the year, maybe (but I somehow always have camera problems in Malapascua )

Would I go back to Wakatobi. Again Maybe. If I were reassured that there were dives other than "beautiful coral reefs", perhaps. After 30 dives on the reef, I am needing my muck and critters and dives with different types of creature diversity.

If I have the choice between Lembeh Straits, Wakatobi or Malapascua or Papua .... for me it would be a no brainer.... LEMBEH Straits would win in a heartbeat. It is all in what you want to see underwater. None of them offer much in the way of nightlife, unless you get your jollies seeing nighttime fish and creatures in the water.

Hope this helps and doesn't make it even more confusing.

Robin

[secretsea18]

Robin,

I have some questions as well. First off what kind of diving do you like the most?(i.e. muck diving, hard coral, soft coral, wrecks, macro, pelagics, etc...). I pretty much like it all but tend towards macro and weird stuff. Which do you prefer liveaboards or land based? I'm a huge liveaboard fan but enjoy land based when there isn't a liveaboard option. When you were diving in PNG what areas did the Febrina and Chertan visit and which areas did you prefer? It appears you are a huge fan of the Philippines is Anilao your all time favorite place to go?(if not what is your fav?) What keeps bringing you back there? Where do you want to dive that you haven't been? What time of the year do you like to visit the Philippines, PNG, Solomons...

Do you worry about Malaria in any of the areas you have visited? How was the wine on AK?

Scott,

Malaria prophylaxis = PNG, Solomon Isl., Eastern Indonesia
NOT in Philippines, Bali, Wakatobi
Look at CDC recommendations for the place you are going to. I never take Lariam anymore. I use Malorone.

1. I like it all, with wrecks being on the lower rungs of the popularity scale. Not that interested in the wreck itself as compared with the marine life on them. Love muck, macro, critters (the weirder the better), but also have a great love for pelagics, and sometimes do trips with pelagics as the focus (like Cocos Island).

2. Liveaboard vs landbased? It all depends on the amount of diving I can get and the boat, and what is available for the location. places like Palau = liveaboard for me. Anilao, (Batangas, PI) = landbased as I can get in as much diving, if not more, on the landbased place I go than I could on a liveaboard. Lembeh Straits = KBR or Kasawari Resort for me, no point in doing liveaboard there as the dives are all within a few minute boat ride.

3. PNG trips. Febrina was the Walindi-Fathers Reef type of itinerary in March. It was great diving. Chertan was in Milne bay and was once in May and then in June. Both places are great, but offer different likely critters to be found. And even with that, there are yearly fluctations on certain fish, like Rhinopius. When I was on Febrina, Alan said that you could barely drop anchor in Milne bay without it landing on one, but when I was there last (in 2004) we were skunked. Both boats are well run dive operations working in their areas for years (like 20 years each) both captains are experienced and know their areas like the back of your hand.

4. Anilao. Yes I have been there the most times of all destinations I have been. It has the best muck dives I have been on (well except for KBR) and the macro life is "the best". It has coral reefs, too. My diveguide friend was on our favorite muck site in September on a night dive and had a 20' whale shark swim by. Friends of mine who are experts on nudibranchs go every year and usually find unnamed and undescribed species. I also go there when I go to PI for my annual medical missions, so I can tack on a world class dive trip onto a humanitarian trip. It is in Batangas. I saw my first flamboyant cuttlefish (5 different adults and one newly hatched baby on my last visit there in March 2006.) This place is best in Feb - early May, and can be difficult to book in peak weeks.

I think that covers it all.

Robin





PS I dive at Club Ocellaris in Anilao next in Feb 2007.

Edited by secretsea18, 04 November 2006 - 02:43 PM.

[Travelnsj]

WOW....Robin....you need to publish a book.....Thanks so much for all the info......The only confusion I have is 10 days in Wakatobi....will I get bored like you....or go to Malapascua?....decisions....decisions.

Thanks again,
Scott

Edited by Travelnsj, 04 November 2006 - 03:30 PM.

[chinacat46]

Thnx Robin you rock. All these places have been on my list and you just helped reconfirm them. Anilao wasn't one I had heard of before though so extra thanks on that one. I'm into the macro stuff and love finding Nudi's. Wakatobi and Komodo had some great ones but from what you and others have said I need to get to the Philippines and PNG(Milne Bay). I think when I do PNG I may have to spend 3-4 weeks and do a liveaboard(or Tawali Resort in Milne Bay) in the two areas you mention plus the Eastern Fields on Golden Dawn. To many places and so little time



Was thinking a Malaria prophylaxis might be needed for Raja Ampat and Lembeh but was wondering if you had used one. I've never used Lariam but haven't heard good things about it's side effects from others. The only one I've ever used was Doxycycline(sp?)



You didn't mention how the wine was on AK but I guess it doesn't matter since I'll be drinking it regardless.



Scott,

Hold off on Wakatobi till 2008. We can meet there and also party in Bali before/after.

[WreckWench]

Scott,

Hold off on Wakatobi till 2008. We can meet there and also party in Bali before/after.

When in 2008? Scott says Sept/Oct is the best time. He suggests 7 days in Wakatobi and then 3-4 Days in Bali.

I'll be at DEMA next week and can book dates for a 2008 trip. When do you all want to do it?

[secretsea18]

WOW....Robin....you need to publish a book.....Thanks so much for all the info......The only confusion I have is 10 days in Wakatobi....will I get bored like you....or go to Malapascua?....decisions....decisions.

Thanks again,
Scott

Dear Scott,

I used to be "friends" with the Dive Manager at Wakatobi. Actually he was why I went back the second time, not so much the diving (as little as I wish to admit ). Anyway, they didn't have as many divesites then as they found after I had been there. I have heard of people who do no boat dives, just hte house reef, over and over again.

Unless you are dead set on seeing the thresher (AND feel lucky, as they are not seen on every dive, nor every day), then you might enjoy Wakatobi more. It all depends upon what is the most important thing for you. I suggest you look at the websites for Wakatobi and Malapascua Exotic Resort (the best place on the island) and see what they each offer. As I said Wakatobi is by far the more luxurious place with nicer accommodations and food, (also more $$).

I liked the people working in each place just fine, and in both places if you are a decent nice person, the guides will do their best to make your trip wonderful.

I have more keeper photos from Wakatobi, FWIW.

Robin

[secretsea18]

Scott,

Hold off on Wakatobi till 2008. We can meet there and also party in Bali before/after.

When in 2008? Scott says Sept/Oct is the best time. He suggests 7 days in Wakatobi and then 3-4 Days in Bali.

I'll be at DEMA next week and can book dates for a 2008 trip. When do you all want to do it?

September/October is the high season for Wakatobi. The water is warmer, and the wind has essentially stopped in Early September.

Regarding me going.... no thanks.
Robin

[secretsea18]

[quote name='chinacat46' date='Nov 4 2006, 05:02 PM' post='161241']
Anilao wasn't one I had heard of before though so extra thanks on that one. I'm into the macro stuff and love finding Nudi's. Wakatobi and Komodo had some great ones but from what you and others have said I need to get to the Philippines and PNG(Milne Bay). I think when I do PNG I may have to spend 3-4 weeks and do a liveaboard(or Tawali Resort in Milne Bay) in the two areas you mention plus the Eastern Fields on Golden Dawn. [/quote]

Anilao is not known by many divers, except for nudibranch experts, and some photographers. But is a wonderful place. Tawali is beautiful. Have not dived there but owner Rob Van Der Loos took me there for a tour while it was getting built on my last trip on Chertan (2004). It is beautiful and he says you can get to almost all of the divesites that you get on the Chertan liveaboard as they have a very fast speedboat to get you around. Golden Dawn is a good boat with a great captain, Craig Dewit. Haven't dived with him on his boat yet, but he is very fun minded.

[/quote]Was thinking a Malaria prophylaxis might be needed for Raja Ampat [/quote]

Malaria prophylaxis is mandatory for Raja Ampat area. Lariam is not recommended for divers due to side effects. Malarone is rather new (as expensive as Lariam) and without the side effects. Tetracycline is possible, but has the undesirable side effect of photosensitivity (severe sunburn) and ... not so good when at the equatorial regions.


[/quote]You didn't mention how the wine was on AK but I guess it doesn't matter since I'll be drinking it regardless.
[/quote]

Wine on board the AK. Eaglevale Winery in Margaret River Valley Australia. Owner of AK is owner of Eaglevale. I force him to bring some every time he comes to the US. It is very good and highly rated in the wine ranking guides in Australia. Definitely drinkable and very enjoyable. They have several varieties. Please promise not to drink all of it, as I go on a trip following yours next spring.

Robin

[Travelnsj]

Robin,

I am not to concerned about the accommodations. I stay at the Conrad in Singapore to Capitan Cooks in Christmas Island with no hot water! and East Timor accommodations were a little rough around the edges.....I'm mostly into the diving....AC and Hot water are two things I look for....I do want to do the Philippines and Wakatobi....So I will see where I end up in the next couple of weeks...either way I will win.....and if I do Wakatobi this year and like it enough....Chuck will have a dive buddy in 2008!....(That single supplement charge is a killer ) ......I will do the 7 day thing in 2008 and then back to Timor....really liked that place.

So that is why Wakatobi is so booked so far in advance for Sept/Oct.

Thanks again for all the info.
Scott

Edited by Travelnsj, 04 November 2006 - 05:18 PM.