Snorkelling round the world
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Here are some of my favourite spots and marine life:
1 - Maldives - Top spot with an unmeasurable variety of fish. I was lucky enough to have nine manta rays float gently past me, in
Here are some of my favourite spots and marine life:
1 - Maldives - Top spot with an unmeasurable variety of fish. I was lucky enough to have nine manta rays float gently past me, in co-ordinated flying motion, mouths wide open. Also, schools of dolphins -hundreds strong - performing jumping acrobatics perfectly executed at sunset. If you are planning to head that way, islands that have house reefs are best and you could also be lucky enough to see whale sharks and turtles too. There are too many reefs to visit in one trip and some have many sharks, if you are screamish try to avoid Shark Reef (the clue is in the name...). The waters are medium temperature, at times with a lot of plankton (hence the marine life!).
2 - South Pacific (Tonga, Cooks Islands, Fiji etc) - Much colder waters and you will need a wetsuit, deep trenches in the ocean floor, especially near Tonga where humpback whales floated past just like big juggernauts...making me feel like so insignificant and in complete awe. Rarotonga has some good spots but near the reef channels the currents are pretty fast. Aitutaki has some giant clams worth a look and Fiji has so many beautiful islands it is difficult to find a favourite!
3 - Barrier reef (Auz) - lots of fish, so many reefs to choose from my best option was to use a live aboard to visit several spots. A bit too commercialised at times but then easy enough to organise and find a good deal. Terrifying giant barracudas with razorsharp teeth and a very intimidating stare! Other colourful small reef fish and the usual white/black tip reef sharks. Brain corals, Fire Coral and lots of fans but in places blanched out due to warming waters so check reports before selecting your reefs if you want to see colourful sites.
Next places in the wishlist are Madagascar Reef and Baja California.
A word of warning: Over the years I have seen many tourists touching reefs and marine life (particularly the turtles). The message is simple, touch nothing and respect the environment, it is too fragile to survive otherwise.
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