I haven't been diving for a couple of months, and today I was determined to practice my underwater photography. I was pretty pleased with the results. I still have heaps to learn, but these are a big step forward.
06 December, 2008
04 December, 2008
Coral Garden as far as the eye can see - Kombuana Island
To the west of a small island in the Solomon Islands hides a magnificent coral garden which is rarely visited by scuba divers. Before you can enjoy this treasure of the deep, you need to gain permission from the customary owners.
Kombuana Island is to the north-western end of the Florida Group of islands. It is about an hour by dive boat from Maravagi Resort, which is the closest tourist accommodation to this hidden gem. Kombuana Island is inhabited by a small village. Outsiders are required to pay a Kastom Fee to be allowed to dive on their reef. To pay the Kastom Fee, one anchors in shallow water as close to shore as the tide and your vessel will allow.
The Chief of the village will come to the shore to meet you. You can tell him apart from the other villagers as he will be the best dressed. When you request permission to dive on his reef, he will tell you how much Kastom fee you need to pay per diver. It is a good idea to keep your cash hidden until you actually pay, as the fee requested may increase if you appear to be able to pay more.
Don’t try to cheat and dive for free. The village has several canoes, and the Chief and the village men will come out to ask for the money. There is no industry on tiny Kombuana Island, and the rare diving party is one of the few sources the village has for earning cash to buy things they cannot make, and must buy in shops. Cash is needed for relative luxuries as kerosene to light lamps at night.
The dive is worth the effort of this little side track.
The dive starts with a wall, at whatever depth you plan. The wall is covered with fan corals, soft corals and small, brightly coloured reef fish. Ensure you look out into the blue, as curious black tipped reef sharks will cruise past to see what strange creatures have invaded their domain. The crevices in the wall are home to numerous sea creatures and provide many opportunities for underwater photographers with their macro lenses set.
Divers usually use the time for their safety stop to spend a few minutes exploring the reef shallows. With this dive it is recommended to keep half your tank to explore the coral garden in the shallows between the wall and the shore of the island.
As you ascend above the wall you are met with a view of picturesque coral garden as far as the eye can see. You can drift slowly above the coral, exploring the coral and sea life for over half an hour and still have more coral garden to explore.
The coral appears to have been arranged as in a formal garden, with large expanses of corals from the same family clumped together, separated by a shallow valley from the next clump of corals from a different family. Hidden in the valleys and between corals are numerous giant clams, their shells open to reveal the almost neon coloured molluscs inside. As you raise your head from the corals to look around, large hump head parrot fish saunter slowly past, parading their brilliant blue and green livery.
At the end of the dive, you will have a large collection of photos to add to your dive log, and to share with your dive buddies who were not lucky enough to enjoy this unique dive.
Kombuana Island is to the north-western end of the Florida Group of islands. It is about an hour by dive boat from Maravagi Resort, which is the closest tourist accommodation to this hidden gem. Kombuana Island is inhabited by a small village. Outsiders are required to pay a Kastom Fee to be allowed to dive on their reef. To pay the Kastom Fee, one anchors in shallow water as close to shore as the tide and your vessel will allow.
The Chief of the village will come to the shore to meet you. You can tell him apart from the other villagers as he will be the best dressed. When you request permission to dive on his reef, he will tell you how much Kastom fee you need to pay per diver. It is a good idea to keep your cash hidden until you actually pay, as the fee requested may increase if you appear to be able to pay more.
Don’t try to cheat and dive for free. The village has several canoes, and the Chief and the village men will come out to ask for the money. There is no industry on tiny Kombuana Island, and the rare diving party is one of the few sources the village has for earning cash to buy things they cannot make, and must buy in shops. Cash is needed for relative luxuries as kerosene to light lamps at night.
The dive is worth the effort of this little side track.
The dive starts with a wall, at whatever depth you plan. The wall is covered with fan corals, soft corals and small, brightly coloured reef fish. Ensure you look out into the blue, as curious black tipped reef sharks will cruise past to see what strange creatures have invaded their domain. The crevices in the wall are home to numerous sea creatures and provide many opportunities for underwater photographers with their macro lenses set.
Divers usually use the time for their safety stop to spend a few minutes exploring the reef shallows. With this dive it is recommended to keep half your tank to explore the coral garden in the shallows between the wall and the shore of the island.
As you ascend above the wall you are met with a view of picturesque coral garden as far as the eye can see. You can drift slowly above the coral, exploring the coral and sea life for over half an hour and still have more coral garden to explore.
The coral appears to have been arranged as in a formal garden, with large expanses of corals from the same family clumped together, separated by a shallow valley from the next clump of corals from a different family. Hidden in the valleys and between corals are numerous giant clams, their shells open to reveal the almost neon coloured molluscs inside. As you raise your head from the corals to look around, large hump head parrot fish saunter slowly past, parading their brilliant blue and green livery.
At the end of the dive, you will have a large collection of photos to add to your dive log, and to share with your dive buddies who were not lucky enough to enjoy this unique dive.
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