Humpbacks Whales, Shark Rodeos, Monk Seals, Giant Octopuses

Travel reports from our readers are of great value. As a subscriber, you can access them anytime to help you plan a trip. Occasionally, I pull out a few unique reports to discuss unusual issues or alert you to diving opportunities you may not have considered. Here are a few I think may interest you.

Concierge Diving: Just about every serious dive operator these days cheerfully totes gear and helps people don it, making it easy for them. After all, it's an aging clientele, and they're paying good money. So, it's not hard to understand why Feney Matthews' group (Point Richmond, CA) was disappointed with Bonaire's DIVI Flamingo Beach Resort in April. "Bare-bones help; they make you carry all your dive gear, including weights, on and off the boat each day. The divemasters did very little; some never showed you anything underwater, and there was no help getting on or off the boat or with the tank setup. This type of non-concierge diving is fine for budget or new divers, but for our group, help would have been appreciated." https://tinyurl.com/2xrxz789

I checked DIVI's website. "DIVI has always promoted divers to be self-reliant when setting up or tearing down their dive gear, to maintain dive skills. However, due to COVID-19 concerns, any guest requiring assistance with gear or getting into or out of the water should have a designated "dive buddy."

I understand why divers should set up their own gear, but requiring them to carry all of it on and off the boat or not lending a helping hand to get on to the boat has nothing to do with self-reliance. I'm sure some folks believe that if you can't tote your gear, you shouldn't be diving. However, some divers have disabilities, and many older divers would appreciate a hand and should get one. The way Americans tip these days, a surly dive staff is leaving money on the table.

Belize: I'm fond of the small dive resorts on Belize's cayes and have willingly suffered through two-hour wet rides back and forth, biting bugs, and shortages of rum, or boat parts, because of their distance from the mainland. They're intimate and friendly, with plenty of good diving. Isla Marisol Resort is one of those getaways as Don Buswell-Charkow (Anna Maria, FL) found last May, 15 years after his first visit. "The diving was very good, but now the reef and fish are down a bit, but that is our experience throughout the Caribbean. We certainly had a good time. Every meal comes out from the kitchen looking like a piece of art! If you like diving but consider yourself a foodie, go to Isla Marisol." islamarisolresort.com

Blackbird Resort is another of those little places, and Peter O'Shaughnessy's (Cincinnati, OH) group was there in September and had one of those uncomfortable boat rides, inadequate air conditioning in some cottages, and had to fly back to the mainland for an extra fee, but "the food was plentiful and very good." It's a seasoned dive staff, and "the reef is healthy, the sponges and soft corals are spectacular, while nurse and reef sharks remain 'on the payroll.' A threesome of nurse sharks swim with divers and even lay down in the sand to have their heads scratched. . . .We saw sharks, turtles, and morays on nearly every dive and spotted eagle rays and large loggerhead turtles. A pod of dolphins swam under the boat, and everyone was back in the water to interact with them. Tremendous schools of horse-eye jacks, blue tangs, French grunts, French and gray angels, queen triggers, scrawled and orange spotted filefish." One just has to accept the inconveniencies of these little out-island resorts and appreciate the benefits of isolation. www.blackbirdresort.com

Next year, consider snorkeling with humpbacks in Tonga as Michael Bahr (Edina, MN) did last month. "Everything we had was as expected. It was a full two days of travel and worth it. Sandy Beach Resort has 12 beachfront bungalows. The food was good. On the first day, we spotted several humpbacks. Rules were that you could travel no faster than 8 knots/hour. If the whales leave, you can follow three times, but not a fourth. The adults are 40-50 feet long and weigh 40,000-65,000 pounds. The whales stopped, and we slipped into the water and snorkeled to them. It was fantastic to be so close to these surreal animals. Many had calves with them, and the babies were curious. We got within 8-10 feet. We stayed out for 6 hours. We also witnessed a heat run where the male humpbacks were chasing a female. There was a lot of breaching and fin slapping." www.sandybeachtonga.com

Fiji's Coral Coast Divers sports one of the better shark-watching dives anywhere. Robert Pecoraro (Kailua Kona, HI) visited them in August and said, "We had four days of diving beautiful reefs and two days of shark diving. They gave us a detailed safety briefing and guided everyone at the shark dive site in a well-regimented manner. Once we were in place, multiple safety divers kept watch. We saw tons of large bull sharks, nurse sharks, a silvertip, and a few blacktips. A giant grouper hung around on all the dives together with schools of snappers. The reef dives in Beqa Lagoon had loads of schooling anthiases on both soft and hard corals. A sight to behold." coralcoastdivers.com

Volivoli Beach Resort is a favorite of Undercurrent readers. Richard Thomas (Carrollton, TX) said of his October trip, "The resort is perched on a steep hillside, offering breathtaking views. The attentive crew even went the extra mile to assist older divers with gear, carrying it in and out of the water. The reef's health, vibrancy, and fish diversity left me constantly impressed. The underwater pinnacles, adorned with colorful fans, hard corals, and teeming schools of fish, never ceased to amaze our group. I recommend bringing fins suited for strong currents, as we encountered a few dives where larger fins would have been beneficial." www.volivoli.com

Sadly, the coral is not doing well at the Cousteau Resort. Marcy Levine (San Anselmo, CA), there in September, said that "17 years ago, the diving was spectacular, even on the local reefs. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case. There was devastation from Cyclone Winston in 2016. Savasavu Bay had tons of rubble and few large fish. The exception is Namena Preserve, where the soft corals are incredible. The Cousteau Resort is terrific still. The accommodation is understated luxury, and the food was excellent." www.fijiresort.com

Kauai is a lovely island, great for hiking, with lots of fish (but drab coral), but what is especially enticing is the island of Ni'ihua, which has 70 full-time residents, and tourists are not allowed. Rough seas make trips infrequent, but Frank Postillion (Tucson, AZ) braved "the 17-mile and more difficult 1.5-hour return trip with Explore Kauai Scuba in September. Our first dive gave us 100-plus feet of visibility and nice walls and topography. Monk seals came up to our boat and then visited us underwater, so curious and unafraid; an 8-foot gray reef shark wanted to find out more about us. The coral was sparse but healthy, and many endemic fish surrounded us. Our second dive, Ni'hau Arches, was a series of lava tubes and caverns with some screaming drift. Orange cup corals, lobsters, octopus, and, in the end, another monk seal, and white tip shark greeted us." Jill Rain (Lopez Island, WA) dived it in September and reported, "Several monk seals and sharks. Lots of inverts, including big octopuses, dolphins, and many seabirds. While on the boat, we had visits from monk seals, dolphins, and, in mid-channel, rare beaked whales. Nick and Jessie of Explore Kaui Scuba run an efficient operation with good, reliable rental gear, and plenty of food." explorekauaiscuba.com

For cold water divers looking for something new, consider Washington State and Hood Canal. Melissa Foo (La Jolla, CA) dive there with YSS Dive and Glen Ayr. "Two morning dives at Sund Rock Marine Preserve. Great captain/crew. There is a plethora of sites up and down the Hood Canal. Flagpole had a mama octopus guarding her eggs and many wolf eels. No swell, perfect conditions/visibility 15-30feet. Temps 49-54°F. Great Pacific octopuses, including one free-swimming at night hunting dinner, probably 6-7 feet long or more [they can get up to 15 feet, even larger]. Saw others in dens with big suckers. Wolf eels. Huge ling cod. Metridium (plumose anemone) fields. So many nudibranchs. Ratfish. Cloud sponges. Beautiful green water - there's a reason it's called the emerald sea!" sundrock.com yssdive.com

Take your nondiving spouse on a liveaboard? Anthony Bracco (Wolcott, CT) knew the MY. Arenui was so exceptional that his wife would love it. They took an August Indonesian cruise, and she did, saying, "I was concerned I would not have much to do, but in between dives, we spent time on the deck or in our cabin and had our meals together. I was not bored and made friends and socialized with the other divers. He took a few dives off, and we went snorkeling; the crew was accommodating. We had two amazing excursions - it was great to be off the boat - to Komodo Island and Pink Beach. The cabin was amazing, with a full set of windows. The food was great. And, Anthony said, "The boat is amazing. From the wait staff to the divemasters, they were excellent and genuinely happy. As for diving, it doesn't get much better. I saw at least six species of octopus, including the mimic and coconut. Plenty of cuttlefish, frogfish (one about the size of a quarter), ghost pipe fish, ribbon eels, and a dragon sea moth (look that one up)! We had plenty of manta action, a handful of sharks, tons of turtles, big parrotfish, tuna, and jacks. We did a few drift dives with moderate to strong currents. Nothing you can't handle. Some of the best diving in the world."

It's pricey. Eleven-night trips cost $7370, but we don't recall anyone ever saying they didn't get their money's worth. www.thearenui.com

Next month, Undercurrent will deliver The 2024 Travelin Diver's Chapbook, with hundreds of reader travel reports easily sortable for your review. I'm sure you'll find scores of new destinations to make your diving dreams come true.

- Ben Davison