Dive logging software has moved on a lot from the original paper based log books and  Suunto style desktop applications.  One thing divers like to do is to talk and relive their dives with friends over a beer.  With the advent of the iOS based dive loggin apps,  you can synchronise logs between your dive computers (I sync my Suunto and VR3), manual dives performed without a dive computer, pictures, ratings and equipment used easily out in the field.  My preferred dive logging app is Dive Log Manager for the iPhone.  It’s made up of the iPhone app and free desktop companion to synchronise with either your desktop software and/or dive computer.

The third category is dive planning – which can be split between recreational and technical planning. With Padi’s move away from teaching the basics of using the RDP process to using software and more people wanting to dive on Nitrox, it is certainly useful to have a dive planning tools for recreational dive purposes at hand.  I’ve seen far too many people dive “blind” by following a guide not knowing the implications of their choice of gas.  There are a number of free apps that allow you to plan repetitive dives with limits on the Air/Nitrox mix and several Pro apps which remove the restrictions.  They also have hand calculation tools all divers to work out the best mix for depth, equivalent air depths and max bottom times.  Apps such as iDiving, iDive and iDive Nitrox have similar functionality and costs.

Technical diving introduces a few more issues – multiple gasses including trimix, multi-level, gas bailouts, VPM models, conservatism and the list goes on.  Most technical divers would travel with a laptop installed with either V-Planner  or some derivative so that they can iterate through numerous scenarios to optimise depth, time, gas and risk.  A new alternative is to carry your planning software (and diving history) on your iPhone or iPad.  V-Planner was migrated over to the iOS platform early on and provides an excellent planning tool (Warning : Always double check you plan with an alterative source where possible to reduce the risk of error!). V-Planner presents the VPM decompression model and includes both VPM-B and VPM-B/E model versions. The diver can specify any combination of nitrox or trimix, and as many deco gases as required. Planning methods include both OC and Closed Circuit Rebreather. It includes planning for bailouts with SCR and OC legs in a CCR plan. Includes details of ppO2, END, and gas consumptions. It includes many of the features from the desktop version such as conservatism adjustments, extended stops, adjustable last stops, the planning monitor system and extensive control over many other planning features. Also included is a set of dive planning tools for calculating best mix, maximum operating depth (MOD), END, EAD and other planning considerations. The Mixer utility for blending nitrox and trimix, is included too.

A new app on the block is the Baltic Deco Planner, an app that is similar in functionality to V-Planner but a little more polished with respect to the user interface.  The best addition is the graphing capabilities – very useful for looking for your off-gassing points and on deeper dive profiles looking for potential isobaric counter diffusion events.

Finally, there’s the social apps and or travel tools.  There are a couple of niche players out there who think that the diving community need their own collaboration platform such as Diving Dude, DiveTime and the aptly named “The best scuba diving and snorkelling locations”.  Unfortunately, I find that little applications such as Facebook, Google and TripAdvisor cover those bases quite comprehensively already!

For recreational diving where the majority of divers observe the 30m limit, so the design challenges aren’t too great and surprise, surprise there’s a kickstarter.com project to come to the rescue.  The as yet unnamed product is a custom underwater housing rated down to 100′ in salt water for the iPhone 4 & 4s.

While there are a couple of impressive videos of great white sharks (reminds me of a trip to Gansbaai years ago) but it’s missing out on the details of how the camera is operated.  There is a mechanical button which I’m guessing activates the volume up button to start and stop recording, but no information on whether or not you have access to the touch screen.

One of the most important features of an underwater camera is the ability to set the white balance manually.  Although apps such as Filmic Pro have a white balance feature, it will require access to the touch screen.  The iPhone 4s’ fixed aperture and low light performance may make it suitable for the shallower dives (18m etc) but will inevitably need additional lights when you go deeper – adding to the cost.

In summary, if you’ve spent your money on an iPhone and are willing to risk it while you go diving (I’ve seen so many cameras lost while diving and being a technical diver, found a couple!) then the additional outlay of £260 (kick-starter prices only) then it might be a good solution.

From the Physorg.com site, a story on decompression :

Researchers at the Navy Experimental Diving Unit (NEDU) have designed, built and validated a novel hyperbaric environment to study cellular behavior at greater depths. The joint ONR-NEDU effort is designed to explore advances to protect Navy divers working at depths of up to 1,000 feet.

From the Sun news website (one I very rarely visit), a story on the thistlegorm :

GLITTERING fish swim around a Second World War ghost – the rusting hulk of a British ship sunk off Egypt’s coast

Not forgetting my video from the thistlegorm which is on Vimeo

There are  many dive centres and numerous other operators that sell dive trips to the Zenobia, but after a bit of research and email conversations I decided to use ScubaTechDivers.  Based in Protaras, they provide both PADI and BSAC approved recreational courses but also technical diving (both open and closed circuit).

The MS Zenobia is a massive wreck with lots to see. Unfortunately due to time constraints and the water temperature (18-19° C) I chose to do a multilevel technical dive for 87 mins using twins on 28 and 50 as a deco gas.  To get an idea of the wreck watch my HD video below that was shot on a Kodak Zi8 (Inon Wide lens but no external lights)

Many thanks to Peter Crane from Scubatechdivers.com

Irkutsk……nearly three quarters of the way to Beijing and the largest city in Siberia.  Famous for the many Russian exiles who were sent there for their part in the Decembrist revolt and lake Baikal – the worlds oldest and deepest lake. So what does a diver do with such a tempting dive site so close?

A quick phone call to Gennady Misan and all was set for a dive in the worlds largest fresh water lake. Picked up at 9am and off to the dive shop – hidden nicely away in an industrial estate in the south west of Irkutsk (Krasnokazachja 85). Fitted out with full 8mm wetsuit with additional shorty on top.

Simeoni returns from Lake Baikal

Driving in russia is extreemly similar to Bali. The roads switch from a nice dual carridge way to a pot hole ridden nightmare. Travelling in a unmodified suzuki minivan(I.e. Driver on the wrong side) we duck and dive through the traffic in Irkutsk(past a very nasty looking pileup) and on to the long winding road to lake baikal. The view is slightly reminicent of the train journey. Tree, tree,  tree – you get the picture.

After rounding a bend slightly to fast, we’re at the lake – although it looks more like the coast of a sea and looks quietly serene – few ripples but nothing major.

Good news – visibility(normally 40m+) might be as good as 2m today as the water is a bit too warm  and therefore a big algae bloom (- 12′c) yippeee!!!!

Kit up and we’re instruction time. Shore dive with a 50m swim out to the drop off. I’m buddied with Simeoni (a doctor living in Moscow but originally from Irkutsk) Katia, the dive lead, is with some chap whose turned up in a pick up lorry and has a very useful scuba knife. Long story short – no visibilty, lost a diver, saw a sponge and then surfaced 35 mins later. Upon the offer of a second dive, I’ll decide to sit it out as I’m off to the Caribbean in a months time. Take me back to Irkutsk please – never thought I’d say that so soon! If your thinking of diving in lake baikal, do it in the winter and you’ll get a full drysuit and see something.

Back in Irkutsk and it’s time for a wander around town.  Walking around town during the summer is quite a pleasant experience with a number of outdoor bars and streets lined with wooden buildings.  In the more central area you’ll find the usual western brands taking over the place.

Recreational Diving!

Most recreational dive plans and dive guides follow the same simple guideline – start at your deepest planned depth and shallow up throughout the dive. (I won’t refer to it as a rule as information and guidance varies across certification authorities) Again, as divers learn throughout their education, you should have planned the dive taking into consideration your surface time and residual N2.  Now, I’ve been diving for some time now and have never seen a recreational diver calculating their dive plan (unless they’re on a course).  Therefore, anyone jumping into the water for a dive (or repetitive dive) is basically going in blind.  Also, having observed countless recreational divers performing a yo-yo profile and ascending too rapidly (there’s not very much you can do while preforming) having a mechanism which warns you of such activities can only be a good thing.

John Mason Technical Diving with VR3 and Suunto D6

Finally, recreational diving has embraced the use of Nitrox all over the world for mostly the right reasons.  However, changing the diving gas and associated dive profiles (staying down longer, deeper, within O2 toxicity limits, etc) significantly changes your exposure to N2 and O2.

I bought a Suunto years ago – a D6. It’s performed in all situations, and doubles as a nice dual timezone travel watch and dive log.  The only minor drawback is the log book memory size and battery changing process.  The log book details are limited to around 36hrs of data – once you go over that it’ll start over writing from the beginning. Not good if you haven’t downloaded your dive profiles!

What would I buy now for recreational diving? Well, there are loads out there so you just need to balance the key features – some of which are  (1) the algorithm, (2) ease of use, (3) mixed gas support, (4) connectivity to download your dives and (5) battery changing.  My Suunto D6 manages very well in each of these (except the battery changing as the unit has to be opened and pressure tested) – So it would still be the Suunto D6.

Technical Diving!

I still use my Suunto D6 while technical diving.  It serves as my back up bottom timer and depth gauge – and logs the usual depth, time temperature for downloading to my dive log.  My primary dive computer is the VR3 by technology in depth and was purchased at a dive show.  I’d seen it in use, read loads of reviews and given the low price point at the dive show bought it.  With only two buttons for input, it’s relatively easy to use underwater.    The big screen (with the additional colour option) with the Trimix Open Circuit/CCR functionality allows for 10 Gas switches (Air and 0-99% 02), has dive planning options and allows you to change the plan while diving makes it a very powerful piece of equipment.  The dive logs can be downloaded using (yes, another additional optional cable and software purchase) to their bundled software.  A small bonus here is that you can use their software on a desktop to plan and set up the gasses you’ll use for the dive without having to do the two finger shuffle on the computer.

There are several negative points to the VR3 (and to the same or slightly lesser extent other computers).  The biggest is the battery.  Although it’s designed to allow the user to replace the battery themselves, the units power consumption is verging on the excessive.  For a two hour technical dive you really need to change the battery before you dive and remember to turn off the back light!.   The battery has gone on me several times during a dive. The next problem is that if it goes during a dive you’ll miss the window to change the battery and therefore preserve the settings in the computer.

So, what would I buy for technical diving?  On the occasions that the VR3 failed, it had no impact on my dive.  The majority of good technical divers firstly plan their dive and then dive their plan.  Apart from a potentially shorter decompression obligation (But as I plan using both V-Planner and Baltic Dive Planner) the difference to the plan is generally nothing.  In the event of loss gas and deeper longer scenarios – all the details are in my plan and back up wet-book. So, my advice is to stick to diving the plan and investing your money in a couple of bottom timers.  The UWATEC depth timer is robust, functional, has a 12 year battery and below £100.  Spend the money you save on V-Planner or Helium….  A quick note on the Suunto HelO2 – I performed a number of technical dives while in Indonesia with a guy using the HelO2.  We planned all the dives using V-Planner and double checked with both my Baltic Dive Planner and someone else’s LiquidVision X1.  Enough to say that the deco profile for the HelO2 was way off the plan and VR3.  However, the algorithm that ships with the HelO2 is a little odd (And I’m no expert in the finer details).  This introduced the age old conundrum – dive the plan, dive the computer or do something else.  In my opinion, and that of some of my friends, the answer is to dive the plan.

Once I’d passed my advanced open water course I bought an underwater housing for my Canon A620.  As a beginners camera (7.1 MP & 4x optical zoom) it performed pretty well as it had the all important “custom white balance” mode. For all those divers out there who’ve completed the PADI underwater – white balance is the most important feature when looking for a good camera.

Canon G10 Case

A natural upgrade was to the Canon G10 (now superseded by the G12 which is in many ways not as good).  As the G10 introduced a SD video mode, I began to experiment with shooting video.  Early tests were relatively successful – Canon G10 Sample Video.  The image quality on the G10 is excellent.  Out of water, the 28mm lens is great but underwater it’s just not wide enough.  Most of the wide lens manufacturers do not support the G10 – only the FIX Big Fish Eye.  Most reviews say that with the FIX Fish Eye vignetting becomes a big problem.  If you watched the video above, you’d have noticed that my buddy (Cath Bates) and I are approaching 55m on a technical dive.

The task loading of tech diving associated with the many buttons, white balance settings and exposure/aperture settings of the camera is too much when at depth (especially on deep air dives).  Add to this the recommended allowable depth for the underwater housing (40m for the Canon housings) and things become not just difficult but impossible as the buttons become unresponsive due to the pressure being exerted on the case.  In fact, the only problem I’ve had with the G10 (which remains my backup camera on all my trips – near and far) is that the button caved in (You have to use the afore mentioned button to change the aperture settings when underwater as you don’t have access to the scroll wheel – another pain in the ass as far as the case design goes).

So, with technical diving foremost in my mind I decided to look at the many new compact HD video cameras on the market.  The most popular camera at the time was the Flip HD – but with a little more research I stumbled on the Kodak Zi8.  Encouraged by the reviews and most importantly by the cost of both the camera and Ikelite Housing (60m rated) Amazon made a little more money.  What the Kodak lacks in features (most notably a custom white balance) it makes up for in low light quality and usability.

With just a stop/start button it doesn’t get much more simpler.  The only problem you’re left with is the depth at which you can use it.  Ikelite rate their case to 60m.  I’ve used it down to 80m but the buttons become slightly un-responsive – no surprise there. So, make sure you start it rolling before you pass 60m!  On the upside the battery life is amazing (the Canon G10 would normally last 1 and 1/2 dives – pain in the ass when it goes) but the Kodak will run continually for over 100 mins – Here’s a video to show you what the Kodak can do (110 min dive edited down to 20mins)

Would I still buy the Kodak?  Maybe not, but things have moved on and hindsight is a powerful tool (only after the event though!).  The Kodak is great, especially with the Inon UWL 100 Lens.  It’s light, easy to use, quick to charge and fits in your pocket when you’re out and about.  The key point here is light.  When you start to consider the cost, weight and logistics required to transport a DSLR underwater housing along with your dive gear (mine is in excess of 35Kgs already) it becomes silly.  Consider the cheaper Ikelite housing for the 7D.  The case will set you back (I’ll use Cameras Underwater in the UK for sterling and B&H in the US for Dollars) £1,279 ($1,499), dome port £454 ($524), peli case to transport £150 ($200) the camera and lens £1,500 ($1,500) and then the excess luggage fee and insurance.  I’ll not go into the cost of transport as it varies wildly between airlines.  The same issues exist for the fans of the more conventional video camera. For a quality HD camera and housing that will go to depth, your still looking at shelling out a small fortune and increasing you bag allowance.

So, what’s the alternatives on the market these days? Canon have updated the Powershot and Ixus range with varying HD modes with the all important white balance feature.  The Go Pro HD has popped up in a number of reviews but the image quality suffers (due to the current design of the housing).  A potentially interesting introduction to the market are the micro four thirds cameras.  Given their size and image quality (Philip Bloom highly rates the GH2) they may take over from the DSLRs – but only when the housing manufacturers start to produce the goods!

In summary, I’m going to stick with the Kodak for the time being but keep an eye on Go Pros – they’re just to small and good to be ignored (especially if they sort out the housing!)

Nine times out of ten, while setting up my technical gear on the boat I’m asked “How deep are you going?”. When diving the Thistlegorm the answer is 31m. Now, most people immediately respond with “what’s the point of 4 tanks and all that extra gear?”

45 minute Thistlegorm recreational dive prof

Normally the Thistlegorm can be a bit of a divers nightmare – you arrive after a particularly early start to discover a large number of dive boats with exactly the same agenda. The recreational timetable for the Thistlegorm is the briefing, external orientation dive (no penetration), surface interval and then finally the penetration dive. One difference to the normal day dives is the number of 15L tanks on board. For some reason (it’s not like they’ll be diving at 7ATM) most peoples air consumption goes off the chart. Most people manage a bottom time of around 35-40 mins (waiting for people to join you on the line to descend, people to take photos, people getting lost,etc) with some finding their computers giving them an additional deco warning. Experienced divers can normally stretch the time out considerably with less faffing to and from the line and minimal finning.

For the second dive you have to add in the issues associated with the penetration – it’s dark, disorientating and full of people reenacting a scene from star wars (very powerfull torch beams swinging wildly from jeep to wheel to boot!). Add in groups from other boats following different routes and you have a mildly chaotic scenario. From personal experience – I’ve had to abort two recreational dives due to people loosing the main group and freezing (perceptual narrowing ) and a low air scenario.

This is where technical diving enters the scene! Tech diving is not primarily about “Deep Diving” – indeed the first several courses focus on the concept of Decompression procedures and Extended Range. One of the key review questions during the TDI courses is

“What effects decompression obligations more (a) depth or (b) time?”

The answer is time – staying 3 minutes longer has significantly more decompression obligation that going 3 metres deeper.

Extended range introduces the skills associated with staying underwater for longer periods (irrespective of depth – that’s gas choice)

140min Thistlegorm technical dive profile

So, what’s this got to do with the Thistlegorm? Consider the scenario where you can spend 1hr 40mins (more than the recreational divers get with two dives) and that the recreational divers have to spend at least an hour surface interval which leaves the Thistlegorm empty! The standard tech dive plan is to start the dive 15 mins after the recreational divers and explore the area around the anchor and railway engine.  Then it’s a high speed fly by of the external hull structure (on X-Scooters as the current can be especially strong) before shallowing up to the mid level and penetration.  The recreational divers should be long gone by now so no torches are required inside the wreck – 30 mins of gliding over the trucks, bikes and boots.  30 mins later it’s time to shallow up and explore the upper decks and captain cabin and radio office (last time the radio was still there!).  Once that’s done and we haven’t messed up the dive plan it’s a short deco stop on the line and it’s up for lunch and a nap.

SS Thistlegorm on tech scooters from John Mason on Vimeo.

Other videos on the site include videos shot with both my Canon 7D and Kodak Zi8.

After visiting Roatan last year we decided to return to Bali for just over two weeks of relaxation in familiar surroundings.  We spent the first few days around the Seminyak area – close to the beach and Ku De Ta.  Prior to arrival, I’d asked a number of agents about last minute deals for villas.  Unfortunately, none of them came back with anything special so we decided to revisit bVilla+spa.  Whilst our stay there was fine, the villas are becoming a little run down and are in need of renovation.

Next stop, via a fast boat, was Gili Trawangan which is just north of Lombok. Where as Bali (notably Kuta and Seminyak) is suffering from the number of people, motorcycles and cars; Gili Trawangan (GT) has no motorised transport and operates at a significantly reduced speed.  I visited GT 15 years ago and was marginally surprised by the amount of development on the shore line – although none of the charm has been lost.  We were staying at Kelapa villas – at the north of the island – a group of private villas.

Gili Trawangan beach panorama

The real reason for visiting the island wasn’t the change of pace or to relive times gone by - it was the technical diving services provided by Blue Marlin Dive.  In the space of 15 years both Blue Marlin and I had progressed from recreational diving to technical diving (although Blue Marlin have been doing it a lot longer than I have).  The staff at Blue Marlin (Jen, Simon, Will and Ivan to mention a few) were great, the deep walls of Tunang and second world war wreck were excellent sites and the pace of life on the island makes this a sure bet for a repeat visit.

Being in Bali (well close to) and having a local sim makes a big difference with the villa agents!  Instead of the normal internet rates, villa prices tumbled and we ended up with a new two bedroom villa in Seminyak at half price (Villa Nunia).  Unlike bVilla, the standard of finish was superb – an added bonus was that the living area could be closed off to the heat and humidity.

With a travel distance of over 13,000 km and nearly three days I arrived tired, hungry and filled with a the hope of some excellent diving.

A quick note on the airports – Dubai is like most modern airports with row after row of identical shops selling exactly the same products.  Manila, however, is something from the past and it’s very small.  Facilities are limited with one cafe and the bar is unfortunately the smoking room.  All in all, no a very pleasant stop over.

The flight to Palau is quite quick (just under 3 hours) and immigration a breeze followed by an efficient transf to the hotel – the Landmark Marina. The hotel is quite new and with all the usual facilities you’d expect these days.   The main reason to choose the hotel was the 2 minute walk around to the corner to FishNFins.

FishNFins are a very welcoming operation – a quick run through of all the dive sites and various trips and I’m ready to go diving.  I opted for the daily diving as time did not permit the liveaboard option. An interesting mandatory purchase at FishNFins is a waterbottle!  Having dived all round the world this was the first time I’d seen a dive centre actively reducing the amount of plastic bottles used.  They provide fresh chilled water on the boats during the day, and back at the centre.

The day normally consists of a 8am departure followed by three dives.  Normally two in the morning then lunch and a third dive but this is flexible depending on prevailing sea conditions and choice of dive sites. The dive sites are all within an hour of the dive centre given the very powerful speedboats in use.  Dive sites can be classified by geological curiosity or by the species of fish you’ll see.  Want caves? Then Siaes Tunnel, Chandelier Cave and the Blue holes are a must. Sharks? Blue Corner, Peleliu Wall & Cut and Siaes Corner are where you’ll find the action. The dive guides are excellent and understand the tidal movements so will time your dives to maximise current and therefore the opportunity to see the majestical sharks.

A possible candidate for entry as a wonder of the natural world has to be Jellyfish Lake, or Ongeim’l Tketau as it is called in Palauan. Once you’ve finished your morning dives and had lunch you head over to the southern lagoon, on Mecherchar Island. It’s a strenuous walk up the paths to lake but it is an amazing site.  Let the guide swim around the lake to find the jellyfish as the migrate around following the sun.  Then gently swim amongst the jellyfish – they don’t sting so the only thing you have to worry about is damaging the jellyfish.!

So, does Palau live up to all the hype? Well, yes it does. If you need proof, check out my collection on flickr.

Leaving Palau, I headed back to Manila for a quick one night stop over and a domestic flight down to Cebu followed by a 4 hr car ride to the port at Maya.  A little wait for the local boats to fill up enough and off we went to Bantigue Cove Beach Resort.  On arrival I was welcomed and shown to my room – very basic and lacking air-conditioning!  Eager to go diving I was extremely disappointed to find out that the in house dive shop did not provide Nitrox (a must for some of the key dive sites where the Thresher Sharks are to be found).  So, I hitched a lift on the back of a motorbike and set off down through the jungle to the main area.  Luckily I had also researched alternative dive shops so headed to the British run Thresher Shark Divers who delivered yet another disappointment – dives start at either 5 or 6am to catch the early morning action! Why a disappointment?  There’s no way I could get transport from Bantigue Grove to the dive centre at that time in the morning.  Only one thing for it, change accommodation! Several hair raising motorbike rides to collect my dive gear and I moved to Slam’s Garden Resort.  Although lower in rating on tripadviser.com than Bantigue grove, Slam’s is very new, clean and has excellent air-conditioning.

The diving : going to Palau then diving somewhere else immediately is a very depressing experience.  Although flora and fauna above sea level is very similar, underwater is not.  First you notice the drop in visibility, secondly the variety and size of fish reduces significantly.  Local fishing has decimated the underwater landscape – although it is a haven for macro species.

That said, the primary reason for visiting Malapscua was to find the elusive Thresher sharks. So, for a week I got up at 5am and headed out to Moad Shoal in search of sharks.  The dive consisted of groups splitting up and scouring the mount at a depth of 26m looking for the sharks.  The mounts side drop down to a depth of over 200m where the sharks patrol for food.  In order to maximise time looking for the sharks, nitrox is a necessity. Most of the days was an amusing game of managing air consumption against no decompression time and the water temperature as there was a significant lack of shark activity.

Towards the end of the week, with no sightings from anyone, I was beginning to think I’d never see one.  Then, with a stunning sun rise over the Philippine sea, I finally saw what I’d come for – a lone Thresher Shark. Photo? No chance, visibility and distance were against me on that day!

Would I go to Malapascua again?  Probably – only because now I’m an advanced Trimix diver I’ll be able to go deeper and stay longer with the Thresher sharks!

However, following on from the deep dive course in Dahab I’ve completed the TDI Advanced Nitrox and Decompression procedures qualifications.

A handful of deco dives to 45m using various mixes up to 72% (very nice indeed) and I’m ready to move on to the Extended range course.  Hopefully, this should open up the Blue Hole arch swim through, Thomas Canyon and much much more. A big thanks to Cat (Catherine Bates), Pit Kuiper, Deniz Aymer and Francesco Germi to name but a few!

I’ve added a handful of photos to my flickr stream, with samples below.

There have been a number of reviews posted on tripadvisor.com inferring that the condition is less than perfect.  However, the tent we had was in very good order indeed. The only difference in the location – a $100 a night premium to have a beach fronted tent, instead of on set slightly back into the jungle.  We chose the beach option and would again!  Although largely private, you may see a fellow guest walking around the bay. If you choose the jungle tent you will have to make do with the shared sun deck near the jetty.

Sand paths link the tents to one another and lead to the beach and back to the main suite of building.The dining room and bar are located in an open-air pavilion facing the sea.  There are no fixed meal times so you’re free to arrive at almost any time of the day and order what ever you’d like.  Given that I was diving every morning, I would normally return around 11ish and order breakfast with no problems. However, some days I went straight for lunch given the excellent menu on display.

If you’ve worn out the view from your tent, the bar or the sund deck then located at the far end of the camp, a few metres from the shoreline, the Music Pavilion is a forest sanctuary. Here, you can listen to music, order picnic lunch and a bottle of wine, enjoy afternoon tea or a sunset cocktail.  Out in front of the pavillion is Turtle Street, a relatively safe snorkelling area where you will most likely see Hawksbill Turtles.

With a quick google of “moyo island diving” returns a number of similar results all indicating that I should expect spectacular coral and crystal clear waters for good diving possibilities. However the island’s reefs do suffer from the effects of dynamite fishing.

Angel Reef

On the west coast of Moyo lies a healthy coral reef with a vertical wall dropping to over 40 meters in depth.The wall is covered in soft coral however evidence of dynamite fishing can be seen in places. Marine life generally include longfin bannerfish, redtooth triggerfish and batfish. Blacktips may also be seen in the deeper sections of this dive. Although, on the dives I made a rather large moray eel and fantastically well behaved sea snake were in residence.

Panjang Slope

Located just north of Angel Reef is this submerged coral reef. This is one of the few places that a patient and observant diver may spot the deadly yellow blue ringed octopus. Fully grown adults reach the size of half of your thumb, and carry one of the most toxic poisons to be found in the sea so don’t touch it! Unfortunately (or fortunately) none were sighted on the days I visited.

Shoreline sea wall

The Sea Wall, which is just off the beach and can be accessed by the boardwalk, has a reef wall that descends 40 metres. Turtle Street is just to the right of the camp in front of the music pavilion, where a reef ledge drops away to a sandy slope. If you don’t fancy the swim out to the pontoon then one of the extremely helpful staff will take you out on the boat. However, be warned that they’ll drop you off some distance from the pontoon so you get to snorkel up turtle street. We saw several hawks bill turtles but the ever present black tips were well hidden from sight.