Our oceans are more than fish and ships...United Nations this month celebrated the first ever World Ocean Day
Our oceans are more than
fish and ships...
The oceans are suffering.
The main source of food for two billion people, a key element in
climate control and a largely untapped reserve of vital resources,
they deserve to be managed better.
This is why the United Nations this month celebrated the first ever
World Ocean Day, read the complete article @
http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Opinion
%20&%20Analysis/-/539548/611562/-/u1r1yyz/-/
Latest NEWS from Palau...agreed to take in 17 Chinese Muslim separatists detained at Guantanamo Bay.
Just in... latest NEWS from
Palau!
Palau's president says his tiny Pacific island state considered
human rights - and not China's reaction - when it agreed to take in
17 Chinese Muslim separatists detained at Guantanamo Bay.
Palau President Johnson Toribiong says his country has agreed to a
U.S. request to resettle the detainees out of humanitarian concerns
and because their imprisonment is
unlawful...
read the complete article and
more NEWS
LINKS at:
http://www.palautours.com/blog.html

© Gunther Deichmann - was the decision made
here?
The Palau Capitol Building
Late Breaking NEWS...Sharks basking in the limelight... one of the most spectacular wildlife sights anywhere in the world
Must read and
see...
It has been described as one of the
most spectacular wildlife sights anywhere in the world - let alone
Britain.In the last week the first basking sharks of the summer
have been spotted off the Cornish coast.
As part of their annual migration they are now arriving in their
hundreds.But do not be fooled - actually catching more than a
fleeting glimpse of these elusive creatures is far harder than you
imagine.
Trying to find a basking shark is to go in search of a mystery. We
know very little about them, except that at this time of year, and
without fail, they come to Cornwall in their hundreds... complete
story and Photos @
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8090553.stm
Kids Sea Camp (KSC) the very first to be held in Palau, sponsors including PADI, SPORT DIVER MAGAZINE, SCUBAPRO and DAN. 2009
Latest News and info on the Kids Sea Camp
PALAU 2009!
Please
follow the links below for the latest updates on the very first
Kids Sea Camp (KSC) to be held in Palau.
Sam's Tours is the host
tour operator for Kids Sea Camp Palau with accommodations provided by
Palau Royal
Resort. The program is limited
to 50 persons on this inaugural year.
Kids Sea Camp is an award winning educational program for children
and is supported by major sponsors including PADI, SPORT DIVER MAGAZINE,
SCUBAPRO and DAN.

KSC is a
very important and prestigious event for Palau and one that Sam's
Tours should be very proud to have been selected to host. Top dive
destinations go to great lengths and compete heavily to be selected
as KSC destinations and it is no small feat to have been chosen as
a KSC destination. Other KSC host destinations include Grand
Bahama, Grand Cayman, Bonaire, Curacao, Costa Rica, Galapagos,
Roatan, Fiji, and now finally PALAU!
More information is forthcoming and in the meantime, please visit
the URL's below and familiarize yourself with Kids Sea Camp PALAU
2009 and start speading the word!
http://www.kidsseacamp.com/
http://kidsseacamp.com/palau/palauhomepage.html
http://kidsseacamp.com/palau/palaudivesams.html
http://kidsseacamp.com/palau/palauresort.html
Dermot Keane,
GM Sam’s Tours Palau
Dive the best House Reef in the Philippines…just one-minute walk from your exotic cottage.

© Gunther
Deichmann - Pink Squat
Lobster
The House
Reef of Dimakya Island (home of Club Paradise) has been protected for the past 20
years, an unspoiled wonder of marine life.
Besides the reef you find also a sea grass bed where Dugongs are
frequent visitors, and all of this a short walk from your
Cottage.
There are also eight resident Green Turtles which feed on the same
sea grass bed all year around, not shy and used to Scuba Divers,
perfect for Under Water Photographer to get close for the perfect
shot.
The sea grass bed is also the perfect place for all your small
Marine Critter, like:
Helmut Gurnard Dactyloptena orientalis
(commonly know also as the
Flying Gurnard), Dragonet, Emperor Shrimp,
Sea moth, Mantis Shrimp, Ghost Pipefish, Mimic Octopus, Frogfish,
Stargazer, Snake eels and many different species of Nudibranchs,
these are just a few critters you find on your dive on the sea
grass bed.

© Gunther Deichmann - Helmut Gurnard Dactyloptena orientalis
(commonly know also as the Flying Gurnard)
The house reef slopes from approx 1 meter
to 18 meters and ends in a large sandy area, here you find large
numbers of Blue Spotted Stingrays.
The reef itself is home to Sweet lips, Wrasses, Mandarin fish,
Cuttle fish, Butterfly, Parrot and many other fish species,
another “HOT
SPOT” for
Underwater
Photographers.

© Gunther Deichmann - many different species of
Nudibranchs

© Gunther
Deichmann - Ghost
Pipefish
Other highlights are schools of Jacks,
Fusiliers, Rabbit fish, Bat fish and if you lucky you came across a
school of Hump head parrot fish.
The house reef has also some nice cleaning stations, attracting
Giant Barracudas and other large marine life.
Big numbers of Giant Clams (up to 1.2 meter) you find also in the
surrounding area at this truly amazing House
Reef at Club Paradise.
Matt Weis from Dive Photo Guide who visited Club
Paradise and
Dugong Dive Center last year run out of storage on his 2 Gig
CF Card during one of his dives, a testimony of the amazing variety
on this House
Reef in Palawan.
Sam's Tours Scuba Diving Kids are coming to Palau Micronesia

© Gunther
Deichmann -
It is never to early...learn how to dive.
We have
picked up this post from Sam’s Tours Palau, see below the
details.
Monday, May 11,
2009
Late Breaking News! KIDS SEA
CAMP coming to Palau!
We’re delighted to report that Sam’s Tours has been
selected to host the very first KIDS SEA CAMP (KSC) in Palau slated
for this November. Kids Sea Camp is an award-winning educational
vacation program for families that love the ocean.
Kids Sea Camp PALAU 2009: November 21 – 28, 2009.
Kids Sea Camp is the brain child of Margo Peyton, a scuba diver
since 1989. This Scuba mom with husband Tom, two kids of her own,
Jen and Robbie, decided it was important for her family to spend
time together doing what she loved the most, scuba diving &
travel.
Kids Sea Camp is a full week's schedule of events and educational
programs that promises great times and learning experiences for
families with kids age 4-15. Each week includes 7 nights
accommodations, diving, meals, excursions, activities for both
adults and kids including, diving, snorkeling and many PADI
Specialty courses.
KSC is hosted at PADI 5 Star Dive Resorts around the world which
include Cayman Islands, Bonaire, Roatan, Fiji, Curacao, Galapagos
and now in PALAU! Sam’s Tours and Palau Royal Resort, a Nikko
Hotels International partner http://www.palau-royal-resort.com/
are teamed up to host this exciting
event. Space is limited so get in touch with Sam’s Tours
right away if you’d like to participate.
Families can spend a week scuba diving, snorkeling, swimming,
kayaking, discovering underwater photography, meeting other
families and making friends from all around the world. Kids Sea
Camp is the perfect family vacation for those that love to
scuba!
Sam’s
Tours PADI Five Star National Geographic Dive Center
is proud to have been selected to
host Palau’s very first Kids Sea Camp and we are already in
full swing planning an exciting action-packed week of fun in the
sun!
For more information on Kids Sea Camp please visit
http://kidsseacamp.com/ although details of the Palau Kids Sea may
not be posted yet.
For bookings please contact: kids@kidsseacamp.com or e-mail Sam’s Tours Reservations Desk
at: reservations@samstours.com
Kids Sea Camp PALAU 2009: November 21 – 28,
2009.
Underwater Photography: Matt Weiss from DivePhotoGuide visit Club Paradise & Dugong Dive Center in Palawan, Philippines
Did he run out of Air? No!
He had filled up his 2 Gig memory card...
Excerpts from a recent story on “An
Underwater Photographer Guide To Palawan”
By Author: Matt J. Weiss / April 12, 2009 12:00AM CDT
Matt Weiss from DivePhotoGuide visited Club Paradise & Dugong Dive Center
last year and filed this very
interesting report...

© Gunther
Deichmann - Painted Frogfish...recent rumors has it that
there is quiet an invasion of Frogfish at present on the Club
Paradise House Reef in Palawan,
Philippines.
“When
Omar signaled me over, I figured he had spotted a frogfish that he
had told me about before the dive. However, he was pointing at
another sea moth and started taking pictures of the rock behind it,
which I thought was strange. I wondered - was he narc’ed?
Nope, I was just a rookie and didn’t notice that the rock was
actually a beguiling frogfish that was face to face with the sea
moth. I tried to get some shots before the sea moth moved on and we
headed up to the surface – not because we were cold, bored,
out of air, or hitting deco time, but because I had filled up my 2
gig memory card! The first, and so far only time this has happened
to me...
...read the complete story from Matt Weiss @
http://www.divephotoguide.com/articles/an_underwater_photographer_2
Action at the Thailand Dive & Travel Expo in Bangkok with Fins... plus a lot more.
TDEX -
THAILAND DIVE & TRAVEL EXPO
BANGKOK MAY 2009

The Thailand Dive & Travel Expo finished last
weekend, a great show with many exhibitors and
activities.

The
Crowd...
A
modern look at the Canon Photo exhibition
Fins the
Media representatives
buzzed around recording live interviews and Tony Wu
one of the top Underwater
photographers in Asia and beyond conducted some cool Underwater
Photography Seminars.
As for my part, I helped out where ever I could, shooting behind
the scene and had my own seminars on Aperture
2, the leading
Photography Software from Apple.
For more information and details on TDEX
click this link.


Tony Wu during his Underwater photography
Seminars


Gunther
Deichmann and Aperture 2

Mean & Aye The Fins
Team hard at work with
interviews

Tony Wu and David Cheung from Light and
Motion (Scuba
Singapore)Underwater Housing and lighting equipment at the
Dive Supply Booth
Bangkok - www.scubacam.com.sg


