News
Magic Critters at Magic Oceans
The warm waters off the cost of Anda, Bohol in The Philippines is a haven for all manner of critters. Even better, there are only a handful of dive operators in the area, so you are likely to be the only divers on any given site, giving you plenty of time and space to explore. We were only there for 3 days of diving, and yet in such a short time, we were treated to a huge array of macro critters.
You have already seen our blogs on the Shaun the Sheep Nudibranch and the incredible night dive, so we just want to fill in some of the gaps and show you what marine life you can find on the reefs and sandy seabed that run along this productive coastline.
Macro junkies will be rewarded on every dive here! Tiny crustaceans and nudibranch can be found on every dive. Porcelain and candy crabs are photographer’s favourites, but there are plenty more to be on the lookout for. Sea Slugs come in all colours and sizes from the minute (sometimes too small for us to see with the naked eye) to large, on one dive we must have seen over 20 different species. While it might take you a little while to be able to spot the smaller species, the dive guides here have eagle-eyes, and are always on the look out for marine life to point out to you.
Pigmy seahorses live on the house reef, as well as dive sites all along the coast, and we have never seen so many of their cousins, the ghost pipefish. The team at Magic Oceans have introduced a Code of Conduct for photographing Pigmy Seahorses which is available here on their website. On the sandy muck dives, small thorny seahorses could be found just swaying on the seabed.
Frogfish, a creature close to our hearts, also feature on pretty much every dive. On one dive, a large orange frogfish, very much like the one that featured on our logo, took a shine to Caroline, leapt off his perch and slowly made his way, somewhat clumsily, over to her (watch video to the end), falling off the edge of the reef in a comedy frogfish moment.
As well as all this marvelous macro, the reef tops here are packed with healthy corals where turtles like to hang out, so the diving at Magic Oceans has lots to offer. In our three days of diving, we packed in 10 dives and would have been delighted to stay on and do more, but it was time for us to move on to Atmosphere Resort. Fingers crossed we will be back to visit the Magic Resorts team soon…
For more information visit:
The Official UK Travel Guide for The Philippines
Equipment Used
Olympus OMD EM-1 MKII
Nauitcam Housing
INON Z-240 strobes
Paralenz Dive Camera
News
Dive Worldwide Announces Bite-Back as its Charity of the Year
Over the next 12 months, specialist scuba holiday company Dive Worldwide will be supporting Bite-Back Shark & Marine Conservation with donations collected from client bookings to any one of its stunning dive destinations around the world. The independently-owned operator expects to raise £3000 for the UK charity.
Manager at Dive Worldwide, Phil North, said: “We’re especially excited to work with Bite-Back and support its intelligent, creative and results-driven campaigns to end the UK trade in shark products and prompt a change in attitudes to the ocean’s most maligned inhabitant.”
Bite-Back is running campaigns to hold the media to account on the way it reports shark news along with a brand new nationwide education programme. Last year the charity was credited for spearheading a UK ban on the import and export of shark fins.
Campaign director at Bite-Back, Graham Buckingham, said: “We’re enormously grateful to Dive Worldwide for choosing to support Bite-Back. The company’s commitment to conservation helps set it apart from other tour operators and we’re certain its clients admire and respect that policy. For us, the affiliation is huge and helps us look to the future with confidence we can deliver against key conservation programmes.”
To launch the fundraising initiative, Phil North presented Graham Buckingham with a cheque for £1,000.
Visit Dive Worldwide to discover its diverse range of international scuba adventures and visit Bite-Back to learn more about the charity’s campaigns.
MORE INFORMATION
Call Graham Buckingham on 07810 454 266 or email graham@bite-back.com
Gear News
Scubapro Free Octopus Promotion 2024
Free Octopus with every purchase of a SCUBAPRO regulator system
Just in time for the spring season, divers can save money with the FREE OCTOPUS SPRING PROMOTION! Until July 31st SCUBAPRO offers an Octopus for free
with every purchase of a regulator system!
Get a free S270 OCTOPUS with purchase of these combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with A700
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with S620Ti
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with D420
MK25 EVO Din mit S620Ti-X
Get a free R105 OCTOPUS with purchase of the following combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with G260
MK25 EVO or MK17 EVO with S600
SCUBAPRO offers a 30-year first owner warranty on all regulators, with a revision period of two years or 100 dives. All SCUBAPRO regulators are of course certified according to the new European test standard EN250-2014.
Available at participating SCUBAPRO dealers. Promotion may not be available in all regions. Find an authorized SCUBAPRO Dealer at scubapro.com.
More information available on www.scubapro.com.
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