Dive Global can help you enjoy the very best in global diving. Contact our experts at Dive Global to
make sure you get the most out of your dive trips, every time. Plan a Trip Today...
|
<< Return to previous page
 It was also wonderful to be able to go to Cocos Island and see the famous hundreds of hammerhead sharks swim overhead. A well know destination of course but for me it was such a special experience because I was there for a week on a liveaboard, with like minded people, in this magical place, to see this amazing marine life up close and personal. I love liveaboard diving because you are usually in a remote place, away from land and can do up to five dives a day, and the food and people are always great. I've never had a bad experience.
Great White Shark cage diving at Dyer Island in South Africa was also very interesting and a bit scary at the same time, and I've done some cave diving courses in the Yucatan that were challenging to say the least. I've dove some great wrecks over the years and I've been to the Galapagos Islands twice, although pretty touristy, it is still a fantastic destination, both topside as well as underwater. One of my latest trips was to Fernando de Noronha in Brazil, also a wonderful place because of its location and the people and it is not a destination on the usual dive travelers list.
And I absolutely love it when new divers come up from their first open water dives. All wide eyed and excited to have discovered this whole new world beneath the surface. Their enthousiasm is so infectious and makes me realize all over again why I dive.
I don't spend all my time underwater though. I also greatly enjoy land trips. I recently came back from Buenos Aires; the Paris of South America they call it, it was fantastic in every way! But that's a whole other story.
Dive Global : How about a dive destination that you haven't been to but would like to see?
Charlotte: Irian Jaya and Papua New Guinea are number one and two on my list. I've been reading about it for years and would like to go for at least a month because there is so much to explore. Another destination high on the wish list is Micronesia (Palau, Yap and Truk) and the seasonal snorkeling with mother whales and their calves on the Silverbanks near the Dominican Republic. There is also a liveaboard in French Polynesia I wouldn't mind joining and the Sardine Run in Mozambique sounds pretty amazing as well. And, if I could stand the cold a bit better, I'd love to go ice diving one day. I've seen some pretty amazing under the ice footage over the years on March of the Penguins for example. The list goes on and on and never seems to shorten!
Dive Global : Any you don't like?
Charlotte: Nowhere really. I think you have to appreciate every location for what it is. And I feel lucky being able to travel and experience the world. I'm generally not too keen on overrun places like Cozumel or the Florida Keys. The Cayman Islands are very touristy but at the same time the diving is quite good. Playa del Carmen diving was ok but the atmosphere terrific and also the place to learn how to cave dive. So you take the good with the bad. My most recent diving was off the coast of Fajardo, Puerto Rico, which wasn't bad but the more remote places you visit, the more spoiled you become. All divers know that. Whatever the diving turns out to be, I always find something else worthwhile like the culture, the food or the beautiful scenery. I think travelers are very fortunate to have the time and the means to see the world in the first place. Wherever you go, you should realize you are a guest and must treat your surroundings with respect.
 Dive Global : You've packed an amazing amount of dive travel in your 38 years, what's left?
Charlotte: LOTS! My biggest goal is to own a decent sailing yacht with a compressor and some tanks aboard and go explore the oceans in slow motion for a few years. This way I won't be dependent on liveaboards and operator's schedules and it will be a more "green" way to see the oceans. In the mean time I've been busy sailing as much as I can to learn it as well as I can. It's such an enjoyable thing to do and becoming my next big passion. I've read a lot of books about circumnavigating the world. Some of my favorites stories are written by sailors like Tania Aebi and Jesse Martin who were the youngest woman and the youngest Australian to sail around the world solo. I'd love to go out on one of Jesse's Imajica Papua New Guinea expeditions.
Another goal I have is to help find a solution to the decline of our oceans. I'm very torn on how to approach this issue. Right now I feel I am only adding to the problem with my love of traveling. Many scuba divers claim that if more people see the underwater world through their images and videos or by visiting in person, they would appreciate its beauty and want to protect it more. I tend to strongly disagree. In my humble opinion it will only increase destruction to waters that are better left alone.
I believe that promoting scuba diving through so called eco trips is counteractive. Websites of marine conservation groups are popping up all over the internet. They promote all sorts of "conservation expeditions" and ask for "donations" to go to these places to "document" and "save" this leatherback turtle or that whale shark. When it really is their way to find a legitimite reason to promote their trips. Getting to a good dive site requires many miles on planes and boats, thus greatly adding to the problem of air and water polution. And no matter how careful you are, you cannot avoid disturbing the reefs and its inhabitants in one way or another. It would be much better for the planet to stay at home, have less offspring, live more "green" and give your travel money to organizations that do not encourage the dive travelers to go around the world.
 I've met so many older scuba divers that have been able to monitor the same popular dive sites for years. They all say the same; oceans aren't as full of marine life as they used to be. They've witnessed a strong decline in reef health and numbers of species all over the world, including the more remote areas. I've seen it myself in places like Cocos Island and the Red Sea. Every year it is less. I believe that a big part of the problem is the overpopulation of this planet. But that's a whole other discussion!
Apart from tourism there is of course over- and dynamite fishing. This is very hard to stop as we do not have the right to take away people's livelyhoods. A local fisherman is going to continue to fish unless he sees a better way to support his family.
With more focus things are hopefull improving. A nice example was the creation of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument a few years ago, the largest marine preserve in the world! It is 100 times as big as Yosemite and protects species like the Hawaiian monk seal. It came about because Jean-Michel Cousteau went to visit Laura Bush at the white house and two months later, Bush made it happen. Usually these things take years so it is a very good start for a country known the world over for its environmental unfriendliness. My hope is that the movers and shakers of this planet will zoom in on the oceans. It would be great when achievers like Gates or Branson take on ocean conservation.
In the mean time there are a lot of things we can do on a daily basis to help save the seas and the marine life that depends on it.
Dive Global : Do you take underwater photo & videography?
Charlotte: I first learnt about underwater photography as an underwater model and assistant to a friend of mine. I've been taking underwater videography myself for about six years now. I had never done much photography in the past and decided that video was the way to capture marine life. I've assembled some excellent footage but I see it strictly as a hobby. There are SO many scuba divers out there that are trying their hand at underwater photography or video and dead keen on wanting to make a living off it. It seems to be the next step for many enthousiastic diver I know. I just enjoy my own footage and admire that of others.
Dive Global : What equipment do you use and why, any tips for our readers?
Charlotte: I have a Sony video camera in a Gates housing with a standard and wide angle lens and a set of Gates NiteRider lights. This kit works fine for me especially because the housing comes with a window to the camera's LCD screen so you don't have to look through the viewfinder. For my next set-up however, I will go for the smallest camera and housing on the market. I have so much gear to carry already that a another big bag of video equipment is almost too much, especially when traveling alone and airlines cutting down on free baggage allowances. Not a lot of tips, only that practise makes perfect. Be patient and let the marine life come to you. Everybody has their own style and that is what makes it so interesting. I would recommend a nitrox course. Even more useful would be to invest in a rebreather, no bubbles!
Dive Global : Now that you are spending a lot of time in Sydney waters, what do you think makes it so special?
Charlotte: I don't consider myself an expert on diving in Sydney, but what I've seen so far, I've greatly enjoyed. The diving in New South Wales is somewhat overshadowed by Queensland to the north. Many international travelers fly through Sydney but don't think to do a couple of dives here. They visit the Opera House, climb the Sydney Harbor bridge and go to the Aquarium and the Taronga Zoo and then on to the Great Barrier Reef. It is too bad because they are really missing out.
Dive Global : Can you describe what the diving is like?
Charlotte: I consider this relative cold water diving, similar to what I have experienced in California. The diving conditions in Sydney vary considerably throughout the year with water
temperatures ranging from 15C to 25C and visibility from 1m to 20m, with
normal visibility from 5m to 10m. Diving in Sydney is good all year round. There's good shore diving from Bare Island off La Perouse and at the tidal Shiprock site at Port Hacking. The Magic Point site off Maroubra is a grey nurse shark sanctuary: during the day you can see a number of sharks sleeping in their cave. There are a number of wrecks off-shore that are regularly dived, but most are in 45 meters (150 feet) or more of water and require technical training for that depth.
What intrigues me the most in terms of marine life are the seahorses. I had never seen those before I came out here. They are small but if you look hard enough you can see them on almost every dive. And if you are very lucky you could spot a Weedy Sea Dragon. Among the other marine life you can expect are Blue swimmer crab, Pygmy Leatherjacket,
Sea Tulip,
Port Jackson Sharks,
Cuttle Fish,
Blue Devil Fish,
Australian Fur Seal,
Redindian Fish,
Grey Nurse Sharks,
Eastern Blue Groper,
Seahorse,
Nudibranchs and
Sea stars. Come for a dive or two, meet the friendly Sydneysiders and enjoy a free tour of the Sydney harbor at the same time; the most scenic harbor in the world! I highly recommend Prodive.com for your next dive trip in Australia, they are the oldest, biggest dive operator in the country and offer excellent service.
 Dive Global : What about the other destinations in Australia?
Charlotte: There are so many places that are worthwhile. There is the Great Barrier Reef of course. Lesser known destinations with international divers are Lord Howe Island which is a very special place with amazing nature to enjoy.
If you are looking to dive the Southern part of the GBR in a convenient way then Heron Island is a good place to start. Visitors should also not forget the West coast of Australia; the whale Sharks of Ningaloo Reef, and of course the Leafy and Weedy Sea Dragons and Shark diving in the South around Kangaroo Island. Julians Rock in Byron Bay is also a great dive site and the town is wonderfully laid back.
Dive Global : Any parting words, favorite links we missed?
Charlotte: Again, so many! I'll give you one; I really like
Fathoms, a spectacular magazine full of amazing underwater photos and stories. They also offer fantastic expeditions you can join.
Dive Global: Thank you for sharing your experiences and links with us and making us excited about all these destinations.
|