Here's 5 reasons why I've had a great year leading snorkel tours for Snorkel Venture. Below you'll find a collection of my favorite photos and video segments of my year in 2019. 5. The Reefs Just about every one of our tours we spend a lot of time around reefs and the life that buzzes around these phenomenal underwater structures. Regardless if it's Raja Ampat, Alor, Komodo, or Belize there's nothing like exploring the world's most pristine reefs. 4. Komodo's Mangroves Before I joined Snorkel Venture I used to work on a liveaboard that transitioned between the Raja Ampat and Komodo seasons as they are opposite of each other. In the five years on board, I dreamt of exploring the mangroves that fringed several of the islands in Komodo, but I was just never able to do so as it was a diving boat and the mangroves can only be snorkeled. One I joined Snorkel Venture, and with the help of our friends and Komodo resort we were finally able to make it into the mangroves on several of our Komodo Snorkel Venture safaris, and the reward of doing so was well worth the long wait. 3. Local Communities Alor is an extremely special location as it's still really quite off the beaten track as far as tourism is concerned. Not only are the reefs exceptional, but the coastal villages still function more or less as they always have prior to technological advancements. One of the most amazing and unique things to witness in Alor, outside of the mind-blowing marine life, are the local fishermen who fish with hand-made wooden spears and wood goggles. These well-seasoned fishermen will dive down to incredible depths on a single breath to hunt right in front of us. Upon surfacing they graciously display their
Here’s 5 reasons why I’ve had a great year leading snorkel tours for Snorkel Venture. Below you’ll find a collection of my favorite photos and video segments of my year in 2019. 5. The Reefs Just about every one of our tours we spend a lot of time around reefs and the life that buzzes
Wondering what we mean by critters? Basically, we and everyone else in the snorkel and dive community are applying the broad generalization of “critters” to all the weird and wonderful creatures like frog fish, nudibranchs, octopus, scorpion fish, and moray eels. There's no real qualification for something to be labeled as a critter, they are basically anything that is small, spends most of it's time hiding in the reef, and just doesn't look your traditional fish. What's fascinating about these critters is that there are so many different species within just a single genus. Take octopus for example, in North Sulawesi (critter capital of the world) there are at least ten different species of octopus. Some of these octopus species are hairy, some are as small as your finger nail, some have fluorescent blue spots all over them, and some have the ability to mimic the shape and behavior of other marine creatures like the jellyfish or even sea snakes. Within the frogfish family there are at least another ten unique species, and three-thousand different species of nudibranchs. Basically every type of critter will have many many different variations and it becomes like a scavenger hunt to find them all. As you first begin your critter crusade it may seem a bit frustrating in just being able to find them as most of them are very well camouflaged. Your local guides will always assist though as their eyes are well tuned at deciphering what is reef and what is actually a living animal. As you begin to noticing the shapes, patterns, and the habitats of the different species you'll quickly catch on and start to rely less and less on the guides to find critters for you. For a lot of people this 'hunt' soon becomes an obsession and it
Wondering what we mean by critters? Basically, we and everyone else in the snorkel and dive community are applying the broad generalization of “critters” to all the weird and wonderful creatures like frog fish, nudibranchs, octopus, scorpion fish, and moray eels. There’s no real qualification for something to be labeled as a critter, they are
From the time you click the “Book Tour” button for your desired Snorkel Venture safari to the time you actually head to the airport can seem like ages, particularly if you've booked a tour a year or two out! Rather than just sit there twiddling your thumbs as you wait for that much anticipated date, there's a lot you can to prepare for the tour which will not only help relieve some of those sudden snorkeling urges, but also help you get more out of the tour itself. 4. Research Ok, so you've just booked a tour to a distant island you barely knew existed and presumably you've done a bit of basic research about the area, but that's probably the extent of it if you are like most of us. However, the areas we offer tours to are truly fascinating places, whether it be historical, political, geological, food, or the marine life, there is just so much cool stuff to know about these unique areas. In doing this 'research' it will not only help pass the time but it will no doubt help you enjoy the tour more, not to mention you'll be able to say things like "did you know Indonesia has the same flag as Monaco?" What I'm about to say next may sound a bit like a mom or dad trying to be hip but, research is cool! 3. Gear It's always a good idea to double check all your snorkel and travel gear before you take off. You might know you have a snorkel and mask in the closet but is the rubber skirt around the mask still in good shape or has it dried out and starting to crack? Also, does that wetsuit still fit? As someone who runs these trips for a living I
From the time you click the “Book Tour” button for your desired Snorkel Venture safari to the time you actually head to the airport can seem like ages, particularly if you’ve booked a tour a year or two out! Rather than just sit there twiddling your thumbs as you wait for that much anticipated date,
