Hi folks,
Can't add much about Palau that hasn't been said before. Several really nice dive sites,
few better than Ulong channel. For photography, I rather think this is big-sensor
land.. I struggled to get clean shots with my G7. I rather like the scene in the shot
attached (albiet grainy). For the longer version of the trip report and more photos
of the permanent residents (mantas, bumpheads, napoleons, jellyfish), click:

Palau, Eco Explorer, Jan 09



Cheers,
Ajay.

That's the reason I jumper to dSLR after my trip to egypte with the G9..

Palau is very high on my to-do list!

Nice composition, the school of fish doesn't like the visitor!

Ajay,
Thanks for the report and nice pics you shared. This is a trip I hope to take in 2 yrs. Very interested in why you think the G7 was not sufficient. I use a G9 with the OEM housing and two Z240's so our setup is not so different.
Would an Ike housing and wide angle lens have been a good investment for your setup?

Do you think the liveaboard is the way to go?
Would you pick the same one again if you had it to over?

I am thinking I would want to arrive about 2 days in advance to allow for jet lag adjustments prior to starting constant diving. I would likely be leaving from Hawaii with a one-2 day jet lag adjustment from mainland US. Does this time adjustment seem about right to you?
Looking forward to any thoughts you would have for future travelers.

Dave

Ahh the Ulong channel baitball. I got some great stuff of this with the giant trevallys 'herding' them around.There is also another baitball in German channel deep on the sand to the right of the cleaning station. Always good for shark and trevally action. I too had a G7 until last year when I got a D300. It is like night and day.

As for adjusting for jetlag I don't see a reason unless you reckon you'll fall asleep underwater. If I travelled that far I'd be diving at every opportunity and I usually do 14 days straight before having a day off but each to themselves.
As for dive sites its easy,
Blue corner (up to 4 different dives sites on its own)
Ulong channel
German channel and maybe New Drop off occasionally.
You really don't need anywhere else as these are the best sites and always impress.

Very nice pics AJ. When in January did you go? We had the New Years charter on the Eco Explorer. It was a great crew! As for Ulong, I could not agree more. That was the best dive site of the trip!!! We had terrible weather though, rain from the day we got there til the day we left!

Hi Dave,

I think you'll enjoy Palau. About the G7: at the best sites (Ulong, Blue corner), on a good dive we're hooked to a rock and the sharks swim past, 15 or 20ft away, moving maybe 3-5knots. I think my single strobe had little effect at that distance, maybe two strobes will give you some light -- cause you'll want to shoot 1/125s or faster.

For the sharks, I was almost always zoomed-in (i.e. no wide angle needed) a bit to fill the frame; I guess wide-angle will be useful at German channel with the mantas (grin, if they come).

We've done a fair number of liveaboards -- this one was better than most for several reasons: (1) they're mostly anchored down at the same spot for few days, which means the boat does not rock much; I slept better; (2) the en suite is a bit more roomy.. not much, but it's kinda like getting that extra 2inches of legroom in a airplane seat... (3) hot towels after the dive.. trust me.. sounds like no big deal, but it is.. (4) food/crew.
So yes.. I would go with them again. And yes, for me liveaboard is the only way for Palau. Land based, I am guessing 1 hour
each way to the good sites, each day, and two, maybe 3 dives a day. Liveaboard, we did four or five each day, never felt tired.

About the extra day or two... I suppose it'd be nice; we spent no time in Koror, it would be interesting to take a look at what it's like on land, maybe chat with some locals at a bar. Plus, if the airline misplaces your bags, it gives them an extra day to bring them to you.

Oh yes.. Mike is correct about the weather in January -- we were lucky, got maybe an hour of rains on couple of days, that's it, but I believe that's an exception. Mike, we were a week behind you, Jan 15-23.

Palau is nice.. I think you'll like it. Hope this helps,
Ajay.