anyone been to Palau-south pacific

As an offbeat really different trip and to engulf ourselves in our new favorite imagery type "underwater and snorkeling" we are looking at a trip to Palau.

Wondering if any NSN er have been and your experiences.

Thanks
Doug

I regularly dive in the South Pacific, Philippines mainly.  What specifics were you looking for?  Palau has great diving but best done on liveaboards vs landbase operations as the sites are a fair distance from most resorts.  

S.

Hi Stewart

we have really taken to snorkeling over the past 3 years and visits to southern locals so want to up the anty with a larger trip.

We are looking at a 8 day snorkel ( we don’t dive ) trip that states “We make easy day trips to Turtle Cove, Soft Coral Arch, Giant Clam Beach, Ngemelis Wall, and the jungle-capped Rock Islands and Jellyfish Lake”  it is a land based out each day back to hotel in evenings kind of trip. They state boat rides of 20 to 60 minutes each day to get to the different areas.


I can find all kinds of information on Palau but don’t seem to find much in the way of what species of fish and numbers that  might seen while snorkeling. Most trips are dive related not so much snorkeling.


Some questions would be regarding wetsuits yes /no? for longer snorkel times in water.


Are the reefs that shallow or deep in the areas stated?


Are the species of fish plentiful or more coral type scenery?


We have underwater camera cases Canon S120 and EMD 5 but no light strobe yet…can be gotten. If the coral is not that deep I found the strobe is not all needed but will most likely get one anyway for over all best images.  



Thanks
Doug

Doug, you need to register the domain snorkelnunavut.com and snorkelnunavut.co.ca ASAP!!!

I've never been to Palau so I can't say just how warm the water is there. But I would recommend using a 1 mil shorty wetsuit. I lived in Hawaii for a number of years and preferred to always use a 1 mil shorty wetsuit for the warmth and slight added buoyancy it afforded me (I could float horizontally without effort if fatigued). 2 and 3 mil wetsuits are much more buoyant and can make it difficult to free dive much without adding weights. I would usually snorkel and be in the water for at least 1 hour and as much as 2 1/2 hours when the subjects were too good to leave, so the added warmth of the wetsuit was a plus. It also protected my back from getting sunburnt. If you don't use a wetsuit I'd highly recommend you at least wear a rash guard which would keep you slightly warmer than without and give you some sun protection as well, which is very important in the tropics.

Doug, you need to register the domain snorkelnunavut.com and snorkelnunavut.co.ca ASAP!!!

  I'll get right on it ... Surprising there is a lot of sea life up here too just too cold with out full dive gear....best to use the GoPro on a long stick  LOL.  




HI Robert

thanks for the added info...we have spent most of our snorkel time in Hawaii last was on the Big Island. Being from where we are we found the water was very pleasant but if a wind comes up it can be cool pretty quick so am looking at shorty suits for longer swims....oh look it is snowing outside  I should be like a goose and fly south for winters ..... wonder why they call them Snow Geese they never stick around to see the snow ????


doug

Hi Doug,

Water temps will vary depending on time of year. When I do a prolonged dive trip, I find that by the 4th day, I'm feeling cold in my 3mm wetsuit. Then again, I dive 4x per day at well over an hour a dive. I do suggest wearing at least a rash guard or a dive skin to protect against sunburn. Water temps during our spring time (April/May) is warmest in the Western Pacific, sometimes getting over 30° C near the surface though wet months can get it to the lower-mid 20's.

As for depths, most coral don't do well if they're too shallow as the water gets too warm. You won't really see a large amount of life (relatively speaking) at normal snorkel depths and most fish shots will either be of fish backs or fish butts as reef fish will see our hulking, sun blocking forms as a predator.

An underwater strobe, while nice isn't required for snorkeling and can be a hindrance. Don't expect the on-camera flash to be useful and could actually have a negative impact on your photos if the water has some turbidity as the flash will simply light up the particles in the water and you'll get the bane of any UW photographer's existence, backscatter. You could get better results by obtaining a colour correction filter designed for natural light underwater imaging. EJ has some experience in that. =).

If you're willing to dive down to 10 or so feet then you'll be able to shoot at eye level with the fishies and have better images. In those instances, then an underwater strobe might come in handy, but there is added bulk of the strobe and required support system that attaches it to your camera.

If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to PM me directly.

S.

thanks for the added info Stewart...lots to learn and explore. will keep in touch with any other questions.

doug