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Selayar is a hidden paradise and as most of these places long and almost impossible to get to. Once you have reached Sulawesi, a 4 to 5 hour ride by car brings you from Makasar to Bira, a small port south east where a ferry boat leaves daily to Selayar island, 80 km long, thin, covered in thick forest. Most of the people live on the west coast which offers unbelievable sunsets. Benteng the main town lies as well on the sunset side.

The Selayar Dive Resort, on the other hand lies on the east coast at the southern tip of the island admist a lush forest on a beautiful 1 km white sandy beach. No roads bring you there. The fast resort speedboat awaits the guests in Bira and rushes along the hillside eastern coast down to the resort within 2 hours.

Koh Lipe (Paper Island) is a small island of the Tarutao National Marine Park, located in the south west of Thailand. Lipe is the only one, among the fifty Islands in the National Park to be developed for tourism, the remainder are not inhabited. White sandy beaches, turquoise waters, sun and blue sky, the place is particularly attractive !

If buoyancy control and free diving are the issues then there is one family of marine creatures that have them both down to an art form.

Perfect buoyancy control and low air consumption are just two important skills that many divers can struggle to achieve let alone emulate the real masters, the turtle. We are very fortunate to still be able observe these passive and gentle creatures with admiration as they effortlessly and purposefully go about their daily lives. However, the turtle has had a struggle to survive and recoup its population against overwhelming odds

"Isn't it ironic that every creature deemed cute or cuddly by the majority is the first to be exploited and murdered by the greedy for the minority?"

Dumaguete Coconut Mills (DuCoMi) near Bacong village, was one place I had dreamed of diving for quite a few years...Before actually getting my act together and making it a reality. I had seen many glorious images posted by our Philippino friends which added further to the excitement. The large concrete pier extends 60m beyond the sandy beach with a causeway joining it to the mill road. Several smaller piers are situated either side of the main pier to allow very large ships to moor properly. The huge concrete hard standing is supported by over a hundred long steel pilings, driven through the sandy sea bed which slopes in two directions around the base of the pier from the narrow beach above. Nothing can really prepare you for that very first dive... Even the awful visibility promoted by a passing typhoon could not take away the absolute richness and the intense colours, shapes and forms of the corals and sponges growing on the pilings from low-tide line, right the way down.