Well it seems that Croatia is not the new Scuba Destination to keep in mind…

While the beaches of the jagged Croatian coastline fill up with tourists during the summer period, those who can, escape into the silence and darkness of the abysses, amidst the archaeological sites and sunken wreckage from the two world wars. About 150,000 scuba divers search for peace and emotions in the Croatian waters each year. A group of clients that the country is now eyeing closely thanks to so-called ”underwater safaris”. With about 400 underwater archaeological sites counted by the Croatian Ministry of Culture, including 200 dating back to prehistoric times, Croatia is the fourth country in Europe for its number of underwater archaeological sites. And to protect this immense patrimony, the Croatian ministry has declared 92 cultural heritage sites, placing them under protection.

No diver can travel alone among the wreckage and archaeological sites. Individual dives are prohibited, but they are allowed in groups. In 2009-2013 alone, the Cultural Ministry issued 25 permits to organise underwater activities at protected sites. These are, according to the Croatian tourism group, the four archaeological areas around the island of Mljet, Lastovo and Vis and in the area of Cavtat. In these areas there are 35 sites. Among the hundreds of opportunities offered to scuba divers, the most important are represented by vessels sunk off the eastern Adriatic coast between the World War I and World War II.

The most famous site on the Croatian Adriatic coast is ‘Barun Gautch”, (84 metres long and 11 metres wide), the Austro-Hungarian passenger ship, which was sunk at the start of the Great War by a mine in the waters off the coast of Rovinj. Various Italian ships can be seen, including the ‘Francesca da Rimini’, which sunk off the southern coast of Kaprije island, in the Sibenik archipelago, after being torpedoed by the Allies in 1944. Forty-two metres long and 12 metres wide, before the ship was hit, it was used to transport military cargo between the Croatian and Italian coast. After September 8 1943, it was used by the Germans for the same purposes. In the Kvarner Gulf is another Italian vessel, the wreckage of the ‘Lina’, while near Cres is the Italian freighter, ‘Tihany’. Fascinating due to its vertical position on Split seabed is the ‘Teti’. A final example is the German torpedo-boat S-57, which sank off the Peljesac peninsu

Brad Varney of B&B Scuba Maui said the aircraft appears to be a nearly intact Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless. The only detached part is the top tail rudder, resting on the sand not far away.

Varney said he’s “an old military history buff, and it’s in very good shape for 70 years old.”

NOAA maritime archaeologist and historian Hans Van Tilburg said naval records indicate only six Dauntlesses were lost in waters near Maui.

He said based on a photo by Varney, it appeared the coral-encrusted wreck had the distinctive cockpit shape of a Dauntless.

Van Tilburg planned to check crash records maintained by the Naval History and Heritage Command to learn more of the aircraft’s history.

The Wreck was giving the final OK and Green Light by Parks Victoria (Australian authorities) after given the final safety inspection… and today.. Saturday the 5th the Wreck will be open to divers.

This amazing wreck rest at 28 meters of water (So you need to do your advanced diving course) and it is expected to provide diving all year around. (don’t expect warm water here!)

Victoria’s Tourism Minister, Tim Holding took a dive at the site in late October and described it as “spectacular” and a new “underwater playground” for divers.

He said unlike most shipwrecks, many of the ex-HMAS Canberra’s original fixtures have been preserved for divers to discover.

“Divers will have the opportunity to explore a large portion of the ship including flight decks, the bridge, engine rooms, the galley and the accommodation quarters,” Mr Holding said.

“The dive site offers a unique experience which will only get better with time as sea life develops in and around the wreck,” he said.

The ex-HMAS Canberra dive site is 20 to 25 minutes by boat from Portsea or Queenscliff.

There are four moorings, and the site can accommodate approximately 60 divers at any one time.

Two of the moorings were allocated to Victoria’s largest dive operator, Dive Victoria.

The third mooring will be available to other licensed tour operators by permit and the fourth is open for bookings by the general public.

Bookings give divers exclusive use of a mooring for two hours for $30 per boat regardless of the number of divers on board.

The State Government provided $1.5 million towards the creation of the site.

Murray Amor, 62, lost his right hand and suffered serious injuries to his right leg when the tank exploded at the South West Rocks Dive Centre about 3.40pm on Sunday.

Mr Amor is the equipment service manager at the centre and was doing a routine refill of some scuba tanks when one blew up.

Police believe the tank Mr Amor was filling ruptured and blew into several pieces, tearing large gouges in the brick walls of the building.

Mr Amor was rushed to Kempsey Hospital and later airlifted to Sydney, where he was believed to be in a stable condition yesterday.

South West Rocks Dive Centre owner Peter Hitchins said Mr Amor was doing as well as could be expected under the circumstances.

“He’s in good hands,” Mr Hitchins said.

“He’s conscious and having a joke. Obviously now we’re all hoping for a speedy recovery.

“We’re all in shock.”

Mr Hitchins said he would wait until the police investigation had concluded before making a comment on what had caused the explosion.

On the centre’s website Mr Amor is described as an experienced skipper and dive master.

The most well-known island in the complete set is named as tiny Boracay, which is a stunning but expensive resort islet. Quieter, just as lovely Visayan islets include Bantayan, Romblon, Panay, Malapascua, Panglao and Bohol, each and every one of which presents the ideal mixture of lavishly spongy sand, a civilized choice of beachfront housing, and relaxed fishing towns.

Diving destination: Philippines

With all the spectacularly clear sultry water around, it is not at all astonishing that the Philippines, is considered as the best diving destinations in the whole world. You’ll find a number of wealthiest Palawan, Mindoro and reefs off Boracay, however there are also some impressive submarine walls, coral arches and drop-offs at Moalboal in Cebu, and manta rays and hammerhead sharks next to Cabilao and Panglao islands, off Bohol. Overall we can claim that the most famous packages that offer scuba diving in the Philippines, promote scuba diving in Cebu, being this one of the most well know locations in the country for scuba travelers.

Some true and interesting things about Manila:
Cursed with pollution and traffic that make Bangkok look like an environment reserve, Manila is a place that just has to be tolerated between ferry connections and flights. You can entertain yourself, with a trip to the Chinese graveyard – it’s factually a ghost city, with three-storey houses and streets for the dead, most of the houses are fully furnished with bathrooms, kitchens, electricity and the various other things that are found in any normal house. On the other hand, Manila is the most excellent place for drinking and shopping, with huge malls in almost every street, and a fashionable nightlife prospect in Malate.

Puerto Galera: a wonderful beach of Philippines
This place has got some absolutely dazzling beaches, with twenty or so major diving destinations along a reef which is extremely wealthy in maritime life; this place has also got loads of rationally priced housings. Thus Puerto Galera, on the west coast of Mindoro, is a wonderful beach near Manila. This is the best destination to visit at any time of the year.

Diving in Indonesia is seen by many as the last frontier. Still remote and off the beaten track the area has some of the most bio diverse marine habitats on earth, and Pulau Weh is no exception. Here, where the Andaman Sea meets the Indian Ocean a well preserved and rich underwater realm can be found. Deep craggy walls, volcanic pinnacles, boulders and sloping reefs are all typical of the topography around the island. The deep oceanic trenches that lay around the island bring nutrient rich waters for passing pelagics including Whale Sharks, Mantas and Mola Mola when the season is right.

To the very north westerly point of the island lies the monument Kilometer 0, the starting point of Indonesia in the west, from here dense primary rainforest cascades towards the reefs that lie just below the surface. Huge labyrinths of boulders lay on sandy slopes before reaching the craggy walls where the reef descends away. Typical of diving in Indonesia, the marine life is in abundance particularly the fish life. Angelfish, Butterfly Fish, Batfish and other common species can be found, but what’s most special about this area and diving in Indonesia in general is the rare and weird wildlife that can be found. Critters, by what divers generally refer to them by, are weird and wonderful creatures that are supremely well adapted to their habitat. Colorful Frog Fish take the shapes of the sponges, on which they lay in wait for a passing meal. Leaf Fish are also masters of mimicry and even able to drift along the sand in a leaf like way. Many Octopus and species of Moray can be found here also.

Diving in Indonesia has long been considered as some of the finest in the world, a truly untouched masterpiece and Pulau Weh will surely not disappoint, even for the seasoned professional. Although this territory is remote it is certainly not unreachable. For more information on Pulau Weh and Aceh including travel operators who visit the region visit

As you might imagine, it takes a whole lot of water to fill the Nemo 33, 2,500,000 liters of the stuff to be precise, so I am guessing that it must be located in the vicinity of a natural spring. The temperature is maintained throughout the pool, which I am guessing is a good thing because I can imagine any outdoor water temperatures in and around Brussels, Belgium would be really cold.

Legendary Lake
It is a vast body of water and one of the largest mountain lakes in the world. There are many legends about it and tribes inhabiting the shores of the lake used to pray to its patron spirits. Nineteenth-century explorers were entranced with it, one calling it “a blue emerald set in a frame of silvery mountains”.

700 Meters Deep
The second deepest lake on Earth, at it’s deepest point the lake is around 700 meters deep. It lies in the mountains at the altitude of over 5,200 feet above sea level. Scuba diving in search of mysterious ancient settlements has become a popular recreational sport in the area since evidence of its history can be seen at shallow depths of the lake…

Diving the Lake
For scuba-diving enthusiasts, there is spectacularly clear water and a 12th-century town that lies 2 to 3m (6 to 10ft) below the surface of the lake near Ulan, 18km (11 miles) from Balikchi. The water of the Issyk-Kul is sky blue in color, very clear (visibility up to 65 feet), and salty (5.8 parts per thousand). The water temperature does not fall below 5 degrees even during the coldest months.

Clear Temperate Water
In summer the water averages 25-28 degrees. The lake is fed by many rivers and springs, including many hot springs, and snow melt-off. The waters are thought to have medicinal purposes. The resort of Issyk-Kul is now open to anyone, and is very busy during the summer season. The best time for recreation is from June to mid-September.

Exotic Non Diving Activities
While not known as a dive trip alone, a trek to Kyrgystan offers other great outdoor recreational opportunities for those who seek the exotic and the pristine. You can sail, surf, row, scuba dive, fish and for the more adventurous the area offers helicopter skiing.

Pristine Biodiversity
Part of the ancient silk road, the area holds many unusual attractions. Ala-Archa canyon is the center of the Ala-Archa National Park, one of the main tourist attractions in Kyrgyzstan. There are 160 species of birds in Ala-Archa. Local fauna includes the snow leopard, a butterfly called the Night Peacock Eye, wolves, snakes, owls, and many others.

The Ala-Archa canyon has about 1,100 species of plants: wormwood in the steppe zone at the mountain foot, different grasses, bushes, and juniper forests on mountain slopes that are replaced with alpine meadows. This grand, rugged but very accessible gorge offers dozens of walking and trekking possibilities, including hikes to glaciers and, for the serious mountaineer, treks to the region’s highest peak.

Want to learn more about this exotic tourism destination that offers a chance to dive into history? Visit: Dive Kazakhstan and Silk Tour

http://dive.kz/eng/

Sources: Kyrgyzstan Tourism; Wikipedia; Dive Kazakhstan

Today’s visitors to Egypt can have timeless experiences. Sipping a calming glass of shai (tea) and taking long, drawn-out puffs of apple-scented tobacco from a sheesha (water pipe) at Cairo’s Khan al-Khalili market are as popular now as back when 19th-century tourists started to arrive en masse.

Generations of visitors have admired Egypt’s treasures: the perfection of the pyramids, expeditions through spectacular desert landscapes, the graceful minarets of Cairo and majestic tombs and temples of Luxor, and jaunts up and down the Nile.

However, Egypt’s most storied sights are just scratching the surface of what this millennia-old country can offer the intrepid traveler, especially after leaving behind the African continent and crossing into Asia Minor’s southeastern corner, namely the Sinai Peninsula.

Beach bars and hippie vibes

With its golden beaches, rugged mountain backdrop and smooth fusion of hippie mellowness and resort chic, Dahab has become one of Sinai’s most popular coastal destinations. Known as the Koh Samui of the Middle East, Dahab is a place where backpackers and adventure travelers are still the rule rather than the exception.

Along the chilled-out beachfront area of Assalah, you’ll find everything from banana pancakes and mango smoothies to coconut-curry stir-fries and frosty pints of Saqqara lager. Indeed, at times it can be difficult to pry away from this laid-back beachside paradise, though Dahab makes for a convenient base for rewarding diving and desert excursions.

40 leagues under Egypt’s seas

In 1989, a panel of scientists and conservationists selected the Red Sea as one of the Seven Underwater Wonders of the World. Here, divers will find coral mountains rising from the seabed, shallow reefs swarming with brightly colored fish, sheer drop-offs disappearing into unplumbed depths and coral-encrusted shipwrecks, all bathed in an ethereal blue hue.

From Dahab, a plethora of shore dives brings you to such storied dive sites as the “Blue Hole,” a gaping sinkhole just offshore that drops to unfathomable depths of 130 meters. For the experienced diver, an overnight boat ride brings you to the wreck of the Thistlegorm, the famous British freighter that sank with its full cargo of World War II military paraphernalia.

Following Moses’ footsteps

Rising up out of the desert and jutting above the other peaks in the interior of the peninsula is Mount Sinai, which is revered by Christians, Muslims and Jews, all of whom believe that God delivered his Ten Commandments to Moses at its summit.

The mountain is easy and beautiful to climb, especially if you beat the desert heat with an overnight ascent followed by an unforgettable sunrise at the summit.

At the base of the mountain is Saint Katherine’s Monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage site named after Saint Katherine, the legendary martyr of Alexandria who was tortured on a spiked wheel and then beheaded for her faith. Here, you’ll find what is thought to be a descendant of the original burning bush. According to the monks, this bush was transplanted from the nearby chapel in the 10th century, and continues to thrive centuries later – much like Egypt itself.

Dive and tour information: Every hotel in Dahab – from the $5-a-night backpacker joint to the $150-a-night pleasure palace – can easily help you arrange dives around the Red Sea and guided treks to Mount Sinai and Saint Katherine’s Monastery. For the uninitiated, “Discovery Dives” can be arranged for less than $50, while experienced divers can take advantage of extremely affordable and customizable dive packages. If you’re looking for some biblical inspiration, a guided tour to the peak of Sinai and Saint Katherine’s is a steal at just $15.

Source: Scuba Diving Egypt – the Best dive centers in the Red Sea !

Miss Grange, who spoke to JIS News recently in London, following discussions at the UNESCO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, explained that the regional centre will be charged with the protection of the world’s underwater heritage. She said the country selected to host the centre will take the lead in developing programmes and concepts or interventions to protect underwater heritage sites.

Miss Grange said that UNESCO’s Assistant Director General for Culture, Françoise Rivière, indicated that she is aware of Jamaica’s potential in hosting the centre. She also expressed knowledge of Jamaica underwater heritage and the work that the country has done in preserving this heritage.

The UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, adopted on November 2, 2001 by the UNESCO General Conference, defines the underwater cultural heritage as encompassing “all traces of human existence having a cultural, historical or archaeological character, which have been partially or totally under water, periodically or continuously, for at least 100 years”.

These include sites, structures, buildings, artefacts and human remains, together with their archaeological and natural context; vessels, aircraft, other vehicles or any part thereof, their cargo or other contents, together with their archaeological and natural context; and objects of prehistoric character.

The underwater cultural heritage is enormously rich and has immense potential. In recent years, it has attracted increasing attention from the scientific community and the general public.

It represents an invaluable source of information on ancient civilizations and offers an opportunity to further develop diving activities, museums and tourism. However, looting and destruction of these sites have increased over the years and threaten to deprive humanity of this legacy, UNESCO has said.

Jamaica’s Port Royal, which was destroyed by earthquake in 1692, is listed among UNESCO’s famous underwater ruins.