​As you cruise through Raja Ampat Marine Park, you are surrounded by the clearest, most crystal waters imaginable. Cobolt blue gives way to translucent jades and greens, if these waters were gem stones I would definitely buy them. The clarity is second to none and at times, the surface was so smooth it looked like glass.

​Dotted around are jagged karst limestone islands, little islets covered with lush trees, some have pure white sand beaches with palm tree fringed shores and others looked like they were floating on the surface. The views are simply stunning,

Raja Ampat is one of the world’s most famous regions for amazing scuba diving, freediving and snorkelling. We had heard stories of pristine coral gardens and prolific marine life so thick it blots out the sun, and that is why we wanted to visit.

We wanted to find out for ourselves if these stories were true or largely exaggerated.
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Boy oh boy, what an experience we had!

The Gili Islands, Indonesia, are known as an idyllic slice of paradise. Located off the North West Coast of Lombok in the heart of the Coral Triangle, are three peanut sized tropical islands boasting white sand beaches, palm trees, a relaxed vibe, and, because there is no motorised transport, the gentle clip-clopping of the islands’ horse and carts provide a peaceful mind for all who visit.
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But what can the Gili Islands offer scuba divers? When approaching the islands by boat from Bali, you will see crystal clear aquamarine waters providing fabulous visibility averaging 20 to 25 metres all year round (sometimes more!). Not only are the waters clear, they are wonderfully warm (up to 31 degrees) and many divers enjoy the freedom of wearing shorts and a rash vest – no wetsuit required!

Divers don’t just want to hear about beautiful diving conditions, they want to see marine life.

And this is definitely where the Gili Islands deliver!

Our Oceans are incredibly important to our planet, not just for the marine life within in it, but for humans and animals on land. Covering 72% of the earth, did you know oceans produce more than half the oxygen we breath, and absorb the most carbon from our atmosphere. We would, quite simply, not be able to survive without the oceans. 

​A healthy ocean means a healthy planet.

World Ocean’s Day is a global day of ocean celebration to honour, help protect and conserve the world’s Oceans. It’s a day to appreciate how valuable oceans are to the way we live our lives and to show the issues our oceans are facing so we can all do our bit to ensure its health.

Our Oceans, Our Future

Viewing a Manta Ray is a dream for many, and has been described as one of the most breath taking experiences a diver can have. Do you know you don’t have to be a Scuba Diver to see them?

When snorkelling in Sangalaki, Borneo, we saw mantas feeding on the surface. Nothing could prepare us for how we would feel when we had our first encounter with these majestic giants of the ocean.

We have been lucky to have had a few experiences with manta rays which weren’t just fleeting glimpses. When scuba diving in Komodo, Raja Ampat, and Nusa Penida, we hung around watching them being cleaned for hours. 

This article shares our amazing encounters, and if you aren’t a huge manta fan, I hope you will learn more about this intelligent, graceful fish.
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We feel you can never have enough manta action, and we definitely still want more! Feet Do Travel share their Manta Madness.

I love wreck dives, it’s as simple as that. If I hear of a shipwreck which can be dived when I am visiting a country, then sign me up, I’m there baby!
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If you love your scuba diving then the USS Liberty Wreck off the north coast of Bali is somewhere you should add to your diving bucket list. It regularly charts in the World’s Top 10 Wreck Dives and it’s easy to see why. On the day we dived her; a hot February Monday morning, the sea temperature was 29 degrees, the visibility easily 25 metres and the conditions were calm and relaxing – what more can you ask for in a dive?

​As I sat on the balcony of our homestay in Indonesian Borneo watching turtles feeding on seagrass in front of me, I knew I was in a new-found paradise. After dinner, the sky was so clear, stars were visible sparkling in the black night sky, I couldn’t resist laying down to enjoy them, I mean, how often in life do you get the opportunity to look at an unpolluted sky? Oh look – there’s a shooting star, can it get any better than this?

Let’s hope so, the next day we were going to Sangalaki to look for the majestic manta rays. We had already spotted a small pod of dolphins on the boat journey to the island so we already knew that this place had potential to deliver!

When we first told friends we were going to Borneo most people asked “where??”. It is surprising how few people know about the third largest island in the world; everyone has heard of the Amazon rainforest but Borneo’s is actually older at 140 million years ... so why is this Country still largely unheard of?

Borneo is shared by Malaysia, Indonesia and the tiny nation of Brunei (think “Sultan of Brunei” and the wealth that is there!) so maybe this causes people confusion??

This ancient biodiverse land is full of fascinating statistics and is home to half of all known plant and animal species - some aren’t found anywhere else in the world apart from Borneo. We have visited this beautiful Country on two occasions (so far) ... so how about I tell you about our amazing experiences and hopefully you will consider paying a visit yourself!

Scuba divers are always discussing which is the world’s number one dive site and it is true that there are many, many top contenders. Sipadan rates highly on many people’s list and on 16 September 2016, Scuba Travel voted Barracuda Point on the island of Sipadan as the number one dive site in the world. It was also voted number one by the legendary Jacques-Yves Cousteau, the naval officer, explorer, conservationist, photographer, author and researcher who studied the sea and all forms of marine line.

In his film Borneo: The Ghost of the Sea Turtle (1989, Jacques Cousteau said: "I have seen other places like Sipadan, 45 years ago, but now no more. Now we have found an untouched piece of art”

But why?

Diving in Borneo is amazing, it’s as simple as that. Not only does it have one of the world’s most interesting places to search for macro-life but also one of the world’s top diving sites on its doorstep – Sipadan!

So far, we have visited twice with a plan to return again and and on all occasions we stayed at Scuba Junkie on the island of Mabul. We honestly cannot big this place up enough and will wax lyrical about it given the opportunity!

We chose Scuba Junkie because of the 5* reviews on Trip Advisor; they didn’t just live up to our expectations, they exceeded them, in fact I would say they blew them out into the stratosphere!  Seriously, I should have shares in this place for how much I rave about it.

​Cyprus is captivating. It has something for everyone, and there are many things to do in Cyprus; it has beautiful beaches, you can visit archaeological and historical sites, if you want to party there are plenty of options, plus don’t forget snorkelling and diving.

Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean and divided into two cultures, the Greek Cypriots occupy the South, and Turkish Cypriots the North East. 
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But what things did we do in Cyprus for it to leave such a lasting impression? Let us tell you how this picturesque country captivated us.