INDONESIA - MOROTAI - D'ALOHA AND SOUTHERN ISLANDS - 12 FEBRUARY TO 14 FEBRUARY 2019

I woke and thought 'time to leave Morotai … need to surf BUT firstly I will visit the southern islands'.

I said my goodbyes and caught a share car to D'Aloha Resort near Daruba in the south of Morotai.

I settled into my room and caught up with my friend Norma. In the afternoon, I had a walk along the beach and the nearby town. It was a fun walk along the beach, chatting now and again to a few locals. The walk through the village was great. The people were friendly, ready for a small chat and wanting their photo taken. Two kids followed me for ages, I took their photo and they ran off happy.

Back at the resort, I had dinner on the beach. It was a 3/4 moon. The moonlight was quite pretty reflecting off the water.

Back in my room, I organised onward plane tickets and hotels for my next destinations.

The next day, I did the boat trip to the islands. it was 1 000 000R but worth it. I had the boat for 7 hours and the boat had three motors (always good in case of problems) and a cabin.

Norma was my guide. We had fun sitting on the cabin roof, walking around the islands, wading through the shallow water and being silly.

The first island was small and sandy with no vegetation. Small waves were breaking from all directions either depositing or withdrawing sand. We walked around the island (a couple of minutes) and I had a swim in the clear water.

At Kokoyo Island, I had a snorkel next to the pier. The water was clear and there were massive schools of fish, pretty coral and a sea snake. The fish were so numerous that I couldn't see through them but they parted for and around me as I swam through them. Very magical.

After that, Norma and I walked around part of the island along the shore and through the shallow water.

Dodolo Island was really two islands at high tide connected by a sand spit. We walked around the islands crossing over on the sand spit. The sand was blindingly white. It was so pretty.

There were a number of places to stay on the islands. We had lunch on a cabana in the shade.

The last stop was between two small rock islands in the middle of the ocean. the water was shallow between the two islands and was ideal for snorkelling. There were lots of fish and coral. the visibility was good but it parts the sand movement obscured vision.

It was a great day on the islands. I got back feeling good tired, had a shower and dinner then off to bed.

The next morning, I had my final walk along the beach. I said my goodbyes and drove off to the airport. At the airport, I had problems with the charging of my surfboards but it all sorted out in the end.

MUNMORAH SCA - BEACH, FISH, DOLPHINS, MTB - 23 OCTOBER 2018

The day was predicted to be sunny.



I checked the surf at North Avoca and Wamberal but it was pretty small on a high tide.

I drove up to Pelican Beach, which had a few random okay small waves but noone was out.

Next stop, Soldiers Beach. The surf was small with a random okay wave but there as quite a few sups and mals out. Most of the time they were sitting/standing. I got a cappuccino and headed further north.

I stopped at Red Ochre Beach at Munmorah State Conservation Area and wandered down to the beach. The sun was shining warmly and the beach was near deserted. I sat don near the water's edge and gazed around, took photos and read. Amazingly, a pod of dolphins undulated past at about 20 metres from shore. They were following massive schools of fish. The fish were closer to shore and I could see them clearly on the face of some small waves as the wave reached its peak before breaking.

As I was lying on the beach a chill came over me and a fog bank had moved across the beach. I couldn't see the south end of the beach or Bird Island.

I left the beach and drove to the trail head of the Snapper Point Trail. I set up the mountain bike and had a ride along the trail. The trail as relatively short but there was a fun side track that meandered downhill through the thick bush. I followed until just before reaching a dense steep overgrown gully.

A great morning with a short sort-of-swim, dolphins, schools of fish in the waves, a rolling fog bank and a mountain bike ride.

TERRIGAL HAVEN SNORKEL - 5 MAY 2018

The day was sunny and warm. The surf was relatively flat and the water was clear and warm.

Kara and I took Mr Archibald, the dusty lori for an outing at Terrigal Haven.

We sat on the beach and while Kara and Mr Archibald did some beach bonding, I had a snorkel.

The water was so clear. I didn't see many large fish but the smaller fish put on a beautiful and smooth acrobatic. The smallest fish swam in groups darting this way and that as a whole. At other times, they just flowed with the water movement.

The bigger fish searched for food and took off briskly when I got too close. 

A fun snorkel.

Back on the beach, Mr Archibald and Kara were enjoying their sunshine bonding. Mr Archibald flew to my shoulder (he does have a harness on and lead so he can't get too far) and settled himself in to some salt licking on my wet hair. He loves it!

SULAWESI, BUNAKEN ISLAND - BOAT, SNORKEL AND TURTLES - 14 JULY 2017

I woke early and wander around the hotel grounds, down to the ocean and had a swim in the pool. All nice, still and quiet.

After breakfast, I was off in a boat for snorkeling. Jacinta hung around the pool. The first snorkel started off with a drop off with okay coral and fish. I had to cross an open area between two reefs. It was like an abyss below me with rays of sunlight adding to the disorientation. When the other reef started to come into view, two large turtles materialized in front of me - awesome.

The second snorkel started in awesome fashion with a sheer drop off wall in much clearer water. There were heaps of fish and okay coral. I drifted with the current for ages. After an hour, I looked up to find that the boat was not longer in sight. A bit of a worry but I figured they would find me when it was time to go. I saw about a 6 turtles this time. I got reasonably close to one but I had to dive pretty deep.

 (vague photo of turtle)

I rested for the afternoon.

Later, Jacinta and I had a few beers before dinner at the hotel bar which had a great view over the ocean to the mainland. We also listen to a local guy sing and play some local songs on his guitar. Nice.

Malaria tablet night.

TOOWOON BAY SNORKEL - 29 MARCH 2017

A flat surf day this morning with very light wind and an incoming tide. The ocean was looking very glassy.

I walked along the beach at Toowoon Bay and entered the water where the sand meets the island for a snorkel.

The water was a bit weedy to start with a strong current moving over the shallow sections.

As soon as I put my head under the water there were fish zooming over a sand and rock background.

I snorkeled out towards the sup riders on the point first. I didn't get as far as the sup riders as the visibility deteriorated too much. Along the way, I saw fish, pretty coloured rocks and seaweed, stingrays and a small shark.

I backtracked and crossed the narrow channel between the beach and the island. It was hard going as the tide as working strongly against me. I did see lots of fish feeding amongst the seaweed.

I continued onwards close to the rocks and small waves. The tide and waves pushed me in and out but eventually I got to the deeper water and saw a massive blue coloured groper.

I fed the fish sending them into a wild frenzy and went in via the beach.

One unusual event was a large fish that followed me nearly the full length of my snorkel.

I warmed up with a coffee and relax at the kiosk at the surf club over looking the bay and beach.