Dive Wakatobi with your camera - it will blow your mind!
Terry has just finished his 52nd diving season, having done his first sea dives during Easter 1967 on holiday in Cornwall. He talks about why Wakatobi is such a special place for him as a diver and an underwater photographer.
I met a woman called Sonia in early December 2000 whilst on a liveaboard trip in the Northern Red Sea. After she became a dive guide at the Wakatobi Dive Resort, Sonia emailed me a number of times saying “You really must come to Wakatobi with your camera, it will blow your mind!”
Suffice to say, I did not take much persuading and I arrived at the Wakatobi Dive Resort on 2 December 2013, exactly 13 years, to the day, from when Sonia and I first met and I have just returned from my seventh trip to Wakatobi in five years; enough said!
Wakatobi is situated in the centre of the 'Coral Triangle' and, as such, has a wide diversity of species of coral, invertebrates and fish, with most of the dive sites being wall type dives providing excellent opportunities for wide angle photography.
The area is also very good for macro photography with an abundance of small critters, including pygmy seahorses. It is not a place to see large pelagic species such as manta rays and large sharks. The visibility is usually better than 20 metres and often greater than 30 metres giving pleasing backgrounds to wide angle shots.
The highlight for most divers, on the Pelagian, is the night dive at 'Magic Pier', Pasar Wajo, Buton Island. Here there are not a few pairs of mandarin fish spawning each evening, but in the order of 300 – 400 pairs! When they finish their display, literally thousands of catfish emerge from under and around the concrete block base of the pier supports and they all swim off just like a large cloud. Other wall diving highlights include 'Fish Market Pinnacle', Karang Kapota Outer, 'Neptune's Garden' and Kaledupa Wall.
Images by Terry Crocker
Experience the beauty of Wakatobi for yourself with our Wakatobi Dive Resort & Pelagian Liveaboard trip. Speak to a member of the dive team for more information.
