MikeVeitch

haha, ok, that sounds like my recent whaleshark trips too.. just something about these sharks that just makes you want to click click click!

sounds normal to me. You have offered it to them for advertising use etc? As something you have donated then retaining copyright is what should be expected and your name should certainly be credited of course. Doesn't sound to me like they are trying to "attain copyright" or anything fishy. Go for it

definitely looks like a mimic to me..

great stuff Darren, who is your operator?

very nice.. you still using that single Amphibico light?

thanks Drew

great stuff Todd, 200 year old? i had no idea whales lived that long.

Good stuff! Glad you enjoyed the trip and hope the rest of the time was good. I ended up being on the boat for another week so didn't see you guys on the plane haha

i was there just last week but the whalesharks are there 365 days a year it seems George: a general? that explains quite a bit then hahaha

you? shoot wide? looks like fun, i will go there next week i think..

Hi Steve, actually I would estimate they are all around the 12-22 ft range, all young males. No full on adults, i heard somewhere that the recent tagging they did there had a total of 23 sharks, 22 of which were male, all young. I was on the Damai Dua liveaboard

don't let anyone ever doubt my brain power

nope, I was on a liveaboard, you stayed at the village in the school? how did you get them to let you in the water at night? they kicked us off the bagan at 5pm..

Congrats John, looking forward to getting a copy

Well, there is a lot of action on the Mexican whaleshark phenomenon threads at the moment, but in my opinion the whale sharks found in Cenderawasih Bay are just as an amazing encounter as Isla Mujueros. Although we only encountered a max of 5 at a time, these sharks hung around with us for 3 whole days. For those of you not aware of what is going on, the sharks in the bay have formed a relationship with the fishermen who live on the fishing platforms and the fishermen feed the whalesharks bait fish. This has been going on for many years and its an absolutely fantastic photo opportunity, I was just there for 3 trips, including one where I was teaching a photography workshop. Although photos are great, I think this little video with my D90 shows what is going on a little bit better. Enjoy! http://youtu.be/rp8ijGj3wtk

Hi Jenny, thanks for the report! what's wrong with guns? hahaha... thats an Alex Mustard original so it may be worth something in the future Glad to hear you enjoyed the trip and the shots look great! Fab... I like that haha A very good and entertaining write up, I enjoyed reading your thoughts about the trip and of course reason #10 haha hopefully see you again soon!

Hi Folks, update on availability, just one Twin share and one Master Suite still available for this trip left.

Hey Cheryl... sounds like you haven't gone to Komodo yet? There is a resort out on Sebayor Island, not sure the name of it, but the diving in Komodo is in my top 2 in Indo (along with Raja)

got a link?

yes, Bayangan is a very under rated dive site, i love the spit that sticks out.. good schooling fish as well as the barracudas on the opposite side and the batfish up top great site

Drew, the big Mantas are at Blue Magic in the north, close to Mioskon. Biggest ones in Raja area for sure and in my experience more reliable than Bayangan (if thats the site you are referring to...) Matt: they are all very different. I believe Komodo has a better population of invertebrates and macro life than Raja for instance. My list goes Komodo #1, Raja #2 just because of the invertebrates and other muck diving in the Komodo area that I "personally" feel is superior to Raja in that way.

Raja Ampat the best time to dive with a liveaboard is Dec-early April, better viz typically Feb and March. The north end can be dived all year, the south around Misool can be very rough with wind from south from June-Oct, Misool Resort closes for some months during that period. Komodo the "high season" is May-Oct with it being warm and mainly calm in the north and cold and possibly rough in the south. However, Dec- March is mostly calm with blue warm water in the south but with possible rough water in the north. I personally like Dec as there is less diver traffic especially in the south, but all months are good. To get to Raja from Komodo you would have to leave Labuan Bajo to Bali with a morning flight, then get on evening flight to Makassar (Lion Air at 7pm) and stay overnight in Makassar and get morning flight to Sorong. However.. i think that is a lot of flying. Do keep in mind that most liveaboards in this area are 10-12 night trips, a few do 7 nights but that is not typical. I would suggest one of two itineraries as you only have limited time: Fly to Bali and join with an operator there to show you the best of Bali: Molas, the Liberty Wreck, great muck diving in the north as well as some time to enjoy the land stuff. Then fly to Labuan Bajo or Bima and join a liveaboard, (different boats do different ports) then fly back to Bali for a night or two and then home. (some liveaboards do leave from Bali to go to Komodo as well but not many) OR Fly to Singapore then to Manado and do 5-7 days of great Muck diving in Lembeh Strait, then head back to the airport and take a short flight to Sorong and jump on a liveaboard, then back to Manado and Singapore then home. Let me know if you need more info

any guestimate on the distances involved from where they were chumming and where the guy got bit? Hi Kevin!

Sounds about right. good job!

outstanding, i was wondering who shot that. Very nice!