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Specialties: Wreck Diving, Drift Diving,
Live-aboard Diving. Cousteau named Belau’s Ngemelis Wall as
the world’s best wall dive and CEDAM selected Belau as the
best of the seven diving wonders of the world. Truk Lagoon
contains over 60 shipwrecks, the world’s largest underwater
museum.
Micronesia,
whose translation means “Tiny Islands,” consists of 2,141 small
islands scattered across the North Pacific Ocean. Micronesia
has seven districts including Kosrae, Palau, Ponape, the
Marianas, the Marshalls, Truk, and Yap. The whole territory is
equal to half the size of the continental United States. The
terrain varies from flat, sandy coral islets to steep, heavily
vegetated volcanic mountaintops.
The original
natives came from Southeast Asia but for the last 450 years,
they were ruled by Spain, Germany, and then Japan. At the end
of World War II, the United Nations (UN) transferred Micronesian
governance to the U.S.A. In the late1970’s, the residents of
Micronesia were given the opportunity to choose their form of
political independence. They opted to go four separate ways
forming the Republic of Belau, the Federated States of
Micronesia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, and
independence for the Marshall Islands. Each of the four mini
nations retains some form of free association with the U.S.A.
Political stability is assured, because the U.S.A. retains the
responsibility to defend its former UN trusteeship. For
international divers, this means convenient access to two of the
world’s best dive sites, Truk Lagoon and Belau. These atolls
are unique with Truk Lagoon offering the largest number of
diveable shipwrecks in the world and the isolated Belau, making
an almost perfect saltwater aquarium teeming with flora and
fauna.
• Truk
Lagoon lies 3600 miles west-southwest of Hawaii, 1500 miles
east of the Republic of Belau. Truk Lagoon belongs to the
Federated States of Micronesia, along with the other islands of
the Central Trust Territory including Ponape, Truk, Kosrae, Yap
and numerous atolls. Truk lagoon was formed by a gigantic
volcano that eroded into a series of asymmetrical peaks into the
depths of the surrounding Pacific Ocean. What remains are ten
ruggedly hilly and large islands, hundreds of islets and a flat
sandy bottom with five deepwater passes through the 140-mile
long reef.
The reef
protects the lagoon, its people, and the sunken artifacts from
over 60 wrecks referred to as the “Ghost Fleet” of the Japanese
Imperial Navy. Truk was the naval hub of Japan’s outer line of
defense. On February 5, 1944, the Japanese spotted a marine
reconnaissance plane flying high over the lagoon and withdrew at
least 37 of their warships. What they didn’t expect was that
over the next seven months, they would be hammered by a total of
35 separate attacks beginning on February 17, 1944 with
Operation Hailstone. Japanese battle reports indicate that
during the attack February 17-19, a total of 41 ships were sunk,
more than 270 aircraft were destroyed, thousands of lives were
lost, and all airfields were damaged. During a second major
attack from April 30 to May 1, 1944, an additional 29 ships were
lost. If Japanese battle reports are correct, there are even
more wrecks lying on the bottom of Truk Lagoon, still
undiscovered. These artifacts unfortunately have a limited
lifetime because no one knows how long the wreckage can resist
the corrosive effects of saltwater. The three main attractions
are the wrecks of the Shinkoko Maru, Sankisan Maru
and Fujikawa Maru. These ships have transformed into
complete coral reefs with hard and soft corals, invertebrates,
crustaceans, exotic reef fish, sharks, rays, ocean spade fish,
and schools of jacks.
• Belau,
formerly Palau (puh-LAOW), is an archipelago of 343 islands
spread over hundred of miles and located just southwest of the
Yap Islands, 800 miles southwest of Guam and 600 miles east of
the Philippines. The Republic of Belau was created after
residents of the islands of Koror, Bapelthaup, Peleliu, Angaur,
Kayangel, Sonsorol, Tobi and Pulo Anna voted to join together.
The chain of mostly uninhabited islands is perched atop a string
of underwater mountaintops. The islands themselves range from
hilly to flat but none are mountainous. The lagoon and most of
the islands are completely surrounded by barrier reef.
Belau has
perfect atolls, barrier reefs, patch reefs, fringing reefs,
sixty known drop-offs, twelve blue holes and numerous marine
lakes and caverns. In 1989, CEDAM International (an
organization dedicated to conservation, education, diving,
archeology and museums) selected Belau as the best of diving
wonders of the world. Belau has over 1500 species of fishes and
700 species of corals in addition to a few Japanese shipwrecks
and aircraft from World War II. Belauan diving is pristine and
diving sites are characterized by hard-coral gardens populated
by a host of reef fishes. In the exposed barrier reefs and
passes, soft corals and pelagic fishes abound. Currents are
expected at most dive sites and can be very strong at depth and
at the surface. For divers, this translates to infinite diving
experiences. The wall dives in Belau are legendary. In fact,
Jacques Cousteau once named Belau’s Ngemelis Wall as the world’s
best wall dive. Marine life includes hundreds of species of
tropicals and corals, sponges and pelagics. At the drop-offs
and along the walls are snappers, butteryflyfish, triggerfish,
and unicornfish along with manta rays with 8 foot wingspans,
reef sharks, silver-tips and white-tip sharks. In the lagoons
around the Rock Islands, submerged warship and plane wrecks have
developed their own ecosystems. These wrecks are havens for
yellowtails, batfish and lionfish.
Best
Diving Months: Year-round diving. Best months for Belau are
December through March. Best months for Truk are July through
September although there isn’t any guarantee of water clarity
anytime.
Water
Temperature: Water temperatures average 83°F. Lycra dive
suites are usually adequate.
Underwater
Visibility: From 50 to 200 feet. Truk Lagoon’s water are
loaded with plankton year-round so visibility can drop to as low
as 25 feet during blooms. Normally, visibility in Truk Lagoon
is 50 to 60 feet.
Airport
Info: Travelers fly into Guam and then connect on
flights to the respective islands.
Documents
and Customs Regulations: A passport is preferred but U.S.
citizens may also use a certified birth certificate with a
raised seal. All travelers must also have an onward or return
airline ticket. Visas are not required unless the stay is
longer than 30 days. Visitors from other nationalities are
required to have a passport, U.S. visa and a round-trip ticket
for stays of 30 days or less.
Language:
English, Japanese, and Micronesian dialects.
Health:
Smallpox and cholera inoculations are required only if entering
from an infected area. Tetanus, typhoid, and paratyphoid
injections are strongly recommended.
Climate:
Tropical, warm and humid with virtually no seasons. Average air
temperature is 82°F and the humidity stays at 82 percent. Rain
is frequent throughout the year, although rain is rarely heavy.
The southern districts typically have more rain from mid-May to
late November. Belau is outside the typhoon zone.
Government:
U.S. Trust Territory with appointed Resident Commissioner for
the Marianas and High Commissioner for the other six districts.
The Republic of Belau became self-ruling in 1994 and now has a
Compact of Free Association with the U.S.
Electrical
Current: 110 volts, 60 cycles AC and compatible with
American appliances. Surge protectors are recommended for
sensitive equipment.
Current Weather:
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Currency:
U.S. Dollar (USD). Get
current exchange rate from XE.com
Current Time: Republic
of Belau (GMT +9), The Federated States of
Micronesia, Yap and Chuuk (GMT +10)
Get current time from WorldTimeServer.com
Federated States of
Micronesia, Kosrae, Pohnpei (GMT +11).
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