HMAS Brisbane dives
January 5th, 2009
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Thailand - A scuba Diving Haven
December 30th, 2008
Monday, 29 December 2008
Thailand has a warm climate with the months between October and April being the best time to visit the country. The waters around Thailand at this time of year are ideal for scuba diving. The rainy season falls outside his window.
Phuket Scuba Diving
Phuket, being the largest island in Thailand is abundant with underwater life which includes reefs, wrecks and underwater volcanoes. Not only do hundreds of different species of fish reside in its waters but also rare turtles, dolphins, whales and sharks. Phuket is accessible by way of plane through major Asian and European destinations including Australia. Phuket offers everything a scuba diver dreams of with dive sites and destinations that include the Similan Islands, Shark Point, King Cruiser Wreck and the Andaman Wreck.
Hin Mouang Scuba Diving
Famous for its pelagic fish, Hin Mouang is one of the more famous diving destinations in Thailand. Breathtaking and simply magnificent are just a few words to describe the underwater peaks, large fish shoals, pretty carpets of anemone, gigantic corals, gorgonians and other extravagant sights that call this place home.
Hin Daeng
With close proximity to Hin Mouang, this place is another totally unique site that Thailand has to offer. Common features of the waters in Hin Daeng include morays, octopi, shrimps, crayfish, gray reef sharks, leopard sharks, and barracudas with the occasional sightings of manta rays, whale sharks and nurse sharks.
Koh Kraden Wreck Diving
A dive site off Koh Kraden Islands coast. Famous because of a sunken Japanese destroyer, this wreak has become a breeding ground for flora and fauna. Sea horses, giant morays, soft corals, lion fish and great schools of fish are also present here during any scuba dive.
Diving Koh Dok Mai
Koh Dok Mai is another dive location well known for night cave diving. Sea urchins like lobsters, moray eels, leopard sharks, sea snakes are known to inhabit this dive site. A great place for a different diving experience.
Dive Thailand is one of the best scuba diving destinations as it has a lot to offer. You will not be disappointed if you are considering going there for your next trip. You will be sure to have an extraordinary time with many memories. - 2275
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Papuan Paradise
December 28th, 2008
The US and European yachting, fishing and diving fraternities have known for a long time: Papua New Guinea is home to some of the best marine environments in the world, boasting deep water and high visibility.
Situated in the centre of the Asia-Pacific region, surrounded by the Coral, Bismarck and Solomon Seas, whose constant movements feed and enrich the marine environment, PNG has twice as many marine species as the waters of the Red Sea and an estimated 10 times as many as the Caribbean. Its diving has been rated the Top Dive Destination in the World in Rodale’s Scuba Diving Readers Choice Awards.
With 16 dive operators offering land-based and live-aboard diving along 17,000 km of coastline and 45,000 kms² of reef systems, divers can enjoy minimal contact with other dive groups in reef systems that include barrier reefs, coral walls, coral gardens, patch reefs, fringing reefs, sea grass beds, coral atolls and wrecks.
The wreck sites provide a fascinating collection of ships, aircraft and submarine wrecks from World War II – a diverse range for skill levels from buffs to beginners. Best of all, the average water temperature varies from 25 degrees Celsius along the edge of the Coral Sea to 29 degrees Celsius in the Bismarck Sea.
When it comes to marine tourism and diving particularly, there is no ‘must-see’ list, according to Vilia Lawrence, manager of PNG Dive Association. ‘It’s all superb,’ she says, adding that’s the PNG advantage over more high-profile and highly marketed destinations – it’s pristine.
‘PNG is not the shopping, tourism, fine dining luxury travel destination,’ Vilia continues, although she says there are many resorts and some are adding spa facilities these days to cater for the upper end. ‘What is ‘must see’ is the culture, the natural wonders and the superlative diving.’
Many travelers and dive groups from the US and Europe choose to coincide their trips to PNG with the two main festivals: the most popular in Goroka in the Eastern Highlands, around National Day, 16 September, and the other in Mt Hagen in August.
Vilia recommends planning your trip during the dry season, which starts around April/ May and runs until early December.
She is reluctant to list a ‘top sites’ selection, but reveals there are plenty of pretty reefs around Kimbe Bay, Port Moresby and Milne Bay. For big fish, head to New Ireland and anywhere out to sea.
If you’re dipping a toe in for the first time, you should make your first port of call any of the resorts or dive shops listed on the PNG Dive site, www.pngdive.com, which offer instruction and fully escorted dive trips. ‘You literally walk off the beach and are guided the whole time,’ says Vilia.
As well as visa requirements – a 60-day tourist visa on arrival for AUD$40 – the region boasts strong environmental standards. ‘We are all about self-regulation because we believe we know the industry and the environment better than the government,’ says Vilia. ‘We have stringent mooring rules and strongly recommend people contact a local operator to get copies of dive guides and mooring tips. It’s a case of ‘look but don’t touch’.’
Due to the country’s well-developed fishing and dive industries, operated by provincial administrations in each area, the network of operators is professional, eager for business and can be relied on for information about customs checks and fees.
For visiting yachts, the resorts along the coast of PNG offer accommodation with facilities that vary from standard to luxury, including restaurants, pools and spa services.
PNG has its own hyperbaric recompression facility located in Port Moresby. The facility is situated within a private hospital and is operated and maintained to international standards by Hyperbaric Health Australia.
Mark Bishop, an Aussie expat who has lived on PNG since 1972, says the waterways, diving and boating lifestyle (along with business interests) are his main reasons for calling Port Moresby home. He and his wife, Roslyn raised their two children in PNG.
‘It’s a great place to grow up, surrounded by a lot of water and heaps of activities,’ says Bishop. ‘The kids loved it. They went to the local international schools with all the other expat and local kids. Our kids are 30 and 33 and still love boating, windsurfing, diving, kite surfing.’
While it certainly is less urbane than most capital cities, Port Moresby isn’t the remote jungle outpost people imagine.
‘People do have preconceived ideas about it,’ says Bishop. ‘Port Moresby has 300,000 people, so it’s a large community and made up of all sorts. We have good friends up there – a whole cross section of people, expats and locals.’ As for danger, Bishop counters suggestions that it’s a wild and lawless land. ‘It’s not dangerous. You have to watch out in certain places, but it depends what you do, like any other city.’
Now in his late 50s, Bishop says he is still ‘vital and open to anything’, and loves the lifestyle PNG offers.
‘I enjoy the diving. I’m not an adventure nut, but I like a bit of everything – windsurfing, diving, kayaking and fishing. I make sure there’s always a balance of work and play.’
Up in PNG, his Maritimo 52 makes an impact. ‘It’s the best boat in port, for sure,’ he says, describing the craft at the 250 berth marina at the Port Moresby Yacht Club as ‘mixture of all sorts, just like the people’.
Bishop picked up his new boat from the company’s Hope Island headquarters, taking his time up the coast. Named Blue Finn, after his two-year old grandson, Finnegan, the boat was loaded up with fuel and supplies and importantly, fitted with every conceivable mod-con his passengers could wish for.
As Bishop recounts, he picked up family in Townsville, including Finnegan and his daughter who had joined the party from Canada, and took them around Hinchinbrook Island for five days. After eight days in Cairns, Bishop readied himself and his vessel for the trip to PNG, via Lizard Island.
Blue Finn made the 150 mile crossing between Lizard Island and Port Moresby in eight hours at 18 knots, due to ‘bouncy conditions’.
Once back in PNG, Bishop and his fishing mates began planning their next trip. ‘Most of PNG is pretty fantastic,’ says Bishop, having just returned from Milne Bay, Normanby Island and Goodenough Island. ‘Then we went to the fiord area around Tufi where there are some amazing anchorages. We were about a mile up a fiord and still in 70m deep water.’
Of his favourite haunts, Bishop finds it easy to wax lyrical. ‘We head to Eastern Fields, about 100 miles south of Moresby in the Coral Sea, when the sou’easters stop. We’ll be heading to Kimbe and Alotau to meet up with another friend’s dive boat, Telita. Then we’ll spend about six weeks out there, enjoying the dive spots and fishing – yellow fin tuna, dog fin tuna, trevally, mackerel, coral trout.’
Kimbe on New Britain is the third largest port in PNG, boasting 60% of the coral species of the entire Indo-Pacific. The bustling town is the fastest growing city in the South Pacific and attracts a burgeoning tourist industry with its share of resorts and hotels.
Then there’s Alotau, gateway to the Milne Bay Province and some of the most remote island communities in the world. Alotau is still a natural haven and remains relatively free of tourists, despite offering some of the world’s best scuba diving and immaculate coral reefs.
Eastern Fields are the remnant of a volcanic island and thanks to the constant churning of fresh and nutrient-rich water, coral growth is copious. In November and December when the plankton bloom, the sea is filled with Manta Rays and Whale Sharks, as well as frequent visitors in the schools of Minke Whales, Pilot Whales and even Orcas.
For fishing, Port Moresby itself has plenty of places inside the reef to keep avid boaties occupied: Fishermans Island, Loloata Island and the maze of estuaries renowned as habitats of the infamous PNG Black Bass and Barramundi.
‘You can’t really go wrong in PNG. There’s so much choice. Star Reefs off Tufi is good. Kavieng and Manus Island too. But people need to experience them all for themselves.’
For information visit the PNG High Commission www.pngcanberra.org www.pngdive.com or email vilia@pngdive.com.pg
To view the complete article: http://www.powerboat-world.com/Papuan-Paradise/52240/arc
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Tioman Island For The Top Ten
December 28th, 2008
December 26, 2008 at 9:30 AM
When we read that Tioman Island, off the east coast of Malaysia, was making top 10 lists of the world’s best islands back in the 1970s, we wondered why we’d never heard of it before.
But it seems Tioman had already had its 15 minutes of fame even then: Way back in 1958 it was used as the “Bali Hai” location for the film “South Pacific.” (Ask your parents. Or grandparents.) Yet we’ve seen the name pop up a couple of times recently, so we suspect they’re trying to bring back the good times.
These days you can get a ferry there from the mainland Malaysian coast or get a flight from Kuala Lumpur or Singapore; there are a few different accommodation options though it’s all still pretty low-key. There’s great scuba-diving both on reefs and wrecks and a bunch of relaxing beaches, so it seems like there’s reason enough to try it out. At best, it’ll be a fantastic summer vacation spot and at worst, it’ll be a time travel trip back to what was hip in the ’70s.
To view the complete article: http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/12/24/234753/34/travel/Tioman+Island+For+The+Top+Ten
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The Pacific Lionfish Continues Spreading Southward in the Caribbean Region
December 25th, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
As a followup to a prior story, the invasive Pacific fish, the lionfish, has now been sighted in Belize, the first such sighting in Central America. As the species spreads southward, the Bonaire National Marine Park is making plans for its arrival on Bonaire.
Although not yet sighted in the Netherlands Antilles or Aruba, it’s only a matter of time before the lionfish makes an appearance in local waters. Certain research by Mark Albins in the Bahamas indicates that a single lionfish transplanted onto small patch reefs can reduce the recruitment of natives fishes by 80%.
Because of the effect the species may make on Bonaire’s reefs, STINAPA and the Bonaire National Marine Park are making proactive plans for the fish’s arrival.
The lionfish has no natural predators in the local Caribbean waters, which is one reason why it can easily consume a large number of small reef fish. Therefore, STINAPA is instituting a plan to use the island’s dive guides, who are in the water each day, to immediately notify the marine park when a lionfish is spotted. When this occurs, Bonaire National Marine Park staff will enter the water at that dive site, and each ranger will be carrying two aquarium-type nets, and their plan will be to catch the fish and thus remove it from the area. STINAPA does acknowledge that this plan may have to be adjusted as time passes, depending upon the number of sightings reported.
Lad Akins, from REEF, provides some valuable web site links for lionfish information and reportings of sightings. He reports that many have already been collaborating on research, education/outreach, early detection/reporting/rapid response and control, and many lessons have been learned from the past few years of intense work in the Bahamas, Bermuda, the US East Coast and the northern Caribbean.
For those of interested in staying current on lionfish distribution and new reports, please consider signing up for the USGS early warning notification system. All data that is received is forwarded into this master database and any new records of lionfish or other non-native species are broadcast to those signed up for the early warning system. You can access the site at by clicking here, and just follow the links to subscribe. For each of the records listed in the lionfish distribution map, additional information is accessed by clicking on the map dot. Records in this system are well vetted and QA generally requires an image or very strong evidence of occurrence before inclusion.
Another site of interest may be the lionfish progression map showing the spread of this invasion by year, available by clicking here. This map is updated regularly though not daily.
Sightings of lionfish and other non-native species can be reported via either the REEF Exotic Species Reporting page or the USGS NAS System. (Source: NACRI and STINAPA (Bonaire National Marine Park)
To view this article: http://www.bonaireinsider.com/index.php/bonaireinsider/the_pacific_lionfish_continues_spreading_southward_in_the_caribbean_region/
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Bonaire Sweeps Scuba Diving Magazine’s Reader Choice Awards 2008 with Nine #1 Ratings
December 25th, 2008
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Once again the island of Bonaire has swept top honors while continuing its reign as one of the world’s top dive destinations: For the seventh consecutive year, Bonaire has been rated the Top Dive Destination Overall (Caribbean/Atlantic) in Scuba Diving magazine’s Readers’ Choice Awards 2008.
Bonaire also received the #1 rating in eight other Caribbean/Atlantic categories: Top Marine Life, Top Marine Environment, Top Macro Life, Top Shore Diving Destination, Top Destination for Underwater Photography, Top Destination for Beginners, Top Value, and Top Snorkeling.
“This certainly demonstrates that Bonaire is the Diver’s Paradise. To have received nine #1 rankings reinforces that Bonaire’s continued vigilance and efforts to protect the island’s coral reefs are producing a superior dive product and in turn an amazing dive experience for our visitors,” said Ronella Croes, Director of the Tourism Corporation Bonaire (TCB). She continued, “Such constant diver support clearly indicates the value of conservation and preservation efforts, such as those afforded by the Bonaire National Marine Park. With roots going back as far as 1979, the park set a high benchmark for today’s marine environmental standards.”
For the Reader’s Choice awards, thousands of Scuba Diving subscribers and web users rated their dive experiences on a scale of one to five. Results of the 2008 Awards will be featured in the January/February 2009 issue of Scuba Diving magazine. (Source: TCB-NY)
To view this article: http://www.bonaireinsider.com/index.php/bonaireinsider/bonaire_sweeps_scuba_diving_magazines_reader_choice_awards_2008_with_nine_1/
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Mexican nature park is coastal gem
December 23rd, 2008
Posted by Susan Cocking/Miami Herald December 19, 2008 09:59AM
AKUMAL, Mexico — Hidden Worlds Cenotes Park on Mexico’s Caribbean coast is nothing like the noisy, over-mechanized amusement parks found in the United States.
There’s no merry-go-round, tilt-a-whirl or roller coaster; no popcorn, cotton candy or funhouse mirror.
What there is: an Indiana Jones-meets-E.T. Skycycle that you pedal along an overhead cable atop the jungle tree canopy and through a couple of watery caves. Along the way, you swing like Tarzan on a zip line, splash down in a natural pool and snorkel in two hauntingly beautiful caverns.
This new Ultimate Adventure package is brought to you by Gordon ‘’Buddy'’ Quattlebaum, 55 — expatriate Floridian, inventor, underwater cave explorer and conservationist, who has been operating this popular park for more than 20 years.
‘I started thinking, `what is the perfect tour?’ and worked backwards,'’ Quattlebaum said. “It had to be high-adventure, but easy enough that anyone can do it. I wanted it to be low impact on the environment and self-propelled. Then I invented the machine to do those things.'’
Unusual bicycle
His patented Skycycle is a recumbent bicycle with belts instead of chains that the rider pedals along a cable mounted on poles like a ski lift. The rider can go at his or her own speed, pedaling fast-forward to speed up and backward to stop. The contraption also has hand brakes and harness belts for added security.
Quattlebaum says none of the more than 15,000 Skycycle riders have fallen out yet.
An outgrowth of the zip line — popularized in jungle tours of Costa Rica — this new mode of overhead transportation has wide applications, according to its inventor: ferrying children to school over dangerous ravines in Mexico’s western mountains, shuttling well-heeled guests among treetop houses in jungle vacation spots and providing a new way to tour major American amusement parks.
‘’You could go over Busch Gardens high enough that the animals wouldn’t bite you in the [butt],'’ Quattlebaum said.
But right now, the only way to ride the Skycycle is to visit Hidden Worlds — an unusual treat.
On a recent weekday morning, two middle-aged women tourists were strapped into their seats for the overhead trek across the Mayan jungle. Along the way, one of them spotted a brilliant green-headed snake with a thin, tapered body slithering across a palm frond just off the ground. A guide identified it as a common, non-venomous tree snake.
They had signed up for the Ultimate Adventure package, which allows guests to ride the Skycycle for as long as they want and make as many stops as they want to snorkel in two of the park’s cenotes, or watery caverns; rappel down the side of a limestone cliff; splash down from a zip line into a cavern pool, and browse an outdoor gift shop.
‘’It gets people into the environment and they can’t tear it up,'’ Quattlebaum said.
The Jacksonville native typically greets his guests barefoot and has them shuttled through the park in jungle buggies — bulky vehicles made of cobbled-together automotive parts.
Treehouse
Quattlebaum lives in a four-story treehouse in the jungle with spotty electricity, a detached cookhouse, outdoor toilet, elevated Jacuzzi and a cenote in the backyard. A smooth wooden dock lines the grotto, which was the setting for The Cave — a roundly panned 2005 movie about underwater explorers being menaced by evil cave creatures.
A former building contractor and tropical fish collector, Quattlebaum first visited Mexico’s Caribbean coast — now marketed worldwide as the Riviera Maya — in the late 1980s. He was on his way to Costa Rica to set up a dive operation, but ended up staying to help a local biologist protect a sea turtle nesting beach from development.
As an experienced cave diver, Quattlebaum helped pioneer the Riviera Maya’s booming recreational cave and cavern diving industries. He has helped map miles of underwater passages, but now devotes himself to inventions. Besides the Skycycle, he’s working on a water-powered automobile.
Said Quattlebaum: “I’ve got a lot of inventions in my head — more than I’ve got life left in me to build.'’
Of course, the first place they’re likely to show up is in Hidden Worlds.
To view this article: http://blog.cleveland.com/sports/2008/12/mexican_nature_park_is_coastal.html
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A little-known island gem
December 23rd, 2008
Larissa Ham shakes off the stress of the city and falls in love with a little-known gem.
Life is a funny thing. One day you’re in the city, wedging yourself on to the same old train, with barely a patch of blue sky to be seen, let alone a horizon. And the next day, a couple of inflight movies later, you can find your white body sprawled on an island in the middle of the South China Sea.
The destination for this sun-drenched adventure is Tioman Island, named one of the world’s top 10 islands by Time magazine in the 1970s.
It was also the setting for the mythical island of Bali Hai in the 1950s Hollywood flick South Pacific.
While the reasons for the prestigious Time ranking now seem to have slipped into the murky mire of pre-internet times, one can only assume silky beaches, palm trees and duty-free alcohol were involved.
Getting to the island, known locally as Pulau Tioman, is a 35-minute flight from Singapore’s Selatar Airport.
The view out the plane’s smudged window does not disappoint: blue sky, mountainous jungle and water inviting enough to consider a dive straight out the emergency exit.
Even the island’s “airport”, a single air strip, has a tropical feel to it.
Our home for the next three nights is reached by water taxi, a good chance to get a little wind in the hair after the flight.
The lovely Bamboo Hill Chalets, at the beach of Air Batang, also known as ABC, perch on the side of a hill top overlooking the blue waters.
The six chalets sit next to a fresh spring, better than buying bottles every day to avoid the potentially dodgy tap water. The company of monkeys, who can be seen regularly hopping about the rocky stairs on the way to the huts, also comes free.
While life looks pretty sweet for Roslinda (Lin) Rosli, the smiling manager of Bamboo Hill, she says the island is not quite like it used to be.
A Singaporean, she first visited Tioman 15 years ago on holiday, but relocated for good after meeting her future husband, a local.
She has since seen more development than is necessarily welcome. “I think now is different, before is much better. Before it is more like you go to the island and there’s nobody there, more nature,” Lin says.
Parts of the island could do with a spruce-up, mostly near the airport in Tekek and a few places where rubbish seems to have gathered behind rocks.
But when I fall asleep after a delicious seafood meal that night with the doors of our rustic wooden chalet open to the sea breeze, I can’t help but wonder, has she ever been to Surfers Paradise?
Perhaps it’s the fact that it’s June, and it’s the off-season, but it’s amazing how few people are taking advantage of this gorgeous island.
And after visiting other Asian destinations such as Vietnam and Bali, I have to wonder, where on earth are all the touts?
Relaxing on the beach is thankfully just that - relaxing. After the third day though, I must admit a massage on the beach, or perhaps a hand-delivered beer, might not go astray.
Renting bikes for the day to explore further afield, we spend much of the time lugging our bikes up and down stairs that interrupt the beachside path.
Lin says a road linking the whole of the island had been proposed, “but we don’t want it”.
In the meantime, water taxis can take you anywhere on the island, with a couple of stops thrown in if desired.
We hopped on a little boat to Coral Island on a 32 degree day, to swim in the warm waters and get some pristine white sand between our toes. There was also a stop off at the colourful Salang village and a look through the snorkel mask at the teeming fish in Monkey Bay.
Scuba divers will also be in their element on Tioman Island, with a number of dive schools and sea wrecks, coral reef and plenty of marine life to explore.
The main diving season runs from April to October, with manta ray and whale sharks spotted between March and May.
I could have spent a few weeks on Tioman, checking out the different beaches, soaking up the sun and walking through the jungle. Not to mention spending the balmy nights drinking overpowered concoctions at the falling down, Bob Marley-loving seaside bar. However we only have 10 days, and the jungles of Malaysia and the rest of the east coast beckon.
But a place like Tioman Island has a funny way of staying in your heart, a reminder that life has plenty in store.
STAYING THERE
- Bamboo Hill Chalets are located on Air Batang, in the island’s north-west. Book ahead. www.geocities.com/bamboosu/. Nightly prices range from $23 to $40 a chalet.
- For a fancier option try Japamala Resort in the island’s south-west. A tree top chalet begins at $130 a night. See www.japamalaresorts.com/home.html.
- More information, see www.tioman.com.my.
Toi view this article: http://www.theage.com.au/travel/a-littleknown-island-gem-20081211-6wqn.html#
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Costa Rica Remains a Top Choice…
December 18th, 2008
Costa Rica Remains a Top Choice for Travelers Wanting to Escape the Winter and Get the Most for Their Money
BusinessWire Published: Wednesday, December 17, 2008
With the growing economic uncertainty and the cold, winter months just around the corner, Costa Rica has become the ideal place where families can warm up, learn about their natural environment and be green without spending a lot of money this season. Due to its wide variety of activities, hotels, restaurants and impressive leadership in the sustainable tourism arena, this small Central American country is sure to satisfy every type of personality and offer the experience of a lifetime allowing travelers to make their dollar stretch farther this season.
While most North Americans prepare for the chilly, holiday months, Costa Rica is getting ready to welcome summer, or what the locals call “dry season.” This wonderful weather lends itself to one-of-a-kind experiences and breath-taking views of the beaches, volcanoes, waterfalls and rivers that interweave through the country’s rain and cloud forests. Regardless of your location on the Caribbean or Pacific side, Costa Rica is sure to deliver relaxation and adventure for a very attractive price.
North American travelers flock down south to Costa Rica in large amounts, and the country continues reporting growth in the number of international tourist arrivals - from the almost 1.9 million tourists that the country received last year alone, almost 50 percent were from North America. In 2008, Costa Rica will have hosted more than two million visitors. Costa Rica’s proximity to major hubs in the United States and the multitude of flight options makes it easy for travelers to vacation there. It is a two and half hour filght from Miami airport, a five-hour flight from New York, a four-hour flight from Dallas and a six-hour flight from LAX.
An added appeal for Costa Rica and its position as a Central American tourist destination has been its commitment to giving back to the planet and to its people. Due to these efforts, the country has become an ecological haven which is hosted by warm people who are proud and eager to show visitors their wonderful land. Their pride is translated into the vast amount of knowledge that they individually possess, turning any vacation to the country into an educational experience, in addition to being adventurous and relaxing. This attention to detail is what keeps visitors coming back to enjoy its natural wonders.
Trading Winter White for Summer Green
The trait that makes Costa Rica one of the most sought after eco-destinations is its 32 environmentally protected national parks which include tens of thousands of acres of rain forests and cloud forests, active volcanoes, beaches and waterfalls. The conservation of the land allows visitors to experience nature in its most pristine state through activities like hiking, rafting, canyoning, canopy tours, rock climbing and surfing. If scuba diving is what the traveler seeks, Costa Rica offers miles of coastline on the Caribbean and Pacific coast that are ideal for the avid scuba diver. For the ultimate diving experience, visit Cocos Island National Park, a destination so rich and pristine in marine biodiversity that it is nominated to be one of the Natural Seven Wonders of the World. www.new7wonders.com. Wherever the traveler decides to go and no matter how long they stay, Costa Rica offers them the ultimate ecological and educational experience, all rolled into one.
A Vacation that Gives Back
When it comes to sustainable tourism offerings, few can compare to Costa Rica. The Costa Rica Tourist Board has implemented a program called Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST) designed to promote the implementation of sustainable practices throughout the entire tourism sector, including hotels, tour operators, transportation providers, and best of all, the community. A large portion of the industry participates to some degree and some of the services they offer include recycling, solar heated water, reforestation initiatives and creating jobs for the people in the surrounding area, among others.
The CST program gives a zero through five “leaf” rating to those operations that meet strict guidelines for sustainable practices - the higher the score, the more green, efficient and sustainable the operation is. The CST program has become one of the most widely respected sustainable certificate programs and it has been adopted by the United Nations and the World Tourism Organization as a model, and many countries around the world are employing similar standards. When visiting Costa Rica, travelers can select from the 99 tourist companies that have been certified since the creation of the program. For more information, visit http://www.turismo-sostenible.co.cr/EN/home.shtml.
Sustainability and conservation in the country also extends out into the community through its Blue Flag Ecology (BAE) program. Communities in Costa Rica are given the BAE certification through an evaluation of the quality of the ocean water, quality of drinking water, waste disposal and availability of sanitary facilities. This distinction is given to those communities who safeguard the environment and maintain necessary sanitary conditions of the water and the areas around it.
About Costa Rica
Costa Rica is located in Central America, nestled between Nicaragua and Panama, and bordered on the east by the Caribbean Sea and the west by the Pacific Ocean. This small country represents only .01 per cent of the planet’s surface yet its land shelters 3 percent of the world’s biodiversity and its waters are home to 3.5 percent of the planet’s marine life. It has given priority to the conservation of its natural resources, protecting 26 percent of its national territory through the creation of National Parks and other natural areas.
The country also offers world-class eco-tourism and adventure travel. The options are unlimited for any discriminating traveler: horseback riding on a secluded beach; hiking through the lush whispering greenery of a rainforest; having an exhilarating experience on a white-water rafting trip; observing the tropical forests from a canopy tour; surfing the blue waves of either coast; experiencing a quiet, close encounter with different species of birds and wildlife; and enjoying the diverse culture and hospitality of the Ticos.
About the Costa Rica Tourist Board
The Costa Rica Tourist Board, created in 1955, is an autonomous institution of the State responsible for regulating the tourism activity in Costa Rica and promoting Costa Rica’s tourism attractions and destinations nationally and internationally. The Costa Rica Tourist Board creates tourism norms, regulations, incentives and grants the tourist declaratory for Costa Rica’s hotels, travel agencies, rental cars and other tourism organizations and service providers.
For general travel or tourism information about Costa Rica, contact the Costa Rica Tourist Board directly at 1-866-267-8274 or visit their web site at www.visitcostarica.com.
For Press Only: For press inquiries, please contact 1-888-600-6806 or e-mail VisitCostaRicaPress@bm.com.
Contacts
For the Costa Rica Tourist Board Burson-Marsteller Sonia Diaz, 305-347-4396 Sonia.Diaz@bm.com
Copyright © 2007 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved.
To view this article: http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=1085730
