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lethesomething · 5 years

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DND Resource: The Underwater nation of Cuicapan

This is an extensive location I created for the Sea Elves, which in my campaign are based on a homebrew sub race of elves (I'm using this write-up by @dnd-5e-homebrew).

In general, this is meant to be a pretty unique and alien sort of world, with a lot of practical issues (underwater!) and a strange immigration policy. Above the water, it has some highkey Pacific Island vibes.

A remote location

The location of Cuicapan, seat of the Sea Elven nation, is a well-guarded secret. The city and its inhabitants are notoriously isolationist. But in a time where nations rise and fall, where the slave trade booms and land is taken by force, it is hard to blame these long-lived people from taking a step back.

Those who have heard of them, know that the Sea Elves don't trade with the many ships and nations that sail the ocean of the Southern Blue. Most will even tell you their existence is a myth, that their city is no more than an old wives tale, a mirage of a sunken capital full of gold and silver.

But buy enough drinks for old sailors, listen to bards sing songs of old, or, perhaps, find an piece of map in a waterlogged book, and you may very well discover the coordinates of Cuicapan.

(I went all out on this, so it's Long, like, 5k word long)

The Triangle of Death

The Sea Elves make their home in the Triangle of Death, so named for the dangers of sailing into it. This is an area of about 700 square kilometres in the middle of the Southern Blue, bordered by three islands that are seen as waypoints beyond which ships should not go.

To the north, there is the Lighthouse Atoll, an egg shaped island consisting of about five land masses, just above the water. The largest of these is about 300 feet wide and 20 feet long, with low vegetation. A small tower, built out of granite, is built here, warning sailors to steer clear. The eastern point of the Triangle of Death is made up by Derringer Cay, a rockier coral island. Finally, the South-West, rising out of a boiling sea strewn with sharp peaks, is Saddleback Rock. Within these islands, sea currents are notoriously treacherous and the water is a shallow maze filled with razor sharp rocky outcroppings, half hidden by the waves. The weather here is unpredictable, and large fleets have been known to meet unexpected storms and maelstroms, losing several ships before turning back to clearer waters.

This setting is no coincidence. The sea elves chose this place specifically because the massive coral reefs and rocky shallows make the area almost impossible to reach by boat. The only way in appears to be to swim, or to take a flat rowing boat. Anyone stupid or brave enough to try this approach will be met with heavy wind and quickly building waves, as if the sea itself is warning them away. Should they persist, this will turn into full fledged storms and dangerous maelstroms. The weather gradually gets worse, until a hapless adventurer either drowns or washes up on one of the atolls dotting the sea, to be met by Sea Elven guards. Then, just as fast as the storm came, it dies down again, and the sea becomes calm and clear.

The Nation of Cuicapan

The whole area of the Triangle of Death is ironically, once you go underwater, full of life. Forests of seaweed and kelp grow on the ocean floor, weaving gently in the calm waters and providing cover for seahorses, turtles and crustaceans.

Much of Cuicapan is furthermore built into, or around, a giant coral reef. The ocean floor blooms with colour, bright yellows, oranges, reds and purples. The place is swarming with shoals of colorful fish that make it their home, away from large predators.

It is quite the sight, especially near the edges of the Triangle, where the ocean itself is fairly shallow. The light filters through several feet of water to cast the whole area in a perpetually flickering gloom, like it's dusk even in the middle of the day.

Further towards the center, however, the ocean floors gets deeper, with rolling hills and valleys, and occasionally a few deep crags tearing into the rock. It is darker here, but many of the deeper areas are illuminated by a mixture of softly pulsing orbs and several shoals of fish hat emit a gentle greenish yellow glow. These are so-called 'glowfish' and the elves keep them as pets. They swim in large groups across the reef and sometimes, when the elves need to go on a trip to darker areas, they'l bring a few in a cage with them, before releasing them again.

The City of the Sea Elves

It is in one of the large valleys, in the very center of the Triangle of Death, that Cuicapan sits. While Sea Elves live all over this region, and in small settlements on the ocean floor throughout the Southern Blue, Cuicapan is their capital, and their largest city .

The architecture of Cuicapan is a mixture of carved rock, repurposed shipwrecks and organic growths such as coral and seaweed. To outsiders, it looks like an ancient city being reclaimed by nature, like ruins overrun by the jungle, only at the bottom of the ocean. The wards on the south side tend to be built around, or underneath, the many rocky islets and outcroppings that litter the area. These are cave dwellings, or they started as such, that have been added to with mosses, grasses, shells and carvings.

In the sandier valleys to the east, dwellings are usually made out of weaved kelp, ancient bones and pieces of shipwrecks, embellished with piles of shale or rocks. You would expect these to look primitive or haphazard, but oddly enough they do not. The Sea Elves have excellent craftsmen, and an innate sense of beauty that turns even a pile of rocks into something very deliberate looking.

The Northern and Central wards, finally are usually made out of rock and coral, hewn and grown into a myriad of shapes. These are, perhaps, the strangest looking parts of the city, because they are so very much alive. The coral is a true hive of life, filled with creatures, and somewhere in that maze, there exist houses for the elves themselves.

Diversity and isolationism

The Sea Elves try hard to dissuade people from coming their way, through an extensive PR-campaign (Triangle of Death, anyone?), and via the use of natural defenses, such as coral reefs, in conjunction with storms of a magical origin. This sort of advanced border defense means that no one gets in without them knowing. However, the Sea Elves are not an evil race. Any outsider caught floating or drowning within the Triangle will be swiftly picked up by the border guard, healed and, if they turn out to be non-violent, treated with kindness.

In order to keep its secrets, Cuicapan does have one very simple rule: once you get in, you may not leave. This has naturally led to a population of non-sea elf people within Cuicapan.

As it stands, The Triangle of Death holds about 80.000 Sea Elven people and 2.000 'other people'. A majority of these are tribespeople native to the larger islands within the area. These are human tribes that have made the Southern Blue their home for generations, and the ones living within the Triangle have long since allied themselves with the vast nation underneath the waves. These Islanders number about 1.200. Finally, a small chunk of the population, about 800, is made up of 'visitors'. These visitors are mostly shipwrecked people, either sailors, pirates or escaped slaves. Since those that come here are not permitted to leave again, these survivors en up living in mixed settlements on the atolls or in special quarters on the ocean floor.

Insiders and outsiders

An important part of Cuicapan culture, then, is the difference between these different members of society. This difference is even reflected in the language, which makes a point of classing people as Morani, Hirani and Hiroki. In some severe cases, they may also be considered Hitash. Morani are the Sea Elves themselves, the underwater natives, so to speak,

while Hirani are 'friends' or 'allies'. This word was originally used for the Islanders that live in the area, but it has expanded to incorporate all non-Sea Elves that are considered allies, specifically those that can water breathe in some way.

Hiroki, then, are 'outsiders' or 'guests'. They're not treated particularly badly, but it's harder for them to become a part of society, for the rather simple reason that most of that society exists underwater. It must be noted that Cuicapan considers most everyone a visitor that cannot breathe water. This even includes half-elves born from a coupling of Sea Elf and other humanoids. If they are born without gills, they will, for the most part, live life as 'hirok'.

Hiroki have a choice of where to settle, and most will go to the islands above where they can move (and breathe) more freely. Some can also choose to live within special dwellings outfitted with air bubbles trapped on the ocean floor, using devices such as prototype diving bells or water breathing potions to get around.

Hitash, finally, are enemies. These are the pirates and slavers that sail the ocean, military vessels but also, very specifically, merrow, who are considered mortal enemies and attacked on sight.

Breathing under the sea

What with the whole 'underwater' bit, a main issue for many visitors to Cuicapan will be breathing. Several wards in the city have 'hirok buildings' for this specific purpose. These are places where those who cannot breathe water can stay on the ocean floor. They are usually built above volcanic exhausts, with the gasses filtered to be breathable. In the case of one meeting room within the central palace, it is even a specifically made chamber where air is manually brought in and trapped.

A lot of these dwellings are built in caves and the hulls of downed ships, either through some misinterpretation of what would make the sailors feel comfortable, or as a rather mean joke. While these guest buildings make it possible for those without gills or magic to reside on the ocean floor, they do take some getting used to. The air bubbles are, by their nature, humid and warm, and they smell a little sulfurous. Not poisonous, but not exactly fresh air either.

Quirks of living under the sea

Sea Elves can breathe both water and air, but most, especially the more traditional or pureblood ones, prefer to stay under the sea. This means a lot of their culture is adapted to this specific environment.

An obvious example of this are potions. It's impossible, or at least very difficult, to drink underwater, but the Sea Elves do use potions. They are usually brewed on land, by the Island Tribes. These people make batches of highly concentrated potions and store them in a sort of small water balloon, usually made out of the swim bladder of a specific fish. The bladder is filled with a potion and tied off on both ends, and stored carefully for travel. When needed, the potion is swallowed whole. It will burst open within the stomach of the patient, releasing its load.

Another important part of sea elf production deals with resins and oils. Sea water is fairly corrosive, so most traditional warriors use armor and weaponry made of bones and scales. However, those tend to be less tough than metal, so they need to be treated to harden them.

At the same time, a lot of the fastings used in Sea Elven clothing and armor are made out of underwater vines. These are supple and strong when wet, but they can quickly become brittle when left to dry. These must then be treated to withstand the air.

The whole thing has led the Sea Elves to being experts in several types of 'proofing'. The craftsmen of Cuicapan work with several resins and oils to achieve this, but have in recent years also started a process that is essentially 'precious metal coating'.

One side effect of all the shipwrecks, you see, is a pile of gold and silver and even some platinum that the Sea Elves have no real use for. As such, they started a small forge, located on one of the rocky islands in the territory. It is here that a lot of the gold and silver taken from downed ships is stored. A combination of magic and existing resins is used to turn these already precious metals into a hardened coating that can withstand most corrosion and is as strong, if not stronger, than steel. This coat is then applied to the bone armor and bone weaponry that the Sea Elves crafted themselves, or to some of the nicer pieces of weaponry that they have found.

This has the strange side effect that while Sea Elves don't really care much about wealth, they do, to outsiders, look like an incredibly wealthy nation.

This is in part where the 'sunken city of gold' myths come from. Elves might not care about money, but they do care about beauty and craftsmanship, so a random shipwrecked sailor will find himself visited by strange warriors with expertly carved gold tipped spears made out of whale bone, with elaborately decorated silver plated wristbands beset with precious gems, and exquisitely engraved and decorated shields.

Cuicapan economy

As hinted at, Cuicapan may be large, but it is still mostly tribal in economy. The place doesn't have traditional shops, or much of a money based system, choosing instead to give people a job they would be good at, that can be of use to their society as a whole. This can be tending to the coral, protecting the borders, educating children or becoming expert craftsfolk.

Sea Elven goods are therefore generally very well made. Craftsmen here spend a lot of time turning basic materials such as rock or bone into small, beautiful pieces of utility. Elves in general have quite a respectable way of dealing with their environments, and Sea Elves are no different. Their hunters spear large fish and sea creatures, and they use a majority of their parts. The meat is eaten, while the bones are prized for crafts and, in the case of larger fish, weapons and armor. The hides and scales are turned into bags and clothing.

Underwater Magic

Cuicapan is an old society, and while much of magic knowledge has disappeared from the areas around it, the sea elves do keep with their old ways. There are quite a few magic users within their population. Several of these put their talents to use for the upkeep of their lands. To put it bluntly: they summon storms and waves to capsize ships that get too close.

A number of magic users also work on equipment: hardening bone armor and spears to stand up to iron, enchanting the gold and silver foil that surrounds their smithed items, and generally waterproofing or protecting different materials from the more eroding effects of the environment they live in.

One very specific position, usually taken up by a single Sea Elf but never left unmanned, is that of Bond Enchanter. This is the one that enchants jewelry, usually a necklace or a ring of some kind, that couples give each other upon bonding. For morani, this traditionally holds a small blessing or a heal spell. When morani marry a hirani, however, the enchantment is almost always a water breathing one, ensuring that the two need not be apart for long.

A Watery Language

Being notably reclusive, the Sea Elves haven't had a lot of contact with their land-dwelling brethren for several centuries. As such, the inhabitants of Cuicapan do speak Elvish, but they use a rather strange dialect.

This is reflected in their specific words (such as 'hirani') and in the fact that they have a myriad of words for water temperatures, sea currents and the like. You can also, however, see it in their use of verbs. Centuries of living under the water has made their sense of time more fluid, and Cuicapan elves appear to use mostly continuous tenses.

Examples: 'What is your name' would sound something like 'Names being?' 'How did you find this place' becomes 'How finding the city?' Etc.

It's a fairly basic change that doesn't truly impede understanding too much, but that still befuddles most visitors.

As such, any visitor entering Cuicapan will be able to understand the people here on a basic level if they speak Elven, but there should be some difficulty having deep, nuanced conversations. This specific grammar also bleeds through in their use of Common, in the few Sea Elves that speak it. The Cuicapan elves do, however, employ visitor guides that will usually speak Elven and some basic Common or other languages. A lot of these guides will be either Islanders or Hirok themselves, people that are part of this society, but can form a buffer for any culture shock a visitor might have.

A note on Islanders

The Triangle Tribe, or Islanders, are a small but crucial part of Cuicapan society. They long ago allied themselves with their underwater neighbours, and have a tradition of diving. Like pearl divers, they learn from a young age how to hold their breath and how to move swiftly under the water, earning them a sort of 'honorary sea elf' status.

Their culture, while overlapping slightly with that of the city beneath the waves, is generally more friendly and relaxed. This is a human tribe, which automatically makes them a little less stuck-up than the elves, and they put great stock in hospitality. This is a good thing, considering most of the 'hiroki' end up on their islands one way or another. Luckily, they have thrived from the influx of stranded traders, sailors, and ex-slaves that have found their way into the Triangle, learning and adapting many new technologies and infrastructures.

Several tribespeople have therefore taken up a job as a visitor guides, accompanying the border patrols and guiding any stranded folk with their superior knowledge of languages and customs.

Specific islander tech includes potions, but they also have some diving implements of their own.

One particular gnomish inventor that settled on the islands years ago, has invented someting akin to a snorkel, and he makes sacks that store air. The idea here is that young children can bring them with them when they're learning to dive.

Notable locations within the City of Sea Elves

The Coral Palace: In the center of Cuicapan stands the Coral Palace, the seat of power for the Sea Elves. This unique structure consists almost entirely out of living coral. It is tended to by specialised farmers and gardeners, who keep it shaped and within some semblance of control. Still, it looks nothing like the buildings made by man. Instead it's a mass of spires and blooming domes, seemingly unbothered by gravity, and it is very clearly alive. The Coral Palace is splotched with color, like the reef around it: reds and oranges and greens and blues and bright yellows. It is also swarming with little fish and sea creatures, some glowing, moving in and out of the porous walls and floors.

Wisdom: The sea elves have written language but they choose, for the most part, not to use it. Books are not a practical underwater endeavour and writing in general is seen as a fleeting form of knowledge. Instead, Cuicapan's own history, laws and customs are kept via oral tradition and this is handled by Wisdom. This structure is a large bowl, almost like an amphitheatre, built specifically to send sound waves across large swaths of the city. Here, the Tellers sing a never ending song that weaves the stories of the Sea Elves together. These tales go from very old, composed in Ancient Elven, to very new, in the modern dialect, speaking of recent events and technologies. As part of their education, children are expected sit in the amphitheatre and listen while they weave or play or work on other things.

The Third Hirok House: One of several 'hirok houses' that are used as a visitor centre, and a likely entrypoint for adventurers. This is a downed ship on the outskirts of the Triangle, turned over on the sandy ocean floor to form a building of sorts. Seaweed and vines cover part of it, and on one side a large hole in the hull is fitted with a sheet of transparent crystal or glass. Visitors enter the place via a small water lock. Once inside, there is air: damp, sulphurous, smelling lightly like a gym locker room, but air nonetheless. Wooden planks have been laid down on the ocean floor, and several rugs in different styles give the place a cozy if eclectic feel. The walls and ceiling are vaulted, obviously, making the place look like a low gothic cathedral of sorts. A single, huge cystal chandelier hangs from the high ceiling in the very middle of the room. It does not hold candles, but instead small orbs that glow with a soft blue light. Through the crystal window, you can look out to the softly rolling hills of the ocean floor, and to the forests of kelp making up most of the surface here. The rest of the walls are stuffed with a strange assortment of curios and furniture that has obviously been taken from downed ships. Shelves hold boxes, tea tins, sacks of grain and assorted goods. There's dried and cured meats, and barrels of assorted crockery. A wardrobe holds a bunch of old, frayed clothes, while a cabinet on the other wall has a number of nautical implements. There is a diving bell here, that looks like a large brass bell with a little window on the side. There's also an old fashioned diving suit, which to most adventurers would look like a suit of armor made of copper and leather, with a very unwieldy looking rounded helmet that has a set of lenses bolted all around the front. In the middle of the room, a mismatched set of furniture is placed to look like a parlour. A nice, mosaic inlaid table stands in the middle, surrounded by a low felt couch, some stuffed chaises in very differing styles and a few carved chairs. This is the waiting room for any visiting hiroki.

The Library of Hirok and The Room of Fallen Treasures: A large part of Cuicapan resources are scavenged from the many shipwrecked boats that dared to enter the triangle. Several of these boats have been rigged together on the ocean floor and set up to form a strange kind of museum. This is where you will find the Library, a set of rooms with air trapped within them, that hold whatever waterlogged books could be saved. Most of these are ship ledgers and the occasional map or diary, but there's a few novels and possibly a magic book here or there. Next to the library, the sea elves also keep a Room of Fallen Treasures. Fancy but decorative weaponry, jewelry and visually pleasing but ultimately useless pieces that survived a trip to the bottom of the sea are kept here. Sadly, anything the elves and hiroki can actually use has been taken out, so don't expect water breathing stuff.

The Skyforge: On a rocky, volcanic island to the south of Cuicapan sits the Skyforge. This whole island is basically a large smithy and workshop. It is here that most of the waterproofing and all of the smelting of gold and silver is done. The forge itself is tended to by a strange assortment of Sea Elven craftsman, and a handful of Hiroki, including two Dwarves.

Characters

Nimue: the Master Teller. An old, very frail looking elven woman with white, almost translucent hair that is as long as she is and flows freely around her in a cloud of white tendrils. She has pale blue skin and wears flowy robes that are cinched around her ankles and wrists and set with little shells. Her eyes are milky white and she appears to be blind, but her voice is a high, melodious, crystal clear and, even in her old age, unbroken.

Lotha: Another Teller and a woman with teal coloured skin and dark mossy green hair. Her eyes are a deep blue, almost black. She is dressed in a blackish green weave of kelp that forms a short sleeveless dress of sorts. She wears a necklace of a mother-of-pearl oval with a spiral carved into it and appears friendly but very serious, as if she carries a deep sadness within her.

Ruehnar Envaris: The authority in Cuicapan. The Sea Elves do not have a traditional king, but they do have a Leader that has to make day to day decisions. Ruehnar is that leader. He is fairly tall for a sea elf, with greyish skin and very long anthracite coloured hair. Notably, he wears… very little. His formal wear consists of a short, stiff skirt made out of shark skin. His torso is naked but bedecked in jewelry. Several rows of shell cord line his chest and are tied around his upper arms and weaved into his hair. Bangles hang around his wrists and ankles. Ruehnar is a stern sort of man, who will naturally assume the worst about the intelligence of any Hiroki placed before him, but he is not unkind when they prove themselves. This is one of the few Cuicapan that, when confronted with outsiders, will not speak the typical dialect. He speaks Common and Elven, and does so in a very formal, bookish sort of way.

Kindrith Izel: A seemingly young Sea Elf with bright golden hair and an almost purplish, dark skin. She wears a scale armor top that reaches across one of her shoulders and comes down to the middle of her thigh. Underneath are fairly tight pants made out of some kind of netting. She's a very jovial sort of person who is, especially for an elf, quite relaxed in her manners. This is probably one of the reasons that she's been made a visitor guide. This is one of the people that will happily rescue and escort drowned adventurers. She's usually accompanied by Cualli in her work. Kindrith speaks Sea Elvish and Common with a Very Heavy accent.

Cualli: A brown skinned woman with long black hair tied in braids across her head. She is one of the Islanders, a native to the region and a good friend of Kindrith, usually accompanying her when dealing with visitors. She's can hold her breath for Very Long and is a fast swimmer, but she does remain human, so she will need to come up for air. She appears to wear loose, cropped pants made out of woven fabric and has a simple boob tube top. Friendly in nature, and polite, but a bit more serious than Kindrith. Cualli speaks flawless Common and Elvish

Naesala Torxin: A purplish pink sea elf with very dark blue hair, cropped short. Naesala is a commander of a group of border guards, and potentially one of the first Sea Elves that adventurers will meet. He wears greaves and bone armor wristbands, but keeps his chest bare. Due to the nature of his job, he is careful and untrusting of outsiders. Talking to him is difficult because of this, and because he speaks only the very heaviest of Sea Elven dialect.

Ko Jae-Sun: An older trader that has been living here for 20 years. Jae-Sun is a human man in his late middle age. He has pale, olive tinted skin, and long white hair tied together in a ponytail that falls to below his waist. His face is round, wrinkled but friendly looking, with long, wispy white eyebrows, pale grey monolid eyes, and a long goatee, white, tied with a green bead just below his chin. He wears long robes that look like they might have started out as simple wizard's robes, but that have since been embellished with jade jewels and added embroidery down the panes to the front. Jae-Sun appears very much to be a man set in his ways, sipping tea and accumulating 'land' art and furniture, even while sitting at the bottom of the ocean. He tends to the Third Hirok house.

Cuisine

As with many things in Cuicapan, the food here has a certain duality to it. Underwater, the sea elves mostly subsist on raw fish and underwater plant life. A staple of life in Cuicapan is 'mon', a traditional dish that is essentially called an old elven word for 'meal'. The islanders and outsiders have also taken to naming this the Cuicapan Sandwich. The dish is a type of thin layer cake, and it consists of very thinly sliced raw fish or seafood, layers of spread sea urchin or fish eggs, and fragrant plant life. The whole thing is usually wrapped in a thin sheet of edible kelp for easy storage and safe-keeping, which makes it look a little like the lembas of their land dwelling brethren.

A great deal of variety and craft is put into these mon, with the makers trying to outdo themselves on flavours and the thinness and numbers of their layers (ideally, the fish slices are so thin you can see through them).

Above water, meanwhile, the Islanders have a rich and varied food culture, based in part on their relation with the Sea Elves and the environment, but heavily influenced by tribal traditions and an influx of outside food. Islanders don't have too much room for agriculture, but they keep chickens and a breed of small pig. They also grow several root vegetables and beans, and cultivate the many fruit trees that are native to the islands. A typical island meal consists of dried meat or smoked pork, fruit, 'coleslaw', poi biscuits and 'rolled fish'.

Coleslaw: Shredded cabbage and seaweed, salted and spiced, usually with a little bit of lime juice for dressing.

Poi biscuits: These are small round biscuits, usually somewhat sweet. They're made of root vegetables such as the taro root that grows everywhere on the islands. The tubers are cooked, stamped into flour and turned into dough by adding water or coconut milk. In some case also eggs and spices. They are then shaped and cooked on a griddle.

Rolled fish: this is a slightly simpler variant of the Cuicapan Sandwich that consists of slices of fish or seafood, rolled together with herbs or spiced oils and seaweed. In a lot of cases, the fish isn't even rolled, but cubes or slices of it are mixed with vegetables, herbs and dressing in a small bowl. It's still called rolled fish though.

Other traditional dishes:

Hime Hime, or Fish Soup: the rather irreverent name for a delectable dish made out of coconut milk, lime juice, fresh raw fish and vegetables. The lime 'cook' the fish in this dish, and the other ingredients are added later for taste.

Don, or Chicken and noodles: Brought over by sailors from the Deishasa continent, where they're usually made out of rice. Islanders make their noodles out of taro or mung bean flour, and cook them in a broth with chicken and usually some coconut milk. The broth is comfort food, but it is also considered to have medicinal properties, and traditionally given when you're sick.

Barbee: another one heavily influenced by Hiroki. The act of roasting things over an open fire has been turned into an art by the Triangle Tribe. Feasts and celebrations tend to involve barbee of some kind, with roast fruits and vegetables, whole fish speared on sticks over the fire, pieces of chicken and pork, and crabs, which are usually cooked whole within their shell.

Noi noi, or Nut Cake: a traditional dessert made out of sweet potato, with dried coconut and various jungle nuts, baked in a mold in an underground oven. It's quite a hardy dish, and is usually served with a fruit jam or syrup.

DM notes

Going under the sea to meet with the sea elves should be a weird and wondrous experience, so I did make this place fairly unique, I hope. Characters entering the Triangle of Death will almost invariably meet with a storm and if you're lucky, almost drown, starting off this adventure with a sense of danger and fear, only to come upon this bewildering, beautiful and kindof atmospheric landscape. That is at least how I set it out to be. The sea elves are, in this incarnation, very curious, as most elves are, but also a little reserved. They're not evil, by any means, but they do, uhhh, crash ships as a way to dissuade visitors, so there's that.

A major quest for a party, once they get here, is to get out again. This could either be some kind of jailbreak thing, or a trial of some sort, in which they prove themselves to be trustworthy, or work themselves up to be agents of Cuicapan in some manner.

#campaign resources #d&d 5e #dm stuff #world building #sea elves

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mabuhaytravel · 7 years

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Apo reef – An undiscovered jewel of the Philippines

Apo Reef is a relatively unknown natural beauty, even for seasoned travellers to the Philippines. Chances are that they will know it as a diving paradise in a remote area accessible only on expensive live-aboard trips. Sablayan, a coastal backwater on the island of Mindoro that is the jumping-off town to Apo Reef, is virtually unknown to everyone. Well, almost everyone. Choose to read and finish this article, and you will get to know more about it yourself.

Thanks to vast improvements in infrastructure on Mindoro, Apo Reef is now more accessible than it ever was. The unknown little town of Sablayan may just be winding up to be the next big thing in Philippine tourism.

Apo Reef is the second largest contiguous coral reef in the world after Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. It lies in the middle of the South China Sea about two hours west of Sablayan by motorised bangka (a Philippine outrigger boat). Most divers agree on one point about this magnificent reef: that Apo is the top dive site in the country with the only real competition being the Tubbataha Reef in the Sulu Sea, which is even more remote than the Apo Reef, and is many hundreds of kilometres away. Tubbataha Reef also misses out on top position for the fact that it is only accessible for a few months each year. Maybe in the years to come, infrastructure will improve drastically, and we may be able to access both reefs on an equal level, but that day is, quite unfortunately, not in the near future.

Apo has a mind boggling variety of fish, with dogfish tuna and huge schools of jacks patrolling the depths just off the reef alongside shoals of barracudas and white-tip, black-tip and reef sharks. In the shallower waters, you might wander upon nurse sharks having a light doze and eagle rays. Trail giant Napoleon wrasses and Hawksbill sea turtles, spot moray eels peeking out of the rock formations and part dense schools of blue mackerel scad. If you are lucky, you may even see schools of glistening dolphins leaping and shimmying around the bangka on your way to and from the reef.

The impressive and diverse array of marine life is not a very common sight at other dive sites in the Philippines, which are better known for their corals and colourful macro (small marine) life. On that note, the macro life at Apo Reef is also splendid, as you will see a dizzying kaleidoscope of hard and soft corals, luminescent anemones and nudibranches, pygmy seahorses, pipefish and an eclectic collection other wondrous small creatures.

Civilisation at last!

Until quite recently, there were only two transport options if you wanted to visit Apo: Either pay through your teeth for a live-aboard dive safari operating out of the town of Puerto Galera in eastern Mindoro or out of Coron town in Palawan province south of Mindoro; or you could travel to Sablayan on your own and take a boat out to the reef with Pandan Island Resort, which was the region’s only dive operator for many years. The latter option was not for everyone. The coastal road to Sablayan was notoriously underdeveloped and required a long, grinding bus journey from the nearest ports: Abra de Ilog to the north, or the provincial capital San Jose to the south. Getting to the town of Sablayan from Manila required a full day of back-breaking travel, whether you take a plane, bus and/or ferry.

Apo is now more accessible, as some positive changes have come to this area at last, to the delight of many seasoned divers. The western coastal road is mostly paved, and comfortable and regular air-conditioned buses now travel straight to Sablayan from Manila via car ferries that chug from the Philippines’ main island of Luzon, to Abra de Ilog. Although it is still a nine-hour trip, it is much more comfortable, and a far cry from the potential health risk that it was. In what is better news yet, daily early morning flights to San Jose, located two hours south of Sablayan by bus or air conditioned minivan, mean that you can leave Manila in the morning and be diving on Apo Reef on the same day.

From the one dive operator in the past, the industry has grown to accommodate the influx of divers, as they get several dive operators to choose from, including the reliable Sablayan Municipal Ecotourism Office, with which you can up with a group for a full day of snorkelling or diving. With a group of ten or more divers, you will pay only about 4,300 pesos per person for three dives, rental on all the equipment, and boat transport to and from the reef. The diving is phenomenal year-round, but the crossing to the reef can be rough in the peak rainy season (July to September) and from December to February when the northeast monsoon winds are at their strongest. The water is generally the flattest and gives you the best visibility from late March to May.

Apo Reef – Not just for experienced divers

If you are still reading this article with a sense of “Why should I read about this? I am not a diver”, consider yourself lucky, as you do not need to be a diver to enjoy the charms of Apo Reef. Many parts of the reef lie in shallow areas, and it may be the only place in the Philippines where even snorkelers stand a strong chance of having an encounter with sharks. Add to that the fact that within the atoll-like reef system are picturesque islands that are mid-ocean pit stops for a variety of migrating seabirds, non-divers have almost as much reason as divers to be excited about the magnificent Apo Reef.

The main island, named Apo Island – not to be confused with the better known island of the same name off the island of Negros in the central Philippines – is a beautiful palm-fringed land ringed by golden sand and home to an emerald-green interior lagoon embraced by a wealth of mangroves, which provides a rich environment for its many animal dwellers. Dive boats stop on the island and travellers can spend some time drifting in the lagoon on a makeshift bamboo raft, lounging on the perfect beaches and exploring the mangroves. You can also arrange to stay the night in the hammocks at Apo Island’s open-air park ranger station through the Sablayan Municipal Ecotourism Office. This is an experience like no other, as you get to sleep under a canopy of a billion or more stars twinkling above.

Sablayan, the small town that acts as a jump-off point, has an entirely different kind of appeal. Between San Jose and Sablayan lies the 750 km² Mount Iglit-Baco National Park, the last known wild habitat of the tamaraw, a critically-endangered wild bovine. There are numerous hiking opportunities in the park, including the ascent of the 2,364m-high Mount Iglit. The loincloth-wearing indigenous Mangyan people who populate Mindoro’s virtually impenetrable interior offer serious explorers a chance to visit one of Southeast Asia’s most isolated tribes. Closer to Sablayan is the Sablayan Prison Farm where, among other surreal eco-experiences, you can go bird watching with prison guides. Visits to all of the above can be arranged through the Sablayan Municipal Ecotourism Office.

As we have mentioned before, the Philippines is a country with a rapidly developing tourism industry. It has not reached the levels of its regional neighbours such as Thailand and Vietnam as yet, but this diverse country is getting some great attention due to its many wonders – natural and man-made – and destinations such as the Apo Reef are a shining example of the kind of attraction that can make Philippines one of the most sought-after destinations in Southeast Asia.

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tricks75-blog · 7 years

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Moana Movie Music Review

Moana is a family-friendly Disney Movie released by Walt Disney Pictures in 2016. Moana, along with Zootopia, was the first time that in over 10 years that Walt Disney Animation Studios released two feature films in the same year. Moana has earned almost $640 million dollars worldwide. Auli’i Cravalho plays Moana along with co-starts Dwayne Johnson, Rachel House, Nichole Scherzinger, and many more.

Moana tells the story of Moana, the daughter of the chief of a native tribe who is destined to rule after her father to eventually become chief. This tribe lives on an atoll surrounded by a coral reef and they have only one rule. Do not venture past the reef. Against her mother and father’s approval, Moana wishes to venture past the reef and see she’ll go and let her curiosity take control of her. Surprisingly Moana’s grandmother supports Moana’s urge to go out into the ocean and she says, “If you can hear the ocean calling, follow it.” One day, Moana’s grandmother calls her away from her father to show her something that she has found. She shows her a mysterious cave filled with massive ships that her tribe once sailed across the oceans, proving that they were once voyagers. It is revealed that in the past, her father and his fellow tribesmen hid these ships away from the public view so that no one will go outside the reef ever again. He did this because one of the chief’s relatives died in a storm outside of the reef trying to find a new home for their tribe. After having an argument with his daughter, he goes off to burn the hidden ships but he is urgently called back to hear that his mother, Moana’s grandmother is close to dying. His mother tells him to call Moana and she arrives in an instant. She calls Moana to come close and the tells Moana to go out into the ocean now while the entire tribe is distracted. After she says goodbye, she goes to the last stop at her home to pick up some supplies during her trip when she is faced by her mother. Her mother, encouragingly yet sadly wishes Moana a safe travel and they share a sweet moment between the two. As Moana ventures off into the vast ocean, she is met by a storm and rough waves and she has a hard time controlling her small boat that she is commandeering. Unfortunately, she does not know how to sail so her boat goes under and she get shipwrecked. After an unknown time of being unconscious, she wakes up on a mystery island. That is all I am going to say because I do not want to spoil this for the people who have not seen this movie and who wish to watch it in the future.

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mergersacquisitionsadvisory · 4 years

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The Bluest, Clearest Waters On The Oregon Coast Shopping

Check out some extra the reason why you have to visit Palawan within the Philippines (residence to some of the finest beaches on the planet), here. Malaysia’s seashores have an enormous amount to supply, whatever it is you’re looking for. check this out

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Built in 1850, the Sankaty Head Light is well value a wander to the northern tip of the beach (it is hardly ever open to climb, besides on particular days—the next one being Sunday, June sixteen, 201`9). Best of all, though, is the ‘Sconset Bluff Walk—with the strong Atlantic on one facet and a row of multi-million-greenback homes on the opposite. Waves listed here are rough, even in summer, so bundle up for a long winter walk should you're on the island during the off season. Banana Beach has a backdrop of impossibly-green jungle and appears out on crystal-clear water—all part of a national park and marine preservation area (30 minutes by boat from Chalong Pier on Phuket). Banana Boat rides are popular, therefore the name, as is snorkeling, sea kayaking, and parasailing.

Boracay White Beach, Philippines

The waters are calm and excellent for sunfish crusing between anchored boats and out to Fort Berkeley, constructed in 1704 by the English Royal Navy. At the japanese most flank of the island, Siasconset can be reached from city via a six-mile bike journey on the Milestone Road path (or, in the summertime, on a NRTA shuttle bus). Food and restrooms may be discovered close by within the adjacent historic village of 'Sconset.

Meeru Island, North Atoll, Maldives

This is a seashore that is popular worldwide for the grand waterfall that varieties a part of the beach and flows into the ocean. Now, I don't mean a small, cute man-made waterfall like many resorts have. The waterfalls at Dunn's River are a whopping one hundred eighty feet excessive feat of nature that circulate over limestone rock to meet a cerulean ocean down beneath. Since the river flows proper into the ocean, many beachgoers float leisurely down the cool water anticipating the moment when the cool water will meet the warm ocean for a uncommon expertise. Those who need to make like Tarzan, can climb the swings that hang over the river and swing carefreely whereas making an attempt to spot the elusive supply of the melodic chirps coming from the trees.

Bingin Beach, Bali, Indonesia

As a result, there are about a hundred and fifty rescues every year, the very best number in Sydney's southern beaches. It is claimed to be the most harmful patrolled seaside in all of Australia. The beaches alongside Sydney's south side are a few of its most famous and exquisite, but one specifically is best enjoyed with maximum warning.

Find Your Next Beach Getaway

It is getting simpler for Americans to journey there, as this reportin the New York Times Points out. Experience distant and unique before the beautiful fantastic thing about this stretch of sand becomes extra widespread information. Don’t confuse it with one other unbelievable seashore by the same name in Tulum, Mexico.

The stings of a few of the varieties of jellyfish, like the Irukandji and Chironex fleckeri, could be fatal to humans. This seaside is rumored to be among the greatest surf spots on the planet, however few actually try and ride its legendary barrels to shore. The surrounding space is peppered with navy amenities, although that's not what makes these waters dangerous.

When you’re right here (and of course, depending on the place you’re staying some beaches value trying out here are Cove Beach, Liku Beach, and Vatulele Island). With its 333 tropical islands and over 500 islets, there’s plenty to explore – which is especially great when you discover that spending all your time on a beach isn’t your idea of an ideal holiday.

Whether they are backed by impressive rock formations, rugged cliffs, or gently swaying palm timber, these lovely seashores actually have to be seen to be believed. It's practically unimaginable to choose a favorite seaside in the Maldives—what with over 1,200 to select from—however we're drawn to the North Malé Atoll, and Reethi Rah specifically. Eight good strands of sand circle this bigger-than-average island, each seemingly higher than the subsequent—and with just one resort here, it by no means feels crowded.

With minimal infrastructure, and one restaurant constructed out of bamboo, this can be a great, much less-than-crowded spot to park your self for the day in the solar. It's less of a swimming locale, however you'll have plenty of photographs to publish on Instagram. Survival International also introduced that authorities on India’s Andaman Islands have failed to end human safaris to the vulnerable Jarawa tribe by their self-imposed deadline of March 2015. he Andaman Administration promised to open a sea route to the Islands’ hottest tourist destinations, which might cease tourists needing to drive via the Jarawa’s reserve.

But a rising occurrence of jellyfish assaults (there are more than 1 tonne’s worth of jellyfish right here!) means its seashores are best loved from a distance. The Bahamas has a few of the Caribbean's most spectacular, idyllic seashores. This beach accommodates the largest focus of tiger sharks on the planet, and ranks as one of the planet’s top 10 most shark-infested seashores. Tamarama Beach is wedged between two sandstone headlands, and the excessive-depth waves make sure that two rips are present on the seashore.

Adventure junkies and budding mermaids can explore the country’s beautiful coast by scuba diving (or if you’re not certified yet – by snorkelling). There are plenty of different kinds of beaches right here so that you’ll undoubtedly find one thing to make you very happy if you visit. Despite the nation’s rising recognition, there are a selection of quieter beaches tucked away simply waiting to be explored. Seek out hidden gems like Gunung Payung or Pandawa Beach to benefit from the Bali coast away from the crowds.

In fact, I’d go as far as saying many people plan our holidays round beautiful seashores (stunning seashores do have a tendency to come back hand-in-hand with beautiful weather so there’s a rationale behind those choices). The Costa del Sol region in southern Spain, within Andalusia, is a very stunning stretch of European coast (Malaga, anybody?).

With its steep hillsides, pink sands and glittering ocean, Komodo’s magnificence is almost as fierce because the world-famous ‘dragons’ that roam the island. It’s a world-class place to dive, and with its tiny inhabitants of just 2000 locals, the environment is authentic and laid-back.

Lying on Mexico’s Caribbean shoreline, Tulum is not only residence to one of many country’s greatest-preserved Mayan ruins, however considered one of its greatest seashores too. Tulum was built around 1200 AD when the Mayan civilization was already in decline and therefore lacks the magnificence of another famous sites. The tropical beach backdrop nevertheless makes this one of the most in style vacationer destinations in Mexico that could be a heaven for the photographer or artist.

Boa Viagem Beach has one of many highest shark attack rates in the world – fifty six within the final 20 years, with a death fee of about 37 %. Sharks use the ditch off the coast as a migratory route and do their searching within the surrounding shallows. A development boom has worsened the state of affairs, disrupting marine life and leaving sharks trying to find new sources of food. Third – “Kauna’oa Bay, Hawaii” – That photograph is definitely the Berjaya Resort in Langkawi Island.

Western Australia is house to some critically critical creatures, and Cable Beach in Broome has a particularly large concentration of scary animals. On land there are toxic snakes and spiders, and within the water, lethal field jellyfish and white pointer sharks roam. Cairns, in North Queensland, may be the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, but its waters maintain far more than that. The time between November and June is notoriously known as "stinger season" because of the jellyfish that infest the area’s waters.

From the desert-island-really feel of Playa de Ses Illetes on the Balearic Islands to the spectacular rock formations of Playa de las Catedrales in Ribadeo, Spain’s shoreline is one that just keeps on giving. Australia is a big nation (the 6th largest on the earth by space) with an enormous quantity of shoreline, so it comes as no surprise that it’s residence to a number of the finest seashores on the earth.

The hazard lies beneath the waves, the place old nuclear submarines lay on the bottom, slowly leaking radiation. Dumas Beach within the state of Gujarat, along the Arabian Sea, is taken into account to be some of the haunted seashores on the planet. Originally a cremation ground, it's reportedly home to spirits that proceed to roam its shores. What’s not to love a couple of beach where crystalline water meets sugary sand? Fortunately, there are greater than 600 islands in Micronesia, so if the destination is in your travel bucket record, you can opt for an island that is extra like a Tahitian paradise and less like Chernobyl.

Fringed with coconut timber, virtually all lodge buildings usually face toward the beach. Diving-fishing facilities and boat tours to close by islands could be arranged.

The pure Doctor's Cave seaside sits in Montego Bay the place most guests to Jamaica discover lodging. As if the presence of a picturesque waterfall isn't magical enough, visitors to this beach get to really explore the waterfalls by becoming a member of guided hikes up into the waterfall. A hike takes you past naturally shaped cool pools earlier than encountering the more highly effective sections of the waterfall. Dunn's River Falls and Beach, located in the town of Ocho Rios is a should for anyone who truly loves nature.

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travelworldnetwork · 6 years

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Jem Cresswell

Stretching along 1,400 miles of Australia’s eastern coast, the Great Barrier Reef is one of the greatest natural wonders of the world. Its coral shoals and atolls hold astonishing attractions like the Blue Hole and rare geological formations found few other places, not to mention a profusion of water-based wildlife.

Although the Reef remains on many travelers’ bucket lists, in recent years, scientists have raised concerned about damage wreaked on this water wonderland by climate change, including widespread coral bleaching. The good news is, eco-conscious tourism might be one way to help save the Reef. There are other aquatic adventures to be had around the rest of Australia where visitors can get close to the unique wildlife without the worry of overcrowding or environmental degradation.

Here are a few places where you can swim with Australia’s marine inhabitants without the many tourists you might encounter along the Great Barrier Reef.

Sea lions in Boston Bay, South Australia

Jem Cresswell

Swimming with sea lions has to be, hands down, one of the most delightful wildlife experiences in the world. The folks who run Adventure Bay Charters out of Port Lincoln on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula call them “the puppies of the sea,” and it is easy to see why. When the charter boat pulls up to the shallow waters of Seal Cove after a two-hour cruise, the animals practically leap off the beach and into the water, beckoning for the humans onboard to join them. What follows is an hour of swimming, diving, jumping, flipping and general merriment as the sea lions play around and with visitors. This is the exact experience waterproof GoPros were made for. Adult swims start at $205 AUD ($155) per person.

When to go: Depending on the charter company you go with, tours tend to operate between September and early June.

What else to do: Port Lincoln is a 50-minute flight west of Adelaide on either Rex or Qantas. The town itself is small, but has a lively dining scene with restaurants like Del Giorno’s for fresh seafood and gourmet Line and Label at Peter Teakle Wines, not to mention a craft brewery, Beer Garden Brewing, and upscale accommodations at the Port Lincoln Hotel.

Whale sharks at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia

James D. Morgan/Getty Images

Growing up to 40 feet in length and weighing over 20 tons, whale sharks are the largest fish in the world. Though these gentle giants do have teeth, they are filter feeders who migrate through Western Australia’s UNESCO-listed Ningaloo Reef each year to feed in the plankton-rich waters. Only a handful of charter boat companies, including Ocean Eco Adventures and Live Ningaloo, have licenses to take visitors out to swim with the whale sharks and only 10 people are allowed in the water at a time per shark, so there are no jam-packed tourist boats or crowds of snap-happy sightseers. Once the sharks are located (usually with the aid of spotter planes flying overhead), snorkelers get into the water with guides and swim alongside these languid leviathans. The experience is both awe-inspiring and exhilarating. During the rest of the day trip, you might also spot manta rays, dolphins, turtles and humpback whales, so the whale sharks are just the start.

When to go: The whale sharks tend to migrate in through area from mid-April through mid-September, though the best sightings tend to occur May-July.

What else to do: The gateway to Ningaloo Reef is the town of Exmouth, about a two-hour flight north of Perth. Many folks stay in town at hotels like the Manta Rays Ningaloo Beach Resort and Exmouth Escape Resort. However, travelers on a bigger budget can book into Sal Salis, a low-impact, safari-style luxury camp right in Cape Range National Park along the coast. On land, folks can hike the dramatic canyons Yardie Creek and the rugged Mandu Mandu Gorge looking for wildlife like black-footed rock wallabies, red kangaroos, dingos, echidnas and emus.

Humpback whales on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland

Courtesy of Migration Media – Underwater Imaging

To the south of the Great Barrier Reef along Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, Sunreef has been offering humpback whale swims from its base in Mooloolaba since 2014. The company tries to take as low-impact an approach as possible as part of its self-imposed code of practice. Only 20 guests are allowed per cruise. The ship avoids mother-calf pairs, maintains a distance of at least 100 meters from the animals, assesses the whale’s behavior for any safety concerns and drops swimmers in the water at a slight remove from the whale, leaving it up to the animal whether to approach or not. Despite the hands-off tactics, the company estimates around 70% of excursions result in in-water interactions between humans and whales. Rates start at $149 AUD ($112) per person.

When to go: Humpbacks tend to pass by on their 7,000-mile journey to Antarctica during the Australian winter, with whale-swim charters departing July 6 through October 22 this year.

What else to do: The Sunshine coast is about 60 miles north of Brisbane, which makes Australia’s third-largest city the ideal base for a day trip up to see the whales. Brisbane’s art scene has been thriving in recent years thanks to the development of the South Bank cultural district with mainstays like the Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art. In the Spring Hill neighborhood, The Johnson hotel is named after and displays the works of Michael Johnson, one of Australia’s most acclaimed contemporary artists. Be sure to book a table at cookbook author and chef Philip Johnson’s E’cco Bistro in the trendy new Skyring Terrace area, where the multi-course tasting menus incorporate seasonal produce from Queensland’s farms and seafood from its waters.

Sea turtles on Lord Howe Island, New South Wales

Getty Images

World Heritage-listed Lord Howe Island is one of Australia’s best-kept secrets. This tiny paradise is all that remains of an ancient volcanic crater, its forest-covered peaks rising dramatically from the ocean floor of the Tasman Sea about midway between Australia and New Zealand. Only 400 visitors at a time are allowed here, so it’s not long before everyone in town knows your name. The island is also home to hundreds of thousands of seabirds, 500 species of fish, 90 types of coral and enormous green sea turtles and endangered hawksbill turtles with whom you can simply hop in the water and snorkel alongside thanks to tour operators like Islander Cruises and Marine Adventures. Snorkeling cruises cost $50-$60 AUD ($38-$45) per person.

When to go: Lord Howe Island’s sub-tropical climate is temperate all year round, but the best time to see the turtles is November through April.

What else to do: Lord Howe Island is about a two-hour flight from either Sydney or Brisbane on Qantas. Arajilla Retreat has just 12 suites dotted around its lush, tropical gardens while the luxurious Capella Lodge is set off by itself on the island’s quieter south side. The island offers a plethora of hikes ranging from easy walks to challenging climbs, after which you can enjoy a DIY beach barbecue at Ned’s Beach.

Wild dolphins in Rockingham, Western Australia

Courtesy of Rockingham Wild Encounters

Waterparks offering “swimming with dolphins” are a dime a dozen in vacation destinations around the world. What sets this excursion apart, though, is the fact that participants get to visit wild dolphins on their own terms. Rockingham Wild Encounters has been providing these tours since 1989, so they actually know many of the 200 bottlenose dolphins who live in the area by name, and the focus is firmly on education and conservation as guides provide insight into the dolphins’ behavior, life cycle and the environment issues that impact them. But let’s not undersell the fun. While snorkelers are in the water, the dolphins tend to swim and play, hunt fish and even mate. Best of all, the company has a 99% success rate of locating and getting people in the water with the wild dolphins on any given day.

When to go: Rockingham Wild Encounters offers these tours from September through early June with prices starting at $205 AUD ($155) per person.

What else to do: Rockingham is a 45-minute drive south of Perth, which has recently seen the debut of myriad new hotels including the luxurious COMO The Treasury, the bohemian Tribe Perth and the just-opened Westin Perth. The city’s riverfront Elizabeth Quay has undergone a huge redevelopment with restaurants, bars and shops, while the Northbridge neighborhood has become the city’s arts hubs thanks to institutions like the State Theatre Centre, the Perth Cultural Centre and the Art Gallery of WA.

Great white sharks in the Neptune Islands, South Australia

Jem Cresswell

Want to swim with some of the Earth’s most fearsome predators? The Neptune Islands off South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula are one of the only places in the country where you can go cage diving with great white sharks. You might also be lucky enough to see some of the other types of sharks that frequent the area, like hammerheads, bronze whalers and makos as well as dolphins, orcas and more. Long-running operators include Calypso Star Charters for day tours and Rodney Fox Shark Expeditions for multi-day sea safaris with the option of staying in either a surface cage or scuba diving in one that descends to the ocean floor.

When to go: Tours run year-round.

What else to do: Port Lincoln will be your base for this one as well. Plan to stay a few extra days so you can spend time with bespoke tour operators like Goin’ Off Safaris and Australian Wildlife Adventures who can arrange activities like scenic helicopter flights over the dramatic coastline, beach fishing and picnics, and an oyster bed tour and tasting with Pure Coffin Bay Oysters.

from travelandleisure.com

The post You Don’t Have to Go to the Great Barrier Reef to Swim With Australia’s Wildest Animals appeared first on Travel World Network.

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yahooin-travel-inspirations · 6 years

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You don’t have to go to the Great Barrier Reef to swim with Australia’s wildest animals

Here are a few places where you can swim with Australia’s marine inhabitants without the many tourists you might encounter along the Great Barrier Reef.

Sea lions in Boston Bay, South Australia

When to go: Depending on the charter company you go with, tours tend to operate between September and early June.

Whale sharks at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia

When to go: The whale sharks tend to migrate in through area from mid-April through mid-September, though the best sightings tend to occur May-July.

Humpback whales on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland

When to go: Humpbacks tend to pass by on their 7,000-mile journey to Antarctica during the Australian winter, with whale-swim charters departing July 6 through October 22 this year.

Sea turtles on Lord Howe Island, New South Wales

When to go: Lord Howe Island’s sub-tropical climate is temperate all year round, but the best time to see the turtles is November through April.

Wild dolphins in Rockingham, Western Australia

When to go: Rockingham Wild Encounters offers these tours from September through early June with prices starting at $205 AUD ($155) per person.

Great white sharks in the Neptune Islands, South Australia

%image1

When to go: Tours run year-round.

#1197772589 #Global Wonders #australia #down under #wild animals #swim #ocean #wanderlust #travel #travel + leisure

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sushmc4k-blog · 7 years

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Best SCUBA Dive Destinations In India

Adventure sports are gaining momentum in our country and so we now often hear about friends and family who have tried rappelling, bungee jumping, surfing, parasailing, caving and SCUBA diving at various destinations in India. Being a travel and adventure sport enthusiast, I was bitten by the SCUBA diving bug five years ago. The experience of being underwater, to be weightless, to hear the sounds only of the creatures that call the sea their home and to see sights and underwater life that are so vibrant and amazing that they baffle the imagination is just a treat for the senses. One that has made me feel even closer to the ocean, a life giving force.

If you are wondering what SCUBA is all about, please click here. To help you plan a diving trip with your family in the country, this post will set you in the right direction to start your exploration into the big, beautiful blue.

For more information on the world of scuba diving and introducing your child to this exciting sport, mycity4kids talked to Anees Adenwala (a CMAS Two-Star Instructor as well as a PADI Open Water Instructor) about what all you need to know about Scuba Diving for kids. You can read that article here.

Before you plan a dive trip:

Ideally before you do a certification course (popular certification agencies include PADI, SSI, and NAUI) try the Discover Scuba Dive session which is a fun dive but with an instructor controlling everything. You just go for the ride. This allows you to decide if you are comfortable and how you feel about the equipment and with being in the water. You could do this at any of the dive destinations. You could also just try it out at a pool. For example, Lacadives, Orca Dive Club, Dive India and Scubalov offer SCUBA pool sessions in Mumbai.

Absolute Scuba and Finkick Adventures offer SCUBA pool sessions in Pune.

Dive India, Planet Scuba India, Aquanaut, and Shark Tale Scuba offer SCUBA pool sessions in Bangalore.

POOL TRAINING

The pre dive instruction typically includes topics like how to equalize, deal with mask recovery, getting water out of the mask, regulator recovery, alternate regulator use, hand signals etc. Once you are sure that you all are comfortable with the DSD then go ahead and plan a dive trip which could be to do some more DSDs but in the ocean where you will have access to coral reefs and all the life they offer, or to go ahead with a certification course towards being a recreational diver.

About the PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) Open Water Diver Course:

The PADI course consists of a confined water segment, which could be in a lagoon or shallow site in the sea or in a swimming pool. There is an element of classroom style followed by practical instruction in the water and videos. This is followed by a written exam. Ideally the exam should be done after reading the book completely rather than at the end of the two days. Then you do the 4 qualifying open water dives that happen in the ocean to a maximum depth of 12-15m. After you do the confined water followed by the exam, you are free to do the qualifying open water dives to get your certificate with any agency anywhere in the world. It does not have to be the same agency you do the confined water training with.

Where to go SCUBA diving in India:

Andamans

The most popular destination is Andamans. This is because of ease of access with various airlines making daily trips into Port Blair from airports around the country. This tropical paradise has several dive sites many of which are comparable to spectacular sites anywhere else in the world.

WATER SPORTS COMPLEX PORT BLAIR

MAKRUZZ

FERRY TO HAVELOCK

Port Blair is where you can spend a day or two sightseeing before heading by ferry, either government or private like Makruzz, to the popular Havelock Island where most of the dive shops are located. Havelock Island is one of the few spots where the administration has allowed and encouraged the development of tourism. Over the years, it has become a magnet for those who love the incredible shades of blue and green that the sea turns every day, the fresh air, lush green hillsides and forests, thick beach side foliage, white sand shores, local and Bengali food, and amazing visibility making it a superb option for divers.

HAVELOCK

The dive shops you should consider on Havelock include:

Dive India

DIVE INDIA SHOP

Barefoot Scuba

Scubalov

Andaman Bubbles

Ocean Tribe

OCEAN TRIBE DIVE SHOP

Other exciting ‘off the beaten path’ activities to do while at Havelock are:

Kayaking with Tanaz Noble (You could also consider staying at her family run homestay at Port Blair. Here’s my review of the place).

KAYAKING WITH TANAZ NOBLE

Birding with Shakti Vel and Tribesmen.

Yoga with the team at Scubalov.

Visit to Radha Nagar Beach which is a famous spot to view sunset after having been listed as ‘7th Best Beach in the World’ by Time Magazine in 2004.

RADHA NAGAR BEACH

Lacadives runs their dive shop from Chidiya Tapu which is about 17 kms south of Port Blair. This location is far from the touristy crowds and in close proximity to amazing rain forests.

LACADIVES DIVE SHOP

When here, in addition to diving you can go on nature trails with the naturalists from Reefwatch Marine Conservation and a definite must do is a visit to the Chidiya Tapu Biological Park.

BIOLOGICAL PARK

India Scuba Explorers has their dive shop on Neil Island a close ferry ride away from Havelock. Neil is not as busy as Havelock tends to be and has fewer options for accommodation, food and beverage but if it’s a quiet time with superb diving, under excellent teachers, in beautiful surroundings, that you crave then just head here.

NEIL ISLAND

An Andamans live-aboard experience

Try a completely unique experience by taking your family onto India’s only SCUBA diving live-aboard, the Infiniti. The concept here is that you stay on board the yacht that sails to various destinations. In this case the Infiniti would take you to dive sites not generally accessible when you stay on an island. The Infiniti is a 39m, all steel, four decked live-aboard promoted by Karina Tourism & Adventures. This live-board offers diving to remote locations such as Barren Island (the only confirmed active volcano in South Asia), southern islands, and Duncan Island.

The Infiniti is child friendly and has conducted several open water certification trips for Mumbai school children. On the yacht are qualified and experienced dive team members to take the children through various courses with the certification courses beginning for those 12+ years. Some of the activities organised for children include beach, island and island school visits, and the Andaman naturalist program that teaches them about the flora and fauna of the Andaman Islands. There are board games, videos, movies, books and reef fish guide books in the lounge.

For further information please click here.

Lakshadweep

The Lakshadweep tropical archipelago of 36 atolls and coral reefs is one of the most beautiful places on the planet. The name Lakshadweep in Malayalam and Sanskrit means ‘A hundred thousand islands.’ Only a few islands are open to visitors (everyone requires a permit) and not all are inhabited. The dive centres at the islands are run by the Society for Nature Promotion and Sports (SPORTS) which is a society under Lakshadweep administration.

The key islands for SCUBA training, fun dives and water sports are Kavaratti, Kadmat, Minicoy and Bangaram.

BANGARAM

KAYAKING BANGARAM

KADMAT

KAVARATTI BUBBLE MAKER COURSE

SNORKELLING

While the dive sites are pristine and underwater life just exceptional, as it is not so easy to get to the islands, tourists tend to look at more hassle free destinations.

You can fly to Lakshadweep from Cochin to Agatti Island from where you either take a helicopter or the inter-island ferry to get to your island. You also have the option of taking any one of the ships from Cochin directly to the island you have booked to stay at. If you can book in time to block a cabin, then the journey is very comfortable and views of flying fish, dolphins, clean deep blue waters, sunset and sunrise, thousands of stars, and if you are lucky bioluminescence in the wake of the ship, all make the journey an unforgettable one.

AGATTI AIRPORT

AGATTI HELIPAD

INTER-ISLAND FERRY

SHIP TO LAKSHADWEEP

VIEW FROM THE SHIP

To know all about the packages, diving, island accommodation and more please contact SPORTS.

Karnataka

Murudeshwar is best known for its tall Shiva statue that towers above everything along the shore at the temple on the beach. It is also the base from where scuba divers can take a boat to head to Netrani to dive the sites around the island. This is an uninhabited island that has been used in the past for target practice by the armed forces. The topography underwater is quite interesting in addition to the amazing sea life. If you are very lucky you may spot an unexploded old bomb shell on the sand bed or even a whale shark. Get in touch with West Coast Adventures for a range of courses if you want to dive Netrani.

WATER SPORTS AT MURUDESHWAR

DIVING NETRANI

Maharashtra

Tarkarli in the Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra is a very popular beach resort tourist town. There are spectacular beaches, great local food options, and water sports facilities on the back waters where the Arabian Sea and Karli River meet. SCUBA diving is offered by Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC). They also offer snorkelling trips to the sites around the Sindhudurg Fort.

SINDUDURG FORT

TARKARLI BACK WATERS

DIVING TARKARLI

Goa

While the visibility on dives in Goa is not as good as in Andamans or Lakshadweep, if you wanted to dive to get a feel of the SCUBA experience you could consider it. Diving happens at dive sites (including a wreck) located near Grand Island also called Grande, Grandi or Ilha Grao. Dive shops are located at various places in Goa and they will take you by boat to the dive sites. The closet boat ride out to the island is from Bogmalo Beach. While headed out to your dive you are likely to spot dolphins frolicking around.

Some of the dive shops are:

Goa Aquatics

West Coast Adventures

Dive Goa

Barracuda Diving

Goa Diving

Pondicherry

Pondicherry or Pondy may seem like an unlikely spot for SCUBA diving but there’s a dive shop that has set up India’s first and only east coast dive centre. That shop is Temple Adventures. They offer diving at over 20 sites and various courses for all levels.

When getting to Pondicherry other interesting places to check out enroute include the historic Mahabalipuram on the Coromandel Coast and the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust and Centre for Herpetology. The Croc Bank, as it is known, is a large reptile park.

MADRAS CROCODILE BANK

In Pondicherry do go visit Auroville.

AUROVILLE

Chennai

Barefoot Scuba has a brand new dive shop that is in Covelong, Kovalam, Chennai and they offer dive courses and fun dives to various sites around the area.

Temple Adventures also offers diving opportunities in the Bay of Bengal off the coast few kilometres from the shores of southern Chennai city.

Kerala

When in Cochin if you want to experience SCUBA get in touch with Scuba Cochin Dive Team. While the dive shop is in the city, the dive site is a fresh water eight acre wide quarry with good visibility and abundant under water life. This company also offers the option of kayaking, snorkelling, and backwater expeditions.

Happy, safe diving!

#scubadiving

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