Don't you hate it when people start mindless kudos threads designed only to drip feed their own undernourished egos? Well, this thread is no different!
I would like to congratulate myself for getting my Oly SP350 photos into a mag again...
I though it might be time to post some of my Mongolian dive photos. Together with Sinoscuba in Beijing I helped organise a dive expedition to the undived Lake Khovsgol in Mongolia: a 130 km long lake that holds 2 % of the worlds fresh water as well as a number of soviet era boat wreaks and 60-70 car wreaks (from when the lake freezes over). It took 26 hours behind the wheel to drive 1 tonne of dive gear 800 km to the lake – there’s only a few tracks most of the way, and only a few tourist ger camps up there once you arrive. Getting all that dive gear into Mongolia was a lengthy headache in itself..
The water was cool, but not too bad for a lake thats frozen over for 6 months of the year. Vis was excellent and water quality was fantastic: it's some of the purest water in the world, and it’s nice to be able to spit your reg out and take a drink. We used a side-scan sonar to locate a number of wreaks and other features, and took water quality measurements throughout the lake.
The best wreak was the Sukhbatataar, a 40 m long freighter:
My wife Enkhee became the first Mongolian to dive in Mongolia, and was already the first Mongolian woman to become a certified scuba diver, hence the Mongolian flag:
A lifeboat that didn't make it off..
Enkhee and Peter Hess showing off their treasure... Even though the wreak sank in 1983 the doors still opened on their hinges and the boat was just as it had been when it went down - right down to the crews possessions in their cabins
There were also a few old, primitive but quite large wooden steam boat wreaks to explore:
Some of the local inhabitants - there are only 9 fish species known in the lake, thanks to a freeze over in the last ice age. A great deal of time was spent hunting for something new - my main biological discovery being that aquatic leeches are a great way to freak your dive buddy...
And a surface shot courtesy of photographer/work mate
Tom Sant - the undived lake stretches 130 km over the horizon and we only managed to dive a fraction of the possible sites located on its southern end. Roads and villages occur only at the very southern and northern tips - the rest is pristine wilderness.
(note MOF'ers gazing in wonder at the NMOF'er)
All of the photos were with a Olympus SP350, a Inon fish eye lens, and a temperamental Inon D2000 strobe
I might post a few more later. I also have to get around to posting some of my general Mongolian photos someday soonish. We also put together a film on the expedition that's now doing the rounds and may hit the small screen.
Cheers,
Rohan.
