Over and out

[Wantonmien]

Taiwan contacts -

In case I didn't see any of the Taiwan divers before I left, look after Taiwan guys and girls - and get some posts going in here so I can see what's happening in the oceans there !!

In in the last couple of years I've enjoyed some great diving there, North, East & South coasts, Turtle, Orchid, Green and Liouchiou islands - and of course shared many great sights, so - Thanks McGill, Andy, Craig, James, Ken, Todd, Ken, Dave, Mike, Thomas, Chris, Chad, Harry, Gary, Paul, Nina, Nick and all the others (whose names escape me at the moment) .... Keep enjoying safe diving in those wild Taiwan waters and hopefully see you on different shores - maybe over in my new home just 'onland' from the GBR -- !!

And the best moment and best dive in Taiwan over the last few years - well it just has to have been that CNY 2010 trip hey .. unforgetable.

Cheers, from Australia.

PS: Let''s keep pushing hard to stop the slaughter of the magnificent creaturese we have swum with - and let's hope Taiwan some day shows Asia that Shark Fin soup should be off the menu !

 

[Makhno]

Sad that you're leaving Taiwan, but glad that you've arranged such a good situation for you and E. down in Australia.

Maybe see y'all in the Philippines one of these days?

Best regards,
M

 

[currier]

Taiwan diving is losing a fine diver and gentlemen today ... You'll be especially missed around the NE coast!

Wantonmien your contributions to this site and TW forum particularly have been substantial - heck, didn't you have a hand in twisting somebody's arm to get us this forum to begin with?!?

Hope your new position and home bring you the most happiness ... I know that your location will keep you smiling! Day trips out to the coast? Hopping on the boats and getting to dive the GBR?!? I am an envious man.

Good Luck! Hope to see you again here, there, or somewhere in the near future

 

[mahjong]

Careful or you'll expose one of the best kept diving secrets on the planet--Taiwan!

 

[LoveOceanicGears]

Wontonmien:

It is truly sad to know you are leaving Taiwan. Although we never meet face to face, I really enjoy reading your reports and seeing your photos.

I really appreciate the advices you gave me about Kenting diving 2 years ago. And thanks to you, Taiwan finally got its own forum here. But most of all, I really respect your effort to raise awareness of stop shark finning in Taiwan. I hope one day this barbaric act will complete disappear in this world.

Australia is closer to US and maybe one day we can meet at Great Barrier Reef...

Good luck!

 

[Makhno]

Hey Wantonmien --

So, I finally got around to diving Taiwan's northeast coast last weekend, and wished you'd been there to join us. Chris and I took the HSR up to Taipei on Friday night (Thomas had thrown his back out in Palau, and Andy had some Open Water Diver students' course or something to do down south in Kending). Ted picked us up at the Fulong station after he got our tanks, and we crashed at the beach house at Daxi. Did a couple awesome dives at the Wall -- viz was >15m, hordes of fishes and plenty of nudis -- and then went north for an evening/night dive at the Canyons north of Longdong Bay. Stayed overnight at Ken's dive shop in Longdong and dived the Canyons again (by daylight this time) on Sunday, then went back south to Yilan County and the Wall, where we dived the northwesternmost pinnacles -- rarely dived even by the hardcore, and truly excellent. At one point, schools of bannerfish, surgeonfish, snappers, fusiliers and damsels all merged together into an aggregation of thousands of fishes -- never mind the octopus or the nudibranchs or the anemone shrimps, etc. Michael had a cold so he didn't dive, but in addition to Ted we were joined by David, Craig, the other Todd and Millie, Sune, Jeremy, Thunder and a few other sympatico northern Taiwan divers. It was an awesome weekend; sorry you and E weren't there with us.

Best regards,
~ m

 

[Wantonmien]

Hi Makhno,

I've seen Chris pics on FB, and looks like you hit it on a good weekend, with plenty of life out to meet you and out on some of the better sites, great stuff and glad you enjoyed it, pity we couldn't have joined you and the gang, but maybe next time hey !! From Taichung to Pioneer on the #3 I'd say with good timing you could do in less than 3 hours, so depending on the weather, you'll be pushed to choose between N or S until late in the year ! Enjoy.

Here in Oz, hugely disappointed to find No regular day trip dive boats or dive ops within easy reach of my coastal home base offering day trips to the GBR, but we still have options to check out within say 2 hours drive plus from house so have the fingers crossed, and will post in the Oz forum in the coming weeks.

Did make a one day trip out to Lady Musgrave island a couple of weeks back, two dives, cost more than a return trip TPE to PHP Anilao would have cost, and it was ummm ... probably not as good as the Yilan Wall, and it was a dammed site colder at 22 C ... Brr ... however, it was good to start seeing some different life from the normal in Taiwan, and 'larger' fish - couple of nice ones below, the large Baramundi being the first I'd ever seen in the ocean, and at a cleaning station for a pose.