SCUBAtravel.co.uk has released its latest list of the top 100 dive sites around the world. With some surprising entries.
[UKPRwire, Thu Mar 23 2006] Divers visiting the SCUBA Travel web site have voted the Yongala (Australia) the best dive site in the world. It has nearly double the number of votes as its runner-up, the Thistlegorm (Red Sea). To see the full list visit http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/divingnews/2006/03/top-100-dives-of-world.html
The Yongala is a shipwreck in Queensland (Australia) which sank during a cyclone in 1911 killing 122 people. She had no telegraph facilities and so could not be warned of the weather ahead. Covered in sea life, she is what diving is all about. As Dr Russell Garnett, one of the people voting for the Yongala, comments..."The Sheer weight of numbers and the size of the animals that you are able to approach to alarming proximity really lets you feel part of the wreck based ecosystem rather than a cumbersome intruder from another realm. I loved the tens of sea snakes who are very friendly. Could spend a month enjoying the fauna before even noticing the magnificent 111 m ship which is responsible for the oasis of life in a sea of surrounding sand."
Second place goes to the Thistlegorm. Another wreck, this time in the Egyptian Red Sea. "Most fantastic recreationally accessible wreck I have ever been on" says diver Ashley Kidd "126 m of beautifully coral encrusted hull with an astonishing load of trains, motorbikes, jeeps, tanks and artillery...to name just a few wonderful highlights, that never look the same twice. Maybe it's becuase you never have to dive it the same way twice - always a new route, up in one way, out another...oh and don't forget the sight of the propeller as you come around the stern."
Also high up the list are dives in Palau (Micronesia), Sipadan, Hawaii, Belize, South Africa, Sudan and Vanuatu.
The entire list is published at http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/divingnews/2006/03/top-100-dives-of-world.html
Anyone who disagrees with the dives there can cast their vote at http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/topdiveslong.html.
The SCUBA Travel web site is an impartial guide to diving around the world. It includes descriptions of dive sites, reviews of dive operators, notes on how to get to destinations and book reviews. In short, it aims to help divers plan their next diving expedition and find the best dive sites whilst they are there.
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