Snorkelling, Diving and Swimming with Blue Whales in Timor-Leste

Snorkelling, Diving and Swimming with Blue Whales in Timor-Leste.

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Transcript

Jonty: 0:06

Bondi. Welcome to exploring Tim Este, the podcast that talks about Southeast Asia's best kept travel secret. I'm your host Jte, and I'll share firsthand insights, expert interviews and practical travel tips. Whether you're a traveler, a cultural lover, or just curious about places rarely covered in the mainstream. You're in the right place. Let's explore two more. Less day.

0:31

welcome to the Exploring Timor Less Day podcast. In this episode, I'm gonna talk to you about snorkeling, diving and swimming with blue whales in Timor less day. Timor Estee has some of the best snorkeling and diving in the world, and this is a major attraction for visitors to this country. One of the reasons for this is it sits in the coral Triangle, and it's renowned for the diversity of the fish life and the health of the coral. I'm gonna explain to you a little bit about where the best places are to go snorkeling and diving. And swim with blue whales, one of the great things about snorkeling and diving into Mote is much of it's easily accessible from either walking in from a beach or taking a short boat ride. This is not the Great Barrier Reef where you might spend an hour going out on a boat to go to a dive site here. If you are spending more than five or 10 minutes on a boat, that would be quite unusual and say a lot of the sites, you can literally just go in off the beach and the reefs are meters away from the shore. The temperatures in the water are very warm. So somewhere between 27 to 29 degrees, which is between 81 and 84 Fahrenheit throughout the year. So it's very constant sea temperature, and it's warm enough when I've been snorkeling, even diving down to 15 or 20 meters, I haven't needed a wetsuit the reefs are some of the most biodiverse in the world around Etter River Island. They've surveyed hundreds of different species of fish living above the reef. Dolphins also quite commonly seen. And in Tassie. Tolu in Dili, you can also see do gum. Visibility is best during the dry season. So that runs from around May to November. You can dive all year round. But the dry season's the best time for visibility and generally sea conditions as well are gonna be more favorable then the best known dive companies in Timor Less day are Dive Timor. Aquatica Dreamers Dive Compass Diving and Aru Dive Resort. The first three of those are based in dili. The last two are based on Aru Island. They all offer paddy training courses. You'd expect to pay about 400 US dollars for the open water course and qualification, and around 50 to 60 US dollars. For a standard dive, which would include gear hire and a dive master or instructor. All prices are in. American dollars because that is the currency of Tim Leste. You can also hire snorkeling gear for the dive companies and some accommodation providers like Barry's Place on at Rural Island will also have gear that you can hire. But I would recommend that you actually bring your own from home.'cause a lot of the places, particularly for snorkeling, there are no facilities or access to higher gear. So it's best to bring your own snorkel and mask and fins if you can from home. The most popular place in Timor, less state to snorkel and dive is at island. This lies just the north of the capital city Dili. You can reach it by ferry, which takes about one and a half hours for the fast ferry, or closer to three hours for the slower ferry. Or there are 15 minute flights from Dili into at Uru. The most popular places to snorkel and dive are at Beloit. This is where the Ferry wharf is and close to where the airstrip is. And that's where the accommodation is. So that's pretty much where most people are gonna be spending most of their time on Aru Island. There are a number of accommodation providers like Barry's Place, ARU Dive Resort, and Compass who offer accommodation and the opportunity to organize snorkeling and diving. Be boy has a reef literally by the ferry wolf, which you can access via the beach. But the best snorkeling is the inner reef, which is about a five minute boat journey away. There you can expect to see a huge variety of fish life and coral life. There are some giant clams there, which are as good as the ones I've seen in Samoa, which are much better known. The reefs are very healthy. There is a lot of live active, colorful coral. I've done a bit of snorkeling around the world, but I've met people who've done a lot of snorkeling, diving globally, and they really rate the snorkeling diving at river some of the best that they have done. They're also excellent reefs on the west coast of Aru Island at a Dara and at. A number of marine reserves have been established around the island, which aren't entirely popular with the locals, given that they depend on fishing for their livelihood, but they are areas with reefs and they're protected from fishing. So that really encourages good fish life in those areas. And they also generate some income for the local communities. There's normally a two US dollar per person fee to enter those areas. So say Belo, the most popular and the easiest place to snorkel and dive. If you want to go to Atta crew or a Dara on the West Coast, you'll even need to get a boat around the island, which takes about an hour. Or if you are keen on hiking, you can hike across the island in two to three hours and just snorkel from the shore. You can stay obviously overnight, stay for as long as you want in Roo Island, but using the fast ferry, you can go there for day trips on a Saturday. There is gear at Barry's place if you want hire and go for a snorkel or take your own gear. So you can do it as a day trip from Dili. Ery island's a nice place to stay, and so I'd recommend that you spend a few days to really explore the place and keep an eye out for the tides as well.'cause I reckon low to mid tide is my favorite time to go snorkeling. You're very close to the the reef to see everything that's there. And also snorkeling first thing in the morning or later in the afternoon is quite kind of atmospheric compared to the middle of the day. There are two dive companies based on the island. There's Compass Diving and Aru Dive Resort. Dive Timor are based in Dili, but they also run trips over to Aru Island. Similar prices to before expect to pay about 60 US dollars for a dive, including dive equipment and a dive master or instructor. And it's generally just a short boat trip out to reach the sites. Note that between May and September there are quite strong trade winds, which can make the waters a bit choppy on the East coast. So the dry season is a good time to visit, but maybe later in the dry season if your focus is gonna be diving and snorkeling. The winds do take the edge off the temperature, so it makes it quite pleasant when you're on shore. But it means the waters can be a little bit choppier, but the inner reef in particular in Beloit is very well sheltered. So even if the conditions are quite rough, further route, the s snowing there is usually possible. There's also excellent snorkeling in dhi, the capital city. The three most popular places to snorkel are the Crito Ray Beach. So that is just in front of Christo Ray, large statue of Jesus to the east of the city center. There is back beach, which is behind the Cristo ray statue, and that is a beautiful sandy beach and probably the best place for snorkeling in Dhi. And there's also Tassie Tolu, which is out to the west of the city, close to the airport. That is a little bit more variable depending on the conditions, the visibility can be a bit hit and miss, but there is a reef just offshore there, so there are quite a few opportunities to go snorkeling in Dilly and those sites all free. There are very limited facilities though, so Christo Ray Beach does have some toilets. The other two do not have any public toilets or changing areas. But if you head into the water for any of those three sites, within a few minutes, you'll be above the reef. And there are beautiful fish, coral, starfish as I say, tassie tolu. If you're lucky, you may see a dugong, which is quite an unusual creature to to see. There is also a number of dive sites in Dili. So all three of those areas can be dive. The, probably Tacito is the most popular one because it's got quite a steep drop off to go to the deeper depths. As mentioned earlier, there are three dive companies based in Dili. There's DIVE Team, or Aquatica and Dreamers Dive Academy, and they all have a regular schedule of trips that they run, including in Dili and also a little bit further afield. As well as at Uru and Dili. You can also go diving a number of other sites. Around Timor less day. Now one thing to note is there are quite a lot of crocodiles in Timor less day. So that means the south coast in particular is off limits'cause there are salt water crocodiles, which you don't want to to see either on, on land and particularly in the water. But there are no crocodiles around Atar Island. And there have been very few sightings in Dili. Or to the east and west kind of an houry. The side is pretty safe. So if you head to the west, you can go to Mora. There are some dive sites along the way between D and Mora and there is snorkeling there in UBA and also at Issa. And then heading to the east, number of dive sites on the way out to Manitou to places like$1 Beach. An K 41. There's a number of different sites along there, which access from the shore. So there's a shore dive. And those dilly based dive companies will offer trips out there, which would include transport and then the diving, and then transport back to dili. There is also snorkeling at Jao Island, which is at the very eastern most point of Timor Lester. This is one of the two islands of Timor Lester. You've got Jaco Island at Island. Jao Island is uninhabited. It's got a very beautiful beach. There's basically nothing on the island. It's a sacred place where people are not allowed to camp and there is some snorkeling and diving opportunities around there. I personally. I think it's a bit risky just because there are crocodiles known to live in the area, and I have heard firsthand from people who have had some situations with crocodiles. So it is a reasonably popular place to snorkel. Again, you'll need to bring all your own equipment with you, but personally I would stick with the snorkeling and diving around at and dili as safer places to enter the water. Este is one of only 10 countries in the world where you can swim with whales, and I believe it's probably the only country in which you can swim with. Blue whales, which are the largest species of whale. So this is quite an unusual thing that you can do in something that's really only possible in Timor less day. And it is quite a draw card for people visiting around mid-October to the end of November. So there's about of a six week window in which the blue whales migrate through the wetter Strait, which runs between. Dili and at, so it is quite easy to access and have this experience, this is quite a draw card for visitors to Tim more less day. So things can book out months in advance, which is very unlike anything else in Tim. More less day. But if you are interested in way of watching, this is something you do need to plan ahead for. Obviously you are not guaranteed to see any whales, like you have a. Pretty good chance. But there's no guarantees when it comes to wildlife. If you don't see whales, you probably will see dolphins and some other things of interest, but you might get lucky and they might see a number of whales in a day or you may not see any. So just to manage expectations. The species of blue whale that go through are pygmy blue whales, which are the most common species of blue whale. And although pygmy may suggest they're small, they can grow up to 24 meters long, which is only six meters shorter than the longest blue whale species. So these are massive and impressive animals to see. The most common area to spot the whales is off the coast of Hira, just to the east of Dili. Between Dili and Aru Island now the pattern of migration has changed with climate change. So typically they are coming later in the years. So I would suggest that if you are looking to do this, probably November is better than October. And actually even towards the end of November is the more likely time to see them. In terms of costs, this is probably one of the more expensive things you can do in two more less day. Expect to pay around 250 US dollars for a half day sightseeing trip, or$400 for a full day whale of watching, and you have the opportunity of swimming with them again. That is. Not that common. A number of countries they have different rules and regulations around engaging with animals. In Timor, you are able to get into the water and snorkel. You can't dive because they are migrating, so they're going at a reasonable pace. Basically the boats will look to swap the whales when they come up to breathe, and then they will try and basically get into the path of the whale when it's looking to come up to breathe next so the people can get out of the boat. The snorkel gear and hopefully get a good view of the whale as it goes by. If you have a drone and there aren't really no drone rules in Timor Este, so it is a good place to bring your drone. Then you can get some amazing footage from above by a drone. Those prices include the ability to snorkel. You expect to pay maybe a hundred dollars left if you just want to watch from the boat. Pretty much all the dive companies in Dian, ARU Island will offer well. watching and swimming trips during the season. It's actually probably easier or it's certainly a shorter distance to travel. If you go from Dili, not from Roo Island, you're probably gonna say 15 to 30 minutes each way if you start from Dili rather than from at, because they tend to migrate closer to the shore of the mainland rather than to the island. There are also operators in Bal, which is about two and a half hours east of Dilly who also offer whale watching trips. So the whales go all the way along to moles. Dave. Now in a Kui to the west you can also see whales from the shore, but the most popular just given where the infrastructure is for snorkeling and diving is around dili and at. So that's given you hopefully a bit of an idea of some of the things you can do under the water in Timor. Lesser, as I say, is one of the best places certainly that I've been, and I have spoken to people who have been to many places around the world and they really rate Timor Lesser as a top destination for diving, snorkeling, and swimming with Wales. Thank you so much for listening to exploring Timor Less Day. If you've enjoyed today's episode, please consider leaving a rating or review. It really helps more people discover the show. If you have any questions or feedback, I'd love to hear from you. Drop me an email at exploring Timor lessDay@gmail.com. Until next time, or Bodo ADEs.