As its license plates proclaim, Bonaire is a ‘diver’s paradise’ that just keeps on getting better.
After settling into my room at the Divi Flamingo, I made my way down to the dive shop to purchase the mandatory plastic marine park permit tag and to sign up for my checkout dive, which all divers must do with a local dive master before exploring the marine park. It’s required to ensure all divers have their buoyancy under control so they don’t damage the reef.
As Alvin, the shop’s cheerful dive master, showed me around I mentioned that I wanted to photograph some of the island’s famous frogfish and seahorses. Are there lots around, I inquired? Are they difficult to find? Where’s the best place to find them?
Good Directions
“Okay, okay, here’s what you do,” said Alvin, with a big smile on his face. “You get suited up and giant stride from the end of our dock. You swim out about 165 feet (50m). Descend to 50 feet (15m) and swim south towards the other end of the beach. About another 165 feet (50m) along you’ll see two big coral heads. On the first one you’ll find a yellow and pink frogfish and on the second one you’ll find a bright yellow longsnout seahorse and a red frogfish.”
He had a great sense of humour, and as I followed his pointing finger I wasn’t sure if he was joking or not. But the next day after my checkout dive I grabbed my camera gear and hopped into the water. As I swam to the coral heads I couldn’t help but think of Alvin and the other dive masters having a good laugh at my expense.
The vis was about 100 feet (30m) so it wasn’t difficult to find the coral heads. I reluctantly searched the first one and just when I was beginning to feel really foolish, I spotted a big pink female frogfish with its much smaller male escort. Then I found the yellow frogfish perched on top of a small yellow tube sponge.
I was so dumbfounded it took me a few minutes to actually start shooting. Of course, I found the yellow seahorse and red frogfish on the other coral head, along with a cooperative anemone shrimp on a Caribbean anemone and a young octopus in the sand. After my dive I swam to the beach and returned to the dive shop. A beaming Alvin met me near the camera rinse tank.
“So how did it go?” he asked coyly, his pearly whites glistening in the bright sunlight. “Thought I was pulling your leg didn’t you?” “It was fantastic and yes, I did think you were pulling my leg and having a good laugh about it,” I replied. He just laughed and said, “On Bonaire we take our diving seriously so we would never pull your leg, but we did have a good laugh.” Something told me I wasn’t the first diver they found entertaining.
Healthiest Reef
Simply put, my critter encounter is the norm on Bonaire. The island boasts one of the healthiest reef and marine ecosystems in the Caribbean. The abundance of marine life and how approachable and accessible it all is will blow you away. In fact, it’s sometimes hard to tell if you’re checking out the marine life or if the marine life is checking out you.
Bonaire’s desert like topography of rocks, sand and cactus more resembles Arizona surrounded by water than one of your typical lush Caribbean islands. However, despite the island’s dramatic desert landscape its main attraction and highly prized natural resource is its fabulous reefs and marine life.
First Marine Park
In 1979, the Bonaire government established the Caribbean’s first national marine park to protect its important natural resource. All the waters around the island from the high water mark on land to a depth of about 200 feet (61m) were deemed off limits to spear fishing, collecting, gathering, touching and anchoring. As a result, the waters and reefs around Bonaire have become a huge natural aquarium. I dive throughout the Caribbean and I was amazed to see such healthy reefs and large reef fish populations only a few fin kicks from shore.
In 2009, the Bonaire Marine Park celebrates its 30th anniversary and the island’s leadership role in conservation and sustainable tourism is legendary throughout the region. Shoreline development and the size of properties are strictly regulated (no building higher than a coconut tree) in an effort to minimize the impact of silt and construction debris on the fringing reef. Also, with no rivers and under 20 inches (50cm) of rainfall annually (just two weeks of rain in British Columbia), visibility seldom drops below 100 feet (30m).
Park permit fees contribute to research, education and enforcement as well as maintenance of the park buildings, moorings and site markers. Bonaire currently has 63 well-marked shore dive sites with another 26 sites around the neighbouring uninhabited island of Klein Bonaire. Most sites are also available as boat dives for those requiring easier water access.
And it’s not just the marine world that Bonaire is conserving. The island’s conservation efforts actually started on land with the establishment of the Washington Slagbaai National Park in 1969. The park covers almost 35 per cent of Bonaire and is home to one of the largest breeding colonies of pink flamingos in the Western Hemisphere.
There is even a proposal to address the tens of thousands of plastic water bottles that fill the island’s landfill each year. The proposal calls for providing all visitors with a Bonaire water bottle that they can refill at water filling stations throughout the island. Visitors then take the water bottle home as a souvenir of their visit.
The result of all these conservation efforts translates into some of the best wildlife viewing and diving in the Caribbean.
Diving At Your Own Pace
Over the years, geological forces raised Bonaire from the ocean bed in stages. As a result, the fringing reefs run parallel and close to the shoreline in a series of tiers. The proximity of the reefs from shore and the island’s flat topography has earned it the title of ‘shore diving capital’ of the Caribbean (maybe even the world). Shore sites, marked by distinctive yellow rocks with the site’s name, are easily accessible from the main road. You can pick up a free dive site map at any dive shop, hotel front desk or from the tourism office in town.
At most sites, you simply drive to the waters edge, use the tailgate to get geared up, then walk 15 to 30 feet (5-10m) to the water. The fringing reef is seldom more than 165 to 250 feet (50-75m) offshore. Currents are mild at most sites along the west coast of the island, but are much stronger on the east coast and off Klein Bonaire.
One of my favourite shore dives is 1000 Steps. Actually there are only 64 steps down the cliff to the water (72 if you count from the road), but with your equipment and the heat it feels more like 1000 (thus the name). A shallow 20-foot (6m) deep shelf, covered with thick stands of staghorn and mustard hill corals, stretches for about 165 feet (50m) from the shoreline to a 100 foot-deep (30m) drop-off. Hawksbill turtles, green morays and large groups of schoolmasters frequent these coral gardens, which are a popular snorkelling spot.
As you descend over the edge of the drop-off the first thing you’ll notice are the large mounds of brain coral – many are over 12 feet (3.5m) in diameter. On the lower ledge you’ll encounter clouds of blue tang, mahogany snappers and a few large Nassau groupers gliding past 6-foot high (2m) purple, pink and golden tube sponges. During the winter months, manta rays and dolphin cruise the deeper water just beyond the drop-off.
Island Hooker
The island’s most popular wreck dive is the Hilma Hooker. It sank in 1984, and now rests in about 115 feet (35m) of water off the southwest coast, just north of the salt pier. It’s a popular shore dive and the massive propeller, rudder and the bow mast topped with an intact crow’s nest, provide great photo opportunities. By late morning it’s usually crowded with divers stirring up sediment, so get there early for the best vis. Another popular wreck is the Danish fishing vessel Our Confidence that sank in 60 feet (18m) of water just 165 feet (50m) from the beach at the Harbour Village Beach Club. Again, get there early for the best vis.
Bonaire’s signature shore dive is the Town Pier at night. You can usually dive the pier in the day without permission, but night dives require harbourmaster permission. You must arrange your dive through one of the local operators that will take care of the paperwork and lead the dive.
Other notable shore dives include the Salt Pier (great macro), Margate Bay (the best place to find lots of sea turtles and schools of black margate) and Willemstoren Lighthouse (an advance dive with lots of huge tarpon, eagle rays and sharks).
Hitch A Ride
If you prefer boat diving, the less frequented sites off tiny flat Klein Bonaire (KB) are spectacular. The sites tend to be deeper with moderate to strong currents. Although you can take a water taxi across from the main island and do a few shore dives, it’s best to dive these sites by boat, especially if you’re lugging around bulky camera equipment. Most of the sites are intermediate to advanced depending on the currents.
KB’s nutrient rich currents nourish a wide variety of colourful sponges. Enormous bright orange elephant ear sponges crowned with black feather crinoids and brown volcano sponges crowd the corals around Ebo’s Reef, while Captain Don’s has tall tube sponges and a plaque dedicated to Don Stewart, the pioneer of Bonaire diving. You can find sea horses, frogfish, huge green morays, reef sharks, grouper, barracuda and schools of margate, grunts and schoolmasters on most sites. Bottlenose dolphin, sharks, mantas and eagle rays frequent Southwest Corner, Munk’s Haven, and Forest along KB’s southwest coast, but be aware of this area’s strong currents.
If you’re one of the wild set looking for big thrills, then the windswept, rough waters and strong currents along the east or Atlantic coast of the island will not only test your diving abilities, but reward you with squadrons of eagle rays, large mantas, sea turtles and all sorts of sharks.
Bonaire is truly a diver’s paradise that’s suitable for divers of all ages, skill levels and budgets. Dive packages (excluding airfare), which typically include room, breakfast, a rental jeep or truck and unlimited tank refills, start as low as US$680pp. There’s also plenty of topside attractions for the entire family like hiking, biking, bird watching and kayaking.
And if you want to find one of those elusive frogfish, just ask a smiling dive master.
Washington Slagbaai National Park
Washington Slagbaai National Park, the first of its kind in the Netherlands Antilles, occupies about 14,000 acres (5,700 hectares), almost the entire northern half of the island. Established in 1969, the park is home to many species of flora and fauna including a dozen varieties of cacti, an endemic iguana, the rare Caribbean Parroquet and Yellow Warbler, and the beautiful pink Flamingo.
The dirt roads in the park have been left rugged to allow visitors to “slowly absorb” their surroundings. Park attractions include the magnificent moonscape vistas of Seru Grandi, the sparkling white-sand beaches at Boka Slagbaai and Boca Chikitu, and the flamingos at Salina Slagbaai and Gotomeer.
If you go take plenty of water and sunscreen.
Wild Side Diving
Bonaire offers world-renowned diving, but until recently most of that diving took place in the sheltered waters along the western or leeward coast of the island. In late 2001, British Columbia native Larry Baillie started Wildside Diving to give experienced divers an opportunity to sample some of the seldom-dived windward coast sites. His custom designed Zodiac Hurricane 920 with its two 225 Yamaha 4-stroke engines is the perfect dive boat for the six-foot (2m) seas common on the east coast. At present, he offers drift dives all along the east coast between Willemstoren Lighthouse and Spelonk, but hopes to expand his coverage in the coming years. Some of his favourite sites include Lac Reef and White Hole (a.k.a. Blue Hole), where you’ll find spotted eagle rays, three types of sea turtles and other pelagic species. You can also explore the debris fields of two old shipwrecks at Spelonk.
In Search Of Flamingo
Bonaire plays a major role in the survival of the endangered Caribbean flamingo. Less than 80,000 flamingos remain in the Western Hemisphere and Bonaire is home to 15,000 of them. In fact, the flamingos almost outnumber the residents.
The Caribbean flamingo is one of the largest species, standing almost eight feet (2.5m) high and weighing about 9 pounds (4kg). They mate for life, so if one dies the mate seldom breeds again. Also, flamingos are highly sociable and don’t usually start courtship until their group grows to 20 or more birds. Each year mating pairs raise one chick. At three months, chicks follow their parents on the 55-mile (90km) flight to feeding grounds in Venezuela.
The flamingo’s classic pink cotton-candy plumage, distinctive black flight feathers, long sinewy legs and graceful neck give it an almost diva-like appearance, but they tend to stay well away from people, noise and intrusions. Scientists believe their pink colour comes from the carotene found in the brine shrimp they eat.
One of the best places to see the birds in good numbers is at the Pekelmeer Sanctuary, at the southern end of the island near the slave huts and in Washington Slagbaai National Park.
Bonaire Marine Park
“Bonaire is to conservation what Greenwich is to time.”
- Captain Don Stewart, pioneering marine conservationist and father of Bonaire¹s marine conservation program.
Regardless of where you go in Bonaire, it’s hard to escape the chatter about the island’s Marine Park. Established in 1979, the park encircles the island and covers some 6,670 acres (2,700 hectares) of beaches, mangrove forests, sea grass beds and magnificent coral reefs.
A full-time staff of five rangers maintains moorings, monitors the health of the reefs and patrols the park. However, the bulk of their effort goes into educating island residents, local dive operators and visitors about the best ways to enjoy the Park without damaging it. Plastic park permit tags are US$10 for snorkelers and $25 for divers and are available at all water sport and dive facilities.
A few things you can do to help protect the
Park’s fragile ecosystem:
• Never drop an anchor outside the immediate harbour.
• Never remove anything from the water or beach. Can you imagine what would happened if every year 75,000 visitors each took home a piece of coral
or a couple of shells?
• Never make contact with the reef. Touching coral causes damage, which in turn leaves the coral more susceptible
to disease.
• It is illegal to wear gloves when in the water. This reduces the temptation to touch.
• Don’t chase marine life or try to touch or feed it.
• Conchs are an internationally protected species. What seems like a beautiful addition to your rec room shell collection may cost you a stiff fine.
• Finally, everything you take to the beach or a dive site returns to the hotel with you.
The Town Pier
The top Caribbean dive destinations all have signature diving. In the Caymans it’s wall diving, in Tobago it’s drift diving and in the US Virgin Islands it’s wreck diving. Bonaire’s claim to fame is its fabulous shore diving and its premier shore dive is the Town Pier. The abundance and variety of small invertebrates and reef fish that live on and around the pilings have given rise to its nickname ‘Critter Corner’. Many divers feel it’s the Caribbean’s top macro photography site.
The small L-shaped concrete pier is located at the foot of Plaza Reina Wilhelmina in the island’s capital, Kralendijk. Depth ranges from 20 to 42 feet (6-13m), allowing for plenty of bottom time. You’ll need a special harbourmaster permit and a local dive master escort.
The vertical pilings are a riot of colour. Every square inch is covered with small yellow and orange tube sponges, red fire sponges, red ball anemones, horned Christmas-tree worms, orange cup corals, purple feather duster worms, fire-red corals and the rare orange-tipped anemone that only come out at night.
The pilings also attract a wide variety of fish. Amid the chaos of color, yellow 3-inch (8cm) long lure frogfish and their smaller cousins the dwarf frogfish perch motionless in ambush on small sponges, while orange and brown lined seahorses sway in the mild current. Foureye and spotfin butterflyfish hug the pilings in their night-time torpor, while larger predators like six-foot (2m) tarpon and barracuda lurk in the shadows hoping for a quick meal. Tucked inside the small tube sponges you’ll find tiny banded coral shrimp and red night shrimp, while Pederson’s cleaning shrimp and anemone shrimp hide among the anemones.
The Hilma Hooker
In early 1984, the Dutch freighter, Hilma Hooker, left Panama bound for Venezuela. It developed engine trouble and started to take on water off Bonaire. After towing her to the main pier, the coast guard boarded and found 22,000 pounds (10,000 kg) of high-grade marijuana hidden in false bulkheads in the ship’s holds.
The authorities impounded the ship and its cargo and installed pumps to keep the vessel afloat. By early September, the dive operators convinced the Bonaire government that no one would ever claim the vessel so why not empty her fuel tanks and bilge, and tow her to a ‘safe’ site in case she sank. Apparently, one of the island’s more colourful dive operators picked the perfect safe site.
On September 1, the coast guard towed and moored the ship at the safe site. The next morning the Hilma Hooker mysteriously slipped below the surface. Rumors still abound about a certain colourful dive operator who, having also assisted with the pumping-out procedures, may have ‘inadvertently’ left one or two, or maybe even three of her sea valves open after mooring her at the safe site.
Today, the 260-foot (80m) steel-hulled freighter rests intact on her starboard side on the sandy bottom in about 115 feet (35m). She lies parallel to the shore, nestled between the inner and outer reefs – the perfect ‘safe’ spot!
She sank with everything still intact, so it is not advisable to penetrate her without proper equipment and training. Her large cargo holds are accessible and give access to some of her interior spaces, but avoid her mid and aft deckhouses. She is now home to large schools of barracuda, snappers, groupers and French grunt, as well as dense clouds of silver sides packed into her two deckhouses.
Ferocious or Friendly?
Though a moray’s formidable gaping jaw and menacing large teeth make it look ferocious, its appearance belies its true nature. Morays are actually shy creatures that rarely get too involved with snorkelers or divers unless they are harassed. That menacing open jaw and biting motion is actually how they breathe.
Twenty-five of the world’s 200 species of moray live in the Caribbean. Bonaire has a healthy population of morays. The six most common are the chain, viper, goldentail, spotted, purplethroat, and green morays. If you are lucky you may even see a rare pygmy or marbled moray.
The most frequently seen is the spotted moray. It grows about three feet (1m) long and its white body is covered with round over-lapping brownish-black spots. You can usually see them peeking out of rock or coral crevices in the shallow reefs close to shore.
The shyest and most identifiable of the six is the chain moray. Its dark brown body and conspicuous yellow chain-like pattern along its side is quite eye-catching. The best time to see a chain moray is after sunset when it ventures out of its lair to hunt.
The green moray is the largest and most fierce moray you are likely to encounter. These deep-water morays typically reach six feet (2m), love to hang around wrecks and are fiercely territorial. They are very powerful animals with huge jaws and they aggressively defend their space.
Bonaire Dive Into Summer
Bonaire use to have a one-week dive festival in June, but it got so popular they extended it from June to September and renamed it Bonaire Dive Into Summer. The program offers visitors the flexibility to plan their vacation over a longer time frame while having the added bonus of taking part in a variety of interactive and volunteer dives and seminars.
The focal point of the program is to increase awareness and understanding of coral reefs, and to further conserve and manage valuable coral reef and associated ecosystems. It gives divers an opportunity to learn and give back to the community and the marine ecosystem. Events include dives and seminars like reef fish counts with Jan and Alexandra Cousteau, reef cleanup and coral management with Philippe Cousteau, photography workshops with notables Steve Simonson and Rick Sammon, and photo contests.
The four-month event includes other family eco-friendly activities like windsurfing, kiteboarding, landsailing, mountain biking, sea and mangrove kayaking, horseback riding, nature tours, hiking, and bird watching.
A complete schedule of activities, information about the event and hotel packages can be found on the event¹s official website at www.bonairediveintosummer.com
Bonaire’s Marine Park Honoured
Islands Magazine and the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) recently honoured Bonaire’s National Marine Park with the prestigious Sustainable Tourism Award for 2008. The Park is one of only a few actively managed and self-funded protected marine areas in the world. The organization praised the Park as a perfect sustainable tourism model, where conservation management, tourism needs and community benefits are balanced.
Islands Magazine and the CTO commended Park Authority’s effort in maintaining and restoring the health and biological diversity of Bonaire’s reefs, while at the same time promoting non-destructive tourism activities. Each year, the park attracts more than 38,000 visitors. Admission fees, commercial and private moorings, donations and grants account for all the park’s funding.
Bonaire’s Lieutenant Governor Herbert Domacasse accepted the award on behalf of the island from Mr. Ty Sawyer, the Editorial Director for Islands Magazine. In his acceptance speech Mr. Domacasse sent out a challenge to all countries, “We challenge the world to follow our example. This small island, which one can barely see on the world map, cannot save it alone. We have to do it together. We owe this to future generations.”
Take The Plunge
Divi Flamingo Beach Resort & Casino, Tel, (599)717-8285. PADI Gold Palm Resort
www.diviflamingo.com/DiviFlamingo/
Bruce Bowker’s Carib Inn, Tel. (599) 717-8819.
PADI Gold Palm Resort.
www.caribinn.com
Buddy Dive, Tel. (599) 717-5080.
PADI 5-Star Gold Palm Resort.
www.buddydive.com
Captain Don’s Habitat, Tel. (599) 717-8290.
PADI 5-Star IDC Resort.
www.habitatbonaire.com
Sand Dollar Bonaire, Tel. (599) 717-8738.
PADI 5-Star IDC Resort.
www.divesanddollar.com
Harbour Village Beach Resort, Tel. (599) 717-7500.
PADI Gold Palm IDC.
www.harbourvillage.com
Plaza Resort Bonaire and Toucan Diving, Tel, (599) 717-2500. PADI Gold Palm IDC
www.plazaresortbonaire.com
Belmar Oceanfront Apartments. Tel, (599) 717-7878.
www.belmar-bonaire.com
Caribbean Club Bonaire, Tel, (599) 717-5489.
www.caribbeanclubbonaire.com
If You Go
For more info contact
Tourism Corporation Bonaire
80 Broad Street, Suite 3202
New York, NY 10004
Tel: 1-800-BONAIRE or 212-956-5912
E-mail: info@tourismbonaire.com
Websites: www.tourismbonaire.com and www.infobonaire.com
Getting There
Continental has weekly direct flights from Newark and Houston and fly through these gateways from Toronto and Montreal. American Eagle offers five direct flights from San Juan each week. Delta offers weekly direct flights from Atlanta. Various North American carriers fly regularly to Curacao or Aruba where you can connect with either Dutch Antilles Airlines or Divi Divi to Bonaire (both offer many daily flights between islands). Some package tour operators like Sunquest also offer weekly direct Aruba and Curacao flights from Toronto and Montreal.
Time Zone
Atlantic Standard Time: one hour ahead of Eastern Standard Time
When To Go
Bonaire is hot, dry and sunny all year. Average air temp. 86°F (30ºC), water temp. 84°F (29ºC). Only 20 inches (50cm) of rain annually. Visibility is a spectacular 100 feet (30m) year round
Language
Bonaire’s official language: Dutch and Papiamento, but English is widely spoken.
Entry Formalities
North American visitors must have a valid passport and an onward or return ticket. There is also a US$32 departure tax.
Currency
The official Bonaire currency is the Florin or Guilder (US$1= fl1.77), however, US $ and major credit cards are accepted everywhere.
Medical Facilities
Bonaire has a modern hospital complete with a Hyperbaric Chamber. However, make sure you have dive insurance (Divers Alert Network).
Electricity
Standard 120/50hz throughout the island, but most dive shops have special charging stations for strobes.
Getting Around
Major rental companies like Budget provide cars and 4x4s at super rates.
