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- THE PALAU WAY

Unravel the mysteries

of Palau as Pauline and

Mark regale their land

and diving and boating

experiences respectively.

P

alau (known locally as Belau) is

the western most territory in

Micronesia and is part of the

Carolines Islands. It consists ofmany islands and islets, the biggest

being Babeldaob. Koror Island lies

in the south, where most of Palaus

downtown is located, and Malakal

Island is where the commercial port and

primary yacht anchorages are found.

Sari Timuris anchored in front of Sams

Tours / The Royal Belau Yacht Club,

which is the primary yacht anchorage

for most cruisers.

Palaus early history is st i l l a

mystery but scientists believe that

it was inhabited as early as 1,000

BC. The original settlers are likely to

have come from Indonesia or perhaps

the southern Philippines, a blend of

Melanesian and Polynesian stock.

Foreign governance of the islands

officially began with Spain in 1885,

followed by Germany, Japan and

America. Following Japans defeat in

WW2, the islands became United Nations

Trust Terr itories under United State sadministration. In 1981, Palau adopted

its own constitution and finally gained

independence on October 1, 1994.

History aside, the diving in Palau

is outstanding and from what weve

seen so far, it has certainly become our

favourite diving spot. Being situated at

the western extreme of Micronesia means

the islands are below the theoretical

typhoon area and have warm, clear

water with light winds all year. There

is supposedly no off-season for diving

here. As a result of an intense WW2

battle, Palau is the site of numerous

shipwrecks and planewrecks after

the removal of 66 wrecks from theharbour by salvage companies. Add

to that, the allure of Palaus famous

reefs, underwater wild life, and unique

geographical features have given rise

to names s uch as Blue Corner, Blue

Hole, Virgin Blue Hole, Coral Gardens,

Zeke Fig hter Pla ne, Jakes Sea Plane

Wreck, Sunken Bridg e and Devil fish

City . One hotel brochure lists over

50 dive sites and we hope to get in

a good portion of them.To date, we have dived two wrecks,

both of which are in excellent shape

and loaded with marine life. Compared

to our Philippines experience, theres

better visibility here although the

wrecks are a bit further apart probably

due to the clearing. This means that

wreck diving is done as part of the

daily dive agenda either the first or

second dive and is partnered with

one of the other sites in the area. For

example, a morning drift dive throughthe Ulong Channel and then, a post-

lunch dive at tanker Teshio Maru in

14-24 metres of water, or even a combi

of both depending on currents.

We really enjoyed Siaes Tunnel, an

underwater cavern, and as we drifted

around Siaes Corner, we caught sight of

the large number of sharks, barracuda,

trevally and turtles. This was our first

dive in Palau and we were hooked. Our

other favourite spot was the German

Channel area which had several blue

holes (submerged caverns) teeming

with pelagic fish and a multitude of

reef fish with their fantastic colours and

unique features. Sharks are a commonsight because many years ago, Palau

made its entire territorial waters a

shark-protected area, resulting in a

very healthy reef environment and a

multitude of sharks. However, we did

see our first leaf scorpion fish and

crocodile fish in this area, but what

was most exciting was our first close

encounter with manta rays.

Another dive we thoroughly enjoyed

was the chambered nautilus dive.Although a little artificial as they set

a trap and catch the nautilus the night

before a dive and then release them

while the divers are there it allowed

us to get upclose and personal with

these rare creatures and also allowed

the nautilus to get a free dinner.

Mandarin fish and Moorish Idols are

very prevalent in Palau and we had

seen these about 20 feet from where

we tied our dinghy up. It was thrilling

to watch two sharks working one ofthese Idols away from the school. As

it tried to seek shelter near the reef,

two interested morays got in on the

action and seized the Idol. In a blink

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of an eye, a Napoleon Wrasse from

above swooped down and stole the

Idol right out of the morays mouth.

Talk about lightning speed!

True to its namesake, the freshwater

Jellyfish Lake has thousands of jellyfish

in it. However there are no predators

about because the jellyfish have no

stingers. We could snorkel right in

the midst of them which was truly a

unique experience.

On land, we went to the AimeliikBai (a bai is a meeting house for men

only) and along the way, we saw the

prehistoric terraces and the Ngardmau

Waterfall. It was well worth the trek,

mud, sweat and all. Since then, they

have installed a tram system to bring

visitors to the falls so they neednt walk.

We drove to Ngarchelong at the

northern end of Babeldaob Island,

most noted for Palaus archaeological

site of Badrulchau. Here you can seestone-face monoliths over a 5-acre

area with some dating back to 161

AD. However the climate had taken

a toll on them as they are eroding to

the point of being unrecognisable. We

also visited the Mother and Child

stone, where legend has it that a

curious woman along with her child,

stole a look into a mens bai and both

were turned into stone. The rest of our

agenda included a drive to Melekeok,

where the new but huge CapitolBuilding stands; a pre-WW2 ruin of

a pineapple factory operated by the

Japanese, and a day tour to Peleliu,

an island at the southernmost end of

Palaus huge barrier reef.

Peleliu was the location of some

of the fiercest fighting during WW2s

Pacific War. Underground forts and

caves were sealed off when the

Japanese soldiers refused to surrender.

Japanese and American memorials

are found all over the island, plus

old tanks, engines and other war

debris rusting away. Must-sees are

the landing strip, Bloody Nose Ridge,

Orange Beach, the Japanese MilitaryHeadquarters, the Japanese Shrine, the

WildCat Monument, Japanese Peace

Memorial Park, 81st Infantry Division

memori al and 1,000-men Cave. So

named because it was believed that

1,000 Japanese soldiers were inside

the cave when the Americans sealed it.

Seeing is believing and a trip to

Palau is certainly worth a visit.