Pacific Island Paradises

– 86 – www.paradises.com 18–hole golf course. In the Marshall Islands guest accommodation on some of the outer islands is in traditional thatched huts with few amenities. Food and entertainment The islands that are best equipped for tourism offer world-class seafood restaurants. In Guam, Palau and Saipan enjoy a variety of cuisine including American, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Filipino, Mexican and Chamorro. In Pohnpei try the local drink, sakau. In Chuuk sample Japanese and local cooking while in Rota indulge in the best of the traditional Chamorro cooking. In the Marshall Islands, American, Western-style cooking and Chinese cuisine go hand in hand with Marshallese specialties. Activities Comprising approximately 2000 islands and atolls, Micronesia caters for all levels of diving. Here's a taste of what you can expect to find at the various destinations. Guam has an exceptional underwater world. The water is crystal clear, with 60 metres visibility commonplace, and you can expect to see coral gardens teeming with fish life, a unique blue hole and caverns. There are several wrecks of historical importance here including a Japanese Zero. A lso, the remains of a Spanish galleon, the world's largest side paddle-wheeler, and a 230–metre passenger liner can be found layered on top of each other. You can also trace the remains of both world wars at the double wreck of the Cormoran, a W WI German Gunboat, and the Toka's Maru, a Japanese freighter from WWII. Saipan is famed for its beaches and some of the fiercest fighting between the Americans and the Japanese. As a result there are an estimated 18 sunken Japanese ships and many others as yet undiscovered. The majority of the wreck diving here is in Tanapag Harbour in depths of 12–18 metres with visibility up to 18 metres. The harbour has a ship believed to be the Shoan Maru, a B-29 Bomber, a Japanese seaplane, sub chaser, landing craft and a Zero fighter. An interesting snorkelling site is provided by two American tanks in two-and-a-half metres of water off Saipan World Resort. The most adventurous site is the Grotto which starts at the base of 200 stairs. After submerging 18 metres down the cavern, you then swim through the tunnel to the outside wall of the island where visibility averages 30 metres. Palau is known as one of the seven underwater wonders of the world—not surprising when you can stand atop a reef edge in knee-deep water and see it drop away to 320 metres vertically! It is believed that there are more than 50 WWII shipwrecks sunk in the lagoon. For a truly unique experience, how about diving in a land locked lagoon with 100,000 non-stinging jellyfish! Dive sites offer stalactite-filled caves, giant undersea tunnels and gorgonia fans that stand up to three metres tall. Chuuk is renowned as having the best shipwreck diving in the world because of what is today known as the Ghost Fleet of Truk Lagoon. It consists of 50–60 ships and Japanese planes that were sent to the bottom after two days and a night of continuous strafing and bombing. The water temperature has served as a great incubator and the ships are now excellent artificial reefs, home to a variety of spectacular marine life. Underwater photography is a must here with the prolific coral growths that line the wrecks. The diving is year-round — M i c r o n e s i a —

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