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| Off the island of stone money, Bill Acker in 1984 discovered giant manta rays, which gained him his world-famous nick “Manta Man“ and Yap's reputation as the island of mantas. |
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Far off the beaten path, Yap is situated north of Papua Newguinea, east to the Philippines and approximately 450km northeast of Palau.
The archipelago is part of the Western Carolines and territory within the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM.) Yap refers to both the four interconnected main islands (Yap Proper) and the entire State territory, including also the more than 100 kilometers distant Outer Islands, which to this day are pristine and anything other than easy to reach.
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Yap Proper is mainly of vulcanic origin, partly hill and densely covered with vegetation, mangrove jungles stretch the coastline while a barrier reef frames the island. The island's center, the so-called capital, is named Colonia and only there hotels and dive centers are to be found. Only a few hundred meters away, many people still stick to their unparalleled traditional culture, maintaining their life by fishing or agriculture in their old villages, which are connected to each other by stone paths. In front of their houses, “well off“ Yapese show off their money – while the US-Dollar is the currency for shopping, stone (cold) rich are those, whose gardens or house entries are decorated with several stone discs. Neither size nor weight represent the distinct value of the “discs.“ It is the story behind the individual stone money disc that makes it more or less valuable: what counts is the events shaping the stone disc's transport by canoe from Palau to Yap. Through oral tradition and story-telling in the mens' houses, this important tradition is kept alive and everybody on the islands is quick to know what's the deal and who is the man behind the individual stone money disc.
All of Yap is enclosed by a coral belt while channels such as the Main Channel, Mi'l Channel or Goofnuw Channel leading into the lagoon. Exactly in these places did American Peacecorps veteran Bill Acker make his sensational discovery: depending on the season, manta rays are drawn from the Pacific Ocean into either Goofnuw or Mi'l Channel in order to fill up their bellies on the fly. Not only do they filter their beloved plancton, they also stop by at various cleaning stations in the channels. Practically speaking, those serve to the majestic gliders as a kind of biological carwash.
Winter (December to April) marks their mating season in Yap, and at that time the rays prefer Mil'l Channel because of the season's low surf there up in the north west. Goofnuw Channel in the north east is favored in summer time, especially the morning hours offer the best opportunites to get them in front of the dive mask. What the rays, and also the sharks, love most is current, which is strongest during full and new moon. This is why the tide tables are among the important tools for Yap Divers: they allow to distinguish “incoming tide“ from “outgoing tide.“ Best visibility can be expected with the incoming water from the clear Pacific Ocean, outcoming water from the lagoon can reduce the visibility to a few meters.
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The Manta Ray Bay Resort was built by dive pioneer Bill Acker and is famous with divers all around the world. Mantas, several species of sharks, mandarin fishes, grottos and gorgeous hard coral gardens – these are the aces below the waves off the island of stone money. And above, one is enchanted by a place that in many respects remained pristine and one of a kind.
Besuchen Sie unsere Homepage unter http://www.mantaray.com |
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As many divers are tremendously upbeat during the manta meetings and barely can control their euphoria, the most important facts on the rays, which reach a size up to 5 meters, are given beforehand along with a guideline for the diver's behavior. Thanks to that, Bill Acker and his guides could show the peaceful giants to their guests in thousands of dives, and what is even more important: the giants keep on coming back and have never been driven off Yap's waters! The wall in front of the dive center features drawings of more than hundred different mantas with their names given by their discoverers. Distinct patterns of patches, color, size and tail end allows one to distinguish the different animals, which reach an age between 20 and 70 years. Yap Divers offers a manta guarantee all year long, by the way.
To reduce Yap “only“ on the fascinating manta encounters is a mistake made all too often by divers and also by tour operators. A combined travel with Palau is an obvious choice, and thus on more than rare occasions Yap is visited only for 2 or 3 days of diving on the way back home. Only on stone money island, when divers trade stories and enjoy Bill's brew during the happy hour on the top deck bar aboard the cozy restaurant ship Mnuw, do many visitors realize their situation. Unfortunately too late as flights cannot be rescheduled that quickly.
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There are further exciting diver's delicacies all around the island with two dozens of spots offering a lot to be seen. Blacktip Reef Sharks and Grey Reef Sharks are easy to see on Vertigo Wall off the Western side. Every once in a while, Silvertip Sharks, Whitetip Reef Sharks and pelagic sharks are brought onto the reef triangly of Big Bend by the help of special noises. Sea fans and black corals grow on Cherry Blossom Wall and in the very south at Yap Caverns enchant with grottos and fantastic light cascades. Between these coral bommies and canyons, photo subjects for both wide lens and macro lens abound.
The second largest deep sea trench (Yap Trench) is located not far away from Yap, and thus it is always recommended to take a look into the open water as big fishes appear every once in a while. Truly excellent are the intact hard coral gardens of Sakura Terrace and Gapow Reef off the eastern side, which in addition boast with visibility up to 60 meters. Located only a few minutes away from Colonia, two wrecks can be dived at, and the near-by macro spot (Slow & Easyoffer the sights of cardinal and frog fishes as well as photogenic nudibranches.
That the former German colonial territory features a diversity from XXL to XXS becomes obvious at best at O'Keefe Island: one hour before sunset, dives in the shallows there offer the opportunity to witness the mating rituals of the colorful mandarin fishes. One quickly realizes that the mantas are only one reason to visit Yap. The island is one of a kind in many respects.
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Visit remains from German colonial times (Yap was called the “Place under the sun“). Of further interest: villages, stone money, mens' houses, kayak trip in the mangrove forest. Cuisine: try the blackened sashimi aboard the restaurant ship “Mnuw.“ Best to be booked in combination with Palau (at least one week in Yap.) |
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| Yap Visitors Bureau |
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Dream destination for manta and mandarin fish lovers alike, from XXS to XXL, suitable for beginners and advanced divers, good dive center (also, German-speaking), jetty on the dive center, great resort, moody restaurant ship with bar, very good atmosphere, own micro brew (Manta Piss), spots for macro diving in the vicinity as well. Traditional culture is one of a kind, medical facilities are good.
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Far off, long flights, hurts your wallet. Manta sites roughly 20 to 30 minutes by boat, visibility is not always excellent (when low tide flushes lagoon water through the channel.) Weather is not too stable, rainfalls may occur. More or less a pure dive destination. |
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| Mit freundlicher Unterstützung von |
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