In the previous post, The TOP Highlights of the 18 JBL Expeditions Part 1 , I described the expeditions of the years 2015 and 2016.
As the expedition leader, the question I’m asked most often about our expeditions is: What was the most beautiful expedition so far? And this is exactly the question that’s hardest to answer. It depends on your point of view and where exactly your personal interests lie. If you love sea slugs you’ll have been in seventh heaven on our 2007 Philippines expedition. It’s hard to find more plentiful and more beautiful nudibranchs than in Puerto Galera on this planet! However, if you wanted the once in a lifetime chance to observe neons and altum angelfish in their natural habitat, close up and in colour, you could fill your boots in Colombia. With the best will in the world, I can't name any ONE best expedition.
But I can tell you the highlights of the last six expeditions, from my own personal point of view:
JBL Expedition Indian Ocean 2017
The destinations of this expedition were Madagascar, Mauritius and the Seychelles. I found Madagascar rather disappointing. Perhaps it was due to the guides, who kept leading us to prosimians and didn't understand that we wanted to see snakes and lizards. Our real highlight was the whale sharks at Nosy Be. There are unfortunately fewer and fewer places on our planet where you have a good chance of seeing whale sharks. There is a migratory route of whale sharks running between the coasts of Mozambique and Madagascar. Since travelling to and from Mozambique would have been extremely time-consuming, I decided to go to Madagascar. For two days we went out in boats to observe the peaceful sea giants. These trips are firmly etched in my memory: sitting at the back of the boat next to the engine right at the water's edge, the pleasant smell of the exhaust fumes included, and immediately being the first to get into the water when a whale shark was near. This was the only way I had a chance to take some pictures before the other snorkellers got in the picture. Even though whale sharks are not really ideal aquarium inhabitants, an encounter with them is unforgettable. As with whales, it is horrible to think that these absolutely peaceful creatures are hunted and killed. Probably precisely because they can be so slow, unsuspecting and trusting.
The best experience on Mauritius was not an animal, but the hospitality we experienced from our JBL importer Goolam on Mauritius. I have rarely met such a cheerful, friendly and dedicated person as Goolam! He’s the sort of person you never forget.
The Seychelles were rather average underwater. For us marine aquarists, of course, there was always something exciting to observe. But the most impressive thing was the landscape above water. The granite rocks on the beaches of the island of La Digue from the famous Bacardi commercials of the 90s really did look as dreamlike as in the film. If there is a dream setting in this world, it is right there. It was hard to leave this beautiful landscape behind!
More details, such as research results, pictures and videos, can be found on the expedition page: Indian Ocean Expedition
JBL Expedition Japan 2019
Our Japan expedition was certainly one of the most diverse expeditions: The cosmopolitan city of Tokyo with its unusual pet shops, the koi breeders in the north near Niigata and then the two dream islands of Iriomote and Ishigaki in the south near Taiwan. You could hardly find more different destinations within one expedition.
At the koi breeders', I was the first person allowed to enter their indoor ponds with an underwater camera to take photos of the valuable breeding animals under water. The "guys" there sprayed me with disinfectant for an infinitely long time before I was allowed into the water. But the pictures turned out really beautiful and I am infinitely grateful to the breeders, with whom a special friendships developed over the years, for this unique opportunity. You have to remember that the animals are the equivalent of a garage full of Ferraris and Lamborghinis.
At Iriomote Island, about 2000 km south of Niigata, I will never forget a snorkelling trip. In front of the beach, about 300 m away, the edge of the reef was visible from the breaking waves. Underwater, the lagoon between the beach and the reef was characterised by reef blocks that were always broken by channels. Three of us went into the water and snorkelled towards the reef edge. But my two colleagues left after 200 m. The oncoming current was too strong for them. The reef blocks alone were very interesting. They were teeming with sea snakes! It was the largest show of sea snakes I had ever seen. The animals are highly poisonous, but absolutely peaceful. It was even safe to take macro photos of the snakes' heads from 5 cm away. But I wanted to see what the ocean behind the reef top looked like. Maybe I’d find sharks there? But I had to snorkel over the top of the reef and realised too late that this was not a completely safe undertaking. The water above the reef top was extremely shallow, so that I was only a few centimetres away from the sharp corals below me. The incoming waves broke just above the reef top and every surfer knows the trick of just diving under the waves. But this is exactly what can’t be done in 40 cm deep water! But it did work and after twenty exhausting minutes I reached the reef edge on the outer reef. The fish fauna was completely different and it was exciting to observe the fish undisturbed on this completely untouched reef section. The way back with the waves was another interesting experience.
I have a very funny memory of our lodge on the jungle island of Iriomote. During our first hike near the hotel, we noticed a close-meshed fence about 60 cm high that was built around the entire hotel complex. When asked, we were told that it was to keep the snakes out. This was of course an exciting thought for us and we searched the fence intensively. We found several (harmless) snakes - but always on the inside of the fence, which prevented them from escaping back into the jungle. Fences are great like that, aren’t they!
More details like the research results, pictures and videos can be found on the expedition page: Japan Expedition
