Baliblog: how many people are involved in this operation?
Mike: Well there is my partner, Buck Randolph and I. We are the only westerners involved and then we have a staff of maybe 15-20. Boat drivers, dive guides, we have 3 local Dive Masters, we have got a about 3 local ladies cooking for us, a few of them doing house cleaning so we are employing many people from the village.
Baliblog: Tell me about the dive groups you've had out there so far.
Mike: We've had a Taiwanese group, we had a group of Italians, Germans and 2 weeks ago we had some people from the BBC.
Baliblog: In a nutshell what is good about Ambon diving? Why should someone go to Ambon rather than diving in Bali or California?
Mike: Because the variety of fish and coral out there is incredibly more complex than it is in Bali. Bali has good diving, but it's not nearly as rich as it is in Ambon, because of the 'Wallace Line' as they call it. But more importantly, no crowds, we're the only dive operator in the whole province. The fact that you can get off of an airplane and 15 minutes later be at our place on the beach means that it's accessible, it's not that hard to get to from Bali as there are daily flights. The big things is crowds, we do not have any crowds. If you are with your friends diving you are not going to see anyone else in the water.
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{ 4 comments }
G’Day Nick,
Great interview all up. Ambon is beautiful place.
Barrie, Great to hear from you. How is chilly Perth? I am writing this from chilly central Oregon, in the middle of the woods at a lovely farm.
Can’t wait to get out to Ambon and check it out for myself.
G’Day Nick,
I’m not in chilly Perth BUT in nice and warm Bali!. Yep, I am still here and another month to go.
I spoke to Ika the other day and we’ll be going to see her soon. Candika has knitted Jevon a nice topi!. Ika is wrapped about that!.
Lucky you! Right now I’m wearing a double thick sweater inside the house.
Give Ika a hug for me and maybe Ningrum will be responsive this time.
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