Trip Teaser: Come with X-RAY MAG to Palau on the Palau Siren liveaboard!

Join X-Ray Mag editor Matthew Meier on this very special and different liveaboard cruise on the Palau Siren through the stunning archipelago of Palau in Micronesia.

Palau is famous for its large pelagic life, manta rays, grey reef sharks and swimming with millions of stingless jellyfish. But not many people are also aware that hidden beneath the waters of Palau’s inner lagoon lies some of the planet’s best wrecks from WW2.

How did some of Japan’s Combined Fleet end up resting on the sandy bottom of this pristine island? And how are Palau’s wrecks connected to the world-famous wrecks of Chuuk, also known as Truk Lagoon?

(Find specifics and booking info at the bottom of this page)

The original concept of black water diving consists of going to an offshore location in the middle of the ocean at night and jumping into the abyss to watch the ocean’s diurnal migration. By hanging lights at around 15m for a stable reference depth and drifting over a contour of a 1,000 meters, or as deep as you can, one can see microscopic zooplankton rising from the depths, bringing with them an array of magical creatures.

Palau—prior to a few years ago—was just a name that meant a distant dive destination on my list of places to go. I had seen the periodical article written with its crystal blue water emerald green rock islands and sea life and coral combinations like no other place diving. A dive site called Blue Corner, sounded like fantasy land, almost as if it were thought up by Walt Disney himself, if he were a diver. In the back of my mind I knew that I would get there one day. I just never thought it would make the impression it did and change my life.

Appearing like nebulous emeralds adrift over an expanse of a deep blue ocean, Palau is richly endowed with some of the world’s most stunning and unique terrain above and below the sea. Geologically, the islands are pinnacles of an undersea ridge of volcanic mountains, part of the “Pacific Ring of Fire” known for its violent subterranean activity. Its vast lagoon is sheltered by a 105-km-long barrier reef, which extends down the west from Kossol to Peleliu sheltering over 200 mushroom shaped islets—these Rock Islands are significant of Palau’s natural wonder.

Using state-of-the-art “internal tags” with a battery life of more than ten years, scientists in Palau are breaking new ground in studying the long-term behavior of individual sharks.

Peter Verhoog and Georgina Wiersma went along to document exactly how sharks are caught, tagged, and released. And also discovered, how important divers can be in shark conservation.

Hidden beneath the serene waters of Palau’s lagoon lie dozens of coral encrusted Japanese ships. These long lost hulks were all sent to their final resting places during a devastating American air strike over 59 years ago and have since gained notoriety as some of the world’s most alluring ghost-filled vessels.