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As regular readers of this column no doubt will recall, during recent weeks I have been stretching out my column topic (”Three Things Everyone Should Know About the Outdoors Before They Turn 30″) like two kids arguing over a piece of taffy.

This is partly because I get paid per column and partly because at any point I am due to have a baby and thought that preparing a batch of columns in advance would help me cover my bases.

The No. 1 thing I deemed important (Feb. 27, 2005) was being able to identify the animals and plants in your own yard or neighborhood. Check out your newspaper’s online archives in the event you missed it.

Today: No. 2, Be Able to Build a Fire.

Quite probably the entire reason human civilization advanced beyond the Early Days was because a couple of our early ancestors figured out how to build a fire. In the event that they could somehow come back to life, learn how to read, and see that my No. 2 suggestion is that everyone should be able to build a fire they probably would have themselves a good belly laugh. After all, basic survival, until more recent times, depended on this skill. Now, not so much.

But still, it is a handy skill to have. Whether your life ever will depend on it at some point depends on many variables, such as whether you ever will become lost in the wilderness or whether we have another ice storm like the one of 2002, and you are without heat or a food-cooking source for umpteen days, or whether your kids are demanding to roast marshmallows at the lake when you go car camping.

Beyond survival, there is something delicious about a fire that warms the spirit, fuels the soul, and provides a psychological boost that says, “Things are OK.” The glow of the fire becomes a glow within ourselves. (It also can be used to sterilize bandages, signal for rescue and provide protection from animals).

Generations of Girl and Boy Scouts have known about this fire power and have gathered around campfire rings, singing songs and sharing stories for decades. Now urban dwellers have joined the club and have purchased chimneas made of clay for their decks and patios in an attempt to create a similar aura.

To build a good fire in a campfire ring, a chimnea or for survival in the wildnerness, you’ll need three basic elements — air, heat and fuel. Remove any of these, and your fire will go out before you can so much as get a marshmallow on a stick.

As for fire-building materials, you’ll need three kinds — tinder, kindling and fuel.

Tinder is dry material that ignites with just a spark. It could be a handful of straw or hay, for example.

Survival experts recommend anyone going on an extended hiking or backcountry camping trip take a Ziplock baggie of dryer lint to use as tinder.

Kindling is dry, readily combustible material that you add to the burning tinder. It could be, with the editor’s approval, this newspaper rolled into tight little wads. Or it could be a good armful of twigs that range from matchstick size to the diameter of your thumb and sorted by size. The object with kindling is to increase the fire’s temperature so that it will ignite the less combustible material you place on top.

Fuel is the stuff that burns slowly and steadily once lit — pieces of branches the diameter of your arm and big logs, for example.

The way you arrange these materials is a matter of personal choice and experimentation. A favorite method for outdoor fires is a tepee, in which you arrange the tinder and a few sticks of kindling in the shape of a tepee or cone, with larger logs on the outside. Light the center, and as the tepee burns, the outside logs will fall inward, feeding the fire.

The 49th annual Kansas City Sportshow begins Tuesday, and visitors will see a lot of the usual stuff. There will be boats and hundreds of booths promoting hunting, fishing and vacation spots here and abroad.

There will be ATVs and motorcycles, recreational vehicles, fishing lures and rods and reels for sale — everything under the sun where it comes to outdoor entertainment.

Oh, yeah, Bill Grigsby also will be there. The longtime announcer for the Kansas City Chiefs will be the show’s host, something he’s been doing for 45 years now.

“It’s a labor of love,” Grigsby said of the Sportshow. “I love working for these people. What I really like are the seminars. We’ve got Ray Scott of BASS fame here this year.

“When we had the show at Municipal Auditorium, we had stage shows. When they moved into Bartle Hall, you couldn’t do the stage shows anymore, it was just too big. I’ll be there to introduce some acts, meet people, just circulate.”

One of the acts this year has Grigsby intrigued. “I haven’t seen it yet, it’s new this year,” he said. “It’s called the Rattlesnake Wranglers. It’s unbelievable. Four Kansas farmers get into this pit with 100 rattlesnakes. Man, you wouldn’t catch me doing that! But it should be something to see.”

Another legend also will be there. Harold Ensley, the Sportsman’s Friend, once again will be in attendance.

“Harold will be there, sure,” Grigsby said. “I’ve know him a lifetime. He was in Joplin, working as a preacher, when I was there broadcasting minor league baseball. I told him he should get into my line of business and the next thing I know, he’s got a TV show in Kansas City.”

Grigsby doesn’t hunt or fish anymore.

“I used to hunt ducks,” he said. “But, with football, I’m awful busy this time of year, though I sure do enjoy it.

“I’m 80 and my duck hunting and golf game are things of the past. I actually think of myself as 45 though; it’s an attitude thing. I get around swell. I tell people it’s vitamins in the morning and a couple vodka martinis at night that is the trick.”

The Sportshow hours are 5-10 p.m. Tuesday; 2-10 p.m. Wednesday through Friday; 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday; and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday.

Admission is $8 for adults; $4 for children 5-11; and children under 5 are admitted free. On opening night, the first 500 children ages 5-11 with a paid admission ticket will receive a free Zebco spincast road and reel combo.

Among other attractions at the show are live fishing for rainbow trout, the traveling fish tank, live trophy whitetail deer, a BassMaster Casting Kids competition, and a large slate of seminars that deal with hunting and fishing.

It’s time to dust off the tuxedo and prepare for the social season. Well, not a tuxedo exactly but I might buy a new pair of blue jeans.

The social season, at least for me, consists of a series of banquets. They are hosted by a bunch of different organizations that promote hunting. The banquets benefit such critters as pheasants, turkeys, quail, even elk.

The first such blast takes place Monday evening at the Topeka Holiday Inn West Holidome, 605 S.W. Fairlawn, when the local chapter of Ducks Unlimited hosts its 34th annual banquet and fund raiser.

It’s hard to believe it’s been that many years. I can’t claim to have been at the first one but I haven’t missed many since then. It’s even harder to believe how the DU banquet has changed.

The first years the chapter held them were rowdy events. We were so much younger then. There used to be huge pyramids of empty Bud cans on the tables. Guys would hold impromptu duck calling contests from across the room.

There would be scantily clad babes hustling raffle tickets amid the din. The auctioneer would be drowned out by the noise.

Well, we are now older duck hunters. And the banquets reflect that. For instance, lots of guys bring their wives or girlfriends, even their daughters.

For the record, I am not bringing my six-year-old daughter Moriyah or First Mate, my wife. According to Brad Loveless, this year’s banquet chairman, there are temptations that might prove costly if I would do so.

“We’ve got some nice auction items and silent raffle items that include jewelry,” Loveless said. “And there’s a yellow Lab puppy that will go for an auction item.”

That tore it. Moriyah is a sucker for any kind of puppy and F.M. can’t be trusted when it comes to jewelry. So, I’ll go it alone again this year.

The DU banquet has always been a fun affair. It would be even more fun if I had money to burn. This year promises to be no exception. There’s a bunch of stuff I could be tempted by (and I don’t mean the Lab puppy).

“We’ve got a wide variety of hunts again this year,” Loveless said. “We’re featuring three different waterfowl hunts, for instance. We’ve got a reservoir hunt, a river hunt, and a grain field hunt.”

There’s always a lot of artwork, too, and I’ve spent pleasant hours admiring it. When the auction comes around, though, the bidding is usually over my head.

In recent years there has been kind of a unique form of bidding that actually saves people money. “Once again we’re going to bid on rental of construction equipment,” Loveless said. “We’ll have everything from backhoes to graders. A person who needs construction work done can get equipment for a fraction of what they would normally pay.”

There’s other stuff like the smoker/grill that comes with 20 pounds of ribeye steaks, several guns including the DU Gun of the Year, and the usual ton of dollar raffle items (where I am at home with).

The doors open at 5:30 p.m., followed by a buffet, followed by the auction. Tickets are $50 for a single and each additional guest is $25.

There are two kinds of snake-bite; one’s undoubtedly more painful

OUTDOORS

JIM RAMBERG

C-J outdoor writer

While searching for mushrooms Friday afternoon, I had a little shock. I almost got snake-bit.

It was the first copperhead I’d seen in a long time but there was no mistaking the body or slightly V-shaped head. It wasn’t a big one, only about a foot long.

I saw it out of the corner of my left eye, coiled on the forest floor. It certainly knew something big and threatening had come upon it.

I watch for snakes all the time. We of Norwegian blood naturally attract snakes since there are none in the ancestral country. Maybe the Irish do, too. I never asked an Irishman about it.

I skirted past the snake and went about looking for mushrooms. I escaped once again. Then I got to thinking.

I had already been snake-bit this week. It’s a term that often comes up in angling circles. It happened at Pomona Lake Wednesday afternoon when I met up with John Custenborder and his son Tom for a quick crappie trip.

“They’re biting,” John said. “We’re going to catch some fish.”

And some of us sure did.

IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL evening to be on the glassy-smooth water. Do you remember the three-day blow we had at the start of the week? No way you could have taken a boat out.

“We fished from shore last weekend,” Tom said. “Over near North Shore Marina. We slayed them.”

Well, north seemed to be the key. We started fishing several of the coves on the north side.

We were pitching jigs that day to the shoreline, fishing in two to three feet of water near brush and rocks. We were using bobbers to hold the jigs up over the bottom. When the crappie did hit, they did it with a vengeance.

“Got one!” was a familiar cry. “Here’s another one!” was another. Every now and then someone would exclaim “Ah! Missed him!” I was silent. As the hours went by I was desperate. I got a couple bites but didn’t catch them. Meanwhile, the others had put 25 to 30 nice sized crappie in the livewell.

Towards the end of the trip, I finally caught one.

It was about five inches long.

And that’s all I caught.

I WAS THE BRUNT of some good-natured joking. Heck, I could take it. I’d been on the other end often enough.

Getting snake-bit at fishing is a phenomenon I have observed many times but one I can never explain. It can happen in a boat — like it did Wednesday — or from the bank.

I’ve fished farm ponds with buddies at times. Someone would hook a bass every other cast. The other guy wouldn’t get a nibble.

Explanations? There’s a theory out there that you give off scent that fish can smell. Maybe some days you smell better than other days (that is what my wife and daughter tell me, anyway).

Maybe you don’t have the right lure. Maybe you’re at the wrong depth.

Perhaps your presentation is wrong.

I believe in luck, good and bad.

I didn’t get bitten by a snake this week. That’s good luck. I got snake-bit, though. That’s the other kind.

Books engage outdoor enthusiasts

With few outdoor chores to tend to and darkness that settles in much too early in the day, we find that more books are consumed at our house this time of year than any other.

For the outdoor enthusiast, plenty of recent and older titles will keep you thoroughly and cozily engaged as the earth makes its journey toward spring. Here are three of our favorites.

For Hunters: “Heart Shots: Women Write About Hunting”

Hunting still isn’t thought of as something in which women engage in great numbers, although 2 million hunting licenses were sold to women in 1998. Scrutiny of historical documents reveals that women have hunted all along — it isn’t something they’ve taken up only lately as some sort of feminist coup.

At Laughingbird Caye, Friends of Nature have sunk an old tug in 80 feet of water and the anchor line leads directly to the stern, offering a perfect place to do your first deep and wreck dive. Beware of sand flies ashore. Bring something strong, they can eat you alive.

On the windward side of the island, just in the center of the island, is a mooring. In the photo above, that would be the side which has lots of coral formations in the left to center part of the photo. If you anchor your boat there and descend, you will get to the bottom in picture perfect clear water.

Usually there are feather cucumbers in this area. Head east fifty feet and then turn in either direction. To the north will lead you along a beautiful ridge of canyons along a sandy coral spectacled bottom, often occupied by eagle rays and upside-down jellyfish, before bringing you to a wonderful fifteen foot built-in safety stop.

To the south leads you along a sandy bottom where large coral formations crop up and several very unusual species can be found, for instance, the best-to-avoid scorpionfish (see images page). Either way is worth the price of admission.

On-shore, watching the pelicans dive bomb the shallows is a great way to spend lunch, but my favorite was to take a piece of bread and throw it in the shallows on the west side of the island. See for yourself.

Our Favorite Shore Trip

The Blue Creek Cave, pictured here at right at bottom along with our friends, Rich and Traci.

This is an amazing adventure as you swim up the inside of a cave to an underground waterfall with spelunking helmuts on. On the way back out, we all shut off our lights and the inside of the cave was virtually pitch black. We floated towards the opening in this blackness until the opening allowed the light to penetrate it’s way to where we were. Spooky, but exhilarating.

It also includes a wonderul trip through a rainforest to arrive, where you can visit groups of canopy reearchers from the Audobon Society as they climb their way up to the tops of these rainforests to study.

You may have noticed a photo of Yim kneeling with a young Mayan girl on the About Us page. This girls mother prepared us lunch on this trip by grinding corn in the river for freash tortillas. We were invited in to their home and ate with them under a thatched roof. Their hospitality was disarming.

Contact Dave Vernon in Placencia Village for this trip.

For everyones first experience on Vancouver Island, I would suggest going to see Erin at Ogden’s Point Dive Shop and getting geared up to take a dive along the Ogden Point Breakwater. It is absolutely worth diving a few times.

Most of the year, there’s a ton of kelp growing along the entire length of the point, so getting in can be a little tricky if you don’t want the entire kelp forest wrapped around your tank, so I suggest a back-roll entry and then a slow heads-up swim through the kelp to a clear descent location.

Once down, keep a close eye out for Octopus, the beautiful anemone that surround the area, Dungeness Crabs, Wolf Eels and Seals, which can come out of nowhere and huge Lingcod.

It is quite simply a wonderful shore dive and one that could easily take up a full week of your time. There are five entry points, each progressively deeper, so start Monday at either end and there’s a good week of diving.

Then there are the wrecks. We dove the MacKenzie and on our way out, as we were approaching the site, a Humpback Whale broke the surface just as I was entering the water, not thirty feet away.

The dive itself is excellent but I suggest you make every effort to arrive at slack tide. Otherwise, you are in for a less than perfectly comfortable descent. However, once at the wreck, there is so much to see. When we were there, there was a giant Pacific Octopus living under the wreck.

The other area we visited was Race Rocks. Quite a wonderful location. The rocks themselves were covered with California Sea Lions, Stellars and Elephant Seals and let me tell you, if you’ve never been close to a Elephant Seal before, they are big. And rare. It is believed there are less than 500 in the world. Between 2,000 and 3,000 male California sea lions migrate to south Vancouver Island waters to winter.

Race Rocks is a protected marine area close to open ocean 12 nautical miles from Victoria. When you visit, please take a guided tour as this is a Canadian Treasure, to be sure.

Bula. We visited Fiji last year and dove with Subsurface, a dive operation which operates dive shops from several of the Mamanuca Islands. Overall, we would give them a rating of Fair. We’ll go into more details below.

The Mamanuca (pronounced Mah-mah-noo-tha) islands lie in a majestic arc, only a short distance from the mainland of Viti Levu, curving to the north-west, and almost touching the Yasawa chain.

There are 13 islands in all, not counting those covered by the Pacific at high tide and they all share in common pristine white sandy beaches, waving palms, crystal blue waters and, at night, the cooling influence of the trade winds.

The Mamanucas are essentially volcanic outcrops pushed up from the ocean floor in a gigantic earthquake thousands of years ago. From the air you can see that the Mamanucas group is in fact two clusters known as Mamanuca-i-ra and Mamanuca-i-cake. Within the Mamanucas is the Malolo group, three miles inside the barrier reef, extending in a curve for about 75 miles. As islands, they are certainly beautiful.

We had been asked to visit to consider taking over the operations for the new Hilton development dive concession, so we considered this a possibility we both might have enjoyed and visited on a business trip.

Here’s a rundown on the dives we managed to get in;

Namotu Reef: This reef is situated in a passage on the Barrier Reef itself. The day we were there, the currents were very strong and this was not well communicated on our dive briefing. There was soft coral, but nothing really to write about as being a must see location. Visibility was maybe 50 feet, so also, nowhere near what is being promoted.

In defense of the site, the day we were there, a local told us this was the strongest they had ever seen the current.. As far as marine life, we saw nothing. Nothing. And even if we had seen something, the current was too strong to stop in anyway.

Dive rating: Don’t bother.

Tavarua: Tavarua is very close to Namotu. We did this dive the same day, with a different divemaster. His briefing told us this was a drift dive and we were to descend at the anchor line. Once at the bottom, for some reason, he decided that swimming directly into the current to get around a small reef before drifting would be a good idea and I have never in 25 years had to work so hard to begin a dive. I was very nearly ready to leave the group when we rounded the corner, we were using so much air.

Once we got into the current, it was as if we were flying. This was not a drift dive. This was a fly dive. When I tried to stop to look at something, I was signalled to move on quite adamantly, in obvious fear that the divemaster may never see us again if we stopped.

Well, Yim and I finally decided that this was no fun at all and we would signal the divemaster we were going to ascend. We did our safety stop and went to the surface. The boat was a long way off, obviously not following our bubbles, which is the norm on any drift dive I’ve been on.

It was a good thing I had my Dive Alert siren, because I had to blow it three times to get the boat’s attention as we drifted out into, well… out.

Oh, and by the way, if there were fish or coral of any kind, there was no way to see it since we were moving so fast and visibility was maybe 40 feet.

Dive Rating: Don’t Bother.

Rainbow Reef: This was a nice dive site. Quite simply, it is a series of coral pinnacles in about 65 feet in depth at maximum depth, but the real joy is between 15 feet and the surface. The plate and table corals are beautiful. Some of the nicest coral I’ve ever seen.

But, during the dive, I was diving with six Japanese divers, who were, quite literally, standing on the reef, holding on to it to steady themselves to take photos, touching it and basically, not giving any thought to whether or not they were damaging it.

After the dive, I said something to one of the divers and was taken aside by the owner to tell me that this was a general problem with the Japanese there and I got the feeling she just did not want me to tell them not to do this. It really bugged me that no one was saying anything to them. And I somehow doubted that ALL japanese divers were like this and that all they needed was some reef education.

Visibility, maybe 40 feet.

Dive Rating: Very good.

Supermarket: This is their supposedly famous shark feeding dive. What their promos fail to tell you is that they don’t feed sharks there anymore and there are no sharks, just a lot of very dead coral. Visibility, maybe 30 feet.

Dive Rating: Don’t Waste Your Money. It’s a long boat ride for nothing.

Pleasure Point: Now this is a Dive site not to be missed! I would consider this one of the best dive sites I have ever seen. I don’t know that it is worth traveling halfway around the world to see, but if you lived in Australia or New Zealand, then it would be worth a visit.

Dive Rating: Excellent!

Seven Sisters: An assortment of coral pinnacles to meander between. Lots of small reef fish and hard coral site in the area.

Dive Rating: Good.

We had hoped to go out again, but when we arrived at the shop on Sunday, we found our gear had been given out to other guests so we could not dive on our last day out on the islands, which disapointed the two of us. This has to be the height of incompetance in a Dive Shop… to ‘lend out’ guests dive gear who have traveled halfway around the world to consider managing their dive business.

A couple of other points I really don’t like to see.

Subsurface claims all their Instructors dive Nitrox and they have Nitrox available. This is quite simply not true and is something I really dislike about the industry that so much can be said over a website and then not be there when you have already traveled long distances. I’ve seen this on a few occasions now and don’t think it is right. I asked the instructors and was told no. There were also no tanks marked for nitrox in the dive shops.

I do have to say that the Instructors and Divemasters were all very nice to us and seemed competant in their work. They were attentive to their divers and the head Instructor on Beachcomber was very patient and professional.

Since we were there for a short period, we wanted to dive as many sites as possible. At one point during a conversation, the owner suggested she had not been to most of the sites and had made up the marketing descriptions. That kind of surprised me. They claim to dive 44 sites but during our stay, even upon request, they continued going to the same sites over and over again.

Another point to be aware of. The dive shop at Beachcomber makes you carry your dive gear well over 1,000 feet to the boat, so be prepared. It’s not that bad before you dive but a real drag after the dive. Bring some water socks or you’ll have to walk across a beach that is basically sharp coral.

One last thing. We travelled halfway around the world at the request of Subsurface. Upon our return, we presented an overview of our ten days to them. They did not even have the decency to respond. Nothing. They simply chose not to bother, although they had no problem trying to get explainations on how to create a web site as nice as this one and digging deep to get my opinion on how to improve their site and marketing.

Any operation that operates in such an unprofessional manner is always sure to be reflected in your dive vacation experience.

We would recommend Treasure Island as a resort to visit for a week or two. The resort is quite wonderful with terrific snorkeling surrounding the entire Island. It also caters to families and has much to keep kids occupied. The local Fijian staff were extremely friendly and helpful.

We also liked First Landing, which is on the mainline, as a resort which catered to couples and families.

We would suggest you consider Crusoes Retreat, a resort carved into the side of the cliffs about an hour south of Nadi. We also drove to Pacific Harbour, which had what we thought was the nicest cultural art boutiques we found.

Overall, we had a very good time but would not return to the Mamanucas. And part of that would be due to the poor quality of dive experience Subsurface offers. They have a lot to learn about running a dive operation and in servicing North Americans

Diving off the barrier reef of Belize for close to four years is enough to spoil most anyone and Belize is one beautiful place to spend your days diving. The reefs are still pristine and in places like my personal favorite, Seal Caye, at the bottom of the Sapodilla Cayes, almost unbelievable. If you anchor carefully, you can set your anchor in 8 feet of sand at the front of your boat and 80 feet at the stern, then slide off along one of the most beautiful walls you can imagine. And easy to dive. You can do a number of different profile dives here and end the dive in ten to fifteen feet of crystal clear water before surfacing.

The diving here is truly world class. You can head down to 80 plus feet if you want but from my experience diving this many times, I found the best marine life and coral above 65 feet, frequented by Eagle Rays who flew past just off to your left if you are travleing clockwise around the reef.

There are tube sponges as tall as a full grown man along the walls here. So, if you are in southern Belize, check this spot out.

Off Ranguana Caye, top center photo and top photo on the right, towards the south, there is a difficult to find site called The White Hole. If you leave the island from the southern side and head towards the reef about five miles away, you will find three breaks in the reef and three sandy ravines which lead to the wall.

It’s very hard to find and I suggest you find Arthur Westby in the village and have him show you where it is. Arthur was my divemaster and friend for the years I dove in Belize and he’ll show you the spot.

It features a large canyon of gleaming white sand at 45 feet which runs down to a large opening and a lip which surrounds the sand as it settles at the top of the wall. As you swim to this lip at 55 feet and peer over, there is virtually no bottom. I brought many advanced divers that I was certifying there so they could experience the wonder of a true barrier reef wall dive.

Moving along the wall at 55 feet is a magical drift dive as you travel beside the wall on your left and the coral on your right.

To the north of Ranguana lays a garden of spur and groove formations just west of the wall that you can easily spend dozens of dives exploring. In between the grooves are home to resting Nurse Sharks and a wide variety of marine life too varied to list. Worth several dives.

The British Virgin Islands

Probably our best trip ever… from the moment we landed on Beef Island to being picked up by our wonderful friends, Steuart and Fran and whisked away to their 57 foot Catamaran. The British Virgin Islands are such a civilized place to dive.

The first morning we headed off for The Chimneys. And what a re-introduction to diving it was, after a nine month hiatus.

We anchored the boat and slowly entered the water to descend to forty-five feet and head towards a spectacular site called The Chimneys which is, as you guessed it, a chimney-like vent which starts at forty-five feet in a large cavern and ends at the surface as you make you way through a small but comfortable opening ten feet below the surface. The light pierces it and forms a spectacular spotlight effect when you are at the base of the vent. Just Wonderful.

After snorkeling around a while, we also discovered that you could swim through the rocky outcrops above the water and within one of them was a hollow area which was just great as well. A deep pool surrounded by rock and coral engulfs you while inside, but you had better be a fairly strong and confident swimmer.

Later, we lifted anchor and headed off towards The Bitter End Yacht club and anchored off a small island just west of the club for the night.

The next morning, we set sail around the tip of the island and while we had plans to head to Anegeda, we chose to tack off towards the Baths on Virgin Gorda, a simply spectacular spot which is featured on this page to the right.

The Baths are truly amazing. Boulders the size of apartment buildings are leaned up against each other and in the center form a walkway which is incredible as you wander your way through 100 ton boulders perched inches above your head.

Our next stop was the world famous Wreck of The Rhone. Widely regarded as one of the best wreck dives in the Caribbean, the two halves can be dived separately. The Bow lies in 60 ft - 90 feet - divers can swim inside the ships hold and see coral encrustations along with many fish. Diving inside a wreck that has great ambient light is always fun On our first dive, Yim and Fran stayed above the wreck and followed our bubbles through the dive.

Lobsters and crabs apparently often hide inside the wreck. And I mean crabs. I found one that had at least a four foot span.

Outside of the wreck, the foremast and crows nest can be seen along with the boilers, condenser, wrenches and winch.

The stern, often done as the second dive (15 ft-60 ft), shelters lobsters and octopus hiding in the metal work of the boiler gear box housing, the rudder and the propeller. Many fish varieties including Barracuda, Southern Stingrays, Eagle Rays and Turtles live in this National Park area.

We swam through the open area beside the propeller… it’s a great spot to boost a divers confidence in safe conditions.

After leaving The Rhone, we headed down to Peter Island and anchored in a deserted bay for the evenings, snorkeled around watching the rays search for food ten feet down and came on board for some yummy rum drinks.

Next morning, we headed off to the Peter Island Resort and were wowed… Wow. Visit it if you are in the area at least for breakfast.

Then, off to the Caves. Located on the southwest side of Norman Islands, these really are Treasure Caves.

You can swim right inside them and with a flashlight, can easily enjoy the huge colonies of anemones attached to the surface of the openings. It’s a great mornings snorkel trip.

Then out to The Indians.

Three rocky outcrops which reportedly rise 55 feet above the water and 55 feet below. Whether that be accurate or not, this is one great dive and once is not enough. Fran led us on this trip through an underwater garden the likes which are rare today on any dive before heading us back to the base of The Indians.

Swimming along at the base of these slabs of rock closely will reward you with dozens of different soft corals clinging to the surface before you come to a short wide tunnel which we easily swam through and entered another small world.

It’s just a really cool spot. Little caves to enter, tons of fish, huge rocks anchored all around you and beautiful soft coral.