HIGH SIERRA DIVERS 217 Palm Avenue Auburn, CA 95603 (530) 823-6757 E-Mail info@hsdivers.com Hours: Monday-Friday 10 AM - 6 PM Saturday 10 AM - 4 PM

ULITHI LAGOON

	Overview		What Awaits Divers?
	Our Historic Trip		Whats Different!
	Wall Diving		Shore Diving
	Turtle Island		Ulithi Adventure Resort
	Palau/Ulithi Trip		Truk Ulithi Trip
	Yap/Ulithi Trip		Mississinewa Wreck Found!

Why? It is remote and isolated with a little non-profit Christian airline flying there. And, very importantly, there has never been a hotel or dive shop there until now.
There are 34 islands in the Lagoon, each as beautiful and idyllic as any you've seen in Hollywood movies. The lagoon has an area of 209 square miles, but a total land area of only 1.75 square miles. Four of the islands are inhabited with approximately 1000 of the warmest people you'll ever get to meet. Culture remains almost unchanged with men preferring to dress in loin clothes called 'thus' and women preferring to go topless and in skirts called 'lavalavas'. Their culture also calls for each Ulithian to treat a guest with warmth and hospitality.

The waters lapping the shores, beaches and reefs of Ulithi are just like other Micronesian islands - Warm, Great Visibility & Teeming with Life! These are the reasons divers have come to Micronesia. These same visitors thought they would only dive Micronesia once. Get ready to indulge your addiction again or for the first time.

Dave Albright went on an "Historic Familarization Trip" (Only availalble to Travel Agents) to Ulithi in March of 2001. Why was it historic? Very few divers have been to Ulithi, ever! We were the first group to stay at the Ulithi Adventure Resourt. Dave was the 17th diver to dive Ulithi. He saw pristine reefs and corals. There were beautiful shore dives, night dives and dives on 17 USN landing crafts. The wrecks are in great conditions and one can clearly read things like the names on the engines, "Clark Marine Diesel"! We searched for but were unable to locate the USS Mississineewa, however it was an honor to even be able to try to locate a wreck missing for over 50 years. (The Missessinewa was the only confirmed US ship sunk by a 'Katen' Japanese mini-submarine.) There is no doubt it will be found soon. Possibly by one of our readers who decide to make a trip to this beautiful atoll this year.

The trip was truly an adventure. It started with a flight on Pacific Missionary Airlines aboard twin engine Beechcraft airplanes. The planes are in excellent shape, some new and some old. Luggage weight is limited to 70 pounds maximum and each piece is weighed as there is a maximum the plane can carry. We overflew Fallop Island and saw the resort from the air. We landed on a modern runway, which is the only paved road on the island. We were met by the frendly natives, including the Chief of the People - John Ramaul. The resort is brand new, clean and airy. As reported elseware on this page the diving is pristine and wonderful. You must realize, Ulithi is a completely new dive destination and they do have a few kinks to work out. But, they are trying, willing and succesfuly taking care of all the little things modern divers would like to see. For example the boats are uncovered, (new boats are on order) but travel to dive spots is very short. You will learn to love the islands as we did.

The people are very nice, well educated and speak good english. We were able to visit other islands and observed local customs of visiting the Men's House when we first got to the island to "report" as a courtesy to the local chiefs. They were thrilled that we knew of their customs and that we had the good manners to observe them. As a result, we were welcomed as honored guests and the chief served us fresh coconut juice. He even cleaned and opened the coconut for us and handed us the whole coconut. I could go on and on about this wonderful region, but you can see for yourself. If you have more questions about a Ulithi trip after reading this page, write, call or E-mail us and we will help you.

One of the major differences with Ulithi is that it is totaly unspoiled. You will be diving reefs that only a few divers have ever seen, some that have never seen a diver. The Ulithian people genuinely are glad to see you. They are thrilled that anyone wants to come and see them and their islands. You need to be careful what you ask for, because if it is possible they will get it. For example, one of our party asked if they had Diet Coke. They replied no, but the next day some was flown in to accomodate our request. Everyone speaks good English and they truly care about you. Every day they prayed for us and our safety! You will meet various chiefs (Chief of the People, Reefs and each individual island). Heck, the chiefs daughter is one of the cooks/waitresses at the resort. Diving Ulithi is truly an adventure. It is the newest world class dive destination.

The walls are packed with marine life both big and small wondering what we bubble-blowing creatures are. Of course, there are the sharks we all want to see.

Less than 400 feet in front of the hotel is a wall that runs nearly the length of the island, Falalop. Dive and snorkel till you heart is content. The depth of the wall is 20-40 feet. The approach to the wall is 5 - 10 feet deep and it is covered with corals.

Turtle Island offers you the experience of watching scores of turtles leave the water in the late afternoon, find a place to lay eggs, dig a large hole and then lay the eggs. This is a "Discovery Channel" type of expedition that takes place between late February and July. In 2001 the Turtle Island Expedition is free of charge ($75.00 after 2001)

The Ulithi Adventure Resort will be a most pleasant surprise. The air-condition rooms are very tastefully done and have shower walls covered with beautiful rock tile. The lobby/lounge is inviting as well as the outdoor covered veranda for meals. The second story rooms have a very large balcony. There is a beautiful great room overlooking a veranda. The great room has massive doors on two sides and there is a wonderful breeze that runs through it.

An exciting event occurred on April 7, 2001. A Trip-N-Tour group of divers (Trip-N-Tour is our travel partner for Micronesia, Fiji & Australia), found the USS Mississinewa, a 553 foot American naval ship, off the coast of Ulithi (located about 90 miles from Yap). The auxiliary oiler, sunk by a Japanese suicide submarine in World War II, had laid dormant fro the plast 56 years. Trip-N-Tour was extremely fortunate to have Lisa Wallner, a Sales Associate & Familiarization Group Leader to be a part of this historical event. She has documented her account of the event below. It is inspiring and certainly makes one want to head down there and take a look.

Up until approximately 9 months ago, there were no hotels on Ulithi, which made diving in the surrounding area difficult. The Ulithi Adventure Resort has since opened allowing you to dive these untouched pristine reefs and stay at a comfortable resort. I encourage you to really look at the packages we put together, as it is an excellent oportunity to be pioneers of this breathtaking area.

"It was our last day and after searching on the surface for over 50 hours and 6 days we were beginning to lose hope that we would find the USS Mississinewa. Each night the five of us would review the days search pattern in order to determine where we might have missed (the Mississinewa). On the seventh day we decided to review an area where we had received some unusual sonar signals the day before. We chriscrossed the section in our snug boat hoping for a miracle. Suddenly, our team leader Chip Lambert, screamed, "We found something" everyone held their breath, wating for confirmation. "Turn around, let's look at that again" he said. "This is it! This is it! he cried as the sonar went crazy and the divemaster confirmed there was a very large dark patch of water beneath us. We all geared up quickly, our hearts racing and hands shaking. Could it be? Did we actually find her? We reviewed our dive paln and jumped in the water. She was about 75 feet down. We descended near the bow section and immediately noticed schools of tuna, blue runners, and yellowtail snappers swimming around the ship. The bow was lying on it's port side in about 120 feet of water. The 3" gun was still intact on the deck and heavily encrusted with coral. Just below the bow is the area where the kaiten a Japanese torpedo, hit. The entire ship is flattened at this section, filled with shcooling grunts. The back three fourths of the ship is upside down with some coral growth. We swam to the stern encountering a hawksbill turtle and several sharks on our way to the twin propellers, which are completely intact and provide an excellent photo opportunity.
As our bottom time ran out we slowly ascended thinking how luck we were to be the first to see this amazing new werck" -LISA WALLNER, Trip-N-Tour

We are one of the first few shops to ever dive Ulithi. We know how to get there, where to stay and all the details to make your trip enjoyable. We enjoy a partnership with the tour group that has exclusive booking for Ulithi. We guarantee our prices are the best you will find. Take advantage of our unique knowledge and book your group or individual dive trip with us soon.

You can take this trip as an add-on to Truk, Palau or Yap. But, because of the unique flight arrangements you must at least spend an overnight in Yap. This is a great opportunity to dive Yap's Reefs and dive with the Manta Rays.

Some trip examples are as follows:

Yap & Ulithi Lagoon Package - 12 Days - Only $ 197 per month
(12 monthly payments after $ 400 deposit) or $ 2765 + taxes, per person, double occupancy, all of the following is included:
· Round trip air from LA to Guam, Yap & Uliti
· Airport/hotel transfers in Guam, Yap & Ulithi
· 4 days at the Manta Ray Bay Hotel in Yap
· 2 dive days
· 5 days at the Ulithi Adventure Resort
· 3 days of diving including boat, guide, two tanks each daily, weights, weight-belt. Including the USS Mississinewa
· Unlimited shore diving.
· Excursion to Turtle Island, view the turtles laying eggs.
· Taxes and service charges on all the above, except for some departure tax which we cannot pay for you. Prices subject to change.

Yap & Ulithi Lagoon Package - 12 Days - Only $ 227 per month
(12 monthly payments after $ 400 deposit) or $ 2999 + taxes, per person, double occupancy, all of the following is included:
· Round trip air from LA to Guam, Yap & Uliti
· Airport/hotel transfers in Guam, Yap & Ulithi
· One night at the Royal Orchid Hotel in Guam
· 4 nights at the Manta Ray Bay Hotel in Yap
· 3 dive days
· 6 nights at the Ulithi Adventure Resort
· 5 days of diving including boat, guide, two tanks each daily, weights, weight-belt.
· Unlimited shore diving.
· One night at the Royal Orchid Hotel in Guam
· Taxes and service charges on all the above, except for some departure tax which we cannot pay for you. Prices subject to change.

Truk & Ulithi Lagoon Package - Only $ 249 per month
(12 monthly payments after $ 400 deposit) or $ 3210 + taxes, per person, double occupancy, all of the following is included:
· Round trip air from LA to Guam, Truk, Yap & Uliti
· Airport/hotel transfers in Guam, Truk, Yap & Ulithi
· 4 nights at the Blue Lagoon Resort · 3 dive days at Truk · 1 night at the ESA Bayview Hotel Manta Ray Bay Hotel in Yap
· 5 nights at the Ulithi Adventure Resort
· 3 days of diving including boat, guide, two tanks each daily, weights, weight-belt.
· Unlimited shore diving.
· One night at the Royal Orchid Hotel in Guam
· Taxes and service charges on all the above, except for some departure tax which we cannot pay for you. Prices subject to change.

Palau & Ulithi Lagoon Package - Only $ 274 per month
(12 monthly payments after $ 400 deposit) or $ 3500 + taxes, per person, double occupancy, all of the following is included:
· Round trip air from LA to Guam, Palau, Yap & Uliti
· Airport/hotel transfers in Guam, Palau, Yap & Ulithi
· 4 nights at the Palau Pacific Resort · 3 dive days at Palau · 1 night at the ESA Bayview Hotel Manta Ray Bay Hotel in Yap
· 5 nights at the Ulithi Adventure Resort
· 3 days of diving including boat, guide, two tanks each daily, weights, weight-belt.
· Unlimited shore diving.
· One night at the Royal Orchid Hotel in Guam
· Taxes and service charges on all the above, except for some departure tax which we cannot pay for you. Prices subject to change.

You can sign up for these trips by e-mail, phone or clicking on the button below