Diving 1000 Steps Bonaire | The Shore Dive Collection | TropicLens - 4K
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- Опубліковано 3 сер 2021
- UPDATED VERSION: Reposting because our compass headings were reversed. Thanks Scott for letting us know!
1000 Steps is one of the best shore dive locations on the island. The 100 foot cliffs look spectacularly different throughout the day as morning shade gives way to amber shades reflecting the late afternoon sun. Grand rock formations with sweating stalactites can be reached with a little climbing and the 500 foot coral strewn shores offer plenty of space to relax and take it all in.
The diving was equally spectacular with a huge shallow area that can be enjoyed by both snorkelers and divers. We had several first time captures here including a bicolor flatworm, scaly-tailed mantis shrimp, black hamlet and a rock hind with a mottled night pattern. Then there were the free swimming green moray eel, spotted eagle ray and several turtles.
1000 Steps is quite popular for both the diving and shore activities, but it is a bit of a workout getting up and down the stone stairs. Get there early for good parking.
We want to encourage more shore diving, so this video provides some guidance where the site is, how to dive it and what you may see there. If you want to skip to or review specific topics, the section timings are as follows.
0:50 Site Background/Description
4:05 Site Logistics
6:37 Dive Profile
9:59 Sea Life
12:41Night Diving
Let us know what you saw there in the Comments below. We would love to hear about your sightings!
I miss you Bonaire ❤
Bonaire misses you as well. :-)
Awesome videos! I lo e Bonaire and I really like your fish identification during the videos. I've learned a lot!
That "tree" is a century plant! You'll find them all over the Sonoran Desert here in the US and all over Bonaire as well. Beautiful when they bloom.
Wonderful. Thanks for that information. I remember stories about one of those at the Chicago Botanical Gardens. Don't they smell a lot?
That tree at 1:32 is a century plant in bloom.
Interesting! I went to Wikipedia to learn more. :-) Just to tie it back to the ocean, apparently century plants only flower once and then die...kind of like octopus giving birth. Learn something new every day. Thanks Caleb!
Nice video! I'm very interested in knowing how you get your shots to be so stable. My buoyancy and trim are solid, but there's always some shakiness, and it's a mess if there's any current or surge.
Thanks Eric.
With respect to stable shots, you've done all you can physically with good buoyancy and trim, but there are three other things that can help as well. First, check your camera's stabilization features and bump them up when possible. Second, if your camera supports a higher frame rate, like 60 fps, shoot that and then slow it down to 30 fps in post. The shakes and jitters will still be in the footage...just slower and less noticeable. :-) Third, check your post production tools (I use FCPX) for stabilization functions.
Hope this helps. Let us know if you have any other questions.
@@TropicLens Thanks! I'm using a GoPro 10. It's got some built-in stabilization but it hasn't proved magical :) I'm shooting at 120fps so I can slow things way down, and I do frequently find myself stretching out a few seconds of relatively stable shooting. I'm using DaVinci Resolve and I haven't messed with applying stabilization after the fact. I guess that's the next thing to look into!
Hello again! My wife and I just returned from our dive vacation in Curacao (17 dives in 9 days)! We're completely hooked! We went to a bunch of the sites you've featured and loved seeing them in person! Our dive buddies were impressed with my fish id skills, but had to confess that I've been watching your videos on repeat for months!
We took a ton of photos but having just graduated from snorkeling, we were a bit limited with our gopro. We're looking to upgrade a bit for our next trip and are considering the SeaLife phone housing. How are you liking yours? Thanks! :)
Indeed, I am. The moisture detector is a bit sensitive, but regular o-ring maintenance and moisture munchers keep it working just fine. I should mention that I am using the Deep Photo app from the app store and not the Sea Life Sport Diver app. Deep Photo syncs and changes lenses much more quickly, but the real advantage is 60 fps. The faster shutter speed really makes the footage much less blurry.
That said, the GoPro 9 has better stabilization and default color. (I have a GoPro 9 as a back-up.) It can't do macro though, so I picked up the Polar Pro Switchblade and the Flip 9/Macro +10 lens from Backscatter. Each has pros and cons. I could go on and on...Don't get me started on lights. ;-)
@@TropicLens Thank you!!!
👏👏👏love your channel and it’s content. Your guys are and awesome buddy team and very knowledgeable and helpful of the area. I’m learning so much about shore diving Bonaire through watching your videos, so I thank you kindly. The video quality is amazing as well🤙. The wife and I will be there in January and are super jazzed to have this experience with warm water and tropical conditions. Not to mention being able to see each other 5 feet apart😂. I would like to know what your “must dive “ dive sites are since we’re there for a short visit. Also maybe your must night dives if you please. Anyhow thanks a million and keep up the stellar work. See you around👌.
Thank you for the kind words Jimmy! We are very glad you find them helpful. Where do you normally dive that 5 feet is your visibility limit? (Ugh!)
As far as top sites go, we definitely have a few favorites. Our recommendations include Salt Pier, Bari Reef, Something Special and Karpata. Hilma Hooker is a great wreck (video coming in a few weeks), but the entry is a bit rough for Leslie. We have done all of those at night, but the first three more than once. :-)
Let us know what you see!
@@TropicLens we live in Southern California in the Orange County area and we frequent Laguna Beach coves. On a good day it’s 25+ to the worst at 5 feet of visibility. Beautiful sites though and we love diving here. We just are looking forward to our first tropical diving experience.
Also if you don’t mind, what do you suggest as exposure suit for diving in January?
I got my AOW cert in San Diego and still remember seeing a Garibaldi for the first time and some very pretty white anemone on wreck during our deep dive. I also recall the viz being less than spectacular. But hey, you're in the water! :-)
Coming from southern CA, it's like bathwater here! :-) That said, we've been in the southwestern Caribbean for about a year and definitely noticed that it got colder during the winter months. A 1mm or 3mm will be plenty; although we have definitely seen people dive without any wetsuit as well (outside of the 100 dive celebration).
Going down at the beginning of the dive is no issue at all, it is the climb up after the dive is the big issue. It does feel like 1000 steps indeed after the dive climbing up the stairs :) I'd rather do it from a boat out of all other shore sites in Bonaire.
Indeed, it is a bit of a workout! On one of the night dives, the sand flies were horrible...so double whammy! That said, it was worth it...and we understand the boat diving preference on this one. :-)
@@TropicLens Keep up the good work, you are doing a great job!!