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Thank you…so please you enjoyed it 👋

That’s great to know and glad you enjoyed it…thank you 👍

They really are 😀

Glad you enjoyed the video and I hope you have a good holiday there! It is a wonderful place. The only guided activity we did was the “night fluo snorkelling”, which is in a separate video. All that you see in this video is personal snorkelling - no guide or time tabled activity. We typically snorkelled twice a day for a couple of hours each time because we really enjoy it. Visit the dive centre when you arrive to be shown where all the entrances / exits are, and where and when the current might be strongest. We would take a photos of the tide table during our stay so knew what the sea was doing. The dive team are really helpful and the guided activities are helpful if you wish to take them. I think there are some free activities and some paid ones but do make use of personal snorkelling without a guide. Inside the lagoon is shallow and very easy to explore. Outside the reef there is more to see though - over our stay we went round the whole island, but not in one go (although you can do that of you wish).

@@kirkandbear Thank you for replying so quickly and thoughtfully! I’m not sure why but I thought you’d need a guided tour to find the good spots, but that’s amazing you were able to see all that by yourselves ! We’ll definitely give solo snorkelling more of a go knowing that now (and save a little cash in the process :P) Thanks again. Even more excited about our trip now :)

You are most welcome! Have a fantastic time. Vilamendhoo video coming early next year if you’re interested 👋

Hi, and thank you! I don’t know for sure, but the people who assist with access to stop people getting too close to the seals said that the pups are born over a couple of months and so some have fattened up, while others are just starting to put on weight. I think that’s why they are such different sizes. Although the two at 3:16 were close to one another they didn’t belong to the same mother. I’m fairly sure there was still time for the small one to feed and put on weight before having to leave the beach and go into the sea to fend for itself. I hope that helps :-) 👋

That is wonderful. Congratulations on your marriage!! I wish you many happy years and good fortune together. I am very pleased you enjoyed the video 👋 Can you tell me more about your equator question? It may not have translated properly 😀

@@kirkandbear Can you recommend a trip with a good underwater environment like NH Resort? (I am south Korean. Therefore, the equator was so far away that it seemed impossible to go there in life.)

The Red Sea, Egypt is excellent but I think that is further away for you. I have not been to either the Great Barrier Reef, Australia orr Okinawa, Japan but all the Instagram and TH-cam content I have seen look good. We will go at some point I am sure. I believe Indonesia has amazing snorkelling too - on our travel list, but not been yet so look into those places yourself if you like the sound of them. I hope that helps and best wishes from the UK 👍 Kirk & Bear

We’re delighted! Kept us entertained for weeks 😀

Thank you! We’re glad that you enjoyed it 👋

Loved Zambia…hope to go back for longer 👋

Hello, and thank you very much. It was filmed in January 2023, so quite recently. If you have any other questions then let me know 👋👍

we are going there in about 1 month We heard that the house reef is great there and the corals are very beautiful thats the reason why havodda

@@sandrawurzinger3198 Check with the dive centre about the various entrances to the reef. We snorkelled all the way round the island and it is beautiful - lots of fish, rays and sharks. At one end of the island is a post in the sea - be cautious about when you snorkel here as the currents can be strong sometimes. Other than that, have a lovely trip - it’s a gorgeous place and we loved it. Video of Vilamandhoo coming early next year if you’re interested!

Thanks Stephen 👋 Glad you enjoyed it!

Hi and thank you. I’m using a GoPro 10 and a Canon R5. I’m glad you enjoyed the video…it was an amazing trip!

Hi….thanks for watching. GoPro 10…I think it produces very nice footage with the right settings

Thank you my friend!!

Thank Jonas! What an amazing journey we had 👌🏼

Thank you…so glad that you enjoyed it. Sorry some of the footage was a bit wobbly - Zodiacs are hard work! I have to say that it is a Kirk & Bear recommended experience. Go if you get the chance 👋😀👍

Thank you 👋 I hope you make it there - it is a super experience. We would definitely go again.

Hi 👋 It was filmed near the jetty of the Makadi Grand. Some turning left from the jetty heading towards Sunwing, and some turning right. There is lots to see all the way along the reef and it can be different every day.

You are very welcome and we are happy that you enjoyed it! 👋

Hi…we only went snorkelling but there is a very good PADI dive centre there if you’re a diver.

PS sorry for the late reply - been off the grid for 2 weeks! Back now though so if you have any other questions then let me know 👍

Excellent! 👌🏼

Hello, and thanks for watching. When we landed at Hurghada Airport the transfer to our hotel at Makadi Bay took 30-40 minutes, so not very far away.

@kirkandbear I am staying in Hurghada for a week in May. Definitely, I will be visiting this place.

Excellent. You might find a local boat operator could take you there to snorkel, and there are also other super places for snorkelling in the area. I hope you have a lovely time! 👋

Thanks for watching and I hope you have a wonderful visit. We loved it very much! There is so much beauty in the ocean 👌🏼

Hello, I would love to know how did this compare to Reethi Faru because we cannot decide, we also love snorking. I would love to hear from you.

Hi, I think if you use their handle (@) they will be notified that you’ve asked. As I’ve not been to Reethi Faru I am not if much help to you! Which ever one you go to, I suggest checking tides and currents with the staff or dive centre as they can be quite strong sometimes. I hope that helps, K&B.

PS Looks like you did @ them - apologies. I hope they reply 🤞🏻

Hi, how would you compare Centara, Reethi Faru (it's Raa - not Baa btw) and NH for hotel quality (food, rooms, common areas, services, greenery) and snorkeling? I am absulutely turn first-timer (w 2 kids aged 6 and 11). Thanks!

Enjoy! The strongest currents are at the tip of the island at the dive centre end (the staff there will advise you). We had the most sightings between the dive jetty swimming along past the main restaurant towards the over water villas. Currents vary in strength during the day and can be strong at their highest levels so just be aware of what’s happening and change your direction accordingly. Mostly absolutely fine though. I hope that helps and thanks for watching! Have a great trip 👋

Hi…thanks for watching. All the videos from that trip, including this one, were captured between the jetty and beach. Turning left from the jetty was off limits last year. No idea if that has changed this year - I hope it has. The barracuda was right at the beach entry, so I had no choice but to be quite close. Looked mean though, and I was wary so didn’t hang around for long! I hope you have a good trip to Makadi Bay - it is excellent snorkelling and you never know what you will see. And thank you for the compliment. Any questions then feel free to ask. 👋

Thanks for watching!

Hi, and thank you. We’re glad you enjoyed it 👍. The video was filmed with my trusty GoPro 10 in a dive housing, mounted on an El Grande pole. If you have any other questions please let me know 👋 Enjoy your trip. Which island / resort are you going to?

So you recommend I get a GoPro because your video was super clear. They are just so expensive. We are heading to Lily Beach Resort.

Thanks - I’m pleased you like the video quality. Lily Beach looks lovely! I have been very happy with my GoPro 10 - much more reliable than my old 7 - so have not felt the need to upgrade it yet. If something really good happens with the GoPro 13 or 14 I may do. With the GoPro 10 I found getting the settings right really helps with video quality. Let me know if you want more information about that. In terms of price, you could consider second hand (used) cameras - there are many available (here in the UK anyway), so that might help. Also, the GoPro 12 was priced lower than the 11 when it was introduced. I saw it on offer in the UK for £299 GBP (reduced by £100 GBP) in December. I have not yet tried other, similar cameras though. I notice that DJI has competing products and many people love theirs. I also wonder about the Insta360 Ace Pro as well. Not saying they are cheaper, but I’m sure there are lots of TH-cam videos comparing them for image quality and other factors. I guess it will come down to budget, but my GoPro continues to be a good choice for me. I would also say that good light, good water clarity, and good technique can really help make the best of your footage as well. I hope this helps, and if you have any other questions please do let me know.

Hi, and thank you…we’re glad you enjoyed it. Yes - it was a Reef Manta (Manta Alfredi), which is a bit smaller than the Giant Mantas (Manta Birostris), and our first ever Manta encounter 👌 There will be a Galapagos video in April if you’re interested.

It’s a difficult choice. The people we met who changed room said that the outside space of over-water villas are either in shade or full sun, and they didn’t like the walk from the villa to the restaurant / bar. While we didn’t stay in one we were completely satisfied with the sunrise villa we had and would choose it over an over-water villa again - plenty of space, with a good deck that is under cover and sun loungers you can move onto the beach, which is at the bottom of your small “garden”. They even put large water vessels by both doors so you can wash the sand of your feet before entering. The room we had was in excellent condition- not brand new, but nothing stays brand new for ever. There was no dirt or broken fixtures, so I would say “nearly new”. It was clean, spacious and the covered outdoor bathroom was a delight. Aircon was superb. Food is good - I don’t know what you like to eat, but there is plenty of choice for all meals, it is all fresh, and the staff are very accommodating if you need something. I think there are some free activities. There is one free guided snorkel, and one free “try scuba” session. Also daily yoga (I think, but didn’t try) Their website also lists other stuff. We are fairly independent, and spent hours in the sea snorkeling twice a day but we did pay to do a guided night UV snorkel and it was super, but may be off-putting to anyone who doesn’t like not being able to see in all directions. Most of the paid activities are quite pricey, but because there are relatively few people I suppose that makes sense. Here is the website, although you may have already found it: world.nh-hotels.com/en/nh-collection-maldives-havodda I hope this is of some use. Just ask if you have any other questions and I’ll do my best to answer.

PS There is also free loan of mask, snorkel & fins for your entire stay with a small refundable deposit. Looked like decent gear, but we always take our own so didn’t need it.

@@kirkandbear thanks for the information

No way! Hope you had a good time 👍 The Mobular was definitely a high point but the close encounter with the eagle ray was our favourite encounter because it was just so close. Thanks for the comment too 👋

@@kirkandbear Love an eagle ray. Their faces are just so cool! What did you film with out of interest?

@@SnappyTravels will you be posting a video? We’ll take a look if you do. Currently using a GoPro 10 on an El Grande pole.

@@kirkandbear sure will. It’s in the edit at the moment 👌🏻. My GoPro 10 killed itself on the first snorkel but fortunately some friends were flying out and brought me a new 12 to play with 😂

Ouch, but nice to get the 12 so quickly! Looking forward to seeing your vid 👍 Hope you had special encounters. We had an amazing leopard encounter last year on safari and it still gives me goosebumps.

Hi, and thanks for watching. Yes - it was all filmed when snorkeling - no diving. It is very easy to get into the water, and it is also very easy to swim in the lagoon, with lots to see. It is also easy to swim outside the reef, however outside the reef there are currents in some areas on some days. We snorkelled twice a day for 1-2 hours each time and only on one day did we have to work against a very strong current and, in the end, we turned round and let the current take us back to our original entry. We did not find it excessively tiring at all. The Dive Centre team and good at talking you through where is safest and there is a red flag / green flag system to help you. Red flag = advice not to swimming outside the reef. If there is a current then there are some places you can get in at one entrance, swim with the current, and get out at the next entrance. In particular, between the dive jetty and the arrival jetty. It’s all shown on the reef map and the most dangerous area is clearly shown. The house reef here is recognised as one of the best, so I do recommend this resort. We have spent a lot of time in the Red Sea and at this Maldives resort we saw many more rays and sharks, which we enjoyed enormously. We stayed in a sunrise villa on the island, and not an over water villa. There is more shade and it is easier to access the sea in our opinion. By all means choose over-water, however we met a couple while there who asked to change to an island villa as they couldn’t escape the sunshine when in their over-water villa. I hope that helps, but if you have any more questions please feel free to ask.

PS In case it is useful to know…The resort includes free mask, snorkel and fins loan (small refundable deposit required) for your stay, although we take our own. It also includes one free guided reef snorkel during your stay, which may help to familiarise you with the reef and conditions in the sea.

Thanks….I’m glad you enjoyed it 👍The journey was quite demanding but it was a very unique experience! 👋👌

Thanks Manaaf 👋 Wish I had a better camera for night filming! It was very good though. Check out our day time snorkel video if you get a chance…loads of Rays and Remoras 👍

Hello, and thank you for the amazing compliment! Most of the time I hand hold for photos and video so I can compose my shots quickly, but not always. When using a large and heavy lens I favour a monopod. All of this video was shot handheld. With photographs at long focal lengths I always try to get my shutter speed reasonably high, generally at least one over focal length (for example 1/500th at 500mm) and stop down the lens a little. I also used a camcorder for some of this video and it has a zoom equivalent to 600mm but the image stabilisation is quite good. I always try to use good posture and technique to help stabilise photos and video. Does that help? Greetings from the UK and thank you for watching the video 👋

@@kirkandbear wow, it looks rather stable regarding to a handheld vedio. thank you for your selfishless sharing experience in shutter speed setting of long focal lengths. you must be an expert in recording. I always get my video looked flurred due to handshake. I have lived in UK for 3 years and have visited hunstanton and scarborough SEA LIFE to see seals (mostly habour seals). hoping to have chances to see seals in norfolk someday.

*blurred

I find if I relax my hands I can make the camera more stable. Give it a try…once I start recording I always have to consciously make myself relax my hands. I didn’t realise I did that until I started shooting video! I hope my tip helps you and that you are enjoying the UK 👍

I’m glad 👍

Hello. Yes - you may use the short clip from my video. I am delighted that you asked. Please credit my Chanel if possible :-)

Yes please mate i've sent you a DM in instagram!

@@marcusby2054 yup…got it…on it

Thank you…..we loved it. Have you visited? And Happy New Year by the way.

Thank you so much. Happy New Year too! Yes we went to Horsey Gap on Boxing Day. Fabulous to see the seals. Got some footage on my channel.

Had a look and left a comment. Your Sandringham video did well!

Thank you very much! 🦭

Hi, thanks for watching! It was absolutely amazing. I hope you get there 👍

You are so very welcome

Thanks for clarifying….I know my body went into “time to leave’ mode!

Hi, and thanks for watching - glad you enjoyed them. It is an awesome place for snorkelling so enjoy your trip. Our booking included transfers and it takes 30-40 minutes to the Makadi Bay area. There are taxis at the airport, but I can’t say what it costs unfortunately. If you have any other questions then let me know👍

@@kirkandbear ahh okay who did you book with? thanks! but a 30-40 min taxi ride should cost all that much so that can definitely be a last resort!

@marcusby2054 Hi…👋 we tend to use Red Sea Holidays. Sometimes there are even some super deals. Our favourite time is May because of the young fish and the sea is warming up, but we have been in September (nice because of the warm sea) and June (really hot…a bit too hot for us). November to Feb tends to be a bit too windy and the sea is cooler so never been then. Let me know of there is anything else you would like to ask.

@@kirkandbear Thats great thak you, just more question, the main jetty at grand makadi, can you swin to the left, or is it all to the right?

@marcusby2054 Hi. Happy to help! You can definitely swim to the right all the time, and it is very good. There are some really super areas of coral almost immediately which we have seen plenty of coral and fish. Then, if you keep going round the coast towards the Makadi Waterworld there are some other really nice areas (keep going past where to gets really deep) and you can see lots of these areas in our videos from this year. I put a map on vid part 1. Often we would get in at one end and out at the other then walk back along the pathway. The light tends to be better for video in the mornings, but we would often swim twice a day. You used to be able to swim to the left from the Jetty but this year it was not allowed. I think this may be because a lot of the dive boats moor near there, or because there was a fatal shark attack up the cost in 2022. Not sure. If you are allowed to go that way (some years you can, some you cannot) it is excellent all the way along and we would often turn back at an area of large plate corals, which are beyond some really lovely shallow areas. Last year’s vid (4k Red Sea Hurghada Snoreklling in Makadi Bay (+ shark)) mostly filmed turning left from the jetty with some going right (the shark and the turtles were to the right). This year’s vids were all filmed between the jetty and Makadi Waterworld beach (Makadi Bay Hurghada Pt 1 to 6). Any more questions about this or other aspects of Egypt then let me know. Also, we will have a Maldives snorkelling vid in early 2024 if you’re interested. 👋 Merry Christmas and have a great trip.

Hi…we stayed at the Makadi Palace and have stayed at the Makadi Grand, but many of the hotels nearby have access to the same stretch of reef so you can get the same view either by walking to the jetty or swimming round. Check Maps - you will be near the hotels we have stayed at, so should be fine. The only thing that changed recently was they closed access going left (away from the hotels around the bay to the North) from the Makadi Jetty. This may be because of the shark attacks. Our most recent snorkelling videos from this year were all taken with this restriction in place, so maybe check those out. After 9-10:00am, once boats have started operating, then I think any sharks are deterred, but one never knows for sure. We have not seen any dangerous ones, however had a fright as you saw in the video. I hope you enjoy your trip! The reef is beautiful and we saw lots of amazing marine life.

Prima Life has 2 coral reef right in entrance in the water.

Thanks for letting us know…just looked on Maps and we would get in or out near there, just by the boats and Makadi Water World beach.

Thanks for watching! Hope you enjoyed it 👍

Hello, and thank you for watching. It is ok to swim, and you are asked to use reef-safe sun screen to help avoid pollution. Touching or standing on the coral or touching the fish is very harmful though. Most people are very considerate about it, although I understand your concern - it is a delicate and valuable ecosystem.

Coral reef are not like glass that they are fragile. They can regenerate and tolerate stress. Actually intermediate stress is good for the ecosystem because it will encourage resilience and increase the biodiversity.

Hi, and thanks for watching. I use a GoPro 10 in a super suit mounted onto an El Grande pole. Seems to work well for me :-) Filmed in 4k at 25fps with bitrate set to high for maximum image quality. Does that help?

Hi. If you’re coming just to visit Skomer then stay anywhere west of Marloes, which is the last town on the way to the boat departure at Martin’s Haven. We decided to stay as close to the embarkation point as possible because the roads are very narrow and get quite busy. There are quite a few Bed & Breakfast places and campsites very near here. If you’re planning to camp in a tent or camper van then these are well catered for but fill up quickly as it is a popular destination. Bed & Breakfasts book up quickly too, as do the boat crossings to Skomer. You can find dates etc on www.pembrokeshire-islands.co.uk and last year (2022) crossing dates and slots were made available from March or April so we were checking the website frequently to make sure we got a place. Weather can affect the service and we had a cancelled crossing but managed to rebook for a few days later so I suggest being in the area for a few days or a week and planning other activities which you can re-organise if necessary.Does that help?

That must have been odd. Thanks for watching 👍

@@kirkandbear drought ,climate change and shifting weather patterns caused it .

I think so. Looks nice though 👍