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CNN Live Today

'Getaways'

Aired January 12, 2004 - 11:47   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Temperatures outside are diving as winter sets in, but somewhere on the planet, trust me, there is some warm weather for this form of diving. There is an entire world down there just for viewing. Our guest has seen much of it through his lens. He is Dave Doubilet, among the world's most honored underwater photographers. Wait till you see his stuff. He outlines his seven favorite dive spots in the January issue of "National Geographic" magazine.
David Doubilet joins us from New York to share his pictures and his expertise.

Dave, good morning. Thanks for being above the ocean just for a few moments to share some of your incredible pictures with us.

Let's pack our bags and head to some of your top spots. You like Papua-New Guinea.

DAVID DOUBILET, "NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC": Papua-New Guinea, actually the eastern tip of it, Milan Bay and a place called Kimbe (ph) Bay, are some of the richest, yet most untouched reefs in the world. If you look at a place such as Indonesia, that's where the richest corral in the world is. It's a central gathering of all the richest coral. Papua-New Guinea, unlike Indonesia, has a small population, so the reefs there are protected, and incredibly rich.

For instance, in the Caribbean, there is only about 47 to 52 species of corral. In Papua-New Guinea, there's 452 species of coral. It's a whole different ballgame. It's a difference between an English garden -- it's a difference between an English garden and a wild and incredibly dense jungle.

KAGAN: Wow. Let's see how many of these incredible jungles we can get in here.

Tasmania you like as well.

DOUBILET: Tasmania is wonderful. It's deep, and cold and rich, and strange animals. You dive at the base of huge cliffs. The wind from the southern ocean blows across the top of the cliffs, so the water's calm beneath it. But in that calm, clear water, there's things you can't imagine, fish with hands.

KAGAN: Wow.

DOUBILET: Fish that look like Eleanor Roosevelt, all sorts of strange things. KAGAN: I know I know you from somewhere. Deep and cold and strange animals, that sounds like right where you are in New York City right now. But let's move on to Hopkins Island, South Australia.

DOUBILET: Hopkins Island, South Australia is an incredible place to dive. We dove there. You dive with sea lions. Southern Australian hair sea lions. And they're like golden retrievers. They come in, they nuzzle the camera, they look in your eyes. They bite your flippers. They're wonderful. And then they disappear, because they're the great meals of great white sharks.

KAGAN: A-ha. Hello.

DOUBILET: And the place for great white shark diving is not just South Australia but South Africa. And in fact, the...

KAGAN: The South African coast.

DOUBILET: The whole South African coast is one of the richest coasts in the world, not just for great white sharks, but for 2 1/2 million cape fur seals, for sardines that run like rivers. It's the most exciting diving in the world.

KAGAN: Let me just ask you this, do you want to be hanging around with something that's bait for a great white shark? Like hello, I'm over here, Mr. great white shark.

DOUBILET: It's always kind of a strange risk to dive in a situation where great white sharks are also living there and having their lives. And you sort of watch things like, for instance, when we're diving in cages, and that's how you find a great white shark, for the most part, because you have to bait them in, when you're diving in cages, you look carefully around, and if the time is right and the water's right, you can sometimes poke your head out of the cage and venture a little bit out of it to look how the shark swims through the light in the sea.

KAGAN: What about the northern Red Sea? Why do you like diving there?

DOUBILET: The northern Red Sea, this is a place where I got my real start at "National Geographic," my first of 60 articles was published from there. And it's like a giant crystal aquarium, a desert sea where no rivers run into it, no rain falls on the sands around it, and to dive there, you look at reefs that are so dense and so full of life, it's terrific.

KAGAN: Now, here's the cool part of your job. You get paid to go to these places. Most people are watching these segments going, I can't afford to go to Tasmania and South Africa. Any tips for people who don't get paid to go to the places you get paid to go to?

DOUBILET: Well, diving is not exactly the cheapest sport you can do. But on the other hand, it's also a kind of business where you can go to someplace, spend some time in the sea, and come back with memories that are unparalleled with anything that we share on the rest of the planet. And the best way, obviously, to save money is to get the best airfares and spend a bit of time in the places that you go to.

KAGAN: Got it. Any place you haven't had a chance to dive that's still on your list?

DOUBILET: There's lots of places I haven't had a chance to dive, but one place that's not on this list I have to talk about is Pulau, in the western central Pacific. It's an island archipelago, a country that has not only great diving, but hidden marine lakes that contain galaxies of jellyfish, great schools of them like clouds, and the little jellyfish beat like hearts, they don't sting, because they've been so isolated from the sea for the millenniums. And they have evolved into a soft beating heart-like jellyfish. They're called mestigious jellyfishes, and Pulau's an extraordinary place, too.

KAGAN: It's a great adventure, your life and your career. Thanks for coming up for air just a little bit and sharing your great pictures and your video with us. And of course if people can't see it for themselves, just go to this month's "National Geographic." It has Mars on the cover. So from the deep sea to outer space. Dave Doubilet, thanks for stopping by. I appreciate it.

DOUBILET: Thank you, Daryn.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired January 12, 2004 - 11:47   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Temperatures outside are diving as winter sets in, but somewhere on the planet, trust me, there is some warm weather for this form of diving. There is an entire world down there just for viewing. Our guest has seen much of it through his lens. He is Dave Doubilet, among the world's most honored underwater photographers. Wait till you see his stuff. He outlines his seven favorite dive spots in the January issue of "National Geographic" magazine.
David Doubilet joins us from New York to share his pictures and his expertise.

Dave, good morning. Thanks for being above the ocean just for a few moments to share some of your incredible pictures with us.

Let's pack our bags and head to some of your top spots. You like Papua-New Guinea.

DAVID DOUBILET, "NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC": Papua-New Guinea, actually the eastern tip of it, Milan Bay and a place called Kimbe (ph) Bay, are some of the richest, yet most untouched reefs in the world. If you look at a place such as Indonesia, that's where the richest corral in the world is. It's a central gathering of all the richest coral. Papua-New Guinea, unlike Indonesia, has a small population, so the reefs there are protected, and incredibly rich.

For instance, in the Caribbean, there is only about 47 to 52 species of corral. In Papua-New Guinea, there's 452 species of coral. It's a whole different ballgame. It's a difference between an English garden -- it's a difference between an English garden and a wild and incredibly dense jungle.

KAGAN: Wow. Let's see how many of these incredible jungles we can get in here.

Tasmania you like as well.

DOUBILET: Tasmania is wonderful. It's deep, and cold and rich, and strange animals. You dive at the base of huge cliffs. The wind from the southern ocean blows across the top of the cliffs, so the water's calm beneath it. But in that calm, clear water, there's things you can't imagine, fish with hands.

KAGAN: Wow.

DOUBILET: Fish that look like Eleanor Roosevelt, all sorts of strange things. KAGAN: I know I know you from somewhere. Deep and cold and strange animals, that sounds like right where you are in New York City right now. But let's move on to Hopkins Island, South Australia.

DOUBILET: Hopkins Island, South Australia is an incredible place to dive. We dove there. You dive with sea lions. Southern Australian hair sea lions. And they're like golden retrievers. They come in, they nuzzle the camera, they look in your eyes. They bite your flippers. They're wonderful. And then they disappear, because they're the great meals of great white sharks.

KAGAN: A-ha. Hello.

DOUBILET: And the place for great white shark diving is not just South Australia but South Africa. And in fact, the...

KAGAN: The South African coast.

DOUBILET: The whole South African coast is one of the richest coasts in the world, not just for great white sharks, but for 2 1/2 million cape fur seals, for sardines that run like rivers. It's the most exciting diving in the world.

KAGAN: Let me just ask you this, do you want to be hanging around with something that's bait for a great white shark? Like hello, I'm over here, Mr. great white shark.

DOUBILET: It's always kind of a strange risk to dive in a situation where great white sharks are also living there and having their lives. And you sort of watch things like, for instance, when we're diving in cages, and that's how you find a great white shark, for the most part, because you have to bait them in, when you're diving in cages, you look carefully around, and if the time is right and the water's right, you can sometimes poke your head out of the cage and venture a little bit out of it to look how the shark swims through the light in the sea.

KAGAN: What about the northern Red Sea? Why do you like diving there?

DOUBILET: The northern Red Sea, this is a place where I got my real start at "National Geographic," my first of 60 articles was published from there. And it's like a giant crystal aquarium, a desert sea where no rivers run into it, no rain falls on the sands around it, and to dive there, you look at reefs that are so dense and so full of life, it's terrific.

KAGAN: Now, here's the cool part of your job. You get paid to go to these places. Most people are watching these segments going, I can't afford to go to Tasmania and South Africa. Any tips for people who don't get paid to go to the places you get paid to go to?

DOUBILET: Well, diving is not exactly the cheapest sport you can do. But on the other hand, it's also a kind of business where you can go to someplace, spend some time in the sea, and come back with memories that are unparalleled with anything that we share on the rest of the planet. And the best way, obviously, to save money is to get the best airfares and spend a bit of time in the places that you go to.

KAGAN: Got it. Any place you haven't had a chance to dive that's still on your list?

DOUBILET: There's lots of places I haven't had a chance to dive, but one place that's not on this list I have to talk about is Pulau, in the western central Pacific. It's an island archipelago, a country that has not only great diving, but hidden marine lakes that contain galaxies of jellyfish, great schools of them like clouds, and the little jellyfish beat like hearts, they don't sting, because they've been so isolated from the sea for the millenniums. And they have evolved into a soft beating heart-like jellyfish. They're called mestigious jellyfishes, and Pulau's an extraordinary place, too.

KAGAN: It's a great adventure, your life and your career. Thanks for coming up for air just a little bit and sharing your great pictures and your video with us. And of course if people can't see it for themselves, just go to this month's "National Geographic." It has Mars on the cover. So from the deep sea to outer space. Dave Doubilet, thanks for stopping by. I appreciate it.

DOUBILET: Thank you, Daryn.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com