April 2005 - Raja Ampat Papua Dive Trip

Bill enjoying a beer while we head to the beach for a night BBQ

Beautiful Raja Ampat sunset

Sea Safari III boat

One of the crew

Lighting candles at Buddhist temple in Sorong Papua

In April 2005 Bill traveled to Papua Indonesia to spend 9 days scuba diving amongst the Raja Ampat islands aboard the Sea Safari III wood pinisi (operated by Kararu Dive Voyages - www.kararu.com). This was his second trip diving with this operator (read about the May 2003 Komodo dive trip here). Anette and Kimberly did not join this trip.

The boat was comfortable, the food was delicious and the diving was fantastic. The highlight of the trip was getting video of the elusive Blue-ringed octopus (see the video below). In addition, we had the opportunity to visit a bat-filled cave on one of the islands (see the video below). I posted a complete review of this trip to the site www.undercurrent.org which you can read here.

Overall a fantastic trip!!

The Sea Safari III

A Little Bit About Raja Ampat

Located off the northwest tip of Bird's Head Peninsula on the island of New Guinea (see map to the right), Raja Ampat, or the Four Kings, is an archipelago comprising over 1,500 small islands, cays and shoals surrounding the four main islands of Misool, Salawati, Batanta and Waigeo. It encompasses more than 9.8 million acres (40,000 km²) of land and sea, which also contains Cenderawasih Bay, the largest marine national park in Indonesia. It is a part of the newly named West Papua (province) of Indonesia which was formerly Irian Jaya.

According to the Conservation International Rapid Assessment Bulletin the marine life diversity is considerably greater than all other areas sampled in the Coral Triangle of Indonesia, Philippines and Papua New Guinea. The Coral Triangle is the heart of the world's coral reef biodiversity, the seas around Raja Ampat are possibly the richest in the world. The area's massive coral colonies show that its reefs are resistant to threats like coral bleaching and disease - threats that now jeopardise the survival of corals around the world, though the area is remote and relatively untouched by humans. In addition, Raja Ampat's strong ocean currents sweep coral larvae across the Indian and Pacific Oceans to replenish other reef ecosystems. Raja Ampat's coral diversity, resilience, and ability to replenish reefs make it a global priority for marine protection, as human activity here has the potential to be catastrophic.

Over 1,070 fish species, 537 coral species (a remarkable 96% of all scleratinia recorded from Indonesia are likely to occur in these islands), and 699 mollusk species, the variety of marine life is staggering.[citation needed] Some areas boast enormous schools of fish and regular sightings of sharks, such as wobbegongs.