C  Raja Ampat – The Earth’s Richest Seascape

The unmatched marine biodiversity of Raja Ampat includes more than 1,200 species of fish and almost 600 species of reef coral, or 75% of the world’s known total. In addition, Raja Ampat also has a startling diversity of marine habitats to explore. The highlights include vertical walls, reefs, flats, slopes, sea mounts, lagoons and many others. The Raja Ampat islands are remote and relatively undisturbed by humans. As one of the least visited areas on the planet and with so much thriving underwater life, Raja Ampat is considered by many to be the last frontier of diving, and the last pristine dive destination in the world. Micro to macro, Raja Ampat has it all!

When we were in Raja Ampat, the weather was good and the water temperature was about 28%. The visibility was also good, ranging from 15 to 30 meters depending on the locations of the dive sites. The current varied from none to very strong depending on the location.

Many dives I did were drift dives. The depths ranged from 15 to 30 meters and most of the dives were quite easy. This was the only dive destination I had ever visited where I did not have enough bottom time (over 60 minutes) and still had 50 bars of air left. But on a number of occasions when I surfaced, the waves were strong and high and I had to still keep my mask on and use the regulator to stay afloat while waiting for the dinghy to arrive.

05/08 - Test Dive at Mioskon, near Mansuar Island & Diving in Fam Island

This was the first time I saw a wobbegong shark camouflaged in sandy bottom!

06/08 – Diving in Manta Sandy & Tanjung Putus

Resting at just 15m on the sandy channel we waited for the spectacular shows performed by the manta rays. Some came somersaulting and were cleaned by several species of wrasse. Some were quite large (about 3m wing span) and had varying colouration on their undersides from solid black to mottled white.

Walking Shark

This “Walking Shark” is a relatively new discovery, but one that is unique in its style and method of movement. The “walking” shark, rather than swim around to gather prey, walks across the bottom, using its fins to take it where it wants to go.

07/08 – Diving in Fam Channel & Melisa’s Garden at Fam Island

In Fam Channel, there were hard coral gardens full of life at shallow depth. The sloping walls were blanketed in soft corals

Melissa’s Garden is the name of the daughter of Raja Ampat’s pioneer, Max Ammer. It consists of three small islands which form a protective semi circle around a shallow platform. There were plentiful of fishes amongst the hard corals.

 08/08 – Diving in Batu Hitam at Kawe Island & Batu Delapan at Wayap Island

In Batu Hitam the slope was covered with lush coral forests but we encountered strong current.

 While in Batu Delapan, the sheer walls were dotted with colorful hard and soft corals.

09/08 – Diving in Batu Wayag at Wayap Island

The walls and slopes were covered with soft and hard corals. When surfacing I had a decompression problem and shot up to the surface from 15 meters! I skipped all other dives today.

10/08 – Diving in Yang Geld Reef, Gam Island

Another reef covered with rich soft and hard corals.

11/08 – The Passage

It is one of Raja Ampat’s most celebrated dive sites. It is a winding waterway that separates Gam Island from Waigeo Island. This narrow river-like channel is more than 2.5km long and runs from east to west, stretching from Kabui Bay to the open ocean.

However to go through this Passage, the divers have to be aided by a strong drift. We attempted twice today but failed. It was the most disappointing dive in Raja Ampat!

We frolicked in the water and did some shallow dives along the walls of the Passage.

12/08 – Diving in Blue Magic Sea Mount & Chicken Reef in Mansuar

Blue Magic is a large sea mount of coral rises out of a sandy bottom and is home to a plethora of colorful critters. In Blue Magic there was a vast array of life found here.

One of the best spots was Chicken Reef where we were surrounded by thousand of fish and snappers. Chicken Reef is my last dive site in Raja Ampat

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