When we lived in Singapore we were lucky to be able to explore Indonesia diving. As divers we had never experienced the diversity of marine life and made several trips around the region. We hoped to return but with Covid disrupting world travel it is not until 2023 that we make it, and how exciting to be back. After a few nights in Singapore we head for Siladen Island in Northern Suluwesi for a warm up - Vicky is still wary about diving because of her recently dislocated and broken shoulder. Then we fly to Ternate, a town on a small island off the coast of Halmahera, which was once an important centre of the Spice Trade. Here we meet the Dewi (pronounced Devi) Nusantara which will be our home for the next 11 nights as we explore the reefs around the south of Halmahera and then around Misool and Batanta in Raja Ampat. Finally we head back to Suluwesi for a few nights in the Lembeh Straits, world capital of 'muck diving'.
Kuda Laut room and resort, Siladen Island
Candy Crab and Orang-utan Crab, Bunaken I.
Manado in the North of Suluwesi has some great diving nearby. Bunaken Island, and nearby Siladen Island are 40 minutes by car and 20 minutes by boat and offer beautiful wall dives. We have stayed twice on Bunaken and decide to try a small resort on Siladen this time. Kuda Laut (Celebes Divers) is friendly and comfortable with a good, local dive operation. The seas have been quite rough so I opt for macro photography on my two days of diving. Bunaken is famous, not just for its great walls but also the number of turtles. On one dive we see seven!
On our second day we get up at 4.30 and go north to Nain Island where we hope to find hammerhead sharks at a site called Batu Kapal. We are not lucky and just see an eagle ray and lots of phosphorescent plankton as we hang in the blue for 50 minutes. We do enjoy two more dives and a beach barbeque so the trip was worth it.
Looking west past Siladen jetty to Bunaken and the Pangalingan volcano
Dewi Nusantara in Raja Ampat
In 2014 we first visited Raja Ampat diving in the Dampier Strait and the little islands to the south of Waigeo, and then south to Misool and the southern diving area. In 2018 we went around the Bird's Head peninsular and dived Cenderawasih Bay. For this cruise we start off the coast of Halmahera to explore some new areas outside the Marine Protected Area before crossing to the SE of Misool to enjoy the reefs and walls with their abundant fish and gorgeous soft corals. We then head north to visit the famous Dayang manta cleaning station before heading along the strait between Batanta and Salawati back to Sorong where our trip ends.
Nudibranchs, Blue-ring Octopus, Ornate Ghost Pipefish
On our first day's diving in the Patienti Strait we have some great sightings. Colourful nudibranchs, a ghost pipefish and a very cross blue-ring octopus that crosses the seabed for several minutes before burrowing down a hole. Our guide, Steven, has a great eye for the smaller stuff and points out stuff we would certainly miss. Also while we dive some pretty reefs there are noticably fewer large fish in the area than we find later in Raja Ampat. Increased fishing during Covid seems to be the answer. Vicky is diving well which is a great relief having broken her arm in December.
Most nights we are offered a night dive at 6.30pm and the first night does not disappoint. As well as the usual shrimps, crabs and nudibranchs we find an epaulette ('walking') shark. These shy creatures appear to walk across the bottom on their front fins. Best to approach with a red light to avoid disturbing them.
Halmahera Epaulette Shark
Sweetlips under coral at Lighthouse, Pulau Pisang
On day 4 we reach Pulau Pisang, an island on the way between Halmahera and Misoul. At Lighthouse (really a light by a rock) we find super clear water and big shoals of fish. Schools of silver fish, midnight snapper, bannerfish and angelfish. The coral is good too and towards the end of the dive we find an octopus swimming around.
Overnight we cross to Misool (pronounced Mis-o-ol) where we will spend the next five days. Misool is one of the four big islands that make up Raja Ampat ('four kings'). In fact there are hundreds of little islands in the area and we visit a number as we move from site to site. Our first dive is Kalaidoscope next to Pele island and here we see our first Wobbegong shark and then a manta ray circling above us as we swim along an underwater ridge. The Misool area is famous for beautiful soft coral and over the coming days we admire the displays that drape the walls and reefs.
Vicky with soft coral at 4 Kings, Wayil
Back on the boat we are well into the routine of sleep - dive - eat. Chief steward, Hendrik, provides a constant supply of meals and snacks as well as mixing a mean marguarita (after diving of course), and providing hot chocolate laced with Baileys for the night divers.
The Devi is a big boat - we learn that while we have cabins with double beds most of the other liveaboards are not as wide and have bunks for the guests. We also have 2 decks for sunbathing, a large dining and diving deck and plenty of room inside to relax and escape the rain if it is wet.
Cabin, Sundeck and Bridge
Maindeck for eating and dive setup, main guest area
Back in the water we feel rather like seasoned safari goers. We are happy to see the big stuff like sharks and mantas but we are increasingly fascinated by the smaller animals or 'critters'. A big favourite are the nudibranchs because of their colours and shapes and huge variety. We turn our noses up at the boring chromodoris but get very excited by more exotic varieties. Shrimps and crabs also come in an amazing number of shapes and sizes.
As a photographer I love to capture the very small (macro) images. This is partly because the tiny shrimps, crabs and seahorses are so small that you only see the detail when you blow up the photograph. The dive guides are very clever to find them although they do know the habitats where they are likely to be.
Nudibranchs - Flabellini, Thecacera (Pikachu) and Chinese dragon
Emperor Shrimp on nudibranch, Soft Coral Crab and Pigmy Seahorse
The marine conservation area in Raja Ampat means that fishing is controlled and we find big schools of snapper, fusiliers, barracuda, trevally, and surgeonfish as well as the bigger groupers, wrasse, parrotfish and sweetlips. We see sharks cruising along the reef everyday including a hammerhead one day - grey and huge. Unique to this area and Northern Australia is the extraodinary, tasselled wobbegong shark.. Manta rays are a huge treat but we also see eagle rays, mobular rays, and stingrays. Then there are the big humpheads - the huge napoleon wrasse which we saw a lot in Misool as well as groups of bumphead parrotfish. One day a huge group of larger fish races past us hunting for prey as we are coming to the end of a dive.
Batfish, Bumphead Parrotfish, Black-fin Barracuda
Napoleon Wrasse, Manta Ray
Wobbegong Shark
On our last day on the boat we dive a gravelly slope on the SW side of Batanta Island. You can find interesting creatures in the 'muck' and we do come across some new discoveries but we are heading to the Lembeh Strait when we leave the boat and that is the world capital of muck diving. I will cover that in a separate post.
On our last evening we pull into Sorong harbour. Rafael, our Swiss cruise director presents a good summary of our trip. What we have dived and seen together with some great drone shots of the boat and landscape. We have had a videographer, David Grabowski, on board to shoot some new videos for the Dewi and he has been busy in the air as well as underwater. Our mostly American fellow guests swap emails, we thank our crew and guides and get ready to be back on dry land. Raja Ampat is getting busier - there are over 50 liveaboards working here now - but it is a huge area so does not feel congested although the coral on the popular sites gets more damage. Hopefully we can come back one day soon. We have not yet explored the Banda Sea which is famous for deep cool currents, hammerhead sharks and critters! Also the centre of the early spice trade with the small island of Run being the only place in the world where nutmeg grew!
Dewi Nusantara in Raja Ampat (thank you David)
Exploring lagoons and islands
