Raja Ampat Reloaded: Part 1
Andrea and Antonella Ferrari recently returned from a trip to Raja Ampat. Read their heartfelt account of their journey to this amazing destination.
Lying on my back, floating on the surface in a lazy current, I feel the warmth of the tropical sun on my face, bright sunlight creating an orange glow through my closed eyelids. I open them at the loud cackle of a passing Eclectus parrot, just in time to glimpse a flash of red and blue fly overhead, a splash of colour against the deep blue sky and towering, silent clouds.
The water is warm and jade green, a few floating dead leaves tickling my feet here and there, the glint of reef fish below me. I slowly propel myself toward the middle of the lagoon, still lying on my back. The only audible sounds are the buzz of an occasional mosquito and the faint splash made by an archerfish squirting a jet of water toward a small bug on a branch.
Around and above me, I can see limestone cliffs rising toward the sky, eroded into abstract shapes by thousands of years of tropical rainfall, draped in white roots, twisted vines and precariously balanced forest trees. Huge ferns and clumps of orchids hang everywhere, with a big swallowtail butterfly slowly flapping in the warm humid air. Sitting under the canvas roof in the boat, a few metres away, Antonella smiles dreamily, points her camera at me and clicks away. I close my eyes again, absorbing the sun’s warmth, submerging my ears just enough to listen to the distant clicks and snaps of the coral reef extending a few feet below me. Yes, this is heaven for me. Welcome to the Passage. Welcome to Raja Ampat.
The Passage — a five-meter deep, river-like sea fjord, snaking inside the forest, the tree canopies often closing above it, strange purple sponges and gigantic orange seafans almost reaching the surface, the sea and the sky above mirroring each other, mixing, inextricably blending into each other. A mystical place, rich in silent grottoes, underwater passages, submerged tunnels leading to still seawater pools hidden inside the forest, sun rays slanting down into the green darkness like light shining through multicoloured cathedral windows. The Passage is unique, and yet only one of many wonderful dive sites found in Raja Ampat. Many, many others dot the area, close and not so close to peaceful Kri Island.
Mike’s Point, the most beautiful of them all and one of the most scenic dive spots on Earth, a living multi-layered tapestry of pink and orange gorgonians.
Sardines, an underwater promontory jutting out into the open sea where all the action is — raging currents, gigantic schools of fish, lurking wobbegongs waiting among the corals.
Cape Kri, a dive site with an incredibly diverse collection of fish species, rivalling in technicoloured spectacle Sipadan’s dropoff and Palau’s Blue Corner.
Myos Kon, an underwater wonderland of lurking carpet sharks, pygmy seahorses and schooling yellow-lined snappers.
Chicken Reef, a coral slope of a thousand untouched shapes and sizes, crowded with enormous schools of fish.
Manta Point, a cleaning station where one can dive with up to twenty gigantic mantas, each approaching three meters in wingspan.
Melissa’s Garden, by the island of Fam, a submerged psychedelic panorama of mushroom-shaped limestone islets draped in red gorgonians and bright purple soft corals.
There are fish — small fish, large fish — everywhere. Schools of fish, fish in the hundreds, by the thousands — jacks, surgeonfish, batfish, snappers, basslets, barracudas, emperors, giant bumphead parrotfish, spanish mackerels, rainbow runners — they’re all here. Even sharks, despite the widespread local fishing pressure, put in an appearance — large, camouflaged wobbegong carpet sharks are everywhere, and so are the “walking” Hemiscyllium coral catsharks, and swiftly swimming blacktips, and even the grey reefs, which had been absent two years ago, now make their presence felt, often buzzing divers on the reef top.
In a world where shark sightings are going down in many locations, it’s incredibly rewarding being able to report that here, shark sightings are actually increasing. Might this mean that actual numbers of these beautiful, endangered predators are rising in Raja Ampat? True, shark fishing takes place in the general area, but it is a fact that, at least in the proximity of Kri, blacktip and grey reef sharks seem to have found a sanctuary.
The coral landscape does not show signs of diver damage yet, and coral bleaching is almost unheard of in these waters. Indeed, on this, our second visit to these distant shores (see www.reefwonders.net for a trip report on the previous one), the spectacular diving and marine life of Raja Ampat seem to us even more extraordinary than in the past. Oh, and of course, we have to add that most everything can be found at shallow depth, with most diving taking place in the five- to twenty-metre range, and with the majority of dive sites less than 10 minutes away from Sorido’s or Kri’s wooden piers.
…to be continued