It was one of those impossibly beautiful mornings. The sky was a deep blue with a puff of wayward clouds and the sea was as calm as glass, inviting us to immerse our jetlagged bodies in its reassuring, gentle embrace.
But there was no time for that; we still had a two and a half hour journey ahead to cross the frontier town, Sorong, and get to our final destination, the Kri Eco Island Resort in the Raja Ampat.
Very few people have ventured this far. Everyone sat with eyes wide open trying to digest the spectacle before them; in the distance, the blue jungle covered mountain tops of the surrounding islands of the Raja Ampat archipelago floated on a horizon that seemed to be indistinguishable from the calm, shimmering sea.
An hour into the journey, almost everyone had been lulled into the edges of a deep sleep when Grant shouted from the roof of the little long-boat:
“Orcas!”. We all sat upright and peered into the general direction, but saw nothing. Then a movement to our left caught our weary eyes, and there they were.
Everyone was suddenly wide awake, blown away by this casual display of extreme nature, and within minutes we were all soaking up the morning sun on the rickety top of the long-boat.
Soon everyone was pointing out something: mantas, flying fish, birds, tunas and even more killer whales.
We weren’t even there yet!
As the leaders of this expedition, we had already experienced the magic of the Raja Ampat a few times before and our enthusiasm had ignited the curiosity of the South African diving public, hence this expedition and many more to come.
More than 9,8 million hectares of land and sea encompass the Raja Ampat archipelago in Indonesia’s West Papua Province, off the north-western tip of the island of New Guinea. Four main islands, Waigeo, Batanta, Sulawati and Misool and their thousands of satellite islands cover an area of virgin paradise. The archipelago forms part of an area known as the Bird’s Head peninsula, which is considered to be the epicentre of global marine biodiversity. It contains the world’s richest reefs and is home to 75% of all known coral species and more than 3 000 species of reef fish.
A survey in 2006 conducted by Conservation International discovered over 50 new species in this area, including sharks, shrimp and reef building coral, confirming the region as the Earth’s richest seascape. Many of the new species recorded here are believed to be found nowhere else on earth. These reefs have been referred to as “species factories”, replenishing other reef eco-systems by sweeping coral larvae across the Indian and Pacific Oceans via their strong currents.
Topside, the scenic beauty is unsurpassed. Dramatic lime-stone island outcrops dot the azure ocean, while on the larger islands, coastal mountain ranges punctuate the lush, velvety forest canopies that sweep downhill toward thick plantations of coconut palms, residing over beaches of the finest white sand powder. The dense vegetation supports dozens of bird and animal species unique to these islands. Uncommon Birds of Paradise are endemic to the area, and scientists continue to discover new species of fauna and flora in parts of Papua which are entirely untouched by humans.
The only “raja” you are bound to meet in the Raja Ampat is the dashing Dutchman Max Ammer. A modern day Indiana Jones, he is a true pioneer, adventurer extraordinaire and a local legend. He has ventured into the outer reaches of the archipelago and over the last 15 years, he has developed the only land-based resort in the area. In the process he has proven his dedication to preserving the pristine surroundings while respecting and uplifting the local people.
Topside memories:
As the plane started its descent, we caught our first glimpse of the Raja Ampat islands, a breathtakingly beautiful sight of hundreds and hundreds of dark green mountainous islands scattered over a calm, borderless and impossibly calm azure ocean. A few hours later when the boat arrived at Kri Island, it hit us: this was the stuff of which dreams were made! Never-ending islets, majestic limestone cliffs with thick green jungle dripping into the glass calm ocean, a thousand palm trees huddled together on slivers of blindingly white powdery sand, and in the dappled shade, the promise of stepping into the elusive Neverland, that until this moment had only existed in our dreams.
Resort memories
At night we slept like adventurers of old, in a reed hut perched precariously on stilts in the lagoon.
At the break of dawn, we would awaken to the crazed morning song of exotic jungle birds, a majestic chorus that waned into haphazard shrills and shrieks throughout the day, until the fiery sunset faded into the first stars of early evening. After dinner we would lie on the wooden walkways over the water, looking up at the never-ending sky filled with a billion twinkling stars, unhindered by light and pollution. We became acutely aware of the absence of mechanical sounds, hearing only the gentle lap of tiny waves and the occasional “whoosh” of predators beneath us, hunting schools of baitfish huddled in the dark shadows. This was true paradise, not dollied up by some developer, but designed by Mother Nature, awe-inspiring in its purity.
Max Ammer memories
Dinner with Max Ammer was always a treat. We were entranced as Max regaled us with stories of his early days exploring the islands: daredevil jungle escapades, miraculous near death exploits, discoveries of war paraphernalia, experiences with the indigenous people and unusual underwater encounters.
Charisma oozing from every pore, his ruggedly handsome face lit up with the intensity of the tale, and he showed us his collection of articles and photographs to support the facts behind his tales.
One such tale was so poignant that we are not able to forget it. Max described the remarkable gentleness of the Papuan people. He told us how years ago, he had set up camp on a beach on one of the islands, when he heard a rustle outside. Reacting quickly, he swept the tent flap aside and caught a glimpse of a little girl running away. As he looked down, his eyes fell on the pineapple that she had left behind as a gift.
Underwater memories
This must be the final aquatic frontier. Nowhere on the planet had we seen such excess, such undisturbed abundance of life in the water. Nothing had prepared us for this spectacle: a jumbled mess of coral and fish, fish and more fish. We became enveloped in walls of fish so thick that they blotted out the sun. A cacophony of sound reached our ears: the crackle and pop, munch and crunch of thousands of fish going about their business, utterly oblivious to our stares. On one dive, we watched in fascination as eight Giant trevallys patrolled the outer edges of a swirling mass of thousands of fusiliers, their slow confident movements causing the schools to shiver and swoop to and fro in trepidation. It was like a grand opera stuck in its thundering crescendo with all the instruments in use at the same time, and it was both confusing and overwhelming. We lowered our cameras and watched, transfixed. How could we capture this for the world to see? How could this be real?
In a secret bay, hundreds of large, harmless jellyfish bumped into us, ceasing their pulsations for a split second to seemingly caress us before quietly moving on.
Perhaps the definitive moment was when a fellow diver, moved almost to tears after his dive, sat dazed and dripping, muttering a mantra under his breath: “One million fish, one million fish, one million fish…”.
The diving is a mixture of extremes. This is one of the few places on earth where you can find almost everything underwater. The incredible topside beauty is only the beginning; as soon as you drop beneath the surface, a fairytale wonderland awaits. This is a dream come true, for divers and snorkellers alike.
The variety of dive sites is staggering, including historic World War II wrecks, colourful unblemished reefs teeming with life, virgin mangrove ecosystems, protected bays alive with pulsating jellyfish, spectacular rich coral gardens, sheer vertical walls, calm glass-like conditions, adrenaline-filled drift dives, giant Manta rays, Black tip and Wobbegong sharks and rare Pygmy seahorses as big as a grain of rice. Raja Ampat has it all!
At least once in a lifetime, divers and snorkellers should both strive to make their way off the beaten track, to feed their souls on the Raja Ampat, and return renewed, inspired and complete.
As we stood on the jetty that last evening, facing yet another magnificent sunset, each of us was lost in thought. We had just experienced the very best diving this planet has to offer. There was this feeling deep inside us that one gets after being one of the fortunate few to witness heart stopping beauty and jaw dropping spectacle. This must be akin to what mountaineers feel when conquering Mount Everest, or surfers after riding the biggest wave on the North shore of Hawaii.
For the select few who visit Raja Ampat, diving will never be the same again. Raja Ampat is not just another new place to jot down in your dive log: it is diving’s Holy Grail.
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