Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia

[scotter]

Hiya,

Just returned from Raja Ampat. Everything everyone has ever said about it is true.

This is a diving video I did, showing off what can be seen at depth. At shallower depths however, Raja Ampat really shines bright. It is a snorkeling paradise, probably the best on Earth.

Enjoy the film!

Best,
Scott

http://youtu.be/l2L4DksgfU8

[ace_92101]

Great video! Indonesia has some truly amazing diving.

[kookie_guy]

Quick...someone give the fist at 2:25 a heimlich!!

great video

[scotter]

Heimlich: so true! It's fascinating to realize fish sometimes choke on their food too!

Re. the pygmy sea horses: they are about the size of a grain of dust or a microscopic flea. I didn't even realize what I was filming until I downloaded the files and then cropped and enlarged the frame. When the dive master pointed at the gorgonian fan, all I saw was a tiny speck and I thought to myself, "Why is she pointing a flea?"

[scotter]

This is what it looked like top-side:

<a href="http://s955.beta.photobucket.com/user/ScotterP/media/Raja%20Ampat%202013/RajaAmpatTopBackside.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/ae33/ScotterP/Raja%20Ampat%202013/RajaAmpatTopBackside.jpg" border="0" alt="Raja Ampat by SJP photo RajaAmpatTopBackside.jpg"/></a>

[kookie_guy]

Quick...someone give the fish at 2:25 a heimlich!!

great video

oops, ment to edit my first post, please delete. Hmmm, can't edit that one. Can a mod please change the "fist" to "fish" lol. And then delete this post.

[ipaul]

the best raja ampat Indonesia

[Speckled Grouper]

We are going in December!!!!! One week Raja, one week Tulamben on Bali. Can't wait!!!!
Did you go on a Live Aboard or Land Based?

[scotter]

Hi Speckled Grouper!

It was my first time on a live aboard. It was a great experience as it also offered surfing, kayaking, jet skiing, sail boarding, boogie boarding, .... hmmm, did I leave something out? The majority of the folks actually didn't dive --- they literally just drank the view from morning till night. Only me and 4 others dove. It was quite remarkable!

The diving is truly great, but I'd qualify it by saying the snorkeling is actually better. If your choice is between diving and snorkeling, I'd choose the latter. I've never seen a place this great for snorkeling!

I'm excited for you, but the trip is SUPER LONG! You think you're close when you're in Singapore, but you're not. You're still a long ways off.

So are you land based or live aboard?

Best,
Scott

[Speckled Grouper]

Hi Speckled Grouper!

It was my first time on a live aboard. It was a great experience as it also offered surfing, kayaking, jet skiing, sail boarding, boogie boarding, .... hmmm, did I leave something out? The majority of the folks actually didn't dive --- they literally just drank the view from morning till night. Only me and 4 others dove. It was quite remarkable!

The diving is truly great, but I'd qualify it by saying the snorkeling is actually better. If your choice is between diving and snorkeling, I'd choose the latter. I've never seen a place this great for snorkeling!

I'm excited for you, but the trip is SUPER LONG! You think you're close when you're in Singapore, but you're not. You're still a long ways off.

So are you land based or live aboard?

Best,
Scott

Hi Scott,

It wasn't the Damai, was it?

Does sound like pure luxury...definitely not your typical Live Aboard....Unfortunately we only had 7 days to play with and most Live Aboards in Raja go for 10 to 14 days. So we decided on the Raja Ampat Dive Lodge for a week.

We did a Live Aboard to the Great Barrier Reef 2 years ago, it was awesome....But 10 days...not sure if I could stand that...I think 7 days would be max.

That land picture you posted is Wayag....far away from all the land based resorts, but RADL says if we get 8 people together for a small surcharge, they will go there....

Check my pics from PNG....Not sure if it can get any better....Let you know in about 10 month :)

[scotter]

Hi --

Yes, it was Wayag. I also went to a few other islands further out (atolls) from Sorong. It was stunning beauty. On our way back we stopped by Waigeo Island and explored inland. The bird song is unbelievable! I actually saw hornbills and a red bird of paradise.

To get to the top of Wayag to take this picture is an experience in HELL! The island is uplifted coral reef and it is sharp to the touch. The climb is quite steep - you grab on to vines to help pull you up and it is horribly hot. By the time I got back to the boat I had heat stroke. I'll never do that climb again!

The live aboard was the Indies Trader IV. It's been renamed since. It is a luxury yacht --- I too was only there for 7 days (as I visited Hong Kong and Singapore for the other week).

I'll take a look at your pictures of PNG this weekend (off to bed right now). I can't wait to see them!

Cheers,
Scott