Indonesia - Irian Jaya, Liveaboard Trip
19th October – 4th November 2007
Back to Indonesia again for some of the best diving in the world! This time to Irian Jaya This area is the place to be for discovering new species, the scientific community thinks this might be were coral reefs first evolved due to there being more species here than anywhere else. Not only have new and unusual marine species been discovered but as the head-hunters have had to find more p.c. employment the land has become easier to explore and there have been a number of well publicised terrestrial species discoveries.
After our very successful 2006 Ambon trip aboard Voyager II we decided to use it again. The Voyager, originally built to survive the rigors of the North Sea, is 150ft long and has been converted to a very high standard for comfortable, long-range diving safaris. The Voyager is a fully equipped luxury liveaboard with individually air-conditioned cabins and staterooms, spacious saloons, e-mail access, a reading library and sundecks. The cabins are cleaned twice a day; there is a turn down service at night.
Each cabin has its own air conditioning and an en-suite ‘bathroom’ with plenty of hot and cold water. All the cabins have sea views and plenty of natural light. The boat has 4 decks, an air conditioned 600sqft saloon, and 120sqft library with a big selection of fish and wildlife books. There is a dining and barbeque area on the bridge deck. There is an enormous, 1230sqft, dive deck with individual camera and tank stations with lockers. There is lots for the camera guys, a computer and camera room with network access, camera charging stations, slide and digital projectors, digital editing suites and E6 slide processing. There is plenty of entertainment for those of you without cameras to polish between dives; video, dvd and cd players and satellite phones, the library and e-mail access.
Diving is from tenders (3), and the three compressors provide the air, there is also a nitrox system and an airbank for fast fills. There are on deck shower and toilet facilities in order to avoid that post dive dash to your cabin.
On board services include laundry and pressing, massage and spa service, first class food and beverages.
A typical day starts in the morning with a wake up call and pre-dive snack of fresh croissants, fruit, cereal tea and coffee. The steward will take your cooked breakfast order to prepare for your return after the first dive. We gear up for the first dive at about 7:30.The entire day is dedicated to scuba diving, but there are often chances to go ashore and visit the islands and villages. There is a second dive is before lunch (12:30 ish) which is a mixture of cold cuts and warm local dishes.
The 3rd dive is at 2:30 followed by afternoon tea. Depending on travelling requirements and energy levels there is a chance for a fourth dive and/or a night dive with dinner at 8pm
The diving in this whole area is fantastic. The coral is largely unspoilt and grows in a profusion hard to find any where else. There are stunning walls covered in soft corals of various colours, large sponges, pelagics, the chance of seeing Mantas and wobegongs and of course all the little stuff too. Lots of nudibranchs, frogfish (smooth and hairy), seahorses (normal and pigmy), ghost pipefish, ambon scorpion fish, shrimps, crabs, and of course those undiscovered species waiting to be named by you! The scenery and wildlife above land is also spectacular. There are numerous islands, some big, others small, all with turquoise waters gently lapping on white coral sand beaches like white silk ribbons wrapped around the giant green parcels of verdant jungle, awash with the noise of a thousand exotic birds all crying out their welcomes ……sorry, getting carried away! It’s pretty and there is birds and stuff.
The plan is to fly with Singapore Air from London to Singapore, departing at 12:00 hours. From Singapore we fly the next Morning on a Silk air flight to Manado, Sulawesi. We need to spend two nights in Sulawesi before taking a direct flight on the 22nd with Lion Air from Manado to Sorong. Irian Jaya where we board the boat
The proposed boat itinerary, subject to weather etc:
For anybody not desperate to rush home for work it makes sense to take extra days on the way home. We have also arranged a couple of ‘add on’ options. The first of these is a tour of Torajaland, which is in Central Sulawesi and would take place before the boat trip. This area is famous for the elaborate funerals, rock tombs and dead babies entombed in trees as well as beautiful scenery and amazing rice barns. The extra cost would be around £380 depending on flights and other options. Another option is to stay at the Kungungan Bay Resort, on the Lembeh Straits, in North Sulawesi. This area is famous for the ‘muck diving’ a term that does the profusion of amazing creatures living on the volcanic sand seabed no justice at all. This is the home of myriads of nudibrancs, sea horses, hairy frogfish, mimic, long armed, and blueringed octopuses to name but a few.
The cost of the trip, with flights, transfers, full board and diving on the boat, 3 nights in hotels in Sulawesi on a sharing basis is £3529. Not included are airport taxes and visas and potentially a fuel surcharge on flights. You will also need extra money for tips, the meals and snack while transferring and massages etc on the boat. You should have travel insurance to cover diving. I will double check the Malaria and vaccination situation nearer the time but expect to need the lot!
A deposits of £700 is needed urgently to secure a place on the boat as there is a lot of demand from others for this trip and the boat can’t be expected to hold places for our group much longer.
Please let me know if you would like extra days and if so where?
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.