Cenderawasih Bay

Posted on July 5, 2024July 6, 2024 by Annabel Thomas

Cenderawasih Bay, West Papua

Located in the Bird’s Head peninsula, Cenderawasih Bay is the location for the largest (1.5 million hectares) National Marine Park in Southeast Asia. Acclaimed as the ‘newest’ dive destination in the region, the bay is more than 300kms wide, and has a 700kms coastline with several rivers emptying into it.

Cenderawasih Bay includes 18 pristine paradise-like islands and combines a coral reef ecosystem with mangrove and terrestrial tropical forests. Here you can find endemic flora and fauna, including the Birds of Paradise.

Diving in Cenderawasih Bay

Diving here is done by liveaboard, usually on trips of 10 days and longer. The resident whalesharks are the primary reason people visit this remote area. They are resident simply because they have a continual supply of sardines that fall from the nets of the floating fishermen’s platforms. These massive, slow-moving fish simply ignore any divers and snorkellers; it really is an amazing and unique experience!

The Cenderawasih region is a remarkable dive destination for large and small animals, beautiful reefs bursting with life, and a dozen WWII shipwreck sites across the bay. One of the most famous wrecks is the Shinwa Maru which lies at 16-34m, a large cargo vessel with two huge holes from bomb damage on its starboard side. Other famous dive sites in this region are Kwatisore Bay, well known for the whalesharks and Sungei Omiand, a muck site with a black volcanic sand seabed.

Cenderawasih Bay is a perfect remote destination for a sailing holiday and one of the best scuba diving destinations in Indonesia.

Cenderawasih Bay Diving Conditions

Diving here is basically good year round however the liveaboard ‘season’ is normally May to October. Heavier rain can be expected July/August and November/December. Surface conditions are usually calm with currents ranging from moderate to strong depending on the dive site. The visibility is 10-30m with the temperature relatively constant at 27°-30°C.

How to reach Cenderawasih Bay

Most liveaboards use the 3 small towns of Manokwari, Biak and Nabire as their embarkation and disembarkation ports. There are daily domestic flights from Jakarta to Manokwari, Biak or Nabire (with stopovers in Makassar/Surabaya and Sorong). Carriers servicing the area are Garuda Indonesia, and Sriwijaya Air. Another option is to fly from Manado to Sorong and take a connecting flight to Manokwari.

For more information on Cenderawasih Bay diving, dive resorts, transfers, and to start your planning, please contact AMD-B’s ‘Beyond Bali’ Dive Travel Consultants today. As always, they will be more than happy to offer recommendations and make arrangements to suit your preferences. Contact us on Tours@AquaMarineDiving.com today!

Alor

Posted on June 14, 2024June 14, 2024 by Annabel Thomas

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The Alor Archipelago

The Alor Archipelago is located to the east of Flores and north of Timor-Leste in the Lesser Sunda Islands. The archipelago holds a wide variety of splendours from fascinating underwater wonders up to the unique culture of the highland people.

Alor is the largest island and lies at the eastern end of the archipelago. It is inhabited by a number of Flores sub-ethnic groups who still preserve their traditional ways of life.

Diving Alor

Alor offers pristine coral reefs. The Pantar Strait is one of the most well-preserved coral reef systems in Indonesia. The total ban on dynamite and cyanide fishing means the whole area has beautiful, colourful and dense coral reefs. Some of the dive sites are renowned for schools of pelagics such as Manta and Eagle rays, sharks, Dog-tooth tunas (Gymnosorda unicolor), and Napoleon wrasses. Occasionally you can spot schools of dolphins and Pilot whales.

The continual flow of ocean currents brings nutrients to invertebrates and small fishes, which in turn are eaten by medium-sized fishes, and so on up the foodchain.

In addition to pristine corals, Alor is also one of Indonesia’s top muck-diving destinations. Sediment on the seabed mixed with volcanic black sand and coral rubble is a perfect camouflage environment for unusual critters.

It really is a treasure hunt for macro photographers!

Alor’s Diving Seasons

Diving is good year-round with average viz of 25-30m however the best conditions are March to December. From May to September is the southeast monsoon (more windy than rainy) when viz may decrease to 15m. However this is when the plankton bloom happens resulting in increased feeding activity. Mola-Mola are usually spotted in September.

How to Reach Alor

The Alor Archipelago is somewhat remote however, Alor’s diving is often integrated into some Liveaboard schedules when crossing from Komodo to Raja Ampat.

And, of course, dive resorts offer attractive Diving & Accommodation packages: There are domestic flights from Jakarta, Surabaya and Bali to Kupang, and from there to Alor.

For more info on Alor diving, and to start your planning, please make sure your AMD-B Travel Consultant is aware of your needs. As always, they will be more than happy to offer recommendations and make arrangements to suit your preferences. Contact us on Tours@AquaMarineDiving.com today!

Wakatobi

Posted on May 17, 2024May 17, 2024 by Annabel Thomas

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The Wakatobi Island Group

The Indonesian archipelago has many of the world’s greatest dive locations, one of which is ‘Wakatobi’ located in the centre of the Coral Triangle.

Rising from the depths of the Banda Sea, south east of mainland Sulawesi, the name ‘WaKaToBi’ comes from the names of four islands: Wangi-wangi, Kaledupa, Tomia, Binongko.

The Wakatobi islands have been a marine conservation area since 1996 and were declared a National Park in 2002. They are recognized as having one of the highest numbers of coral reef fish species in the world. Wakatobi also has the largest barrier reef in Indonesia, second only to The Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

Being a National Marine Park, fishing is strictly limited. These superb reefs are supported and protected by the local fishing communities. In exchange for adopting more sustainable practices, including no-fishing zones, the fishermen receive a share of the income generated by Wakatobi Dive Tourism.

Diving with Wakatobi Dive Resort

Wakatobi Dive Resort and their liveaboard, Pelagian, offer more than 50 spectacular dive sites. These range from The House Reef where the warm water and shallow depth allow for long dives (although there can sometimes be a current) to gorgeous bays and lagoons, as well as dramatic walls and drop-offs abounding with seafans and gigantic sponges. Famed for night-diving due to the brilliantly coloured corals and resident marinelife, the reef edges attract great numbers of fish. The coral gardens bristle with large bommies and tubstrea corals. Large table corals shelter stingrays as well as invertebrates and crustaceans.

Wakatobi is ideal for divers who love macro underwater photography. Make sure you check out the muck diving in Pasarwajo 🙂 There aren’t many big fishes here although you will see Black-tip reef sharks at several dive sites.

The temperature range in Wakatobi is 26-29°C.
Rainy season is October to April.
Visibility remains consistent at approx 30m year-round.

All charter flights to/from Wakatobi Dive Resort & Liveaboard are Bali-Wakatobi-Bali return, and are currently on a Monday and Friday schedule.

If the above whets your appetite and, like so many of our other ‘Bali & Beyond’ guests, you can’t wait to start planning – please contact your friendly AMD-B Dive Travel Consultant on Tours@AquaMarineDiving.com today to start YOUR planning!