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Dive Safari Asia: Trans Indonesian Tour Report
Time flies; is it really a month since I returned from a fantastic small group trip to North Sulawesi and Raja Ampat? Our group began their adventure with a group transfer from the airport to the friendly family owned Tasik Ria Resort and Spa, situated north of Manado located in Tanawangko Bay on the north west coast of North Sulawesi. The resort boasts a fantastic pool and spa as well as the beach front, a jetty bar and a pool bar. The food is served buffet style with a great variety with many delicious Indonesian dishes, however for those guests that did not want to take the heat there were plenty of other options. The en-suite rooms are all very comfortable with full air conditioning with coffee/tea making facilities.
The next five days saw us diving a mixture of wall drop-offs and reef slopes around Bunaken, Manado Tua and Siladen Islands, three of the five islands in Bunaken National Marine Park. The tides made the drifts vary from non-existent to very gentle to exhilarating. Safety stops were a joy and everyone spent time marvelling at the colourful reef tops. Bannerfish, Napoleon Wrasse, Green Turtles, Dart and Sailfin Gobies, Pyramid Butterflyfish, Cleaner Shrimps, a nice variety of Nudibranchs and Flatworms to name a few. Gorgonian Sea Fans, Barrel and other big sponges decorated the walls competing with a huge range of colorful reef fish. Small Whitetip Reef Sharks were spotted sleeping in crevices. Nudibranchs, Pygmy Seahorse and various crabs and shrimps could be found. We also dived the North West coast near the resort where the diving was more relaxed but full of interesting critters. We dived the Molas shipwreck and spent one day diving the world famous Lembeh Straits. Night dives on the house reef were available and there was plenty to see. Flamboyant cuttlefish, Painted, Warty and Hairy Frogfish, Mandarin Fish, Octopi, various scorpionfish, Robust and Ghost Pipefish. All this in water of 27 to 30oC. The list just kept getting bigger and bigger; I was kept busy identifying the many various fish and creatures in the evenings! No wonder the sites of Bunaken Marine Park are ranked among the top in the world for marine diversity.
Gill McDonald, the resident photo pro, gave us a fantastic illustrated lecture and quite a few of the group took the opportunity to do the 1 hour, 3 hour, or full day session on underwater photography with her. One the last 2 days she came on the boat with us and those that wished to joined her for photo practical sessions.
When people weren’t diving they could be found relaxing around the pool or enjoying a spa treatment or just chilling in the bar. A couple of our group were non-divers and they had a great time either joining us on the boat and snorkeling, kayaking, going on their own bespoke tour to see the tarsiers and black macaques, or exploring the local villages and area.
Then it was time to get the diving kit washed and dried and a group transfer back to the airport to fly to the next destination, West Papua in the far east of Indonesia, centered on the island of New Guinea and the reefs of Raja Ampat.
A plane and a speedboat trip saw us arrive at The Raja Ampat Dive Lodge, Yenpapir Beach, Mansuar Island. The resort is fronted by a white sand beach with the Papuan rainforest as a backdrop. We stayed in the en-suite individual air-conditioned bungalows located on the beach front, an ideal place to relax on the veranda and look out to sea. (not that we had much time for relaxing, with many of the group opting for 4 dives a day!). Once again the food was served buffet style with more of an emphasis on Indonesian food, vegetables, fish and prawns.
As our website at Dive Safari Asia states there are few locations on Earth which parallel Raja Ampat for sheer diversity of marine life. This is reef diving perfection combined with awe inspiring congregations of fish life and truly stunning topside vistas. We were not disappointed (even though on this occasion the mantas failed to show). It more than made up for it with schools of Jacks, Sweetlips, Barracuda and Batfish, as well as grey and white-tipped and black-tipped reef sharks, fantastic reefs, sea snakes, crabs, shrimps, and cleaning stations located on the tips of reefs filled with a large variety of fish. We also managed to spot smaller stuff such as pygmy seahorses and skeleton shrimp. Once again the reef tops were stunning; passing schools of bumphead parrot fish appearing, the odd reef shark buzzing in, and Tasselled Woebegone Sharks resting under ledges and in table corals. Then there were some fantastic jetty dives with giant clams and a variety of nudibranchs and other critters. Once again night dives on the house reef were available with nearly everyone doing at least one night dive.
All too soon we had completed our 18 dives and it was time to get the dive kit washed and dried for the return journey. The following day saw us all getting up early in the morning; not to catch the plane, but to go to the nearby island to see if we could spot the Red Birds of Paradise. We were lucky – we saw 2 males performing their dance in the tree canopy, and when they were not there, a Cus Cus – a type of marsupial – was spotted perched on a branch, looking at us looking at him or her! We travelled back to the lodge for breakfast and spent a lazy final day “off-gassing” by snorkeling, swimming, kayaking, walking or just chilling by the beach.
The following morning we left Mansuar Island by speedboat and flew from Sorong Airport back to Manado. Our trip wasn’t over yet! A picturesque transfer through the local villages and town of Tomohon took us to the Highland Resort located in the highlands of North Sulawesi. The resort once again consisting of a small number of individual en-suite bungalows, this time with the highland jungle as a backdrop.
It was a lovely afternoon when we arrived, so after a quick visit to the resort to drop off our bags, a group of us departed for a visit to Lake Lokon, a Sulphuric lake at the foot of Lokon-Empung volcano. We were just in time to see the variety of green and yellow hues of the lake and the steaming fumaroles before the sun went down and the whole lake changed, looking very ethereal bathed in a glow which we later found out was from the geo-thermal plants located in the forest behind the lake! A great end to the day as we munched on hot bananas covered in chocolate sauce and drank coffee. Then it was back to the resort for a Chinese Banquet style meal before bed.
The next morning saw a group of us up very bright and early to visit the Mahawu Volcano and take a walk around the rim. Once again the weather was kind and we were able to see the active Empung Volcano and Mount Kalbat as well as the forest and lands stretching down to Manado City from the volcano rim. All too soon time was up and it was back to the resort for breakfast and a quick shower before travelling back to Sam Ratulangi International Airport in Manado and the start of our journey home… and a well-deserved rest.
Underwater photos by Maggie Russell
Topside photos by Jeremy Smith: www.jeremysmithphotography.co.uk
Maggie is a Tour Leader for UK-based tour operator Dive Safari Asia. to find out more, visit www.divesafariasia.com.
Jake Davies boards Ghazala Explorer for an unforgettable Red Sea diving experience…
The second day’s diving was a day full of wreck diving at Abu Nuhas, which included the Chrisoula K, Carnatic, and Ghiannis D. The first dive of the day was onto the Chrisoula K, also known as the wreck of tiles. The 98m vessel remains largely intact where she was loaded with tiles which can be seen throughout the hold. The stern sits at 26m and the bow just below the surface. One of the highlights of the wreck is heading inside and seeing the workroom where the machinery used for cutting the tiles are perfectly intact. The bow provided some relaxing scenery as the bright sunlight highlighted the colours of the soft coral reef and the many reef fish.
Following breakfast, we then headed to the next wreck, which was the Carnatic. The Carnatic is an 89.9m sail steamer vessel that was built in Britain back in 1862. She ran aground on the reef back in 1869 and remains at 27m. At the time, she was carrying a range of items, including 40,000 sterling in gold. An impressive wreck where much of the superstructure remains, and the two large masts lay on the seafloor. The wooden ribs of the hull provide structures for lots of soft corals, and into the stern section, the light beams through, bouncing off the large shoals of glass fish that can be found using the structure as shelter from the larger predators that are found outside of the wreck.
The final wreck at Abu Nuhas was the Ghiannis D, originally called ‘Shoyo Maru,’ which was 99.5m long and built in Japan back in 1969 before becoming a Greek-registered cargo ship in 1980. The ship then ran aground on the reef on April 19th, 1983, and now sits at the bottom at a depth of 27m. Heading down the line, the stern of the ship remains in good condition compared to the rest of the hull. The highlight of the wreck, though, is heading into the stern section and down the flights of stairs to enter the engine room, which remains in good condition and is definitely worth exploring. After exploring the interior section of the ship, we then headed over to see the rest of the superstructure, where it’s particularly interesting to see the large table corals that have grown at the bow relatively quickly considering the date the ship sank. After surfacing and enjoying some afternoon snacks, we made sure everything was strapped down and secured as we would be heading north and crossing the Gulf of Suez, where the winds were still creating plenty of chop.
The next morning, it was a short hop to Ras Mohammed Nature Reserve for the next couple of days of diving. The 6am wake-up call came along with the briefing for the first site we would be diving, which was Shark & Yolanda. The low current conditions allowed us to start the dive at Anemone City, where we would drift along the steep, coral-filled wall. These dives involved drifts, as mooring in Ras Mohammed wasn’t allowed to protect the reefs. As a dive site, Shark & Yolanda is well-known and historically had a lot of sharks, but unfortunately not so many in recent years, especially not so early in the season. However, there was always a chance when looking out into the blue.
The gentle drift took us along the steep walls of the site, with plenty of anemone fish to be seen and a huge variety of corals. It wasn’t long into the dive before we were accompanied by a hawksbill turtle, who drifted with us between the two atolls before parting ways. Between the two reefs, the shallow patch with parts of coral heads surrounded by sand provided the chance to see a few blue-spotted stingrays that were mainly resting underneath the corals and are always a pleasure to see. With this being the morning dive, the early sunlight lit up the walls, providing tranquil moments. Looking out into the blue, there was very little to be seen, but a small shoal of batfish shimmering underneath the sunlight was a moment to capture as we watched them swim by as they watched us.
Towards the end of the dive, we stopped at the wreck of the Jolanda where the seafloor was scattered with toilets from the containers it was carrying. This provided a unique site to make a safety stop, which was also accompanied by a large barracuda slowly swimming by, along with a hawksbill turtle calmly swimming over the reef as the sun rays danced in the distance.
For the next dive, we headed north to the Strait of Tiran to explore the reefs situated between Tiran Island and Sharm El Sheik, which were named after the British divers who had found them. We started on Jackson before heading to Gordons Reef, where we also did the night dive. All the atolls at these sites provided stunning, bustling coral reefs close to the surface and steep walls to swim along, which always provided the opportunity to keep an eye out for some of the larger species that can be seen in the blue. Midwater around Jackson Reef was filled with red-toothed triggerfish and shoals of banner fish, which at times were so dense that you couldn’t see into the blue. Moments went by peacefully as we enjoyed the slow drift above the reef, watching these shoals swim around under the mid-afternoon sun.
The night dive at Gordon’s Reef was mainly among the stacks of corals surrounded by sand, which was great to explore under the darkness. After some time circling the corals, we came across what we were really hoping to find, and that was an octopus hunting on the reef. We spent the majority of the dive just watching it crawl among the reef, blending into its changing surroundings through changes in colour and skin texture. It’s always so fascinating and captivating to watch these incredibly intelligent animals, in awe of their ability to carry out these physical changes to perfectly blend into the reef. Before we knew it, it was time to head back to the boat to enjoy a well-deserved tasty dinner prepared by the talented chefs onboard.
Check in for the 3rd and final part of this series from Jake tomorrow!
To find out more about the Northern Red Sea reef and wrecks itineraries aboard Ghazala Explorer, or to book, contact Scuba Travel now:
Email: dive@scubatravel.com
Tel: +44 (0)1483 411590
Photos: Jake Davies / Avalon.Red
The Shark Trust is excited to announce that, for two more days only, all donations, large or small, will be doubled in the Big Give Green Match Fund!
Donate to Basking in Nature: Sighting Giants
The Shark Trust is hoping to raise £10k which will be doubled to £20k. This will go towards Basking in Nature: Sighting Giants. And they need YOUR help to reach they’re goal.
The Shark Trust’s citizen science project is to monitor and assess basking sharks through sightings; encouraging data collection, community engagement, and promoting nature accessibility. This initiative aims to enhance health and wellbeing by fostering a deeper connection with British Sharks.
Campaign Aims
- Increase citizen science reporting of Basking Sharks and other shark sightings to help inform shark and ray conservation.
- Provide educational talks about the diverse range of sharks and rays in British waters and accessible identification guides!
- Create engaging and fun information panels on how to ID the amazing sharks and rays we have on our doorstep! These can be used on coastal paths around the Southwest. With activities and information on how you can make a difference for sharks and rays!
- Promote mental wellbeing through increasing time in nature and discovering the wonders beneath the waves!
Donate, and double your impact. Click Here
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