*please check our "Agenda" for your date.
Calm and mostly short motoring between destinations. One crossing from Misool area to the Bird’s Head Peninsula.
This is a truly wonderful place but may not be the cruise destination for every diver, more for the adventure diver. The visibility can be very low, as low as 5-10m, the water around the Bird’s Head Peninsula does not always have crystal clear water, though it might not happen on every trip, this area changes and every trip can be very different. Mild currents. The currents can be varied and need to be checked before entering the water. Especially around Triton Bay.
The WAOW staff will pick you up at Sorong or Kaïmana airport to assist and accompany you on board SMY WAOW, only a short drive of around 15-20mins away. Our experienced staff will look after your luggage and transfer it to your cabin onboard SMY WAOW while you enjoy our "refreshing welcome drink". As soon as the last guests are onboard, you will be introduced to our team and have plenty of time to settle in, get everything ready and enjoy life onboard with us.
Early breakfast befor disembarkation & transfer to the airport or hotel between 06.00am and 11.00am at the latest
Papua Barat, located at the western tip of New Guinea, is one of the few hotspots of underwater biodiversity on earth. In the whole area scientists have counted more than 1800 different species of animals, more than anywhere else in the world
From Raja Ampat, The 4 Kings, all the way down to the bay of Triton, “Heaven on Earth”, the topography changes dramatically from canyons and lagoons speckled with white sand beaches to a mixture of deep basins and shallow waters where spectacular waterfalls flow down from the hilly rainforest straight into the sea. This cruise however will venture deep into the untouched nature of the southern limits of Raja Ampat, into the largely unexplored waters of the Triton Regency. From the stark wave-pounded slopes that drop away beneath the karst cliffs of Triton bay to the nutrient-rich bays around Larry’s heaven, to the plankton-rich upwelling areas of Misool and the Dampier Strait – are home to unique assemblages of species that, when taken together, add to produce a most impressive cruise. This itinerary is all about diversity - not only diversity of species, but also of dive sites. There are some areas where soft corals and sea fans dominate, others with amazing diverse hard corals, seagrass beds, mangroves, shallow reefs, drop offs, caves, white sands…Then there are the fish, lots of them, in more shapes and sizes than anywhere else in the world, from pygmy seahorses to top predators. In many places brightly coloured soft corals can be found close to the surface which, illuminated by natural sunlight, make these dive sites spectacularly colourful. There is also a price to pay for the great biodiversity in Triton Bay… Visibility is generally not the greatest, especially in comparison to the rest of Indonesia, due to the incredibly nutrient-rich water, but this is easy to overcome due to the sheer amount of life found in “Heaven on Earth”.
Welcome to the majestic land of magnificent Manta rays. Here is the most reliable site to observe manta ray‘s behaviour, especially when you approach them right! If you keep your position, they will make loop after loop or swoop by again and again often somersaulting through the water while being cleaned. Besides cleaning, the manta rays also come to feed on current borne plankton, so be prepared for strong currents and reduced visibility.
Other dive sites like Airborek Jetty, Sardine Reef, Cape Kri and Mioskon are some of the very finest wide-angle photo opportunities. Beautiful hard coral bommies are hosts to dazzling soft corals and rainbow-colored crinoids with a foreground of oriental sweet lips, snappers, a swirl of glassfish and anthias, and a background of schooling surgeonfish, batfish, barracuda, jacks and the occasional tuna. When the visibility is right, this can be an underwater photographer's heaven.
A labyrinth of thousands of small mushroom like islands form tiny dots of lagoons with sparking white sand surrounded by extensive formations that make the Misool area one of the most wonderful places on earth. Not only will the land scenery take your breath away but the underwater scenery is even better and holds some of the richest species in the world! Massive seamounts, rocky outcrops, lime stone arches with windows that are overgrown by fountains of life; clouds of glassfish dancing away from tuna and golden jacks, a ground for mobula rays drifting by with the sweeping of currents. It’s really hard to take it all in, with so much action happening at once.
Not to be missed, “Boo Rock”, the gully called “The Windows”, where two rocks connected by magnificent soft corals and sizzling with fish. The surface crashes through the top of these window arches creating a constant pounding noise, which can be felt through your whole body. The fish life is outstanding with jacks and dogtooth tuna feeding in the surge and schooling bannerfish sitting behind sea fans catching tiny bits of plankton floating in the current. Hardly a spot on the reef is left uncovered by sea fans, soft coral and thick schools of baitfish.
One of the most radiant reefs in all of The 4 Kings, each dive is never an ordinary dive, it’s always special and there’s always a new scene to be found. The reef is covered in short growth pastel soft corals that form larger purple and pink soft coral, red and white sea fans and enormous barrel sponges jutting out from the steep slopes and walls. Excellent fish life: Fusiliers, surgeonfish, small schools of barracuda and profuse schools of anthias all milling about in the rising and falling tides.
Midway between Fak Fak and Triton Bay’s calm waters, sheltered by a hard coral-dominated reef, where Dr. Gerry Allan broke his record for the most species counted on a single site, lays Tanjung Papisoi, with 330 species – also the name of the dive site. The reef is nothing spectacular as such but on the other hand, the many different kinds of fish species are.
Triton Bay, a place where scientists have recorded a total of eight different mantis shrimp species, 24 new fish species, and 20 species of coral that are new. Many are believed to be endemic to the region, meaning that they are found nowhere else on Earth. Scientists also first spotted the new species of two kinds of epaulette shark (the walking shark) here – small, slender-bodied bottom-dwellers that use their pectoral fins to "walk" across the seafloor, mostly at nighttime. This area is known for its underwater beauty and extensive biodiversity.
Larry’s heaven is without a doubt one of the most beautiful places ever and has been given its name by the late Larry Smith. As soon as you plunge into the water, the colors and the sheer diversity you encounter will blow your mind away! Fields of soft coral, a thick forest of black coral trees, sea fans and hard coral all dominant the reef and there is hardly a bare spot on these boulders. It is very special when the water rushes through this channel and it springs to life. Fish, fish and fish are just everywhere, all kinds, and all sizes, a true “Heaven on Earth”.
An island outside the mouth of Triton Bay contains a mixture of deep basins and shallower waters. Every inch is occupied by some type of invertebrate and there’s an abundance of tunicates and encrusting sponges with soft and hard coral. This is a Triton bay dive site with huge groupers, jacks, mackerels and tasseled wobbegongs in abundance. But there’s not only big fish that light up the reef, small critters are found on every corner too.
Sit back and relax in our comfortable tenders while we take you cruising into the labyrinths of a thousand lagoons, islands and caves through the magic surrounds of Misool Island. Or enjoy a ride with one of our canoes or SUP's among the many islands.
A Water proof bag is ideal here to transport your camera and other electronic devices
In the Triton Bay area the landscape is quite unique, with channels, inlets and bays, with beautiful sandy beaches around the fresh water bay and channels that lead to a lush and rich green tropical forest behind.
River cruise or Jungle walk : An easy, relaxing day when adventurers can take a tender ride up the river, or go for a hike and explore the nature above the water in the rich, tropical rain forest. Don't forget to pack light hiking shoes in your luggage !
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