If you have read any of my destination posts, you know that Indonesia is one of my favorite destinations – spectacular diving! This trip to the northern Raja Ampat and West Papua area was organized and led by Backscatter and Berkley White (https://www.backscatter.com) and Underexposures (https://underexposures.com/about-underexposures/). We dove from Sorong to Kaimana on one of the best liveaboards ever: the Damai II (http://www.dive-damai.com/damai-ii/) We boarded the Damai II in Sorong after a domestic flight out of Jakarta. The meals and amenities, cabins, and dive operations were exceptional. Nothing was left to chance. We had a crew of 18 with 14 of us guest divers. The able skiff drivers took us in small groups to each dive site with our expert dive guides.
Under the direction of the fabulous Damai crew and dive guides, we cruised off to our first dive sites in Mansuar and the Dampier Strait where we dove the Sawandarek Jetty and Cape Kri. Along the way south we spent the next 12 days in Yangeflfo, Yellit, Boo Island, Wayilbatan, Pulau Pisang, and Aiduma North.
While there were plenty of opportunities for maco photography, this trip was definitely a wide-angle photographer’s dream – especially in the Aiduma South areas at Christmas Rock. Incredible fish life was a diver’s paradise: there were massive schools of barracudas, sweepers, spadefish, fusiliers, Moorish idols, and jacks THE highlight of this trip was in Namatote where we got up close and personal with whale sharks at the Whale Shark Bagans. Seeing these giants was epic.
