Indonesia's the Four Kings

RajaText and photos by Steve Jones Ampat The Four Kings 26 X-RAY MAG : 55 : 2013 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS WRECKS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY TECH EDUCATION PROFILES PHOTO & VIDEO PORTFOLIO travel Raja Ampat

Close encounter with a manta at Blue Magic, one of many premier dive spots in the Dampier Strait

Swirling unicorn fish surround the current I’m distracted by a huge the reef and am greeted by the largest me and seem to have accept- school of jacks tempting me to aban- manta ray I have ever seen. Welcome don my plan. I resist, reminding myself to Blue Magic, a dive site that typifies ed me as one of their own. I that something greater may await. I the wonders to be found in Dampier can no longer see the surface pass a wobbegong posing perfectly Straight, one of the hotspots in Raja nor anything else, save for a under an overhang filled with colorful Ampat. wall of fish. Only four minutes soft corals. I rudely ignore it. At last, I reach the end of the reef, Diversity! into the dive and it’s already alone, and stare into the blue while I Over the past ten years or so, Raja evident that this site is living up calm my breathing down. As the min- Ampat has often been described as to its reputation, literally boil- utes pass, doubt creeps into my mind having some of the best diving to be ing with fish. Moments like this as to whether I’ve made the right deci- found anywhere, but what makes this sion. Everyone is enjoying the busy reef area so special? From my perspective, remind me why I dive. behind me and I am missing it all! As I it can be summed up in one word: am about to give up, I glance a dark Diversity! It is prevalent here, not only in All too quickly the fish blanket parts shadow before me in the blue, growing the habitats to be found, which in turn Schooling jacks at Blue Magic in the Dampier Strait (above); Crinoids and soft coral at Four Kings, and the moment ends. Pressing on into larger every second. I swim out from support the myriad of species, but also Wayilbatan Island (top right). PREVIOUS PAGE: Four Kings dive site in the Misool area is typical of the stunning reefs to be found in the south of Raja Ampat

27 X-RAY MAG : 55 : 2013 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS WRECKS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY TECH EDUCATION PROFILES PHOTO & VIDEO PORTFOLIO Picture per- fect vista of Wayag in travel the north Raja Ampat what’s in a name The name Raja Ampat (Malay for Four Kings) is derived from the four largest islands that make up this archi- pelago: Salawati, Misool, Batanta and Waigeo. These accompany over 1,500 smaller islands and islets found on the northwestern tip of the province of West Papua, which itself forms part of Indonesia’s tenure of the west half of New Guinea, the second largest island in the world after Greenland. The east- ern half of the island forms the mainland of the separate country of Papua New Guinea. ■

Red sea whips in the Fam Islands, which lie to the west of the Dampier Strait (left); Pair of scorpionfish at Cape Kri, in the Dampier Strait (right)

in the type of diving that can be experi- By land or by sea? only a handful of other boats during enced. There are two ways to experience Raja your whole trip. Vessels also generally Those who enjoy stunning fish-packed Ampat. If you wish to concentrate on co-operate and avoid diving the same seascapes that explode with colour will a specific area with a more laid back site at the same time as another boat, so struggle to find a better location any- approach, then a resort will be a good your group will always have the reef to where on the planet. Thrill seekers can choice. However, if you want to sample yourselves. north and south to be sampled. These enjoy high octane drift dives in those the full variety of seascapes here, then areas offer very different diving, so if you same currents that bring in manta rays. a liveaboard is the only way to sample North or south? have the chance, make sure you visit Those that enjoy the smaller things in what this huge 50,000 sq km area has to Shorter liveaboard itineraries will general- both. Many cruise directors choose to life, the critters, will find themselves in offer. ly follow either a northern route taking in round off the trips with dives in the cur- the most biodiverse area of the world. Around 40 vessels currently oper- the reefs of the islands around Waigeo, rent washed, spectacular reefs of the Indeed, there are no less than 42 species ate here, yet given the size of the Raja or head south to Misool. Itineraries Dampier Strait. of mantis shrimp in the area! Ampat, you will generally encounter approaching two weeks will allow the Incidentally, current is an ever

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Pygmy seahorse on sea fans in Anjui Bay; Hawksbill turtle cruising the Farondi Islands, near Misool (lower right)

when there is a mild current, enough to concentrate all the Limestone islands of Wayag fish upstream, but not so strong that you are swept away from the The Global Epicenter “sweet spot”—the point where of Marine biodiversity the current splits around the reef Raja Ampat lies at the tip of a and where the most dense fish life densely forested peninsula that will be found. juts out from mainland West Papua. The region is known as The northern areas the Bird’s Head Seascape and Northern itineraries will often head runs from Triton Bay in the south, towards the spectacular lime- encompasses Raja Ampat stone lagoon of Wayag—without and rounds the northwestern doubt the most photographed tip of West Papua, deep into topside location in Raja Ampat. A Cenderawasih Bay. Located at 30-minute hike up the steep lime- the convergence of tectonic stone cliffs will allow a spectacu- plates, millions of years of geo- lar view of this stunning lagoon logical upheaval have carved and provide great photographic out diverse habitats—quiet sandy opportunities. bays, undersea mounts, drop- Wayag and the offs, mangroves, fast-flowing Stunning soft coral growth at surrounding islands channels, the list goes on, and Neptune Fan Sea, a channel full of are part of the Kawe these habitats, fuelled by nutri- sea fans in the south Raja Ampat Marine Protected ent-rich upwellings from deep Area (MPA) and the water in turn support the incred- present feature of the dives local village clans recover between harvests. These recover—all good indicators ible variety of marine species in the region and of course, that steward these traditional and effective steward- that conservation efforts in Raja to be found in this area. Over this is what makes the reefs reefs have adopt- ship techniques are ones that Ampat are able to turn words into 600 hard coral species and over so healthy. The common say- ed a traditional many western fisheries have been actions. 1,700 reef fish species have so far ing here is “no current, no life”. approach, known as unable or unwilling to adopt. One of the most stunning dives been documented in the Bird’s However, with good timing and “Sasi” where no-take Furthermore, on the nearby island in this northern region is Magic Head area, which is more than the right choice of site, you’ll zones are season- of Piai, a guarded turtle rookery Rock. Head to the north west side in any other region of this size on be able to see the reefs when ally rotated, allowing is helping the local populations and you will find a large archway Earth. This is the Global Epicentre they are at their best—that is marine life stocks to of green and hawksbill turtle to that leads into a hollowed out of Marine Biodiversity. ■ Pygmy cuttlefish in Anjui Bay—a haven for many critters

29 X-RAY MAG : 55 : 2013 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS WRECKS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY TECH EDUCATION PROFILES PHOTO & VIDEO PORTFOLIO Wire coral shrimp found on the slopes travel of Anjui Bay Raja Ampat COUNTER-CLOCKWISE Center of the coral triangle FROM RIGHT: Giant It was not until 2001 that the area’s manta ray at Blue importance was fully realized when Magic, Dampier Strait; Conservation International sent an Wreckage of a World expedition to the region following lob- War II P47 Thunderbolt bying by renowned ichthyologist Gerry at Wai Island; Wobbe- gong shelters under Allen. This area lies at the center of the an overhang at Blue “coral triangle”, the region noted for its Magic; Sweetlips found supremely high marine biodiversity that at a bommie in deep covers the intersection between the water at Cape Kri Indian and Pacific Oceans and spans the rest of Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Timor-Leste chamber. The floor here and the Solomon Islands. Leading sci- is filled with life and pro- entist Dr Mark Erdmann has described vides shelter from the this area as a “species factory” for the current, allowing you rest of the Coral Triangle. The majority to watch the masses of of fish species found throughout the fish that gather just out- Coral Triangle are present in the Bird’s side the archway. Head Seascape. ■ Eagle Rock is another dive that typifies the northern Raja Ampat experience. This site is good for spotting manta rays, dogtooth tuna and humphead parrotfish. Large boulders that Dendronephthya soft corals. As have broken off and rolled you make your way back up the down to deeper water are alight slope towards your safety stop, with a dazzling array of orange be sure to check under the many

overhangs, and you may be lucky four Raja Ampat to find a wobbegong. islands. The steep vegetation covered Tranquil waters walls provide good A common overnight anchorage shelter. However, this area is also The nutrient-rich waters in the Here, you’ll see barchin scorpi- in the north is in the sheltered Aljui an excellent location for critter bay host one of the region’s larg- onfish, cockatoo waspfish and Bay which lies on the western side spotting, so liveaboards will often est pearl farms, the pier and fuel Berry’s bobtail squid amongst a of Waigeo, the largest of the main spend a day here. dock making for great night dives. myriad of other species.

30 X-RAY MAG : 55 : 2013 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS WRECKS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY TECH EDUCATION PROFILES PHOTO & VIDEO PORTFOLIO Mayhem is a stunning dive in west Waigeo; Chromodoris annae nudibranch grazing in travel Anjui Bay (below) Raja Ampat this area, after diver David have been put under huge strain area. Shem-Tov luckily survived an by human expansion into their Actually the majority of great attack by a saltwater croco- territories, and they are quite diving around Misool is to be dile in 2009. rightly now protected in some found in the reefs off the south- Even sightings of “salties” regions. Nobody with a true love east of the island. Here, you will are rare since their numbers of the natural world would want find sites such as Boo’s famous a predator exterminated to make Window Wall, an image of which it safer for visitors, so the livea- adorns the cover of Burt Jones boards have taken the pragmatic and Maurine Shimlock’s, Diving approach of now avoiding this Raja Ampat, which was the

White arrow is another splendid before me. Fusiliers critter dive where the undersea swarmed over the terrain slopes steeply to 30 metres reef, intermingling and beyond. Amongst the soft with unicornfish, sur- corals and sea fans you’ll find geonfish, snappers yellow examples of the pygmy and batfish whilst seahorse (H.bargibanti), ornate Spanish mackerels, ghostpipefish and the unusual huge trevallies and solar-powered nudibranch, which tunas glided through contains algae in its skin that the schools waiting helps feed the host nudi through for opportunities to photosynthesis. feed. From Gam, it is The journey to the south an overnight run The journey to the south and down south. Well- Misool involves covering a fair known images from distance, but on the way down this region, of soft there are some incredible dive corals with a back- sites around Gam island, which drop of mangrove, lies to the south- west of Waigeo. were taken in the On the aptly named “Mayhem” Nampale blue water I encountered some of the most mangroves off the dense and diverse fish schooling I north west of Misool. have ever seen on a single dive; However, most livea- I struggled to count the species boards now avoid Sweeper at Blue Magic, Dampier Strait; Crinoid and soft coral growth in the Misool Region (right)

31 X-RAY MAG : 55 : 2013 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS WRECKS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY TECH EDUCATION PROFILES PHOTO & VIDEO PORTFOLIO tOURIST dESTINATION Raja Ampat’s growth as a tourist travel destination has only recently begun to accelerate, with marine tourism forming one of the strategic initiatives of the conservation programmes working to conserve the Bird’s Head Seascape’s unique heritage. Visitors to the area pay a park entrance fee of Rp.1 million (approximately US$102), which is valid for a year. The money is split between conservation, com- munity and tourism development programmes. Even today, whilst Raja Ampat is possibly no longer true “frontier” diving, it is far removed from the popular resort destinations found in other parts of the world. As of 2013, there are seven resorts but the majority of operators use liveaboards, generally Pinisi sailing boats built in the traditional Indonesian way. With West Papua being Indonesia’s COUNTER-CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE: poorest province, there are many Snappers grace the stunning reef that leads challenges for diving operators to to Boo Windows; View towards Boo Windows overcome. Veteran operator Txus near Misool; Juvenile spadefish under Arborek Reiriz has been operating the livea- jetty in the Dampier Strait—the jetty is a stun- board MSY Seahorse in the region for ning dive and no deeper than 5m; Exploring over eight years. “I heard about how a cavern in the Farondi Island, near Misool good the diving was in Raja Ampat,” said Txus, “but when I visited, I found whale shark casually cruised by in the it exceeded way beyond my already blue, unbothered by our presence. high expectations. The reefs, land- Moving back towards Misool, there scape and biodiversity are stunning, are dive sites that may well cause you to and even now, after over eight years rethink your definition of a good dive. At operating in this area, we keep find- No Contest, we descended down a near ing new dive sites on almost every vertical coral-covered wall and were trip. But the biggest challenge is it’s a barely able to hold position with a mod- long journey for the guests to get here, and because of the remote- ness, it’s even harder for us to get the supplies we need. definitive dive guide to the region, now east, the less visited reefs Logistics are hell, but it’s superseded by an expanded version that around Daram Island are completely worth it!” ■ covers the entire Bird’s Head Seascape. wonderful with Andiamo regarded as one of the erate current washing against Exceptional reefs finest. This reef consists of the reef. The region is protected by the South a submerged pinnacle in We were truly in the sweet East Misool Marine Protected Area, front of two small islets. It spot—large schools of longfin which administers most of the region’s was here that whilst I was spadefish were silhouetted best dive sites (at least those that have diving amongst profuse against a scene of absolute so far been discovered—new dive sites sea fan growth on the chaos as thousands of fusiliers are being found in Raja Ampat regularly north side, awash with danced in the planktonic and exploration is encouraged). Far out fusiliers, that a juvenile waters and two species of

32 X-RAY MAG : 55 : 2013 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS WRECKS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY TECH EDUCATION PROFILES PHOTO & VIDEO PORTFOLIO Surprise encounter with a large pelag- ic manta at Blue Magic; Elephants Raja Ampat travel ear sponge at Blue Magic, Dampier Strait (right); Soldierfish at Mioskon, Dampier Strait (lower left)

life—here also are some of the most exhilarating dives in West Papua. Mike’s Point, named after the son of Raja Ampat diving pioneer Max Ammer, has some of the best fish action in the area. The island above this reef (Kerupiar Island) was repeatedly bombed in World War II, since the U.S. Air Force thought it to be a camouflaged Japanese ship. barracuda competed with bara- Ampat’s high octane diving— When you see the wake com- mundi cod for our attention. On The Dampier Strait. ing off the island when the the reef wall itself not a single tide is running, it’s easy to centimetre was devoid of coral The Dampier Strait understand why. growth, with sea fans competing Baring the name of the British Down in deeper water, with Dendronepthya soft cor- explorer William Dampier, this there are large gulleys where als for a space on a reef that huge channel runs between a resident school of hump- exploded with colour. Our ascent Waigeo and Batanta, had to be done with care, as a two of the four kings, downwash runs over the top of and is not to be con- this thin long reef. To cap it all fused with the simi- off, a sea snake accompanied larly named body of me to the reef top. water in Papua New There are currently over 25 Guinea. Here, you’ll described dive sites in this south find very strong cur- head parrotfish can and unicorn fish schools so dense east region of Misool, and that rents, which is one often be sighted. they will often obscure the sur- number is ever increasing. of the reasons cruise However, it is on face. Leaving these behind and head- directors leave this the up-current side The strong nutrient-rich currents ing back north caused mixed place until last, once where you will find that run through the Strait also emotions since the reefs here are the divers have set- the fish action, and attract another visitor—manta so endearing, but I needn’t have tled in. However, it here you can often rays. Manta Sandy and Manta worried. The final chapter of is these currents that find large schools of Ridge are two sites where man- our itinerary is the zenith of Raja bring the reefs to Mantas are not the only species to be found at Manta Sandy. sweetlips with fusilier tas can be reliably seen, provid- These robust ghostpipefish were found amongst the coral

33 X-RAY MAG : 55 : 2013 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS WRECKS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY TECH EDUCATION PROFILES PHOTO & VIDEO PORTFOLIO CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Soft coral growth near Wayilbatan Island, Misool region; Giant barrel sponge at Four Kings, Misool Region; Exploring the cav- Raja Ampat travel erns of Goa Farondi, Misool Region; Elephants ear sponge growing on the slopes of Blue Magic, Dampier Strait

is also here that you have a very good chance of encountering a reef shark. One of the striking things about Raja Ampat’s reefs in general is the absence of sharks. This whole region has in the past been heav- ily overfished by shark finners, and anyone who denies that shark overfishing is a problem should visit here and see if their views still reconcile with the visual evidence (or rather lack of it). Yet, shark numbers are now actually start- ing to climb back from the brink in Raja Ampat, with shark sightings increasing across the whole region. This has been helped by the conservation initiatives, and in December 2012, the area became legally protected as a shark and ray sanctuary, giving hope that one day the master of

the seas will once again patrol the beautiful seascapes of Raja Ampat. Getting there To dive Raja Ampat, you need to get to Sorong in West Papua. Makassar Airport on Sulawesi has ed there is a little current present. pilot fish dancing around their direct flights to Sorong, Although it should be said that mouths. and Makassar connects you also have a chance of Cape Kri rivals Mike’s Point in with Singapore, Jakarta manta encounters at many other terms of sheer fish density. You and Manado. ■ sites in Raja Ampat. normally begin your dive on the Manta Sandy has a small rubble west side and keep heading east The author would like wall that indicates the boundary on this sloping reef on the south to thank Txus Reiriz that divers should not cross, to of Kri island. As you approach the of the MSY Seahorse ensure they do not disturb man- easterly point, the big fish action Liveaboard (Indocruises. tas when they are at the clean- builds to a crescendo above the com) for his help and ing station. Wait low on the sand reef, with large snapper, emperor considerable support bottom, and you may be blessed and barracuda hovering in the in preparing this article during the author’s various visits to References and with a close encounter with one current whilst large trevally speed and Jay Monney and the region. For more information, recommended reading: of the black mantas that frequent around picking off unfortunate Emoke Vizhanyo for their visit: Millionfish.com B. Jones and M. Shimlock, Diving this site, complete with yellow fusiliers from the large schools. It ever patient modelling Indonesia’s Bird’s Head Seascape

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