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CRUISING RAJA AMPAT ‘THE JEWEL OF INDONESIA’ BY LINDA CARTLIDGE ‘Raja Ampat is the perfect location according to a record number of superyacht captains that have cruised the area in the last year’, enthuses Richard Lofthouse, director of Asia Pacific Superyachts Indonesia, with offices in Bali and now in Raja Ampat AJA AMPAT TRANSLATED MEANS ‘THE FOUR KINGS’, a name derived from the four major islands in the group nestled on the tip of Papua’s Birds Head peninsula. It’s an archipelago comprising over 1500 small islands, cays, and shoals surrounding the four main islands of Raja Ampat – Misool, Salawati, Batanta and Waigeo along with the smaller island of Kofiau. In the vicinity of the four mountainous main islands are hundreds of small islands to explore. In addition, the karst area is a beautiful and original natural phenomenon, with unique flora and fauna attractions whilst offering many opportunities to trek around the islands to find hidden waterfalls and ancient caves. Raja Ampat Regency is a new regency, separated from Sorong Regency in 2004 and home of the largest marine national park in Indonesia, Cenderawasih Bay, and a part of the West Papua (province) of Indonesia formerly called ‘Irian Jaya’. Renowned for its biodiversity, Raja Ampat encompasses over 40,000 square kilometres in the northeast seas of the 96 YACHTING MATTERS & THE YACHT OWNER ISSUE 34 Indonesian Archipelago where the Pacific becomes the Indian Ocean. The resulting currents stir up nutrient-rich water in the tropical climate, nurturing magnificent coral reefs and unparalleled marine life. Each of the islands – from the stark wave-pounded slopes that drop away beneath the karst cliffs of Wayag and Uranie to the deep, nutrient-rich bays of Mayalibit, Kabui and Aljui, to the ‘blue water mangrove’ channels of Kofiau and Gam, to the plankton-rich upwelling areas of Misool and the Dampier Strait – are home to unique assemblages of species that together add up to produce the most impressive species lists ever compiled for a coral reef system of this size. Yacht visitors will find a culture unique in the world that is home to the planet’s most diverse fish and coral resources. A cruising journey through Raja Ampat takes you through one of the world’s most exceptional marine areas with stunning sea and land scenes. ‘This place, Raja Ampat, is truly amazing – the diversity of activities we can offer our guests combined with the natural beauty and friendly people make Raja Ampat the perfect YACHTING MATTERS & THE YACHT OWNER 97 ISSUE 34 CRUISING RAJA AMPAT Seamless Support - Best Local Knowledge include a visit to North and West Waigeo where, if you’re lucky, you can see a traditional bamboo flute (suling tambur) performance. These performances usually take place during a religious festival, on YACHTS SERVICED IN THE ASIA PACIFIC REGION: Independence Day (August 17), and during visits from important officials or leaders. M/Y A M/Y KARIMA M/Y TALISMAN C S/Y MONTIGNE There’s interesting viewing of World War II M/Y ANNA M/Y LADY CHRISTINE M/Y TANGO S/Y PERSEUS M/Y APRIL M/Y LE GRAND BLEU M/Y TITANIA S/Y RED DRAGON caves on North Waigeo, where the Dutch and the M/Y AQUAMARINA M/Y MAYAN QUEEN M/Y TRIPLE 8 S/Y SHENANDOAH Japanese armies built bunkers, and continues to be M/Y ARCHIMEDES M/Y NOBLE HOUSE M/Y ULYSSES S/Y SQUALL MY CALLISTO M/Y OCEAN VICTORY M/Y WERE DREAMS S/Y THAILIA a place that local tribes will sometimes gather to M/Y CLOUD 9 M/Y PARTY GIRL S/Y ADELE S/Y VENT DEST perform a war dance. M/Y ECSTASEA M/Y PELORUS S/Y BELLA REGAZZA S/Y VERTIGO MY ELANDESS M/Y QUEEN MIRI S/Y BRISTOLIAN S/Y VIVID Another ancient attraction can be found on M/Y FAMILY DAY M/Y SAMAX S/Y EOS S/Y YANNEKE TOO Tomolol, home of numerous caves with paintings M/Y HELIOS 2 M/Y SENSES S/Y GALAXIA M/Y KALIZMA M/Y SILVER FAST S/Y HEMISPHERE of huge humans, palms and animals that are painted by ancient cave dwellers and are still OUR OFFICES: in existence today. Nearby is the ever-flowing waterfall of Salawati… a sight not to be missed ANDAMAN ISLANDS KOH SAMUI, THAILAND PHUKET, THAILAND before departing the area. rathnam@asia-pacifi c-superyachts.com charlie@asia-pacifi c-superyachts.com gordon@asia-pacifi c-superyachts.com An interesting natural phenomenon can be BORNEO LANGKAWI, MALAYSIA RAJA AMPAT jblee@asia-pacifi c-superyachts.com TOP: cruising location for us. We love the place!’ happily noted a seen every year-end in front of the Urbinasopen and Yesner villages borneo@asia-pacifi c-superyachts.com scott@asia-pacifi c-superyachts.com SOUTH WAIGEO captain of a well-known 50 ft superyacht to Richard Lofthouse. if you visit East Waigeo. A light comes out from the ocean CAMBODIA MALDIVES SEYCHELLES seychelles@asia-pacifi c-superyachts.com ABOVE: and wanders around on its surface for about 10 –18 minutes, kevint@asia-pacifi c-superyachts.com mohamed@asia-pacifi c-superyachts.com KABUI BAY CRUISING DESTINATIONS IN RAJA AMPAT then disappearing and only to be seen again at the following FIJI MYANMAR SINGAPORE david@asia-pacifi c-superyachts.com jojo@asia-pacifi c-superyachts.com clarence@asia-pacifi c-superyachts.com Waisai is the capital city of Raja Ampat and located on Waigeo year-end. Local inhabitants in both villages call this phenomenon, SRI LANKA Island. To get a sense of Raja Ampat history, other land attractions the ‘Sea Ghost’. HONG KONG NEW ZEALAND hongkong@asia-pacifi c-superyachts.com duthie@asia-pacifi c-superyachts.com priyantha@asia-pacifi c-superyachts.com INDONESIA PHILIPPINES jblee@asia-pacifi c-superyachts.com philipines@asia-pacifi c-superyachts.com 98 YACHTING MATTERS & THE YACHT OWNER ISSUE 34 www.asia-pacifi c-superyachts.com CRUISING RAJA AMPAT ABOVE: South Waigeo is a favourite destination for diving EXPERIENCING THE WONDER OF DIVING enthusiasts and not far from South Waigeo is atoll Kabui Bay. Also AT RAJA AMPAT recommended is Saonek Monde, famous for its exotic beaches RIGHT: and underwater beauty, fishing and stunning sunsets. Similar to HIGH QUALITY PEARLS CAN BE BOUGHT Wayag, the island has a distinct beauty and Salay dancing can DURING YOUR CRUISE often be viewed. Many types of birds can be viewed in the villages OF THE AREA of Sawinggrai and Yenwaupnor. BELOW: THE FAMOUS Beautiful woven handicrafts are offered in Arborek, also a SEA TURTLE good place for snorkeling and for watching groups of swimming stingrays. Then if you continue to the Sawandarek area, there’s a white sand beach with beautiful coral, many sea ducks and other animals and just down the road you’ll discover a traditional village. On the West side of Waigeo, on Konfiau and Batanta, is the archipelago Wayag with good diving and snorkelling and gorgeous cruising waters. These small, uninhabited and incredibly picturesque islands, 30 km beyond Waigeo, also attract non-divers for its scenery, snorkelling and the challenge of scaling its highest peak, Pindito. Exotic locations like the Ayau Islands, a collection of islands within a very large atoll, are numerous and just waiting to be explored. Many of the islands in this archipelago offer an expanse of white sand with a white sandy sea bottom that connects Ayau Island with other islands. Not far from the sands are ‘special sands’ that the local community calls ‘zandplaat’, a unique habitat of local vegetation in Raja Ampat. Here you can also see the local community, especially mothers and their children, as they continue a long tradition of catching sea-worms or ‘insonem’. 100 YACHTING MATTERS & THE YACHT OWNER ISSUE 34 CRUISING RAJA AMPAT office in Raja Ampat. APS Indonesia was the first company to LEFT: SOME OF THE MANY offer specialist superyacht shore support in the vast archipelago of SPECIES OF FISH AND CORAL THAT CAN BE Indonesia; now they are the first to open an office in the amazing SEEN WHEN DIVING Raja Ampat area (in 2017) which is supported by their HQ in Bali. BELOW LEFT: ‘This is a huge but logical step for us’ said Lofthouse, ‘The A CENDRAWASIH – BETTER KNOWN AS THE team we have up in Raja Ampat has years of experience with ‘BIRD OF PARADISE’ us around Indonesia and all are originally from the area, which gives us a massive advantage in local knowledge and a strong operational presence on the ground.’ ‘The feedback we at APS Indonesia get from the diving in Raja Ampat starts at ‘breathtaking’ and ends when our clients run out of superlatives! All of our clients, both owners and captains, rave about their Raja Ampat experience’, reports Richard Lofthouse. A main attraction of Raja Ampat is the seascape that reveals the most bio-diverse coral reefs in the world. Diving the many sites of Raja Ampat is an otherworldly experience where you can view over 1300 species of fish and 603 species of hard coral, which includes 75% of all known coral species in the world (and 10 times the number of hard coral species found in the Caribbean) along with a known 57 species of mantis shrimp and 15 mammal species. ABOVE WATER Above water is fantastic as well; islands cloaked in tropical jungle filled with unique flora and fauna, karst forests of rare orchids, sea eagles, tree kangaroos and beautiful birds. Being located right on the equator, the Raja Ampat islands boasts amazing natural rainforests and thousands of species A suggestion by the APS team and said to be a big hit with of birds, highlighted by the much sought after Cendrawasih, or their guests is a visit to ‘The Pearl Farms’ by Atlas Pearls, located in better known as the ‘Bird of Paradise’.