Begins
Aug.16, 2001: It has begun! This morning I was picked up by our driver “Bang” at 07:30 AM sharp and dropped off an hour later at Phuket International Airport for the first leg of my flights to Irian Jaya. I went smoothly through the check in/check out procedures and am now waiting for my flight to Singapore. Can’t say I really like airports; always lots of waiting, very little to do besides tax-free shopping and an air-conditioning that tries very hard to give you frostbite.
Once arrived in Singapore I will have to wait a few hours and chance carrier for my flight to Jakarta where I am supposed to arrive somewhere late afternoon. Jakarta will be fun; my flight from Jakarta to Sorong in Irian Jaya will not leave before 05:00 AM tomorrow morning and that will give me plenty of time to “appreciate” Jakarta Airport! Most of the time there I will probably be busy with trying to locate the counter of “Pelita Air Services” where I’m supposed to pick up my already booked and paid ticket to Sorong. Don’t think I’ll go for a stroll outside the airport once in Jakarta; last night on the news more riots and burning Tuk-Tuks than I will be able to handle. Also, I’ve never been to Indonesia before so I don’t want to get lost and end up losing my flight!
This is my first true (diving-) holiday in 10 years time and even better; my first diving adventures outside Thailand and Myanmar. I’ve got nearly 3000 logged dives up to date and ALL of them in Thailand and Myanmar….
Can’t wait to get on board of the “Crescent” (South East Asia Liveaboards) and can’t wait to get into the wild, unexplored waters of Irian Jaya. The bits and pieces of information about the area that I have so far all sound very promising; lots of schooling fish, pygmy seahorses, wobbegong sharks, World War II wrecks and untouched (pristine) reefs. It hasn’t been very easy to get hold of information about this area because very few people have dived there and there’s only 1 local landbased dive-operator (Irian Diving) that has been there only for a few years. My trip will be aboard the first Liveaboard ever to enter the Raja Empat islands group and I will join BOTH scheduled exploration trips of each 10 days.

Another airport, another lobby! Safely arrived in Singapore now and will have to wait here 2 ½ hours for my next flight to Jakarta. Just on the plane I met Jan from “Euro Divers Thailand” and he had some exiting news for me about Irian Jaya. He told me that a few days ago 2 Belgium tourists were taken hostage by “bushmen” from one or another tribe and that ransom was demanded in return for their lives and well-being! Thank you Jan, for lifting my spirits with this great news! If any tribe would be mad enough to take me hostage and demand ransom I probably wouldn’t survive the ordeal. I’ve spend nearly all my savings on building a house in Phuket and the last bit on this trip…..
Flying with Singapore Airlines has been a pleasure sofar; the air-hostesses were quite good looking AND they were serving cold Tiger beers. Even the food out of the plastic containers was eatable and I managed to finish it all.

Four o’clock local time and we just touched down on Indonesia’s soil; Jakarta Airport. Local time here is the same as in Thailand so I don’t have to fumble with my watch. I spend an hour and a half terminal hopping to locate “Pelita Air Services” counter and (finally) find them closed! I’m glad I brought their details along and am able to contact their main office by phone after I managed to buy a phonecard. The voice on the telephone tells me not to worry; they will open their counter on the airport at 03:00 AM tomorrow morning and I just should show up there and then. I hope the voice is not joking; would be a hell of a start of my holiday if I AND missed my flight AND miss the boat in Sorong as well. I think about checking in the airport hotel for a few hours sleep but chance my mind when I hear the price that they want for a bed and a shower and also worry that once asleep I may not wake up in time despite their guarantee that they offer a wake-up call service. Instead I decide to hang around on the airport tonight not too far from “Pelita’s” counter, read my book and drink lots of coffee. Who cares if I’m a bit smelly and greasy; soon the Indian Ocean will wash it all away.

It’s 22:30 PM now and I have just finished my first book. It’s an oldie from Dean Koontz and titles “The house of thunder”. Enjoyed reading most of it but find the end of the story a little bit too unreal.
The worst hours are yet to come and already right now I feel tired and bored despite of lots of coffee and a large ice-cream cone. So far have had at least half a dozen Indonesians come up to me and try to sell me a pen! In the end I nearly bought one for 1500 Rupiah from a girl but then she didn’t have change for a 20000 Rupiah note! The exchange rate for 1 US dollar on the airport is only 8000 Rupiah down from 12000 Rupiah just one week ago. With the new president in the saddle and the old guy kicked out of the government this country is hopefully growing towards a better (economical) future.
People are cleaning the airport continuously and I must say that I am impressed with how well they keep the place neat and tidy. I hope those last few hours waiting will pass soon….

Aug.17, 2001: Spend between 23:00 PM and 02:30 AM with 6 security guards drinking coffee and talking about soccer, movies and girls and didn’t get too sleepy this way. Must say that the Indonesians that I’ve met so far are really friendly and helpful to me and my first impression of this country is great.
At 03:00 AM the counter of “Pelita Air Services” ofcourse did not open up and I’m getting a little bit worried now. By 03:30 AM I’m on my feet and work my way inside the terminal towards the check-in counters where I find “Pelita’s” employees checking in customers and selling tickets. At first there seems to be a little confusion about me showing up and asking for my pre-booked and pre-paid ticket but after 15 minutes or so they do find my name on a list and even a sealed envelope with my name on it and ticket inside! Now I’m ready for he last legs of my flights; Jakarta to Makassar and after a brief stopover Makassar to Sorong.
I’ve been up and awake for 22 hours now and will hopefully be able to get some sleep once on board of the aircraft.

Did get a tiny bit of sleep from Jakarta to Makassar which took a good 2 hours. The aircon is petrifying on the small aircraft (Fokker F70) and I need my jacket and a blanket to keep my body temperature on a healthy level. There are only two other foreigners on the plane besides me; one is a chopper pilot and going to work in Sorong and the other one, Charles, will be joining the same dive trip that I am on. It doesn’t look like we are going to a tourist destination being the only 3 white people on the plane! In Sorong the local time is 2 hours later than in Jakarta and we are scheduled to arrive there at noon. I’m really getting exited about this trip because when I look out and down of the tiny window on my right hand side the view is completely stunning. We’re flying over hundreds of tiny islets and shallow submerged reefs in a turquoise to dark blue sea, over huge stretches of jungle without houses (and probably full of Papuan bushmen with large penis-sticks and wild boar teeth through their noses ), roads or any sign of modern civilization and with my nose pressed against the window I just look and look and look!
Sorong airport is an amazing place; the airstrip (just 1!) has been build on a narrow long island and when you are landing you have white sandy beaches on both sides of the runway. Once landed we walked over to the arrival/departure “lounge” and were immediately engulfed by a posse of Papuan people who all wanted to carry our luggage for a few Rupiah. This is also where we met Carl, our DM, who had been waiting for us and was to take us to Sorong town where we would go aboard the “Crescent”.
Carl takes us to a small jetty just outside of the airport where we board a “taxi-boat” (closed fiberglass vessel, about 7 meter long, 10 seat capacity in comfortable chairs and powered by three 40 HP outboards) that will take us to Sorong town. Despite strong breeze and choppy surface our “Captain” goes full power and soon we found ourselves zooming towards Sorong and Irian Jaya’s shore.
Carl tells us that we are lucky with this taxi boat because the trip he had just done in the morning from Sorong to the airport on another boat took much longer than the one we were now on. Paul, who we meet in Sorong and also joins this trip taking pictures and writing an article, tells us later that the taxi boat that he was on had engine trouble and took ages to get to the town!
In Sorong we have a welcome drink with Carl and Paul and are told that we have to wait on shore for the rest of the day before we can get aboard the “Crescent”. The “Crescent” is still in the process of being cleaned, refueling and taking in water and new provisions for our cruise. She has only yesterday arrived here in Sorong after a harsh trip from Manado and a detour from the Philippines. We use our shore-time wisely with getting some local food in our tummies, visit the fresh market and stroll a bit around the beachfront area. Lots of friendly people (Hey Mister! Good afternoon!) and beautiful Papuan kids following us and staring at us.

Just after dark the “Crescent” is all set and ready and comes to pick us up from the boulevard that we are waiting on. I am dog-tired by now, take a quick shower after meeting the rest of the crew and one other passenger, and go to bed. Some 36 hours without sleep take their toll and I crash out completely while the boat cruises for a few hours to the first island that we are going to explore and where the boat will spend the most of the night on anchor.

Aug.18, 2001; Batanta Island. After breakfast we lift anchor and slowly cruise into a gorgeous small bay with a silver sandy beach, mangroves and a small stream. A perfect place to anchor and relax, spend a bit of time exploring the beach and enjoy the sounds and sights of tropical birds that come out of the thick jungle. We only can stay a short while here and do not plan to dive and soon we lift anchor again and are underway to our first divesite which will be Mansfield Island.
Just before we arrive at Mansfield Island a pod of spinner dolphins welcomes us on the surface and makes us all very eager to get geared up and jump into the deep blue water.
My first breaths of compressed air in Irian Jaya’s waters are something I’ll not likely forget; the reef I’m diving on is fairly steep sloping from 3-35 meter and in excellent condition. No trash, no fishing lines,no broken coral and no other divers! This truly looks like a reef in pristine condition and this is only the first “check-out” dive! Lots of sea-squirts, sponges, hydrozoans, small soft corals, some fan-corals and lots of healthy hard coral. Also the fish life is quite impressive and I see humphead parrotfishes, many clown triggers (juvenile and adults), bluefin trevallies, green jobfish, longnose emperors and 9 (!) species of angelfish (Semi-circle, keyhole, bi-color, regal, six banded, 3 spot, majestic, emperor and Lamarck’s angelfish). Also 1 hawksbill turtle and a turtle I’ve not seen before and when I look it up in a fishbook after the dive I’m fairly sure it was a juvenile loggerhead!

Everybody is very happy after this dive and soon we find ourselves cruising towards our second dive site. The above water scenery is absolutely stunning; beautiful little rocky islets with silver sandy beaches, larger islands with thick jungle vegetation up to the shoreline and mangroves and NO boats at all.

Actually throughout BOTH 10 day trips we did NOT ONCE see any commercial fishing trawlers in this area. The ONLY boats we encountered were some local outrigger canoes and in one bay some small wooden fishing boats that were seeking shelter from the wind. Funny thing is that all those simple outrigger canoes are equipped with very modern Yamaha outboard engines! I did in total 57 scuba dives over both trips and only on a handful of those sites (all far out submerged reefs and banks that on the map looked very promising for pelagic encounters) did I notice extensive (dynamite fishing) damage and/or found long lines.

Most reefs we dive on have never been dived before and most of the reefs are in an excellent condition with healthy coral growth, good variety of fish and critters and also good sizes and numbers of marinelife in general. I am pleasantly surprised by the number of nudibranchs and flatworms that I find on nearly every dive site; unfortunately am I unable in most cases to positively identify the critter by its name because the books we have about nudi’s and worms on board are all very limited with species descriptions (and I only know a handful of them by heart!).
Humphead parrotfishes, Napoleon wrasses, green turtles and hawksbill turtles are common and I saw more of them here in 20 days diving than the last 10 years counted together! There was one particular dive where I counted at least 12 different turtles. A few places had some good shark-action as well and one of the highlights for me was a school of at least 40 juvenile gray reefsharks that I saw in the Kawe Isl.area. Also wobbegong sharks, epaulette sharks, whitetip reefsharks, adult gray reefsharks and blacktip reefsharks were seen by most of us and on one dive I saw a spinnershark as well.
I “missed” the manta ray but at least two other divers saw one on different locations. On a few dives I encountered porcupine rays and spotted eaglerays and smaller rays like blue spotted stingrays and maskrays are fairly common. Colorful reeffish are plentiful and angelfishes (some of my favorite animals) can be seen on every dive.
I didn’t find any pygmy seahorses on the first trip but was more lucky on the second trip and found myself three different fans with pygmy seahorses in it on different dives. The first fan I found with pink ones on it had at least 10 of them and some seemed to be pregnant, the other two fans only had one (or better: I only saw one)! On some reefs where so many of the kind of fans that pygmy seahorses like that it would take at least dozens of dives to check them all.
A complete new experience for me was diving on a World War II fighter airplane in excellent condition and snorkeling on the remains of a bomber plane in just 2 meter of water. Supposedly there are lots of airplane wrecks in the Raja Empat area and many of them within the limits of recreational diving.
The part of the trip I liked BEST was the Kawe Island area and Kri Island area with in general lots and lots of fish and very beautiful reefs. Visibility on the divesites was on the first trip good with a minimum of 15 meter and a maximum of 30 meter or so (we also had some wind and swell) but on the second trip excellent with visibility on some of the sites up to 50-60 meter. Now I do find it a bit scary to write those numbers down but I honestly believe that the water was THAT clear!
I enjoyed my stay on the “Crescent” very much and can only hope that in the future I will be able to do such a holiday again. We had nice small groups on both trips; the first trip only 5 divers and the second trip only 6 and that was including the DM. Personally I would have loved to do even more dives than the 3 to 4 dives planned per day but with every dive being fairly deep and long and no chamber or emergency service in the area I reckon that we were doing the right thing with taking plenty of rest-time in-between dives. This area has LOTS of potential but is a helluva way away and flights are not cheap. That’s probably also the main reason why the diving is still so good out there!
If you have the chance on doing this trip don’t hesitate and go for it. Or even better; do like I did and do two trips in a row (makes sense with the flights being so expensive).
We did a few land-excursions as well with the most interesting one being an early morning walk through the jungle with some locals. In this area birds of paradise seem to be fairly common and we were taken to a so-called “display-tree” where these magnificent birds come every early morning and literally show off! The birds we saw were the red birds of paradise (some of the most unusual birds of paradise) and there were at least 4 or 5 of them the morning that we arrived at their display tree. Unfortunately were the birds quite high up in the tree and even with a binocular it was difficult to see them in detail. On our way back to the beach and the boat we saw hornbills, lots of large parrots and many other big and small birds. I’m pretty sure that people with an interest in birds will have a fantastic time here in Irian Jaya.

Here’s a summary of the dives I did on the first trip and some of the marine life that I like to remember. If I write something like Napoleon wrasses or Humphead parrot fishes than that means that there were more than just one or two! If I write “schooling” than that means in general a BIG school and not just 30 or 40 or so. Depths given are the approximate depths in meter of the reefs either measured by depth sounder or by myself during the dive. Ofcourse there were many, many more critters than I ever could write down here but it would take ages to give a complete list of creatures from every divesite. Just for your information; Dr. Gerald Allen has visited this area as well and managed on one of the divesites at Kri Island to count 273 species of fish just on one single dive! (This was the MOST he has ever counted in 30 years diving!)

2. Wai Island
   P-47 (USA) Fighterplane Wreck from the Second World War in excellent condition upside down on sloping reef between 25-32 meter.
   Barramundi cod, several hawksbill turtles, giant clams, humphead parrotfishes, spiny lobsters, mirror basslets, lots of angelfishes and other colorful reeffishes.


3. Kri Island, sloping reef
   Nightdive off jetty from Irian Diving basecamp: Dendronephya crab, nembrotha kubaryana and some small topshells living on hydroids!
   
4. Kri Island, “Cape Kri” steep sloping reef
   Whitetip reefshark, king mackerel, green jobfish, hawksbill turtles, schooling longnose emperors, schooling horse-eye jacks, schooling yellow tail barracuda’s, tiger trevallie, longnose hawkfish, harlequin-, oblique banded- and oriental sweetlips, black blotch foxface, regal-,six banded-,yellow mask-,majestic- and bicolor angelfish, schooling pyramid butterfly fishes, barramundi cod, shaded batfish, redtooth-, clown-, and titan triggerfishes
   
5. “Sardine Reef”, 4-40 meter Completely submerged reef, great soft- and hard corals, also many fancorals. Spine cheek anemone fishes, sailfin tangs, several Napoleon wrasses, blue spotted stingrays, palette surgeonfishes, yellowtail coris, bigeye emperors, oblique banded- and lined sweetlips.
6. Keroepiar Island “Mike’s Point”, rocky islet 0-40 meter , soft and hard corals, fans, black corals, sponges etc.
   Many humphead parrotfishes, queenfishes, many regenerating starfishes, thousands of funny tiny yellow seacucumbers, painted-, oriental-, oblique banded- and orange lined sweetlips, long toms.
7. Pef Island, hard coral slope, 3-25 meter Spiny lobster, giant clams, chromodoris lochi, hawksbill turtle, pink anemone fish, juvenile harlequin sweetlips, beaked coral pipefish, many ghostshrimps on anemone, six banded-, semi-circle-, regal- and majestic angelfish.
   
8. “The Passage”, narrow channel between Gam and Waigeo Isl., 0-15 meter Absolutely unique divesite! Swift driftdive in long narrow and shallow channel with rubble and sandy bottom. Lots of flatworms, nudibranchs and shrimp gobies but also larger animals like humphead parrotfishes, snappers, stingrays and sweetlips. Current made it difficult at times to stop and actually look at critters for a while…
   
9. “Exit the Passage”, muckdive at entry-exit area of The Passage, 0-7 meter Humbug damselfish, many gobies and shrimp gobies, juvenile bi-color parrotfishes, juvenile yellow margin triggerfishes, Picasso triggerfishes, spinecheek anemonefishes, eastern clown anemonefishes, eggshell shrimps, banded seasnake, black tailed damselfish and ofcourse humphead parrotfishes.
   
10. Keroeo Isl., “Melissa’s Gardens”, 3 rocky islets, 0-40+ meter Fields of soft corals, many fans and sponges, good schooling action, spinnershark, many nudibranchs. I got “lost” on a deep ridge with current on this dive and unfortunately ended up in the deep blue…
11. Groot Fam Isl., steep sloping reef, 5-40+ meter Very good variety of soft corals, sponges, hard corals, fans, tunicates and seasquirts. Flaming scallop, spinecheek anemonefish, six banded-, bi-color-, majestic- and regal angelfish, many clown triggerfishes, nudibranchs and flatworms.
    
12. “The Bank”, unnamed Bank, 16-200+ meter Large Bank coming up to about 16 meter and surrounded by deep water. Ancient hard coral bommies on sandy patches and very good schooling action. Jobfishes, schooling bluefin trevallies, surgeonfishes, midnight snappers and fusiliers, giant anemones with porcelain crabs and eggshell shrimps, giant sweetlips, Clark’s anemonefish
    
13. “White Rock”, little rocky islet off Kawe Isl., wall 0-60 meter Tremendous divesite with steep wall, beautiful soft corals, fans and black corals. Gray reefsharks (4-5 adults), huge giant grouper, schooling yellowtail and chevron barracuda’s, green turtle, Napoleon wrasses, schooling bluefin trevallies, midnight snappers, schooling scissortail mullets.
    
14. “Pinnacle’, off Kawe Isl., 0-40 meter Uncharted pinnacle just breaking the surface with low tide Lots and lots and lots of fish (AND current!) Large eagle ray, Napoleon wrasses, humphead parrotfishes, schooling chevron barracuda’s, hawksbill and green turtles, VERY large giant trevallies, rainbow runners, many jewel basslets.
15. “Equator dive”, rocky islets just off Kawe Isl. On the equator, 0-60 meter
    Black tip reefshark, spiny lobsters, 200+ Boer’s batfish, Napoleon wrasse, schooling benito’s, coronation groupers, unidentified yellow and mustard-green moray eel, chromodoris lochi, chromodoris annae, glossodoris atromarginata, barramundi cod, many garden eels
    
16. Kawe Isl., nightdive, 0-15 meter Mimic octopus, bobtail squid, lots of snapping shrimps, starry puffers, scorpionfish
17. Little rocky islet just off Bag Isl., 0-40 meter Lots of soft corals but also rubble patches and many leather corals. Juvenile gray reefshark, Napoleon wrasse, schooling chevron barracuda’s, giant trevallie, horse-eye jacks, threadfin trevallies, semi-circle angelfish, many nudi’s
    
18. Uranie Isl., walldive, 0-60 meter Whitetip reefsharks, hawksbill turtles, arch-eyed hawkfishes, juvenile Napoleon wrasse, yellow foxface, giant sweetlips
    
19. Little rocky islet off Wayag Isl., 0-50 meter Very nice site with tunnel under islet and laying arch. Great walls and slopes all covered with soft corals, black corals, gorgonians, sponges, tunicates, hydroids and seasquirts. Hawksbill turtles, giant trevallie, horse-eye jacks and bluefin trevallies, humphead parrotfishes, Napoleon wrasse, schooling rainbow runners, schooling whitemargin unicornfishes, juvenile rockmover wrasse, giant sweetlips, schooling bannerfish
    
20. Wayag Isl., nightdive, 0-19 meter, sloping reef Must have been some sort of anchoring place in the past. Lots of broken hard corals but no dynamite damage. Paul saw a manta ray but I aborted the dive after half an hour..
    
21. Rocky islet off Inn Isl., wall dive, 0-50 meter Wall completely covered with dwarf soft corals. Humphead parrotfishes, Napoleon wrasse, Epaulette sharks, giant sweetlips, orange blotch surgeonfishes, green jobfish, schooling redtooth triggerfishes, nembrotha rutilans, flabellina sp.
    
22. Quoy Isl., walldive, 0-80 meter Ardeadoris egretta, chromodoris willani, nembrotha kubaryana, hawksbill and green turtles, giant sweetlips, schooling rainbow runners, banded seasnake, many six banded angelfishes, bluefin trevallies, humphead parrotfish, flatworms
23. Four little rocky islets off Quoy Isl., 0-30+ meter Wobbegong shark, hawksbill turtle, dogtooth tuna, giant sweetlips, bluefin trevally, horse-eye jacks
    
24. Yu Isl., fringing sloping reef, 0-30 meter Hawksbill turtle, schooling palette surgeonfishes, saddled butterfly fishes, schooling Boer’s batfishes, coronation groupers, many bi-color and semi-circle angelfishes, many clown triggerfishes, schooling redtooth triggerfishes, bluefin trevallies, wahoo
    
25. Uta Isl., fringing sloping reef, 0-20+ meter Keyhole angelfishes, orange blotch surgeonfishes, palette surgeonfishes, saddleback anemonefishes, mantisshrimps (“boxers”), many bi-color angelfishes, phantom angelfish
    
26. Pinnacle off Kodor Isl., 4-30 meter Vermiculate and semi-circle angelfish, phyllidiopsi’s sp., Clark’s and pink anemonefish, ianthella basta (purple sponge), spanish mackerel
    
27. Batang Pele Isl., bay with mangroves, muckdive, 0-15 meter Chelidonura pallida, elysia ornata sp., many anemones with ghost shrimps, spinecheek anemonefish, banded pipefishes (pregnant), flounder, twinspot gobies, whip coral gobies
    
28. Between Batang Pele Isl. And Minjai Foen Isl., Bank, 4-40+ meter Nice site with good hard corals and black corals, steep dropping coral slope in some places, other area’s gradual sloping with sandy patches. Comet, large cuttlefish, giant moray eels, pinnate and Boers batfishes, hawksbill turtle, humphead parrotfishes, yellow foxface, large schools of robust fusiliers and tangs, Lamarck’s-, regal-, majestic- and bi-color angelfishes, anchor tuskfish
    
29. Janggelo Isl., nightdive, 0-30 meter Terrible reef but some great critters (all between 0 and 6 meter) Berthella sp. X 10 !! (red, red with white lines and black), banded pipefishes, bobtail squid, bearded scorpionfishes, jawfish sp., comensal-, eggshell- and ghostshrimps, flatworm sp., sort of juvenile flutemouth (?)

    Second trip divesites summary:

30. Mansfield Isl. (see dive 1)
    
31. Wai Isl., P-47 Fighterplane wreck (see dive 2)
    
32. Dajang Isl. a.k.a. Diana Isl., channel with rocky islets, 0-? Meter Very interesting divesite with lots of gullies, short walls, bommies, rubble and sandpatches. Strong up and down currents and some whirls as well! Porcupine ray, humphead parrotfishes, gold specs jawfishes, variegated jawfish, harlequin-, yellow ribbon and orange lined sweetlips
    
33. South of Kawe Isl., rocky islet, 0-35 meter VERY- very beautiful divesite with literally forests of black corals and fans and very good schooling action. One of those dives where you just don’t want to come up from… Wobbegong shark, Napoleon wrasse, humphead parrotfish, king mackerel, tiger cowrie, barramundi cod, giant moray eels, blue spotted stingray, schooling pinnate batfish, schooling yellow ribbon sweetlips, schooling tangs, schooling black snappers, schooling surgeonfishes and fusiliers.
    
34. South of Kawe Isl., rocky islet, 0-35 meter Tremendous amount of schooling action on this divesite AND very beautiful seafans and corals. Can’t believe the amount of fish seen on this dive; this must be another one of my BEST dives ever! Whitetip reefshark, Wobbegong shark, real BIG giant trevallies (singles-pairs and schooling), humphead parrotfishes, schooling- humpback snappers, -twinspot snappers (red bass), - pinnate batfish (100+), -tallfin batfish, -oblique banded and yellow ribbon sweetlips, -rainbow runners, -blue spine unicornfishes, -surgeonfishes, -fusiliers and long toms, gold specs jawfish
    
35. Kawe Isl., nightdive, fringing reef, 0-25 meter Feeding and egg-laying egg cowries, gymnodoris ceylonica, chromodoris sp. (2 different kinds similar to chromodoris collingwoodi), upside down jellyfishes, hermit crabs with anemones on shell, comensal shrimps
    
36. Rocky islet (“White rock”) off Kawe Isl., 0-50 meter, walldive schooling juvenile gray reefsharks (40+), Napoleon wrasses, juvenile emperor angelfish, porcelain crabs on giant anemone, giant moray, many midnight snappers
    
37. “One tree islet”, rocky islet off Kawe Isl., 0-40 meter Napoleon wrasses, humphead parrotfishes, giant sweetlips, giant trevallies, spiny lobsters, giant triton shell, giant moray eels, schooling Boers batfish, -bannerfish, -yellow ribbon sweetlips, -surgeonfishes and many harlequin sweetlips, semi-circle-, yellow mask-,six banded-, bi-color-, emperor and regal angelfishes
    
38. Rocky islets off Kawe Isl., “Equator dive”, 0-50 meter Chromodoris annae, mantisshrimp (boxer), spinecheek anemonefish, giant anemones, blue spotted stingrays, humphead parrotfish
39. Kawe Isl., nightdive, fringing reef, 0-15 meter Ragged tail parrotfish, squids, juvenile blue spotted stingray, flatworms, crabs, shrimps and hermit crabs
    
40. Pinnacle off Kawe Isl., 0-40 meter Octopus, green turtle, Napoleon wrasses, juvenile wobbegong shark, juvenile semi-circle angelfish, juvenile black snappers, juvenile red snappers, marbled dragonets, harptail blennies, nembrotha kubaryana x 3, dogtooth tuna, schooling- rainbow runners, -yellowtail barracuda’s, - surgeonfishes and fusiliers.
    
41. Rocky islet off Uranie Isl., walldive, 0-70 meter This was the first dive where I finally found some pygmy seahorses on one fan and ofcourse spend most of the dive looking at them! The funny thing was that only a few meter further away another smaller fan was that I didn’t care to look at and another diver on our boat found some more pygmy seahorses on that one as well! Pygmy seahorses (pink, at least 10!), green turtle, Napoleon wrasses, humphead parrotfishes, schooling redtooth triggerfishes, many nudi’s
    
42. Same as dive 41 but now I dived the wall from Uranie Isl. as well, walldive, 0-70 meter
    Pygmy seahorses, large green turtle, large gray reefshark, humphead parrotfishes, Napoleon wrasses, bluefin trevallies, schooling surgeonfishes-, unicorn fishes and pyramid butterfly fishes
    
43. Rocky islets off Seprang Isl., tunnel and fringing reef, 0-40+ meter Nice reef with many nudi’s and flatworms and also a large tunnel through the island! Brown marbled grouper, chromodoris elizabethina, nembrotha rutilans, pseudobicerros gloriosus x 3 (glorious flatworm; finally I found some flatworms that were in the book!), hawksbill and green turtles, many humphead parrotfishes, Napoleon wrasse, spiny lobsters, giant trevallie, bluefin trevallies, giant sweetlip, egg cowries, giant anemones with porcelain crabs
    “
44. The Buttons” a.k.a. Loh Loh Isl., NW rocky islets, pinnacle, 0-50+ meter One of these small rocky islets had a huge population of fruitbats! Lined soapfish, flagtail rockcods, many juvenile clown triggerfishes, juvenile midnight snappers, humpback snappers, kingmackerel, schooling slender unicorn fishes, juvenile Napoleon wrasses, large whitetip reefshark, nembrotha kubaryana x 8, tambja affinis, giant trevally, octopus, mantisshrimp (boxer), giant moray eel, white square grouper
    “
45. The Buttons” a.k.a. Loh Loh Isl., SE rocky islets, wall and fringing reef, 0-50+ meter Again another small islet with a large population of fruitbats! This particular dive I liked a lot; good deeper area’s with wall and very nice shallow area’s with superb leather- and hard corals. Green turtle, hawksbill turtle, large school Boers and round batfish, schooling juvenile one spine unicorn fishes, many coronation groupers, juvenile Napoleon wrasse, semi circle angelfish, giant trevallies
    
46. Manuan Isl., fringing reef, 0-20 meter Terrible divesite with lots of broken coral and not much marinelife. What saved it were the nudi’s! Chelidonura varians x 20, phyllidia ocellata, thurdilla splendida and ofcourse some flatworms that are NOT in the books!
    
47. “Bank” NW from Boni Isl., 6-50 meter Completely bombed out divesite but still some interesting fishlife. Humphead parrotfish x 19, VERY large giant clam, many arch eyed hawkfishes, semi circle-, six banded and bi-color angelfishes, thinspine rockcod (gracila albomarginata), many redtooth triggerfishes
    
48. Boni Isl., channel between Boni and Waigeo Isl., 3-50 meter Blacktip reefshark, many bluespotted stingrays, many (juvenile) midnight snappers, brown marbled grouper, schooling brassy drummers and humpback snappers, damsel dwarf angelfish (whitetail dwarf angelfish), many majestic and regal angelfishes, many yellow margin triggerfishes, chelidonura inornata, chromodoris elizabethina, chelidonura amoena
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49. Bank”, East of Waigeo Isl., 10-100+ meter Everything deeper as 15 meter completely barren and broken, shallow areas nice hard corals. Juvenile Napoleon wrasse, many red fire dart gobies, many neonfish, thinspine rockcod, juvenile rockmover wrasse, giant sweetlip, oriental sweetlips
    
50. Wajam Isl., fringing reef with wall and shallow areas, 0-60 meter GREAT divesite with coral slope to 20 meter followed by rocky plateau and steep drop-off (wall) Gray reefshark, whitetip reefshark x 2, hawksbill and green turtles, Napoleon wrasse, giant mantisshrimp, many humpback-, midnight- and black snappers, schooling pyramid butterfly fishes, regal-, bi-color-, yellow mask- and emperor angelfish, mirror basslets, pacific flame basslet, golden trevallies, milkfish x 5, blue spotted stingrays, painted-, oblique banded-, orange lined-, yellow ribbon and giant sweetlips, schooling- fusiliers, surgeonfishes- and unicornfishes
    
51. “Bank”, South of Memjai Is., 2-100+ meter Jewel fairy basslets, mirror basslets, purple queens, thin spine groupers (a.k.a. white square rockcods), gold specs jawfish, urchin clingfish, phyllidiopsi’s shiveenoe, chromodoris willani
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52. Bank”, South of Waigeo Isl., 4-150 meter Excellent site with nice hard-, soft- and leather corals and many fan corals as well. Lots of schooling action. Humphead parrotfishes, large spotted eagleray (feeding), barramundi cod, schooling longnose emperors, brown marbled groupers, wahoo, spanish mackerels, chromodoris elizabethina, lots of garden eels
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53. Sardine Reef”, completely submerged reef, 4-40 meter Pygmy seahorses x 2 (I found two fans with each 1 pygmy seahorse on it but there may have been more!), blacktip reefsharks x 2, Napoleon wrasses x 5, juvenile potato cod, juvenile red fire dart gobies, schooling gold spot emperors, schooling chevron barracuda’s, schooling red snappers and schooling pinnate batfish
    
54. Keroepiar Island “Mike’s Point”, rocky islet 0-40 meter Blacktip reefshark x 2, Napoleon wrasses, coral beauty, banded pipefishes, cigar wrasse, schooling- humpback snappers, -black snappers, -midnight snappers, -oriental/lined-/orange lined and yellow ribbon sweetlips
    
55. Kri Isl., nightdive at the jetty, sloping reef Tiny cuttlefish, banded pipefishes with giant moray eel, tiger cowrie, rockcrab, flatworm sp.
    
56. Kri Isl., “Cape Kri”, 3-40 meter If you love fish then you don’t really need to dive ANY other site but this one!!! Whitetip reefsharks x 5, green turtle, humphead parrotfishes (more than 25 animals), schooling pickhandle barracuda’s, great barracuda, BIG dogtooth tuna, schooling- horse eyed jacks,-bluefin trevallies, -yellowtail jacks, -red snappers, -humpback snappers and all possible sweetlips!
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57. Chicken Reef”, completely submerged reef close to Kri Isl., 3-35 meter Great driftdive on very nice sloping reef; the schooling action on this dive was just fabulous! Blacktip reefshark, huge porcupine ray (feeding), GIANT giant clam, humphead parrotfishes, long toms, hawksbill and green turtles x 12, THOUSANDS of surgeonfishes and fusiliers
    
58. Batanta Isl., SNORKELING along the beach and the mangroves, 0-2 meter My last dive in this area before my flight back home to Thailand. Unbelievable amount of unusual critters in less than 2 meter of water. Some of the other guests even found a seahorse! Indian ocean walkman (Inimicus filamentosus), harlequin ghostpipefish x 2, banded pipefishes, leaf scaled seasnake, adhesive anemone with porcelain crabs and eggshell shrimps, elysia ornate