News & Events - Trip Reports
The Big Three – Whale Sharks, Mantas and Dragons
For us, Komodo has always been about the mix. From picturesque ancient landscapes above, to diverse dive sites, rare critters, beautiful coral reefs, to schooling fish actions above. Among our guests’ favourites however, are The Big Three – Whale Sharks, Mantas and Dragons! So far, this Komodo season, we have been blessed with excellent encounters […]
From Whale Sharks to Komodo Dragons: A Week of Unforgettable Encounters on Mermaid II
This week’s diving cruise onboard the Mermaid II from Bali to Komodo and beyond was marked by a series of diverse marine life encounters ranging from rare tiny critters to schooling fish above impeccable coral reefs to bigger ocean giants The conditions and the weather was mostly pleasant throughout the trip. The atmosphere was filled […]
One Dive
Raja just seems to keep serving us a buffet of incredible dives. However, it was quite clear which dive site was the favorite as the guests aboard Mermaid II kept asking for more, more, more! Airborek Jetty, it is truly a wide angle and macro paradise. Airborek is a small inhabited island that sits smack […]
Astonishing Underwater Life
No matter how many times we dive in Raja Ampat, we simply don’t get tired of it! This is one of the only places left on the planet where the Wordl’s largest marine biodiversity comes together. Coral reefs growing fast, schools of fish getting larger each time and rich plankton flowing in the water with […]
Anchovie Run
For several months every year in Raja Ampat, the sun can instantly disappear, turning your tropical day dive into a dusk dive. This rare unusual phenomenon has nothing to do with the weather though, and everything to do with a tiny fish the congregates around the karst islands of the Raja Ampat. Every year millions […]
The Flourishing Biodiversity of Raja Ampat.
2017’s last trip in West Papua, Indonesia. Anchovies are still found in great schools around Misool’s sites. It’s surprising for us to be able to encounter such a big number as usually this time of the season they would have already been eaten by predators like Jacks and Mobula rays. One particular dive site named […]
There are a Lot of Fish
“Fish soup” is how most divers would have described the abundance of fish life swarming over the reefs in Raja Ampat last week on Mermaid II. If you are a marine biologist, “a healthy biomass” would have most likely been the phrase you would have used to describe the conditions. No matter your preference for […]
Awe-inspiring Raja Ampat. Another breath taking trip in West Papua nailed.
After a week dealing with supermoon currents the diving conditions have settled again leaving most of the dive sites as easy & mild places to dive! Even flat conditions and less water flow didn’t stop us seeing the amusing amounts of fish on the reef and great numbers of Oceanic and Reef mantas were found […]
A Completely New Raja Surprise
Every season in Raja Ampat I’m totally blown away by what new surprises the region can deliver. First it was the world’s largest stingray, next it was Omura’s whales-the world’s newest classified species of whale-feeding next to Mermaid II, then it was a forty-five minute snorkel session with Raja Ampat’s first ever ocean sunfish, and […]
Eighteen-Hundred Miles Through The Coral Triangle
When you dive through eighteen hundred miles of world’s most bio-diverse waters, an area known to many as the Coral Triangle or the Ring of Fire, you never quite know exactly what your going to see, you just know it’s going to be epic. This was the feeling amongst all the customers and dive staff […]