Trip Reports
Awe Inspiring Raja Ampat
It’s that time of the year again, the final trip for the Raja Ampat season is completed, and the boats will make The Crossing through the vast Banda Sea and later into Komodo and Bali. To reflect, the 2025/2026 Raja Ampat season was nothing short of awe-inspiring! Every trip hits differently, and no matter how […]
From Misool to the Dampier Strait: A Raja Ampat Liveaboard Adventure Aboard Mermaid II
This week onboard the Mermaid II, we welcomed a group of familiar faces coming all the way from Russia and embarked on a 9 day adventure through the stunning Raja Ampat islands, and it was nothing short of incredible Starting the trip by cruising down south and breaking the surface at Misool, we were immediately […]
Raja Ampat and its unlimited biodiversity!
Starting a trip back-rolling into a dark cloud of Anchovies. Giant jacks and Rainbow runners blasting down the swarm from every direction! This is that mad time of the season that Silversides and young Fusiliers together decide to take over Misool waters! And it simply means that Mobula rays are on their way to join […]
Surrounded by fish!
Yes, we did see (quite a few!) majestic Manta Rays on this trip (more about that later), but the highlight dives were the ones we did in Misool (south Raja Ampat) totally surrounded by fish! Schools of Barracudas, Batfish, Yellow Snappers, hunting packs of Giant Trevallies, Grey Reef Sharks, thousands of Fusilliers and the ever-present […]
Mermaid II, December 13 – 21, 2018
This time of the year Raja Ampat, and especially Misool in the south, is absolutely full of little anchovies that almost cover the divesites. Bigger players, like Giant Trevallies and Mobula Rays, are moving in for a feast, so there’s a good chance to witness some proper feeding frenzy! As always in Raja we enjoyed […]
Returning to the land of the 4 kings, Raja Ampat!
The World’s richest underwater biodiversity! Over 600 small islands surrounding the four main islands of Misool, Salawati, Batanta and Waigeo. A combination of perfect landscapes and seascapes. Limestone formations, pristine reefs blanketed by the softests corals, endemic creatures and possibly the largest schools of fish left on the planet. West Papua is a far away […]
BIODIVERSITY SPECIAL
This very special trip took us from Maumere on Flores through Alor, the Banda Sea and the Forgotten Islands all the way up to Raja Ampat in West Papua 16 days later. We enjoyed a huge variety of marine life and different eco systems as well as stunning topside scenery throughout the trip. We spent […]
The Ring of Fire (part 1) | October 02-13th, 2018
Finally the crossings season is here and Mermaid I started it with great sightings just as we predicted it! 12 days, 800 nautical miles. From Maumere to Ambon through Alor and the heart of the Banda Sea. This is the time of the year where everything is possible to be encountered in the Ring of […]
Manta Alley
Our first morning dive at the infamous Manta Alley was absolute bliss. The water was flat, which normally means feeding mantas. The majority of the dive was spent hovering just above the reef in no more than eight meters of water just watching the ten or so mantas in that area syphon up their breakfast. […]
MACRO vs WIDE
One fantastic trip full of critters and big stuff! Divers often ask me which lenses would be the most ideal to bring on a Komodo trip. The truth is either Macro or Wide, perhaps both will do. Every single dive site in Komodo will have both subjects to fulfill your photography desires… So really, you […]