Mermaid II Jan 09 – 17 2019 – The Mobula Feeding Frenzy in Raja Ampat

Located right in the heart of The Coral Triangle, Raja Ampat is quite possibly the richest coral reef ecosystems in the world.It is not surprise that in such environment we have the chance to dive some of the most beautiful coral reef in the world, but on this very trip we were going to experience something incredible, a pure display of nature in action.

We started the trip as usual, navigating south to Misool island home of the most beautiful soft coral ground of the whole archipelago. The visibility was slightly below average in the south, however the water rich of nutriments attracted lots of fish and in all the dives we had great encounters with abundant marine life and schooling fish.

Iconic sites like Whale Rock, Nudi Rock and Magic Mountain were pack with schooling fish and we all had the chance to experience what a pristine marine environment looks like.

On our way to the central region of Raja Ampat we stopped by the small island near Daram called Two Tree. Two Tree island is a beautiful dive, home of a very healthy eco system, however, on this day it was going to be something beyond the ordinary,

As we entered the water we could see that there was a huge “cloud” of schooling anchovies. That display on its own was something very exciting already. We were all enjoying the millions of small fish when all of the sudden a big school of 30+ Mobula came close to reef and started to feed on the anchovies. The show went on for several minute and we could admire in disbelief the incredible behavior displayed by the squadron of Mobula. This was, for sure, one of the most exciting dive ever!!

Additional things to point out on this trip was the beautiful visibility we had in the central area of Raja Ampat Marine Reserve, especially around Penemu island. A beautiful encounter with reef mantas by Eagle Rock near Kawe island and a great dive a Blue Magic in the Dampier Strait to finish our trip with.At Blue Magic we all could see 4 Oceanic Manta coming to reef to get clean and with could not have asked more to finish a spectacular trip in Raja Ampat.