SHARKS!

This trip started with the famous muck diving of Ambon to finish in Raja Ampat 12 days later.
We encountered a lot of Sharks, starting already at the check dive with a couple of Cat Sharks. Other sightings in Ambon included Coconut Octopus, Ambon Scorpionfish, Stargazer Snake Eels and a parade of rare Nudibranchs.

In the Bandas we had a bit more currents than previous trip, thus bringing in even more fish. One group got extra lucky and saw a Hammerhead passing just in front of them! Well, waters here are more than 7,000 meters deep, so there’s a potential for almost anything!

When we’d had enough of the beautiful 2-meter long Olive Seasnakes at Manuk (active!) Volcano, we continued east to a little island called Koon. Pelagics was the name of the game here, with massive schools of Red and Black Snappers, Barracudas, Jackfish and Pompanos. Looking out in the blue we almost missed the stunning pink Leaf Scorpionfish, wedged in in an equally pink coral.

Last part of the trip was spent in Raja Ampat including a sensational Manta dive in Dampier Strait. While we did see many rays getting cleaned, the real action was at the surface where these gentle giants were feeding, barrel-rolling just in front of us! Something to remember!

Throughout the trip we saw many Sharks, and Raja Ampat was no exception; plenty of Grey Reefs, Blacktips, Whitetips, Wobbegongs and, of course, the iconic Walking Sharks.

MERMAID 1
AMBON – RAJA AMPAT
February 6 – 17, 2014

PJ Widestrand
Tourleader and Video-Pro
Mermaid 1