Coming home

The Voyager left her harbour in Bali in February and has since been cruising in the Irian Jaya area. She is currently on her way back home and she will conduct several highly interesting cruises in and around the Komodo National Marine Park. This area is one of the most diverse and interesting Marine Parks you could ever visit. It is home to a rare diversity of animals, including a population of the world’s largest lizard, the famous Komodo Dragons. This time of the year marks the end of the rainy season in Bali and Komodo, and we can expect excellent weather and diving conditions during the summer months. We are confident that the combination of fantastic marine and animal life will make your trip to Komodo a very special one.

E6 processing on Voyager

In the present digital age, slide film development opportunities on liveaboard vessels, are getting increasingly difficult to find. Due to strong demand, Kararu Dive Voyages is now heavily promoting our existing professional E6 development on the boat. For all those still adamant on not crossing over to digital photography, Kararu offers 2 E6 processing machines, expert film development by our staff and all the chemicals needed to process thousands of films! We just finished processing 517 films on Chris Newbert’s recent trip to Sorong – read the trip report below.

Trip Report from Irian Jaya

Chris Newbert and Rainbow Sea Tours

On March 19th, professional photographers Chris Newbert and Birgitte Wilms joined us for a three week Raja Ampat cruise, bringing with them a group of seasoned traveling photographers. Our trip began on a rather somber note, as our first excursion was to the Pertamina Hospital in Sorong after the news of former Kararu Cruise Director Larry Smith’s death. Despite the loss, Chris and Birgitte welcomed their guests aboard the Voyager with smiling faces and loaded cameras.

Chris and Deda, as Birgitte is known to her friends, are members of that now rare fraternity of slide film photographers. Their group was a mix of both film and digital photographers, with some shooting both. After settling in, setting up the cameras and dive gear, and being put to sleep by my briefing, we headed out to the island of Waigeo and the Atlas South Sea Pearl Farm.

Awakening in Waigeo we were welcomed by an unusual sight, the sun. The valley that the pearl farm resides, seems to draw a permanent cloud cover, which is perfectly fine, since it is a predominantly macro site. The good karma continued as Blue Ring Octopus, Zebra Crabs, and Coleman Shrimp all joined the party. After another successful Pearl Farm tour with Kevin, one of the Australian managers, a few guests indulged in pearl shopping, while others enjoyed another local dive. After spending two days diving the Bird Wall, Crustacean Crazy, and the Pearl Farm Jetty, it was time to move south to the wide-angle haven of Yangelo on the southwestern tip of Gam Island.

One of the liveliest reefs in Raja Ampat, it hosts schools of Barracuda, Rainbow Runners, Jacks, and Sweet Lips. Hidden among the picturesque bommies of crayola colored soft corals, are reeftop pipefish, ghost pipefish, pygmy seahorses, and signal gobies. With a steady current moving through the gap between islands, the reef comes alive with soft corals, fans, and black coral, leaving Kerri and I processing at our maximum rate, churning out beautiful images of this perfect site for days. Not leaving any part of the reef unexplored, the group ventured out at night to the slopes surrounding the small village, spotting Caledonians, bobtail squid, and octopi.

After three days of gorgeous blue water and cooperative currents we decided to get a macro day in. Moving a short distance north to the separation between Gam and Waigeo islands, we anchored outside the site known as “The Passage”. Unfortunately, nature was just not on our side. A usually rich macro/mangrove environment was not revealing any of its usual treasure to us today. After two photographically unproductive, yet still enjoyable dives, it was time to look for greener pastures. Next stop, Jef Fam.

The area of Jef Fam, west of Gam Island, has quite a few dive sites of note. The most well known is Melissa’s Garden, named after local Papua Diving Director Max Ammer’s daughter. The reef is a collection of three small islands surrounded by a massive submerged reef ranging in depth from 15 feet to 120. Among the gorgeous shallow hard coral garden are giant clams, some almost five feet in diameter. A large resident Sea Snake also makes it’s daily appearance for the waiting divers. The outer fringes of the Garden are gentle slopes, with large bommies protruding from a beautiful, healthy reef. The undersides of many of the bommies are home to glassy sweepers and oriental sweetlips. Blacktip reef sharks and the occasional napoleon wrasse also grace us with their presence.

Not far from Melissa’s garden lies the submerged pinnacle of barracuda Point. Although named after it’s resident barracuda school, its also home to the famous Pontohi Seahorse. About the size (and color) of a dirty grain of rice, it hides in the hydroids, making it both difficult to find, and even more difficult to photograph without gloves.

With hydroid stings on our hands and smiles on our faces after two days of Jef Fam, it was time to go play in the muck. Heading south to Batanta we entered a lush green jungle lined bay, reminiscent of something from a tarzan episode (yes, I know I’m too young for Tarzan, I saw the reruns). Waiting beneath the canopy, at just around sunset, were the Picturesque Dragonets. A relative of the Mandarin Fish (who also made appearances) the Dragonets put on quite a show for our group. With Miamira nudibranchs and ghost pipefish to boot, it was time to hunt larger game on the slopes of Kri’s Sardine Reef.

A quick ride from Batanta, Sardine reef resembles Melissa’s in it’s orientation surrounding small rock islands protruding from the water. It took us two days to get our fill of Sardine, and even then you still feel as if you’ve missed something. A troop of large Bumphead Parrotfish made close passes, almost bumping some our guests mid-photo. A Manta’s slow pass and the paitient white tip reef sharks skirting the reef make for good pelagic moments. The resident Wobegong Sharks, and schooling fusiliers, rainbow runners, surgeonfish, bannerfish, and sweetlips make this an unforgettable dive.

The only real problem you encounter at Sardine is not knowing where to point your camera. Bargibanti pygmy seahorses seem to live on every available fan, most pregnant to a point that you hang out watching them, thinking they might pop right there for your camera.

Not wanting to miss the rest of the show, we move our party to the shores of Kri island, and the dive site of Cape Kri. A thrill ride of a dive site, the Submerged peninsula runs from its shallow reef at 15-20 feet down to a sandy bottom of 130. With constant current and healthy corals, it hosts two different et equally spectacular environments. The reef atop the peninsula is lush and shallow, home to multiple reef sharks, turtles, and schools of juvenile fish. The deeper parts play host to large pelagics like white tip reefs, and napoleon wrasse. Coral outcroppings rich with orange, blue, yellow, and purple softcoral reach out into the current to pull out all the passing nutrients.

After dropping by Max Ammer’s resort, we set out for the night dive underneath one of Max’s jetties. We were met by the usual suspects: epaulette sharks walking the reef, toadfish posing for rounds of photos, and the ever present octopi.

Having picked up a stowaway, the owner Sascha, (he brought fresh veggies and gasoline so we let him on), it was time for the next part of the journey south. Sashca claimed he had passed by the great manta mating event of the decade just six miles south of Kri. Never one to embellish (ha,ha,ha) we naturally hauled anchor and shot over to wai to see for ourselves. After narrowing down where exactly this manta orgy was occurring, we did spend two dives with between 6 and a dozen mantas playing and posing.

Although we could have stayed with the Mantas for at least the rest of the trip, the mangroves of Misool were calling. A relatively new discovery, the Malangkari region boasts a handful of mangrove covered islands. More like a series of jungle rivers than reefs, they environment hosts a huge number of anthias, wrasse, and stunning shallow reefs.

A highlight of the area are the mangrove roots which support large plumes of soft corals and archer fish. A beautiful local beach providing respite from the two hour bottom times that this shallow site affords, it really is a magnificent area whose full potential has not yet been realized. Determined to see the “best of the best”, we moved on to the east side of Misool to the small islands of Fia Bajet.

Uncanny is the best way to describe this site. The Newbert and Wilms group was blessed with perfect current, sunshine, and endless visibility on this anyway beautiful site. A hard coral garden in the shallows that inspires poems and paintings, and a submerged pinnacle that has the same number and variety of softcoral colors that my magic marker set did when I was in grade school. Having decided the area was too rich for there to be only one good dive site, we started diving the surrounding rocks, finding another site not too far away. Boasting large schools of fish and an equally pretty shallow reef, the group left with an impressive array of macro and wide photos to add to the slideshow.

Our final sites were those in Boo and Farundi, both island groups on the east end of Misool. Boo’s “Pygmy Rock” and “Fan Club” allowed the photographers one last chance to polish off their film on Pygmy seahorses and stunning topography. Last but not least, it was time for our signature Bat Cave expedition. Nothing says “good trip” like guano on your shoes and shorts. So we reached the end of our three week dive expedition, returning to Sorong harbor only six hours before the planes depart. A slide show worthy of a larger audience we watched the whole trip unfold on the screen.

Personally, I would say that was one of the best slide shows I’d seen, not just because of the obvious talent of the photographers and the abundance of great subject matter, but because of the hours of E-6 processing Kerri and I endured to make it possible.

The guests and crew did not go quietly into that good night, the party definitely lasted well into the morning. After a lot of hugs and goodbyes we dropped our group of satiated photographers at the airport. We realize that three weeks is not nearly enough time to explore the rich underwater areas that Raja Ampat has to offer and so we will be happy to welcome Chris and Deda back in February 2008!

Available Trips in 2007

Diving Komodo is an absolute “must” and if you haven’t witnessed first hand the underwater wonders in this area, here is your chance! Don’t forget to Skype or contact us at info@kararu.com or kararudive@gmail.com for direct booking inquiries. We are looking forward to assist with your booking.

Please quote, “newsletter” to receive our very special discounts for these Komodo trips. NB: valid for new guest bookings only!

11-07 – June 9 – 20, 2007 - Join Kararu Dive Voyages’ team of experts on one of her most famous routes. Embarking from Bima, Sumbawa and disembarking also in Bima, guests can enjoy immediate access into the Komodo National Park! June has always been our favorite time of year for Komodo as it marks some of the best diving/weather conditions year round! There are only a few spaces left, act fast!

12-07 – June 20 – July 1, 2007 – Join Kararu Dive Voyages on her first trip back to her home port in Bali! Departing from Bima, Sumbawa, you can enjoy all the great diving the Komodo National Park is famous for as well as the 3 day journey through the incredible islands of Sumbawa, Satonda, Moyo, and finally Bali!

15-07 – July 13 – 20, 2007 – Join Kararu Dive Voyages for the best of Komodo National park. Departing from Bima, Sumbawa, this trip will take you straight to the many incredible dive sites around Komodo. This trip ends in Bima, which gives us even more time to dive in excellent conditions which July normally brings. There is only a limited amount of space left on this trip, place your booking now!

Featured Team Member - Yanti

Featured this month is Yanti, she has been with Kararu Dive Voyages since October 2006. Yanti is from Kebume in Central Java and graduated from Stimi Handayanu University with a BA in financial management in 2005.

She is working in Kararu’s accounting department and is responsible for ensuring that daily accounting procedures have been done correctly. She is also the one who will send you your invoice and remind you when to pay it! Go Yanti! She is your friendly contact person for any questions regarding your trip invoice or related financial matters.

Next Month’s Issue

We will feature May’s exciting trip report with Mark Strickland who brought his group aboard the Voyager for a two week expedition covering the best the Sorong area has to offer.

Please visit www.kararu.com/gallery/pros/mark_strickland/index.html to see some of Mark’s images taken during earlier Kararu trips. You can also visit his personal website at www.oceanic-impressions.com

The Kararu team and management looks forward to welcoming you on board the Voyager for the liveaboard scuba diving expedition of a lifetime. Please feel free to contact any of us at any time or see the 2007 and 2008 cruise schedules at our web site. www.kararu.com/schedules