Central Raja Ampat & Misool
-0.87956, 131.26104
The archipelago of Raja Ampat (english: Four Kings) is located on the northwestern tip of the West Papua province of Indonesia off the Vogelkop (Birds Head) peninsula.
It straddles the Equator and consists of around 1500 small islands,cays and shoals surrounding the four main islands of the area. It truly is a pristine paradise both above and below water. The karst limestone formations protruding from the ocean are über-pittoresque.
Raja Ampat is considered a global epicenter of tropical marine bio-diversity. The region has more than 600 species of hard coral and more than 1860 species of reef fish. This makes it the highest coral reef biodiversity for any area its size in the world.
It is a large area with over two hundred documented dive sites. It can be segmented into three distinct areas North, Central and South Raja Ampat. Liveaboards usually cover one or two of these areas in a single trip.
Most divers will be heading to the central part of Raja Ampat between the islands of Waigeo and Batanta. The Dampier Strait runs between these two islands making for some of the most nutrient rich waters in the world.
In the south most of the diving occurs around the south-eastern corner of the island of Misool.
Diving is best done from one of the many Liveaboard dive boats available to be boarded at Sorong harbour. There are over 60 of them to choose from. Its a busy place. The season runs from October to April. During the southeast monsoon (May to September), most Liveaboard ships will have left the area.
I am pleased to note that Swiss born Edi Frommenwiler and his Liveaboard Pindito were the first to operate in Raja Ampat. A true pioneer, he built his boat in Kalimantan during 1990/91. Since 1992, the Pindito has operated in the Raja Ampat area - and was the only dive boat there for 10 years. A lot of people claim to have discovered Raja Ampat for diving. Edi has the credentials to prove it.
