This morning we were woken up very early by the sound of the dropping anchor at 5:00 a.m. and again not much later as the gentle voice of our expedition leader Michelle sounded over the personal address system to let us know we had arrived in Raja Ampat, the place many of us were most waiting to see…
During the early morning hours, still dark outside, everyone had a chance to get a cup of tea or coffee and a few pastries served in the lounge before we headed out on a magical 2-hour Zodiac cruise amongst the amazing karst limestone landscape of Waigeo Island.
It was still beautifully cool and pleasant but most of all so quiet, so everyone had a chance to hear the most gorgeous tropical bird sounds echoing through the tropical forest. We cruised silently through a small narrow channel, with limestone covered forests on both sides, as the tide was coming in and the current moved us gently through. The tropical sounds were mesmerizing and everyone enjoyed the quiet while taking in nature’s beauty.
We were rewarded with some fantastic sightings of hornbills, a variety of beautiful colourful parrots, cockatoos, great billed heron, egrets and of course the scenery, with the sun rising slowly above the limestone islands, was just spectacular.
Halfway through the Zodiac cruise, our lovely hotel team waited for us in the hotel Zodiac with hot chocolate and Baileys and some Muesli bars for the ones getting a little hungry. A nice surprise!
After two hours of cruising it was time to slowly go back to the ship for a proper breakfast out on deck. On our way home to the National Geographic Orion we passed a few local people on their boats, and all waved to us with the biggest smiles. Lovely to see!
The outdoor café was filled with exciting chatter as everyone shared their amazing experience of our very first morning here at Raja Ampat.
At 10:00 a.m. our naturalist Adam Cropp invited us into the lounge, during the repositioning of the National Geographic Orion, for his presentation: “Exotica and Erotica of the Deep.” Adam shared with us some fun underwater love stories of some of the most interesting and fascinating marine critters and it certainly generated some laughs.
Around midday lunch was served to fuel us for a very active afternoon out on the water. The divers went out, the glass bottom Zodiac took people out on tour and of course many of us joined the snorkel activity. And what a magical snorkeling place it was!
We were anchored off the Island Kri, another limestone island covered with lush tropical forest and an amazing fringe reef surrounding it. It was the best place we had seen so far… incredible diversity of healthy coral, beautiful colourful large and small reef fish and the icing on the cake was the sighting of hawksbill turtles, black tip reef sharks and some very large fish like the Giant Wrass. The visibility was incredible and the temperature of the water was very pleasant. Most of us were in the water for nearly two hours non-stop, as there was so much to see and to enjoy.
At 4:30 p.m. all the divers went out for an exciting night dive, as Raja Ampat is the place to do it. After a pretty amazing dive, everyone came back full of excitement and ready for a big nice, sumptuous BBQ out on deck.
The rest of us were invited into the lounge for a special recap, as we had a guest onboard, Max Ammer ,the owner of Kri Eco Lodge and an active conservationist. Max has been very much involved in the conservation efforts trying to protect Raja Ampat from the threats it is facing, being one of the last pristine marine environments on the planet. Max shared with us his personal experiences, and some of the conservation projects he is currently involved in.
To celebrate our first exciting day here in Raja Ampat we were invited into the outdoor café for a decadent BBQ dinner out on deck! It was a great way to finish off the day with more to look forward to tomorrow!
