A week has passed since we returned from Papua, Indonesia and a truly epic series of adventures with friends exploring the breathtaking underwater environment of the islands known as Raja Ampat. Having traveled there briefly on a previous expedition in 2010 where we spent just a few days passing through these islands we were especially eager to get back in the water and give the region a closer look. Our home for the expedition was a beautiful 120 ft sailing vessel – the Indo Siren. Built on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, the S/Y Indo Siren is a traditional “gaft rigged Phinisi” handcrafted from ironwood and teak. She was amazingly comfortable and has been specially purposed for scuba diving and snorkeling the region. We were definitely setting out with all we required to explore aggressively with a team of local guides. However even with all the pre-trip research and the expert briefings nothing could have prepared us for what we were about to discover below the water here at the equator in the region called by many the epicenter of the Coral Triangle. We managed over 50 dives in slightly more than two weeks. Our team led by the intrepid Apex Expedition founders Giovanna Fasanelli and Jonathan Rossouw identified over 600 different species of fish over the course of our time there. Incredible!! My personal favorite were the encounters with Oceanic mantas – the ocean equivalent of a jumbo jet. Also spotted were several great looks at the Tasseled wobbegong shark, a member of the carpet shark family. Beautiful to watch.
Hope you enjoy these images. It was hard to choose just a few to share.
Oceanic manta ray – This one was about 5- 6 meters across and weighed almost 2000 lbs
Tasseled wobbegong shark ventures out for the hunt from its lair
Tasseled wobbegong shark waits for prey
Tasseled wobbegong shark perfectly camouflaged waiting for unsuspecting prey to come too close.
Oceanic manta ray about to block the sun over my head
Oceanic manta with a Cobia trailing behind. The Cobia was about a meter long. This manta was massive!
Hawksbill turtle swims close by not bothered by my presence.
Banded sea crait – this highly poisonous sea snake took a peculiar interest in my camera dome. Note: shooting with a fish-eye lens this critter was only a few millimeters from my camera when I made this image!
Lion fish in it’s native habitat
