INDONESIA: Sorong ~ Banda ~ Ambon
VOYAGER: Operated by Kararu Dive Cruises
November 4-16 2007
Escorted by: Cindi LaRaia
The all new Voyager, a 46 meter (150ft) by 10 Meter (33ft) wide twin engine motor steel vessel, sister ship of the legendary Cehili, from years back. The spacious ship can take up to 20 passengers comfortably. She is a fully equipped luxury floating hotel and scuba diving platform. Individually air-conditioned cabins and staterooms, spacious saloons, a reading library and sundeck. Diving and critter hunting is made easy with at least two fully qualified and locally experienced expatriate dive instructors on each cruise plus Indonesian dive guides.
I have personally chosen this itinerary to escort this incredible dive adventure. I have been through this area on many occasions on different dive vessels; Sorong being one of the richest most diverse areas in Indonesia with such a variety of larger and smaller creatures, Banda always a mixed bag of exceptional diving and visiting Banda Neira town is such a treat! My first time here many years ago was on the fabled Cehili with Larry Smith, great memories and the chance to go back to Ambon lights my heart!!!
Read about 'Walking Shark' Among 50 New Marine Species Found Off Indonesia's Papua Province.
 Boat only cost; $3900.00 per person twin share. Plus fuel surcharge, port fees and air to Sorong and return from Ambon are extra.
INDONESIA: Sorong - Banda - Ambon Itinerary
DAY ONE - Arrival Sorong Airport
Kararu Dive Voyage's dive master will pick you up and you will be escorted to the ship for immediate boarding. Cabin allocation and ship orientation will take place before departure at 3:00 PM. Take this opportunity to familiarise yourselves with the vessel, make yourself comfortable. Dinner will be served while sailing towards our first destination Wai Island.
DAY TWO - Kri Island
Welcome to Kri Island. The reefs in this area are protected by Max Ammer from the Papua Diving Resort. If you would like to add some diving days before the cruise you can just stay at his resort and join the boat right outside the Lagoon. Kri is a great start for the cruise with the most fish and coral species accounted on a single divesite. Truly pristine reefs, you will want to dive these sites around this island again and again. A night dive will be offered.
DAY THREE - Wai Island
 After a light breakfast, a dive will be offered in the calm shores of Wai Island. A full breakfast will be served and another dive will be offered at the American plane that fell in the 1940's. The wreck is upside down and between 24-34m (90-115') deep. The wreck is fairly intact with excellent coral covering it especially on the lower side of the tail section. The guns are also visible on this truly great dive. Lunch will be on board while the afternoon diving will take place in this spectacular area. If desired, you may take a short trip on shore to see the resident cassowary bird. Several different exciting critters will also be on offer today.
DAY FOUR, FIVE AND SIX - Misool Island Group
Today a mesmerizing underwater scape which boasts walls and pinnacles where not an inch is left uncovered. Enormous sea fans rise to the surface, reef fish abound, and the reefs are adorned in every shade of soft coral. This area has also won fame for being a prolific habitat for pygmy seahorses and on most any dive the guides can find all three species.. The deepest part of the seafloor in this area is only about 200 feet down. The Misool Island group sits at the entrance of the Seram Sea, two degrees south of the equator. This entire region is one enormous ancient limestone basin and even has limestone as the seafloor. Those who have travelled to Palau can picture these little tropical islands covered in pandana, other palms, with steep sided walls where wind and sea has worn the rock away. The islands, or islets, are uncountable. The larger ones, like Misool itself, have canyons and lagoons speckled with white sand beaches ideal for tender boat rides. One can spend hours exploring and never see the same bay. It really is a place of great beauty both above and below the water. It's rightly being considered by the Indonesian government for national park status and by the United Nations as a world heritage site. Below the water there are over 1100 species of fish and over 450 different species of corals making the area one of the most diverse marine habitats in the world.
DAY SEVEN - Koon Island
Koon Island is located in the South of Seram Island and is the next stop after our departure from Misool. Koon has only one divesite named "too many fish". What makes Koon so special is the location on a trench that goes down to over 3000 meters. All the big Sea life that passes from the north to the south ocean has to go trough these waters. Big schools of all kinds of Fish are seen here as well can be Orcas, whales and sharks. Depending on the moon phase the strong currents can make this dive a very challenging Dive.
DAY EIGHT, NINE and TEN - Banda Neira
 Banda, has an important place in Indonesian and world history. Dominated by a 2500-foot active volcano, for more than three hundred years these tiny islands were the centre of wealth for the Dutch colonies. They were the only source of the rare spices of nutmeg and mace for centuries and the Dutch, after capturing them from the Portuguese, guarded them jealously from all comers including the English. For centuries, a kilo of these spices held more value than the same weight in gold. To get the full story guests will need to come aboard and experience the islands themselves. Suffice to say that the islands' rich history is reflected in its architecture, population and the culture. The diving is also full of surprises. There are some exceedingly good reef dives on the east and north sides of the islands, but the real gem is under the pier and in front of a small hotel's sea wall. Here not only marine life treasures such as pipe fish of all varieties, frog fish of many varieties and colour variations, and a plethora of juvenile fish seeking sanctuary in the calm waters, but also the least bashful and largest mandarin fish ever! These colourful gems are out of their hiding places all day and are in such shallow water that they can be seen from the pier. The vessel takes advantage of the sleepy harbour by being alongside the pier. This is when Voyager's heritage as an old roll-on roll-off car ferry is put to use by lowering her stern ramp to create a swim platform. This enables divers to come and go as they please all day long.
Banda Sea - north of Gunung Api is a remote archipelagic atoll named Lucipara. These atolls are also surrounded by a seafloor that is 13,000 feet below. Consisting of three large islands and a few tiny reefs that just break the surface the islands offer divers vertical walls and visibility of over 120 feet with very mild currents. They are also home to a population of the largest sponges that Kararu has ever seen in Indonesia. Some barrel sponges can swallow a diver in their orifice without difficulty.
 Gunung Api - is a volcano that's summit breaks the sea's surface by 800 feet yet which has its base on the seabed some 13,000 feet below. The island created by the volcano is 120 miles from the next nearest landfall and is therefore home to the reef fish that populate it's steep drop offs and walls, occasional visiting pelagics, and extraordinarily an uncountable population of Banded and Olive sea snakes. These marine reptiles have found a sanctuary here among the warm volcanic vents and reef fish that live in the area. It is truly a unique spot that never ceases to amaze divers. In some shots there are over thirty snakes in the frame and they make inquisitive yet docile subjects.
DAY ELEVEN - Nusa Laut
Nusa Laut just east of Ambon was made famous from two of east Indonesia's famous diving pioneers, Larry Smith and Edi Frommenweiler. Larry had said it was his favourite reef in the entire eastern region of this great archipelago. It is truly a spectacular location and a full days diving will be on offer.
DAY TWELVE AND THIRTEEN - Ambon
Ambon holds an important place in both the rich history of Indonesia, and as one of its best diving destinations. The island was conquered by the Portuguese, later the Dutch, and is speckled with the occupying forces old forts, some of which date back to the late 15th Century. It is now the capital of the southern Malukkus and has a diverse mix of cultures and ethnicity.. Ambon was taken off the tourist map by the government for six years after unrest between two ethnic groups led to turmoil in the city. After the unrest subsided, the army was sent to keep the peace and help repair infrastructure. This was a great shame for the Ambonese, a welcoming and hospitable people, that are proud of the history and beauty of their island as well as the fantastic diving found around their shores. Ambon harbour is a long, deep harbour surrounded on both sides by steep, verdant volcanic slopes. A true sense of history overcomes one; imagining the great seafarers like Magellan, Cook and others sailing down the same bay's mouth. One gets the impression that the area cannot have changed much since the days of these great explorers. The first dive site is under a pier close to the Ambon airport and has the boasting rights of being able to call itself the first great muck site in the world, this is normally where one can get a glimpse of the rare Ambon scorpion fish. Also on offer is a pristine wreck covered with hard and soft corals, lots of fish and resting upright in relatively shallow water.
Departure to your next destination will be from Ambon's airport with daily service to Bali.
**Itinerary is subject to change
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Dive Discovery
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