Starting from Sorong in West Papua we head south to Misool, which can be divided into many areas where we can spend the whole day at a selection of amazing dive sites. Daram is in the very east of these islands and has inviting names such as Candy Store, Andiamo and Warna Berwarna. In the iconic areas of Boo, Fiabecet and Yuliet we look through the iconic Boo Windows, with tonnes of fish surrounding us. We explore fabulous dive sites like Shadow Reef (aka Magic Mountain), Nudibranch Rock, Batu Kecil, Whale Rock, Boo West Corner and Yuliet Kecil. And if we are lucky, we see both reef and oceanic manta rays. Our eagle-eyed dive masters will also help you look for a ‘walking shark’ on a night dive at Romeo.
Sagof, Wagmab, Farondi offer us stunning underwater walls, overhangs and cave structures plus amazing macro, such as nudibranchs, flatworms, anemone crabs and all kinds of shrimps. In this area, we have the opportunity to visit the wonderful lagoons. There are also lagoons at Wayilbatan, including the Love Lagoon. The hike up the steep stairs is well worth the view. A drift dive through a channel covered in sea fans at Neptune Fan Sea is the perfect place to cool off after the hot walk. Wedding Cake and Barracuda Rock are other stunning dive sites in this area.
It is a long crossing up to Penemu so on the last day of diving in Misool we will do two dives before heading north. Famous Melissa’s Garden awaits us with its spectacular, healthy and wide-spread hard coral plateau in the shallows. At Keruo Wall we can admire large gorgonian sea fans and lovely reef tops, and we might also explore My Reef and Batu Rufus. A short hike to the viewpoint of Penemu offers a spectacular view of the lagoons and its surrounding islands. Next, we make our way to Wofoh.
Wofoh has several unique dive sites easily reachable from one mooring point, allowing us to relax in this incredibly scenic area. On one side, we will have the backdrop of Wofoh and Taman Wofoh, two small islands with pristine white coral sand beaches and on the other side we can take in vistas of the forested mountains and valleys of West Waigeo. We will do one or two dives at Wofoh before heading into Aljui Bay. Inside this bay, there is also an opportunity to take a little tour to visit the pearl farm and learn all about how pearls are grown. A late afternoon dive at the pearl farm jetty might be possible and it can be full of schooling fish and wobbegong sharks. During the night dive, it is not unusual to find macro favourites like toadfish, octopus and Epaulette walking sharks.
An even more stunning panorama can be indulged at world-famous Wayag, which is in the very north and across the equator in the northern hemisphere. In the morning, for the fit and adventurous, we will climb to the top of Mount Pindito for the fantastic views. We can then do two dives. The dives at Far Out Rock and Figure Eight are characterised by pretty sloping reefs where we look for nudibranchs, leaf fish and moray eels. In the afternoon, we will go for a scenic tour in the speedboats. Look for baby manta rays and turtles as we cruise around. At the ranger station, we look for blacktip reef sharks swimming over the sand in the shallows.
The following day will be spent on the western tip of Gam island, at an island called Yangeffo, which protects a sheltered bay. This small area has multiple world class dive sites. Famous ones like Citrus Ridge and Mayhem always amaze divers with their vibrancy and biodiversity. Sunsets and sunrises are very special at our mooring point at Yangeffo: as the sun drops, the surrounding forested hills become alive with flocks of sulphur crested cockatoos and Blyth’s hornbills emerge to return to their roosting places.
The remainder of our adventure will be spent diving in the Dampier Strait. Here you can expect to dive at some world class, adrenaline-packed dive sites such as Cape Kri, Chicken Reef, Sleeping Barracuda, Sardine Reef, Mioskon and Blue Magic. At the other end of the Dampier Strait is the island of Arborek with a great jetty dive. Lalosi is a drift dive completely full of fusiliers and with a chance to see wobbegong sharks. The well-known manta aggregation sites of Manta Sandy and Manta Ridge are also in this area. Sawandarek is on the island of Mansuar and features a fantastic jetty dive. You can also visit Papua Explorer’s coral restoration project here. For those interested we can take a walk around the village at Sawandarek or Arborek.
