Aggressor Fleet Owner’s Trip Report - Raja Ampat
Raja Ampat, or the Four Kings, is an archipelago comprising over 1,500 small islands, cays, and shoals surrounding the four main islands of Misool, Salawati, Batanta, and Waigeo. The Raja Ampat archipelago is the part of Coral Triangle which contains the richest marine biodiversity on earth.
The Raja Ampat Aggressor is a steel 100-foot purpose built liveaboard that accommodates 16 guests and 13 staff.
Wayne B. BrownDive site Friwinbonda in Central Raja Ampat.
On arrival we were greeted by the friendly Indonesian staff and Michal, our Cruise Director, an expat from Poland who has been in Indonesia for the past eight years. After we were settled in our cabins with gear setup and checked, we enjoyed welcome drinks and a lunch buffet before Michal presented his safety and charter briefing.
The diving is as diverse as advertised. During our charter, we saw the cutest pygmy seahorses on most sites, plenty of colorful nudibranchs, sharks, Manta Rays and everything in between! We saw everything on everyone’s Raja Ampat bucket list and then some!
Wayne B. BrownThis blue-ringed octopus flashed his colors at us in warning at Raja Ampat dive site Mioskin.
Our Indonesian dive guides were uncanny in how they could spot and find the most unusual critters hiding in the most unusual places on every dive. Our dive sites were very diverse ranging from fully submerged sea mounds to small islands that spread out below the surface like giant icebergs to piers and bays.
Each dive offered a unique experience where some species of fish and critters were more likely to be found like the walking shark, the blue-ringed octopus or graceful mantas.
Wayne B. BrownEven though Raja Ampat is known as a macro paradise, every month that the Marine Park grows older, we encounter more and more large animals. They see Oceanic Mantas like this one with an 8-foot wing span one!
The Raja Ampat Aggressor offers four itineraries throughout the year including Raja Ampat, Ambon, Triton Bay and Cenderawasih Bay where you encounter multiple whale sharks filter feeding on the krill surrounding the local fishing boats. Just one of the few excuses for why we need to head back!
Wayne B. BrownDiving in the south of Raja Ampat is a dream! The reefs are covered with brightly colored soft corals and beautiful sea fans.
Click here for more information on Raja Ampat itineraries with Aggressor Fleet & Dancer Fleet.
To dive with the owners, visit www.aggressor.com/dwo.php.
