Raja Ampat National Park (Alison Steel)

Our recent Raja Ampat cruise was a wonderful mix of exciting cetacean encounters, spectacular snorkelling trips and some fabulous birds. After overnighting in Sorong, we boarded our boat and set off to explore around the myriad of islands that make up Raja Ampat National Park. Our floating home for the week was very comfortable, with a highly professional crew who looked after us superbly during our stay. Being on a boat gave us the opportunity to visit a variety of remote locations throughout the archipelago and allowed for a more flexible itinerary.

There were five cetacean species that were positively identified during the cruise, including two rare, mid-sized, baleen whales – Omura’s and Bryde’s, as well as Spinner, Pantropical Spotted and Indo-pacific Bottlenose Dolphins. On one occasion we had some amazing views of the patterning on an Omura’s Whale when it surfaced several times in close proximity to the boat, showing off both sides of its body markings. We also had a number of wonderful interactions with both Spinner and Spotted Dolphins who came in to bow ride, as well as energetically leaping and splashing around us in some very acrobatic moves. There’s nothing quite like playful dolphins having fun to lift your spirits.

Out at sea there were periods of intense bird activity, where mixed flocks of terns, noddies, boobies and shearwaters were clustered over underwater schools of small fish, diving down to pick them off as they were forced up to the surface by larger hunting fish. Once or twice we also saw a whale coming up through the middle of this noisy chaos and there were often Lesser Frigatebirds cruising about, looking for their next target to harass.

Closer to shore, the reefs that we visited during our snorkels were some of the most pristine that you can imagine. Highly colourful and each with such a different range of fish, corals and other fauna that we never wanted to get out of the water at the end of a session! Turtles, Manta Rays, eels, hermit crabs, sea snakes, tiny nudibranchs, baby squid, anemonefish with their respective anemones, vibrant parrotfish, rays, sharks and octopus were among those occupying the reefs, keeping us looking in wide-eyed fascination for the next new sighting. With some of the fish species here not yet formally identified, it was unsurprising that the number of fish we could easily identify on sight by the end of our stay represented only a small proportion of those we’d seen, and left us with much more to discover.

We did visit some of the many islands too. Here there were a good selection of birds including parrots and cockatoos, pigeons and doves, sunbirds, honeyeaters, friarbirds, kingfishers, starlings, herons and raptors, although the two most memorable birds were the ones that we made an extra, pre-dawn effort to go looking for: Red and Wilson’s Birds-of-paradise. Both male birds are quite different, but equally spectacular. The Red BOP’s head and nape are bright yellow and green. It was using the top of a tree as a display site, hopping around the branches and calling loudly, with occasional displays of feather shaking that showed off his red tail feathers and long tail streamers. The Wilson’s BOP displays nearer the ground, clearing an area of forest floor of any imperfections, flinging aside leaves and twigs that it doesn’t want with a flick of its head. The back is a vibrant yellow and red, with a brilliant blue head cap and short, curling tail embellishments, while the front is a subtler black, purple and green, highlighting its pale gape.

Away from the towns, there was such a feeling of remoteness and tranquillity, allowing you to switch off from everyday life, relax, and just enjoy the moment. There was so much to explore that we could all happily have stayed there for many more days. It’s a trip to be highly recommended, particularly to anyone who enjoys brightly-coloured birds, cetacean-watching and snorkelling.

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