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English version:

Watch out! Long read with loads of pictures and videos! It’s well worth it though…

Since this thought started growing in my mind that I need to visit South East Asia, this was the very first thing I wanted to do. TO DIVE IN RAJA AMPAT. Really a dream came true with this exercise.

I went back to Bali from Penida island to fly to Western Papua. My flight departed in the evening from Denpasar to Jakarta where I stayed 2 hours in the airport and then 20 mins after midnight I started my journey to Sorong in Western Papua. By the way, the Jakarta airport is really cool. Very modern, comfortable and with a superb design. It is very competitive with any Western Airport. The plane to Sorong was quite empty so I could sleep on it but sometimes when I woke up and looked through the window I saw that I am going out of civilization. I mainly saw islands and no lights, so no cities, towns or villages, only nature. I landed after 6am in Sorong where I waited a few hours for my ferry to Waisai. The journey took 1.5 hours to Waisai, then I registered myself at the tourist desk, paid $70 worth of rupies for the national park permit which allowed me to enter Raja Ampat. It’s actually for a year but I guess I won’t be able to come back soon. Who knows though 🙂

From Waisai, Haja – the owner of Daroyen Village: my accommodation – picked me up with a boat and in 1 hour we got to the village. Daroyen Village is a homestay next to Sawinggrai Village.

And what the hack is Raja Ampat? First of all it’s a must visit place for every diver. Raja Ampat is in the West Papuan province of Indonesia and one of the last stands of untouched coral reefs on planet Earth. In the Raja Ampat archipelago there are 4 main islands: Misool, Salawati, Batanta and Waigeo and thousands of small islands. It’s a heaven for nature lover divers like me because here you can find the richest biodiversity of marine life on the planet. They say there are 60% more types of corals in this area than in the Great Barrier Reef and the condition of the corals, just like in Komodo is very healthy. The first time I submerged here was an unspeakable experience, seeing the size and the variety of colours of the soft and hard corals was spectacular. You can dive with a lot of animals here, just to mention a few: large turtles, bump head parrot fishes, oceanic mantas, black and white tip sharks, napoleon fishes, wobbegongs (= raja ampat carpet sharks) and so on. There are some dangerous species too, such as orcas and the fearful salt water crocodiles. There are thousands of dives spots but neither of them have these 2 bad asses, so don’t worry, the place is totally safe. On my last day saw a dead baby orca few hundred meters from the home stay. We jumped in the boat and went there to take some sad photos of it. Salt water crocodiles are the real bad asses here though, they grow 7 – 8 meters and live in specific areas where there are a lot of mangroves. There was one dive spot I couldn’t go, the beautiful Passage between Waigeo and Gam islands, because they regularly see these beasts over there. And a Russian tourist 5 months ago died because despite the locals told not to, he was insisted to go for snorkelling in that area and a croco bit one leg and one arm off of the guy.  But again, wherever your dive guides take you, it’s always very safe. The sea in Raja Ampat rather looks like a lake, there are no waves, the dives are easy, no strong currents and the visibility is pretty good.

I did 17 dives in 10 days and I loved each and one of them. But not only the dives I loved. Raja Ampat is basically a oversized zoo and you are part of it straight from your arrival to Waisai. I saw flying foxes – these dog size bats – on one of the small islands where we spent our break between 2 dives. Also saw a large varanus on another island begging for food also in a break between dives. Somewhere else, a curious baby shark swam 1 meters from the shore to see who these divers were. And there are plenty of animals also around Daroyen Village. Front of my bungalow in the night, there were usually baby black tip sharks with loads of other baby fishes. Baby wobbegong and so on. Next to my bungalow, about in 2 metres distance one night we saw a snake eating a rat. It was pretty gross but amazing experience. Here on Raja Ampat you are never alone, there are always animals around you.

With the dives, I discovered a lot of beautiful islands around Gam island. There are different type and size of islands. You can find totally abandoned islands with bamboo huts where you can have your own island with your own beach and there are the bit bigger ones (5 – 6 kms), such as Arborek with a nice village with always smiling people. Here on Arborek I also saw a cute cuscus monkey 🙂

Perhaps the 2 most beautiful things I have seen here (and probably in my life) were Pyanemo where you can go up to a viewpoint to see the beautiful green lagoons with the small jungle covered islands. From the view point you can also see the black tip sharks peacefully patrolling in the warm water of the lagoons.

The other top place were the sand banks next to Kri island. These are tiny, 4-6 square meters mini sand islands in the middle of the sea where we spent our break between 2 dives. The scenery and the feeling was incredible.

And let me mention another unforgettable moment. We went for a night dive to Sawinggrai Jetty and although it is a couple of minutes’ drive with the boat, the journey was incredible. We went in pitch black, no lights on the boat. The water was calm and dark and the stars of the southern hemisphere shined like diamonds on the sky.

A few words about the homestay. Daroyen Village consists of 6 bamboo huts for the guests, a bamboo dining room and some bamboo buildings for the Raja’s family who runs the place. On its sea side there is a massive mangrove bush which separates it from the sea, there is only one entrance, a bay where the small boats can go in and out. The owner and his family are very friendly folks and I figured they are real heroes. Imagine a life where you have to buy petrol to fill the generator to have electricity and to be able to go with the boat to buy things or sort things out. Although the sea provides them with unlimited food and they grow their own vegetables, their life is a constant battle every day. The closest shop is 30 minutes with the boat, so if you run out of fresh water, need more petrol or anything else you don’t have other choice but to go there.

Apart from Haja, his brother Herman I had another very good friend: Elvis, their cousin. Awesome guy. We had fun all the time!

There were 3 dogs too here and one of them, Rambo also became my good friend. It was obviously a friendship with benefits for him because every time I ate in the dining place, he came there for his cut. His favourite were the chocolate biscuits 🙂

Oh yes, health worries. Western doctors and the entire healthcare does a very good job to make you afraid of tropical diseases and other stuff prior your travel to South East Asia. So you would think that anything you touch will cause you Hepatitis C and the mosquitos will bite you in the next moment so you get malaria or Dengue-fever straightaway. I learned here in South East Asia that this is total bullshit. It’s to sell you expensive medication.

So don’t worry a second and come to Raja Ampat! I am already planning my next trip here when I will go deeper in the north to see the remote islands and to climb up to the view point on Wayag and also to check out Triton Bay and Cenderawasih Bay 🙂

This 12 days were unforgettable. See you next time Elvis, Haja, Herman and Rambo. Thanks for your hospitality and the amazing time in Raja Ampat!

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Magyar verzio:

Vigyazat! Hosszu olvasmany sok keppel es videoval, de megeri…

Amiota ez a gondolat elkezdett motoszkalni a fejemben, hogy meg kell latogatnom Del-Kelet Azsiat, ez volt a legelso dolog amit csinalni akartam. BUVARKODNI RAJA AMPATON. Szoval igazan egy alom valt valora az ut ezen reszevel.

Penida szigeterol visszautaztam Balira, hogy onnan repulhessek Nyugat-Papuara. Este indult a gepem Denpasarbol Jakartaba, ahol 2 orat varakoztam a repteren amig vegul ejfel utan 20 perccel tovabb indultam Sorong fele, Nyugat Papuaba. A repterrol jut eszembe. A jakartai repter nagyon allat, modern, kenyelmes es szuper munkat vegeztek a designerek. Barmely nyugati repterren felveszi a versenyt. A Sorong fele meno jaraton nem voltak sokan, igy majdnem vegigaludtam az utat. Neha azonban felebredtem es amikor kineztem az ablakon az alattam suhano tajra akkor erzekeltem, hogy mennyire elhagyom a civilizalt vilagot. Az ablakon at nem lattam fenyeket, varosokat, vagy akar falvakat, csak a termeszetet. Reggel 6-kor szalltam le Sorongon, ahol nehany orat kellet varnom a kompomra Waisai-ig. A hajo ut 1.5 oraig tartott. Waisaiban regisztraltam a kikotoben es kb 70 dollarnyi rupiaert megvettem a nemzeti park belepot, ami 1 evre szol. Attol tartok nem fogok tudni 1 even belul visszamenni, de ki tudja 🙂

Waisaba Haja – lakohelyem, a Daroyen Village egyik tulajdonosa – jott ertem motorcsonakkal, amivel 1 ora alatt Daroyen faluba ertunk. Daroyen egy homestay Sawinggrai falu mellett.

Es mi a fene ez a Raja Ampat? Eloszor is, kotelezo merulohely minden buvarnak. Raja Ampat Indonezia nyugat papuai tartomanya es az erintetlen korallok utolso mentsvara a bolygon. A Raja Ampat szigetvilag 4 nagyobb szigetbol: Misoolbol, Salawatibol, Batantabol es Waigeobol es tobb ezer kisebb szigetbol all. Valosagos paradicsom termeszetbarat buvaroknak mint en, mivel itt talalod a Fold leggazdagabb biogologiai sokfeleseget (biodiversity). Allitolag 60%-kal tobb tipusu korall el itt, mint a Nagy Korallzatonyban es a korallok allapota is – csak ugy mint Komodon – gyonyoru, egeszseges. Elso merulesem felejthetetlen es szavakkal leirhatatlan erzes volt amint meglattam a korallok mereteit es szineit. Egy csomo allattal merulhetsz itt, csak nehanyat megemlitve: hatalmas teknosok, bump head parrot fishek, oceani manta rajak, fekete es feheruszoju capak, napoleon halak, wobbengongok (= raja ampati szonyeg capa) stb… Vannak itt veszelyes fajok is, ugy mint kardszarnyu delfinek es sos vizi krokodilok. De szerencsere a tobb ezer aktiv merulohely egyiken se futhatsz ossze ezzel a ket joszaggal szoval a hely biztonsagos. Az utolso napomon a homestayben Haja latott valamit a vizen. Motorcsonakba ugrottunk es tenyleg a homestay elott par szaz meterre ott lebegett egy halott baby kardszarnyu delfin a viz felszinen. Az igazi veszelyes dogot itt azonban a sos vizi krokodilok, amik 7 – 8 meteresre nonek es Raja Ampat bizonyos helyein, nagy mangrove erdok kornyeken vadasznak. Egy merulohelyet le is zartak, ahova elmentem volna: a Gam es Waigeo szigetek kozotti Passage-ot. Itt sok hatalmas krokodil tanyazik. Kb 5 honappal ezelott egy orosz turista meg is halt, mivel a helyiek tiltasa ellenere sznorkelezett a Passage kornyeken. Jott egy kroko es rogton egy karral es labbal megkonnyittette. Az egesz Raja Ampat viszont biztonsagos, mert az aktiv buvarhelyek minden veszelyzonatol tavol talalhatoak. A tenger Raja Ampaton inkabb olyan, mint egy to – alig vannak hullamok, aramlatok igy a merulesek eleg konnyuek es a latotavolsag is rendben van.

17 merulest nyomtam itt le 10 nap alatt es mindegyiket egytol egyig imadtam. De nem csak a meruleseket. Raja Ampat valojaban egy tulmeretezett allatkert, aminek mar az elso masodperctol reszese vagy, ahogy megerkezel Waisaiba. Lattam repulo rokakat – ilyen kutya meretu denevereket – az egyik szigeten, ahol megalltunk pihenni 2 merules kozott. Mashol egy hatalmas varanusz jott oda hozzank kajat kunyeralni. Megint mashol pedig egy kivancsi szirti capa baby uszott ki hozzank a partig, hogy szemrevetelezze a csapatunkat. Es persze rengeteg allat vesz korul Daroyen Villageben is. A bungallom elott minden este miniatur szirti capa babyk uszkalnak, de lattam wobbegong-ot is, meg tengeri kigyot. Egyik este pedig vegigneztuk, ahogy szinten a bungallom mellett egy kigyo elmajszolt egy patkanyt. Itt Raja Ampaton sosem vagy egyedul 🙂

A merulesekkel felfedeztem egy csomo gyonyoru szigetet Gam-sziget korul. Kulonbozo tipusu es meretu szigetek vannak. Talalsz itt teljesen elhagyatott mini szigeteket, ami bambusz kunyhostul strandostul total a tied lehet, es ott vannak a nagyobb szigetek mint Arborek, amelyek 5 – 6 km szelesek. Arboreken van egy kellemes kis falu, mindig mosolygo emberekkel. Itt lattam peldaul cuscus makit is 🙂

Talan a ket leggyonyorubb dolog, amit Raja Ampaton lattam (es talan eletemben) azok egyike Pyanemo volt, ahol felmehetsz a kilatohoz hogy megnezd a gyonyoru zolt lagunakat a kis dzsungel boritotta szigetekkel. A kilatobol lathatod, ahogy jokora feketeuszoju capak bekesen cirkalnak lent a lagunaban. A masik tuti dolog pedig a homokpadok voltak Kri-sziget mellett. Ezek a pici – 4-6 negyzetmeteres – mini homok szigetek az ocean kozepen vannak, ahol megint csak egy pihenot vettunk 2 merules kozott. Brutal jo volt.

Hadd adjak meg egyet a felejtethetlen pillanatokhoz. Egyszer, amikor ejszakai merulesre mentunk a Sawingrai molohoz, annak ellenere hogy a hajout nagyon rovid volt, sosem fogom elfelejteni. Teljes sotetsegben mentunk, vilagitas nelkul a hajon. A viz es sotet volt es a deli felteke csillagai gyemantokkent ragyogtak az egbolton.

Nehay szo a homestay-rol. Daroyen Village-ben van 6 bambusz kunyhobol a vendegeknek, egy etterem kunyho es egy kunyho Raja csaladja szamara. A tenger feloli odalan mangrovebol kiakalitott oblon keresztul lehet a motorcsonakokkal ki es befele kozlekedni. A tulaj es csaladja nagyon baratsagosak es a szememben igazi hosok. Kepzelj el egy olyan eletet, amikor benzint kell szerezned hogy a generatorral aramot csiholj es hogy el tudj ugrani kulonbozo dolgokert. Annak ellenere, hogy a tenger szinte kifogyhatatlan elelemforrast biztosit, az o eletuk folyamatos kuzdelemmel telik. A legkozelebbi bolt 30 percnyi motorcsonakazasra talalhato, szoval ha veletlen elfogy az edesviz, benzin vagy barmi, akkor nincs mas valasztas mint odacsonakazni.

Hajan es a batyjan Herman-on kivul meg nagyon jo baratom lett Elvis, az unokatesojuk. Elvis oriasi arc, rengeteget mokaztunk egyutt.

Volt itt 3 kutya is es az egyikukkel, Ramboval szinten nagy baratsagot kotottem. Nem volt ez teljesen oszinte baratsag, mert barmikor amikor etkeztem Rambo jott a reszesedeseert. Imadta a csokis kekszet 🙂

Meg egy dolog. Egeszsegugyi parak. A nyugati orvosok, illetve a teljes egeszsegipar nagyon jo munkat vegez, hogy halalra remitsenek mindenfele tropusi betegseggel mielott Del-Kelet Azsiaba utazol. Szoval azt gondolod, hogy barmihez hozzaersz Hepatitis C-t fog okozni, illetve a kovetkezo pillanatban megcsip egy malariaval vagy dengue-lazzal fertozott szunyog. Ez total baromsag. A lenyeg, hogy mindenfele tularazott gyogyszert eladhassanak neked.

Szoval semmi panik es gyere Raja Ampatra! En mar a kovetkezo kirandulasomat tervezem, amikor is melyebben felmegyek eszakra, hogy megnezzek nehany tavolabbi szigetet es hogy felmasszak a wayagi kilatora. Tovabba, hogy megnezzem a Triton es a  Cenderawasih obloket 🙂

Ez a 12 nap felejtethetlen volt. Remelem minel elobb ujra latom Elvist, Hajat, Hermant es Rambot. Koszonettel tartozom a vendegszeretert es a csodalatos Raja Ampaton eltoltott idoert!

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You can dive anywhere / Barhol merulhetsz 🙂

Entering Daroyen Village / Belepes Daroyen Village-be:

Bird song in the village / Madardal a faluban:

Baby shark front of my bungalow / Baby capa a bungallom elott:

Daroyen Village daytime / Daroyen Village nappal:

Seasnake in the mangroves front of my bungallow / Tengeri kigyo a bungallom elotti mangrove-ban:

Cuscus in Arborek / Cuscus maki Arboreken:

Who wants some chocolate? / Ki ker csokit?

Little school of fish by the Arborek Jetty / Kis halraj az arboreki molo mellett:

Snake eating rat next to my bungalow / Kigyo patkanyt eszik a bungallom mellett:

Flying foxes (dog size bats) / Repulo rokak (kutya meretu deneverek):

Dolphins / Delfinek:

Lizard asking for food / Varanusz kajat kunyeral:

Baby shark near the shore / Baby capa part mellett:

The one and only Pyanemo / Az oruletes Pyanemo:

2 meters shark swimming down in the lagoons / 2 meteres capa uszkal a lagunaban:

Unreal sand banks at Cape Kri / A csodalatos homokpadok Capek Kri-nel:

Sofa size shell / Kanape meretu kagylo:

Mantas at Manta Sandy / Mantak Manta Sandy-nel:

Fish feeding at Arborek Jetty / Hal etetes az arboreki molo mellett:

Bumphead parrot fishes:

Box fish:

Real National Geographic – Predators hunting in school of fish / Igazi NatGeo – Ragadozok predalnak a halrajban:

Dropoff / Letores:

Carpet shark / Szonyeg capa:

Mantas at Manta Sandy / Mantak Manta Sandyn:

Napoleon fish / Napoleon hal:

Black tip shark / Feketefoltos capa:

Beautiful, healthy corals / Gyonyoru, egeszseges korallok: