We will wake up in the protected bay of Yenbuba between the two islands of Mansuar and Kri from there we will travel in the morning to the famous reef of Cape Kri, where we will do our first morning dive. This dive site was where the initial surveys were done by Gerald Allen, with a huge diversity of 283 different species of fish in one dive recorded back in 2001. Still now, this dive site provides a wonderful diversity and great displays of schooling fish life, the current here can be strong but will deliver a diverse display of Raja Ampat’s marine life. Good for both wide angle and macro sightings, like the small pigmy seahorse and hairy shrimp to rays and sharks. From there we will move to Chicken reef and Sardine Reef in the afternoon. Both of these sites are perfect to be dived on a falling tide from the east and provide large schooling of fish life, along with good shark sightings. Grey reef sharks can be sighted here, along with black tips, white tips and wobbegong’s. Both of these sites are best dived with current but your cruise director will provide detailed information on the entry techniques of these dive sites, as a quick drop in is ideal. For the final dive of the day we will head to a muck dive site on the Southern side of Waigeo. Here we will drop onto a sandy bottom and explore the slope for a matrix of smaller macro critters. The Thorny Seahorse is sometimes found here among the halimeda, and there can be sightings of octopus, cuttle fish and squids, plus a diverse variation of pipefish across the sensitive substrate. Nudibranchs, endless shrimps and crabs will also be found. (4 dives)
