Raja Ampat has been on my list of dream dive destinations ever since I began learning about the Coral Triangle when I was in the Peace Corps in the Philippines.So when the chance came up to join friends Jos and Lida on their boat the Seven Seas in January 2018, I cleared the schedule and booked the flights from Bali to Sorong.Our expedition lasted for ... Read More
Twelve days of diving on the Seven Seas were like a dream - the world's best diving on one of the most incredible liveaboard boats anywhere on earth.Highlights included diving with bottlenose dolphins, mantas, wobbegong sharks, reef sharks, sea turtles, and exploring some of the most beautiful islands in the entire Coral Triangle.This video includes aerial footage, underwater footage, and is just a sample of ... Read More
Shark species in Raja Ampat range from the ultra-rare tasselled wobbegong to lightning-quick schools of baby black tip reef sharks crusing the reefs in search of an easy meal.The presence of these apex predators is an indication that the conservation efforts across the Bird's Head Seascape - an enormous marine reserve that includes Raja Ampat - are working.During our expedition across Raja Ampat with the ... Read More
Raja Ampat is full of clown fish. Technically, it's full of all sorts of fish, but I think we saw at least one anemone fish on every dive during twelve days of exploring Raja Ampat with the Seven Seas.Some underwater photographers might have grown bored of photographing clown fish, but even after shooting them for so many years I'm still trying to create the perfect ... Read More
I never expected to see a dolphin underwater while scuba diving. I have seen them many times at the surface, playing in the wake of boats in the Philippines and Indonesia, but as soon as you might try to get into the water with them, they disappear into the blue.We were diving a seamount that is often a cleaning stating for passing mantas, the plan ... Read More
The white sand beaches of Raja Ampat's islands are an important nesting habitat for several species of sea turtles. Adult green, hawksbill, and leatherback turtles appear on the beaches during the full moon to lay their eggs.Conservation programs to protect these species have created protected nesting beaches, and on one afternoon during our Seven Seas dive trip in January, we visited one beach as hatchling ... Read More