Erwin Poliakoff
Contributor
My wife and I recently returned from a wonderful trip on the Gaia Love liveaboard. It was our second trip on this boat; we had been on it in March 2019 for a previous Raja Ampat sailing, and liked it so much that we decided to do it again. It was just as good the second time around. Unlike most of the liveaboards in Indonesia, this is a steel boat, and it is wider and more stable in the water than the more traditional phinisi style boats. It was comfortable, well-run, well-staffed, and great to be a guest on this boat again. We left home on January 18, and arrived in Sorong on a Garuda redeye flight early on the morning of January 21. We spent that day and night at the Swiss BelHotel, which was comfortable and reasonably priced (about $65US/night, breakfast included). We got on the boat January 22, and were surprised to learn that there were only a total of 12 guests on this sailing. I do not have pictures of the boat from this trip, but the website (DIVE GAIA - A new breed of liveaboard) gives an accurate picture of what the boat is like. Getting on the boat, you notice that the dive deck is unusually spacious. Each diver has a wide station to store his or her gear, and even has a personal camera rinse tank. Very nice touch. We were in Room 10 on the upper deck, and rooms on this deck have individual balconies and floor to ceiling windows. We did not dive the first day. The usual dive schedule started on our second day, which consists of the following: cold pre-breakfast from 6-7am, first dive at approximately 7:30am, hot breakfast, second dive at 10:30am, lunch, third dive at 3pm, dinner at 7pm for divers not doing night dive, 6:30 night dive (followed by dinner for guests doing night dive). There are three skiffs carrying 4 divers and the dive guide. Each day you rotate to a different dive guide (there were only three on this sailing as there were only 12 divers). The ratio of 4 guests per guide is their standard, though. The food was excellent, and the service was first-rate in every respect. Raja Ampat has our favorite diving in the world, and this trip was no exception. The reefscapes were great. The manta sightings were pretty slim on this trip, but that is just luck of the draw. There is also plenty of macro opportunities, but the main attraction for us was the healthy and vibrant reef vistas. We did nine days of diving, and loved the trip. We plan to visit some other Indonesian diving areas on this boat in the future.
Here are some examples of the scenery and reef life.
003_P1250087 by Erwin Poliakoff, on Flickr
004_P1220113 by Erwin Poliakoff, on Flickr
014_P1270247 by Erwin Poliakoff, on Flickr
016_P1290062 longnose hawkfish by Erwin Poliakoff, on Flickr
019_P1300160 by Erwin Poliakoff, on Flickr
027_P1270240 bubble coral shrimp by Erwin Poliakoff, on Flickr
074_P1290003 by Erwin Poliakoff, on Flickr
031_P1230070 Sauwandarek Jetty in Raja Ampat by Erwin Poliakoff, on Flickr
The whole set can be found here: 2020 Flickr Raja Ampat album
Here are some examples of the scenery and reef life.
The whole set can be found here: 2020 Flickr Raja Ampat album