Allison Finch
Contributor
Well, the trip didn't go off as hoped for. But, with a wonderful company like Dive Damai, they made it a great experience anyway.
We had a wonderful week in Ambon. I found thw very BEST place to shoot mandarin fish, and it is right in the harbor. Go figure!
The harbor had everything in it, especially junk. I could have spent the whole week just there.
We then flew to West Papua to board the Damai. Wow! what an incredible boat. We had a free masseur at our disposal throughout the trip. The boat is a traditional design. But, where most of these types of boats cram many divers onboard, this boat only takes a few. My cabin spanned the whole width of the boat, had a bathtub and shower and a KING sized bed (really handy when the huge waves and bad weather hit.
Over 130 feet of true luxury.
My cabin
The only drawback, it is a heavy ship and it only has one engine. More on that later......
Mike Veitch was a fabulous host. he has made sure the facilities for photographers is very nice. He explained why there were goats feet tied to the bow and stern of the ship. We brought a Rummy Cube game, which he quickly mastered, even with 15 foot seas!!
Our itinerary was to head from port and go to the south side of WP to Triton Bay. We were getting very strong winds which made any open water tricky. We got to Triton after stopping along the way for a few dives. One of these dives had colonial anemones everywhere. They were about the only ones we saw on the whole trip.
More on the next post
---------- Post added ----------
Triton Bay
This is a huge bay that only recently has seen diver action. It is still seldom dived as it is difficult to get to. Once there, you will never want to leave. Even though the Damai works hard to maintain friendly relations with the local tribes, there is often tension between them and the few boats that dive this area.
I was lucky to be the last diver up from a night dive. In those last moments, I found the only walking shark seen on the trip. my guide, who stayed with me, was thrilled.
I finally got to see the harlequin shrimp that have eluded me all of these years
SO, after diving Triton, we were to head due south and, after a long open water crossing, we were to island hop on islands that have never been dived. We were to end up on Timor at the end, flying out from there. Well, the winds were totally against us. We were unable to make ANY headway there. We aborted and went back to Triton. We then headed back up the coast and went into a bay where our engine died. Luckily, there was good diving. After two days where we were able to fix the engine, we had to give up on out attempt for Timor. We headed, instead, int Raja Ampat.
Though I was disappointed in not being able to do exploratory diving, having been in RA, I knew we would find good diving.
A few photos
So, then it was obvious our airline tickets from Timor were no good. The Damai office booked tickets from Ambon. They thought, for sure, we would be able to get there. NOPE! The winds prevented that. So, our tickets from Ambon were no good either. So they rebooked us flying from Sorong. Now, we had to get there.
Sadly, we got the news of the Mandarin Siren sinking in Raja. Luckily, no one hurt. What a tragic loss for a great company that I have enjoyed diving with.
On our last dives before getting to Sorong we stopped at a place called "Algae Patch". It is one of the best muck dives ever! I finally found my blue ring octo that I had been looking for. However, he never did fell threatened enough (and I sure tried) to flash more than a few rings.
These photos are still mostly unedited (except for a few quick and dirty edits). I still have not even viewed many of them. Someday I will look at them in Photoshop and see if there is something worth looking at.
Even though the trip schedule ended up being a disappointment, we found excellent diving. The Dive Damai office did a fabulous job of taking care of all of the flights and arrangements at no cost to us. The boat was luxurious and the food dangerously good. I would highly recommend this company to anyone looking for an "ultimate" adventure. While the "boutique" dive experience was a bit pricey, I suggest it is well worth it for a lifetime of memories.
We had a wonderful week in Ambon. I found thw very BEST place to shoot mandarin fish, and it is right in the harbor. Go figure!
The harbor had everything in it, especially junk. I could have spent the whole week just there.
We then flew to West Papua to board the Damai. Wow! what an incredible boat. We had a free masseur at our disposal throughout the trip. The boat is a traditional design. But, where most of these types of boats cram many divers onboard, this boat only takes a few. My cabin spanned the whole width of the boat, had a bathtub and shower and a KING sized bed (really handy when the huge waves and bad weather hit.
Over 130 feet of true luxury.
My cabin
The only drawback, it is a heavy ship and it only has one engine. More on that later......
Mike Veitch was a fabulous host. he has made sure the facilities for photographers is very nice. He explained why there were goats feet tied to the bow and stern of the ship. We brought a Rummy Cube game, which he quickly mastered, even with 15 foot seas!!
Our itinerary was to head from port and go to the south side of WP to Triton Bay. We were getting very strong winds which made any open water tricky. We got to Triton after stopping along the way for a few dives. One of these dives had colonial anemones everywhere. They were about the only ones we saw on the whole trip.
More on the next post
---------- Post added ----------
Triton Bay
This is a huge bay that only recently has seen diver action. It is still seldom dived as it is difficult to get to. Once there, you will never want to leave. Even though the Damai works hard to maintain friendly relations with the local tribes, there is often tension between them and the few boats that dive this area.
I was lucky to be the last diver up from a night dive. In those last moments, I found the only walking shark seen on the trip. my guide, who stayed with me, was thrilled.
I finally got to see the harlequin shrimp that have eluded me all of these years
SO, after diving Triton, we were to head due south and, after a long open water crossing, we were to island hop on islands that have never been dived. We were to end up on Timor at the end, flying out from there. Well, the winds were totally against us. We were unable to make ANY headway there. We aborted and went back to Triton. We then headed back up the coast and went into a bay where our engine died. Luckily, there was good diving. After two days where we were able to fix the engine, we had to give up on out attempt for Timor. We headed, instead, int Raja Ampat.
Though I was disappointed in not being able to do exploratory diving, having been in RA, I knew we would find good diving.
A few photos
So, then it was obvious our airline tickets from Timor were no good. The Damai office booked tickets from Ambon. They thought, for sure, we would be able to get there. NOPE! The winds prevented that. So, our tickets from Ambon were no good either. So they rebooked us flying from Sorong. Now, we had to get there.
Sadly, we got the news of the Mandarin Siren sinking in Raja. Luckily, no one hurt. What a tragic loss for a great company that I have enjoyed diving with.
On our last dives before getting to Sorong we stopped at a place called "Algae Patch". It is one of the best muck dives ever! I finally found my blue ring octo that I had been looking for. However, he never did fell threatened enough (and I sure tried) to flash more than a few rings.
These photos are still mostly unedited (except for a few quick and dirty edits). I still have not even viewed many of them. Someday I will look at them in Photoshop and see if there is something worth looking at.
Even though the trip schedule ended up being a disappointment, we found excellent diving. The Dive Damai office did a fabulous job of taking care of all of the flights and arrangements at no cost to us. The boat was luxurious and the food dangerously good. I would highly recommend this company to anyone looking for an "ultimate" adventure. While the "boutique" dive experience was a bit pricey, I suggest it is well worth it for a lifetime of memories.
