Indonesia Sailing: Whale Sharks & Birds-of-Paradise

You will be met at the airport or your hotel and transfered to the harbour where the Ombak Putih will be waiting at anchor.

Once settled into your cabin, your cruise director will familiarize you with the vessel’s facilities and safety procedures. Ready to start our adventure, we will weigh anchor, leave the harbour behind, and enter the marine protected area of Raja Ampat, home to unique birdlife and the most biodiverse coral reefs in the world.

We will have lunch as we are under way and stop for your first snorkel and swim amongst the coral gardens in the afternoon.

After sunset drinks we will sit down together for dinner and then meet the crew. It’s an early start the next day, so an early night is recommended.

Before dawn we will be ferried to a local village, where local guides will take us on a trek through the jungle in the hope of finding the beautiful Wilson’s Bird of Paradise perform is mating dance ritual upon the forest floor.

The male is red and black with a yellow mantle on his neck, light green mouth, rich blue feet and two violet tail feathers. The featherless crown is turquoise, ornamented with double black crosses. If we are lucky, we may be able to observe the male dancing from a distance of just five metres. Before the dance, he will clear the ground from any leaves or other obstacles that may disrupt his performance.

On our way back to the boat, accompanied by the sounds of the jungle coming to life, we will be sure to spot a number of bird species along the way. We will spend the remainder of the day resting from the morning’s activities and snorkelling, swimming and exploring the reefs and islands of the local area by kayak and paddle board.

Today is our second and final early morning wake up as we head off to see the Red Bird of Paradise, this time high in the canopy of the rainforest. Extremely extroverted show offs, these birds dance and squawk their way around the trees trying to impress the female of the species, making for an incredible show.

After returning to the ship and breakfast it will be time for some snorkeling on some of Raja Ampat’s most spectacular reefs in the Dampier Strait. If the tides are in our favour we might get to see some of the area’s larger species of marine life, which are attracted by the currents in these nutrient rich waters.

We will end the day at a local inhabited island, where the village kids will show us around their beautiful village and then perform some local folk dances for us.

We will weigh anchor before dinner, enjoying sunset cocktails on the back deck as we cruise south.

Today we wake up in southern Raja Ampat at the island of Misool, a picturesque archipelago of forest-covered limestone islets just teeming with coral reefs that has adventures aplenty on offer.

We will swim through a massive and ancient sea cave, adorned with giant stalagmites and stalactites. We will then journey to a small, secret lake inhabited by thousands of stingless jellyfish, where we will snorkel among them.

After lunch we will explore the area by ship’s tenders, going in and out of the many bays and inlets looking for birds, and also stopping to see some prehistoric cave paintings said to be between 3,000 and 5,000 years old.

Today we will have a relaxing day in Misool. We will spend the day maximising everything that this fascinating area has to offer by marvelling at both the marine wonderland under the water and the magnificent landscape above the surface.

We can test out our paddling skills in the sea kayaks, watch for birds perched on the rocks, or just sit back and take in the glorious scenery. After a full day of island hopping, the Ombak Putih will begin her overnight journey.

We will wake up off a small group of picture-perfect islands, where we will spend the morning exploring the beaches and crystal clear waters and vibrant reefs with our snorkels.

We will then cruise in the direction of the mainland of Papua, where we will visit a local village and meeting the residents, who will welcome us into their village, sharing with us their way of life which consists or fishing and growing nutmeg.

Back on the boat we will continue southeast overnight, enjoying dinner and sunset drinks along the way.

We wake up off the coast of Papua to a most serene and primal scene of a jungle waterfall where a roaring river surrounded by virgin rainforest pours into the sea.

Here we will swim and play in the waterfall and the sea as we take in this most tranquil tropical scenery. We will also have the chance to snorkel through the corals on a nearby reef.

Later in the day we will continue our journey east, stopping off late afternoon for another swim and snorkel on our way to see the whale sharks of Triton Bay.

Triton Bay is a place of unsurpassed natural splendour, where time and tides have sliced the limestone landscape into tall cliffs and numerous islands separated by lagoons and narrow channels. It is also home to fishermen who collect baitfish and keep them in nets attached to specially built platforms, also known as ‘bagans’. It is these and their fish that attract whale sharks.

We will head out in the tenders to see if the sharks are around, and if we are lucky, we will spend a couple of hours in the water with these magnificent creatures.

After lunch we will explore the bays and limestone outcrops by tender, kayak, and paddle board as well as swim and snorkel from the beautiful white-sand beaches.

This evening we will have a beach BBQ with the crew, with singing and dancing late into the night.

We will spend the morning cruising through the undisturbed coves, caves, and lagoons before heading north through the Namatote Passage, where there is an impressive collection of ancient cave paintings high up on the cliffs.

The afternoon will be filled with more snorkelling, swimming, kayaking and paddling as we relax amidst the beauty of the surrounding jungle covered islands.

We will spend our final evening on the ship resting at anchor and enjoying a farewell dinner with our captain and crew.

In the morning, we will find ourselves at anchor in the harbour of Kaimana, and after an early breakfast our tenders will take you ashore for your transfer to the airport for your onward travel.