Raja Ampat is a destination that is fast coming to the forefront of world dive destinations. It is said, that it may even eclipse PNG for wealth in biodiversity (hey, it`s just a different side of the same island!).



I went there to do a trip on the liveaboard Odyssea 1 based out of Sorong.We found it to be a well equipped boat designed around the needs of divers with an emphasis on dive photography

This is the camera room where downloading and charging was done.



The boat was very comfortable with large staterooms, compared with other liveaboards I`ve been on. The showers were huge! Room for a party (sorry, no photos there!).



The diving was difficult, but stunning. The currents were not for the fainthearted. The visibility was not the best, but all that biodiversity has to be fed and those particles are food. What you did see was a mass of wildlife with no end. I finally got to see my first blue ringed octopus, happily munching on a crab.



I`m a nut for pygmy seahorses and we found several places where the elusive new pygmy (until it is classified it is being called the Pontohi)is found. The buggers eluded me every time. I did find a JUVENILE hippocampus bargibanti pygmy, though. If you think the adults are small....



Raja is a collection of islands, mostly uninhabitable, with sheer cliffs rising out of the water. These are beautiful, but the currents swelling around them can be BAD.



All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed my trip. We did have a few issues with the boat crew, much of which was complicated by the fact that there was a language barrier. Would I recommend the area? Definitly! The boat? Definitely!

Let me know if you have any questions.