The life aquatic with Raja Ampat

Posted by Ra Moon

Very few people know where Raja Ampat is. This splendid archipelago is an almost virgin dive spot, treasuring up to 75% of all known species of coral, and a large diversity of marine life.

So this time we've been lured below the surface of the Halmahera Sea, on the westernmost side of the island of New Guinea, Indonesia

Blub blub... Raja Ampat is also known as Four Kings, maybe because there are four main islands, Misool, Salawati, Batanta, and Waigeo, and more than 1,500 smaller ones.
Image by Buzz and Robert Wilpernig

Sorong, a town in the main island of New Guinea, is the base to organize your diving adventures in the area.
Image by Buzz

We are diving in a bounteous ocean, just at the border of where Asia ends and so-called 'Melanesia' starts.

Latitude 0°: The line of the Equator passes just next to the archipelago
Image by Nazir Amin

Fisheye view under the pier.
Image by Buzz

Let's go back on top to see how these islands look like.
Image by Buzz

This is a karst landscape, like the famous Halong Bay in Vietnam or the Guilin Valley in China, just with a few tourists.

Karst landforms feature sharp surfaces emerging from wet areas, due to the way that erosion impacts on the rock.
Image by Timothy Forderer

The result is very photogenic, like the neighboring Palau's Rock Islands.

You can imagine the rest, endless boring paradise-like beaches... when the teleportation machine will be invented? Where are the flying cars and all that stuff?
Image by Timothy Forderer