Raja Laut Sailing Adventure: West Papua to Ternate

Day 1Arrival at Sorong Airport, West PapuaGuests will arrive in Sorong and will be met at the airport by the staff of the Raja Laut, your luxurious private yacht for the next 15 days (14 nights). After collect-ing the baggage, you will be transferred in 20 minutes in a mini-van to the ship, a classic topsail schooner reminiscent of the days of the spice trade ..

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You will be welcomed on board , introduced to the crew and shown around to your cabins . The master and stewardess will brief you on the basic functions and safety information. If it is not too late, the boat will weigh anchor and proceed to the first destination ,Kabui Bay, 35 miles to the north , while refreshments are be-ing served - otherwise, relax around the deck while our chef gives the final touch to a great dinner that will be served under the stars..

Day 2If not already at Kabui Bay, the boat will weigh anchor before dawn and upon waking up , you will take in the gorgeous island scenery while breakfast is being served. Kabui Bay , located between Gam island and the south west of Waigeo, shows an amazing display of karst formations ,islands and rocks emerg-ing vertically from the sea covered with tropical vegetation , mangrove forests and small sandy beaches. An exploration trip with the boat's tender will take us through narrow passages into the "inner sea" , a large seawater lake which bigger boats can only access by a 5 mile long fjord in the south , and which nearly bisects Waigeo .

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Close in shore listen to the birdlife in the late afternoon and early evening.Trawling will almost certainly certainly secure a giant trevaly or a spanish mackerel and a barbeque on the beach would end the day nicely.

Day 3For those who enjoy their sleep, wake at your leisure and prepare for a morning dive in Arborek, where manta rays commonly aggregate to feed. We’ll do our best to spot the mantas for a diving and/or snorkel adventure of a lifetime. In the af-ternoon we can make another dive for those who so wish off the west coast of Gam . West Gam has some of Raja Ampat’s most stunning sites. The sloping sides of one of the ridges here are so covered with life that most divers compare the dive to swimming through a well-stocked aquarium. The shallower bommies on north side have some of the most spectacular soft corals in northern Raja Ampat. In a current, vast stretches of spectacular orange corals open and feed while Bar-racuda, Batfish, and Surgeonfish swirl overhead.

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Alternatively , or after that, explore the bay north of that passage by taking the tender and enjoy the spectacular landscape and birdlife on the karst islets in the bay.

Day 4This morning we will sail leisurely to Aljui Bay , hugging the beautiful islands on the way. Aljui Bay at the north west of Waigeo is an extensive mangrove-lined in-let home to a pearl farm. Bays open into smaller bays which in turn open into even smaller one...We’ll visit the pearl farm for a tour of their fascinating operations (pearl farms are one of Raja Ampat’s primary employers and function as de facto marine reserves). They do have pearls for sale – but these are reputed to be among finest pearls and come with a commensurate price tag!

A night crocodile safari will close the day on a high note (though sighting is not absolutely guaranteed..)

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Day 5A short morning sail will take us to Wayag. In the sailing directions we read “large schools of porpoises are sometimes seen in this passage and may be mistaken for dry rocks when motionless”…  Wayag displays incredible island formations, with an uncanny resemblance with the Rock Islands of Palau , 1000 miles to the north ! We go hiking to an amazing spot ashore from where we have great view over the area. Later we will explore the beaches around the bay, go snorkeling and in the evening we will have a superb seafood beach barbecue.

Day 6We will spend most of this day snorkeling, diving for those who so wish, and ex-ploring Wayag - though a month would not be enough to check it out thoroughly.Late in the afternoon, we will weigh anchor and set sail for the long overnight pas-sage to Halmahera . We are leaving West Papua and the Raja Ampat and heading for North Maluku , the land of volcanoes and the spice islands

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Day 7When you wake this morning we will be close to Cape Lelai and about to veer south west towards Kao Bay . A few hours more and by noon we will reach Waisile Bay which is on the east side of Kao, immediately inside the entrance. We drop anchor at the small port of Subaim on the south coast and go ashore for a visit and meet the guides for the next day's trek .

Day 8We go ashore at the break of day to make a trek into the Aketajawe-Lolobota National Park, a truly exceptional wildlife sanctuary. The vegetation of this national park consists mostly of lowland and mountain rainforest and its forest vegetation is characterized by an extremely high level of biodiversity.  It is considered by Birdlife International to be vital for the survival of at least 23 endemic bird species. We will be guided by members of the indigenous Tugutil tribe, whose knowledge of the local environment is unsurpassed. We do hope to see the ‘golden cat’ (only found on Halmahera,) but in particular we hope to spot Wallace’s Standard Wing Bird of Paradise and the Giant Pitta, described by Wallace as ‘one of the most beautiful birds of the East’.

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Day 9Before dawn we will weigh anchor and head towards Morotai ,famous for the role it played at the end of the Pacific War. On September 15 1944 Allied forces landed on Morotai occupied by the Japanese to create a bridgehead for attacking the Phil-ippines.We drop anchor at Dodola Island. Dodola is surrounded by extensive white sand beaches which actually connect the neighboring islands of Dodola Besar and Do-dola Kecil. The beautiful nature and the clear waters make it a great spot for swimming and snorkeling or simply relaxing. We will also search for Air Kaca, the so-called ‘mirror’ pond in the jungle ..

Early afternoon we head to Doi island and find an anchorage in a small bay at the village of Kampung Dama on the South side of Pulau Doi at dusk.

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Day 10Doi is one of the Northern Loloda Islands. In the 13th Century when the sultans of Ter-nate and Tidore ruled the general area all the way to Papua these were know as “The Gate to the North”. The Sailing Directions of the British Admiralty, covering the harbors, coasts, and waters of the world, state: …”Vessels call at these islands for ebony. They have no definite anchorages, but anchor in the most convenient place for picking up their cargo…”. First we use our tender to explore a small inlet and look for the fabled waterfall that, according to local legend, spills rejuvenating water. Afterwards we go snorkeling on the reef that fringes the Western shore of the bay. We spend the night at anchor.

Day 11We leave early morning, heading south down the coast of Halmahera, wondering at the wild and rugged skyline in the distance . In fact, a greater concentration of impressive volcanoes, many of which are still active, rising straight out of the sea can not be found anywhere else in Indonesia, making for very impressive skylines. The combination of fertile volcanic soil and the province's location right on the Equator has resulted in an extremely lush vegetation covering these islands, whether it is primary rainforest or spice plantation. The forests themselves, par-ticularly on Halmahera, Maluku's largest island, are alive with colourful birds, but-terflies and reptiles, in fact a surprising number of new species have been de-scribed from here even in the last 10 years...

By noon we anchor near Nusa Kohatola in a sheltered bay and after lunch, go with the tender on an exploration trip. An isolated village on the main island oh Hal-mahera accessible with the tender will be an opportunity to make contact with people who very seldom see foreigners and to visit clove plantations .. Don't for-get , we are at the heart of the spice islands. Snorkeling / diving along the fringing reef if there is time..

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Day 12At dawn, we weigh anchor and continue our southerly route to Jailolo bay which we will reach by noon. We will anchor close to shore but in deep waters (30 to 40 meters). This is a feature of most of these volcanic islands where the continental shelf is narrow and steep. Jailolo is the site of an independent sultanate in the era before the Dutch East In-dia Company colonized the entire archipelago. We go ashore in the village of Jailolo and visit the old ‘Controleur’s Huis’ and a local community house with a display of historical treasures. The village of Jailolo is on the slope of a stunning volcanic complex of the same name with plenty of geothermal activity. It has lava flows on the eastern flank, a small caldera at the west and southwest of the mountain and hot springs along the northwest coast of the caldera. An independent small volcano with a perfect cone, Kailupa forms the southern flank of the peninsula.

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Day 13This day is dedicated to trekking up and around the volcanic complexes of Jailolo/kailupa . Good quality shoes are highly recommended. The writer remembers scaling Anak Krakatau in the Sunda staights years ago and ending up with his shirt torn in half and wrapped around his feet as the heat emanating from the ground had melted the glue of the soles of his boat shoes..

Day 14We leave early morning for a short crossing that will take us to the Island of Ter-nate . Famous naturalist Wallace chose Ternate as his base during his voyages around eastern Indonesia. The native people of these islands, though mostly Mus-lim and Malay-looking, speak languages more closely related to those of Melanesia than to the rest of Indonesia, and traditional music, dance and way of dress are more easily seen here than in central or southern Maluku.

We make a guided tour around the island, including visits of Portuguese and Dutch fortresses (Kayu Merah, Oranye, Toloko, Kastela). We see the giant oldest clove-tree in the world (400 years old) in the shadow of its protective Kenari trees. We make a stop at the beautiful Laguna Lotus pond supposedly inhabited by a royal crocodile and venerated by the local populace.

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Day 15Disembarkation and Departure . The crew of our vessel will be up early to help you with your gear and serve you a final breakfast before you depart for home. If you get a chance to find it , consider picking up a copy of Alfred Russell Wallace’s classic “The Malay Archipelago” ; trace the great naturalist’s path through Raja Ampat and begin scheming for your next journey, next year to the other spice Is-lands in the Banda Sea!

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