Raja Ampat Coral Reef Art

One day a Papuan artist who had just returned from Raja Ampat came to me. His name was Tonci Krey. He brought his laptop containing a lot of pictures of coral reef painting that he and his friends painted on the wall of a church there. In recent years, scuba divers and snorkelers from all corners of the world come to Raja Ampat islands to see one of the best coral reef environment in the world.

According to reports from marine biologists the biodiversity of the underwater world in Raja Ampat waters is the highest in the world. The high marine biodiversity makes Raja Ampat diving sites popular among scuba divers and snorkelers. Some diving operators have even provided liveaboard diving packages to tourists who want to visit the islands of the "four kings." The Papuan artists who decorate the church want to create awareness among the Christian believers that it is very important to preserve the beauty of the coral reef for the current and future generations of Papuan people.
All of us know that coral reef is the tropical rainforest of the ocean. Algae that live in the coral reef photosynthesis during the day and absorbs CO2 gases dissolved in the sea water. Coral reef provides food and shelter to huge number of marine animals. Coral reef helps us in fighting global warming.

Alternative places

As a matter of fact, there are many places in Papua and West Papua provinces of New Guniea island where tourists can see the beauty of the coral reef environment with much cheaper cost:

Manokwari city and its surrounding islands

It is the capital of West Papua province. It is located in the bird's head region of the New Guinea island. There are three islands in the Dorey bay where Manokwari is located. They are Mansinam, Lemon, and Raimuti. In the north coast of Manokwari regency, there is also another island named Kaki. The coral reef in these islands are beautiful too. Tourists who want to go snorkeling over the coral reef can go there by public transportation and water taxi to the islands. As a tourist guide, I have been guiding a lot of tourists to these islands. The cost that they spent for snorkeling was much cheaper.

Also read my other article: The coral reef of Mansinam island

Numfor island

Beside Manokwari and its islands, another island which I recommend to tourists is Numfor island. The spelling can be Noemfoor or Numfoor. It is located between Manokwari and Biak. It takes 5 hours by ferry boat from Manokwari city to reach Numfor. Last October, I brought some Dutch tourists to this beautiful tropical island to watch birds and to snorkel around one of its islet, the Manem islet. I was amazed by the underwater beauty of the coral reef at the sourthern coast of Manem.

Read my article: Traveling to Numfor island and snorkeling over the coral reef of Manem islet

If you are interested in snorkeling around the coral reef of Manokwari and Numfor island, please contact me - Charles Roring - via my email: peace4wp@gmail.com. I'll be happy to arrange your trip and guide you around the area. I hope that you will enjoy your trip in papua.