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Friday, April 7, 2017

Snorkeling Vacation in Raja Ampat Archipelago

As a tour guide, I offer snorkeling tour package for visitors who want to spend their vacation in Raja Ampat archipelago. There are a lot of coral reef sites which tourists can visit to see such tropical fish as groupers, butterflyfish, moorish idols, anemonefish, parrotfish and etc.
Unconventional Destination
Fish Lagoon in Raja Ampat islands of West Papua
There are unconventional tourist destinations in Raja Ampat where most tourists hardly ever know. One of them is Fish Lagoon. It is located in the north-east region of Raja Ampat archipelago. There are karst islets near the main Waigeo island that form protected waters for various species of tropical fish and coral reef to thrive. Visitors can enjoy snorkeling in this area as well as other small islands in the same region. My favorite sites are Isanak beach, and DPL reefs.
Anemonefish in Raja Ampat
Raja Ampat is located in a huge zone that is called Coral Triangle. Raja Ampat is also famous because it has got the highest marine bio-diversity in the world. To enjoy snorkeling, don't forget to bring snorkeling gear such as mask, snorkel pipe and fins. A water resistant/ underwater camera is also good for taking pictures of fish and coral reef. Avoid standing on table corals. If you cannot swim, I will provide life-jacket so that you could still see the beauty of the underwater world of Raja Ampat.
In addition to swimming, snorkeling and sunbathing, visitors who join the tour can also participate in hiking tour in the jungle in the north area of the lagoon. The hills in the lagoon are covered by tropical rainforest that is the natural habitat of colorful flowers and butterflies and a large varieties of song birds.
Hiking and Birdwatching
After snorkeling in Fish Lagoon, visitors can continue their trip into the nearby forest where they can enjoy hiking and birdwatching. Birds such as Papuan hornbill (Rhyticeros plicatus), Sulphur Crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita), kingfishers and a lot of coastal birds. To enhance your birding experience, don't forget to bring a good pair of binoculars. For birding activity, I usually bring my roof prism 10x42 binoculars from Visionking and a 20-60x60 spotting scope.
Visitors who like taking pictures of birds could bring their camera with telephoto capability.
Meeting the Villagers
During the tour, we will also visit some coastal villages and see the Papuan people in their daily life. We may also stay with them. Most of the villagers catch fish and other marine products such as lobster, sea shell and sea-cucumber. They don't use modern scuba diving equipment. They only do free-diving. They sell their catch to Sorong city.
Duration of the Tour
On the average, the duration of the snorkeling vacation in north-east region of Raja Ampat is 3 days/ 2 nights and can be extended into 4 or even 6 days.
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