I like swimming, snorkeling and freediving very much. I frequently organize snorkeling trips in Manokwari for tourists who want to see coral reef and tropical fish. There are a lot of species of fish that we can see such as surgeonfish, damselfish, parrotfish, butterflyfish, grouper, moorish idol, and etc.
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| Red and Black Anemonefish |
To do snorkeling, I need to make some preparations. I will wash my mask, snorkel and fins to check if they are in good condition or not. I also recharge the battery of my underwater camera the Fujifilm XQ2 and clean its waterproof housing. In the past, I used Nikon AW120 and an action camera Brica B-Pro5 Alpha Edition. To prevent fogging on the glass lens of the camera and the housing, I insert several minipacs of silica gel. I also bring shampoo and a jar of fresh water to wash my mask before snorkeling. A thin film of shampoo of my mask will prevent fogging when I do snorkeling and freediving. Snorkeling sites are located in the islands and outside of Manokwari city. The coral reef is around 30 to 100 meters from the beach. To see the Red and Black Anemonefish (
Amphiprion melanopus) we need to swim to its habitat. The nearest site for seeing the fish is only a 2-minute swimming from the beach. It is located around 1.5 meters below the surface.
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Red-Black Anemonefish in
the waters of Manokwari |
Huge colony of the Red and Black Anemonefish can be seen at depths of around 2 to 3 meters below the surface.
We need to do a short freedive to take pictures of them. Taking pictures from the surface is also possible if our camera has got zoom. We need to maintain stable position in the water to get sharper pictures.
For tourists who like snorkeling, we can do it for 1, 2 or even 3 days in several locations around Manokwari. The best time to enjoy snorkeling is in the mornings and in the afternoons.
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| Mansinam island |
How to go to Manokwari
You need to fly to Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. After that, you need to fly to Manokwari. Airlines such as Garuda, Sriwijaya Air, NAM Air, Batik Air have got regular flights between Jakarta and Manokwari.
If you are interested in snorkeling in Manokwari and other parts of West Papua such as Raja Ampat, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180.
Visitors need to bring their own snorkeling mask if they want to see marine life in the suburban coastal area of Manokwari.
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