INDONESIA
Sailing round the remote islands of Raja Ampat in Indonesia with Rascal Voyages, Andrew Dent learns to dive and picks up some life lessons too VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY
A s a travel journalist you are often offered the opportunity to ‘get away from it all’, ‘go off the beaten track, ‘try something unique’ or, a favourite one over recent years, ‘experience pared back luxury’. Not everywhere delivers the reality of any of the above. However, my latest experience delivered all of them, and then some. Firstly, it is a good sign when I have to go and look up where is even close to the destination. The remote islands of Raja Ampat are exactly that, remote. The archipelago consists of hundreds of jungle-covered islands sitting to the north of Western Papua, basically, due north of Darwin, Australia. Yes, it’s a schlep to get there: four hours on from Jakarta, which itself is over 18 hours from London. But it is worth it. We join our ‘live aboard’ yacht in the port town of Sorong, it’s called Rebel, and is the second yacht in the Rascal Voyages collection. There are not many tourist boards that operate in these waters, but Rebel is the most luxurious of them all. The five spacious cabins are all set above the waterline and are beautifully designed and proportioned. The moment you arrive you feel the warm
Indonesian hospitality of the 20 or so staff. This really is a (more luxurious) home away from home. Our voyage was to be five nights exploring the Raja Ampat islands while learning about the marine conservation work Rascal Voyages supports via NGO, The Sea People. Raja Ampat is considered to be one of the world’s most renowned areas for marine biodiversity and coral reefs and, as such, it is no surprise that it’s a bucket list destination for scuba divers. This presented a personal dilemma, as I had managed to persuade myself over the years that I could see all I needed to see in the ocean with a snorkel and mask. That was all about to change. Day one set the tone for the adventure. After a delicious breakfast, there is a briefing in the galley area by the Voyage Manager, Lisa who is not only a wonderful host, but also a qualified marine biologist. The briefing tells the group the plan for the day, likely water conditions and what to look out for underwater: the first day is a snorkel to get everyone comfortable with the water. We are zipped away from Rebel in the smart tender and taken to the site where it is immediately obvious,
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