Indonesia - Wayag Islands revisited
Channel: Tropical Sailing Life
Date: 2015-01-17

When we first visited the Wayag Islands, part of the Raja Ampat area in east Indonesia, we were on a fast track and could spend only 1 afternoon exploring this incredibly beautiful area.  We swore we would come back.  This time we spent a week.  We anchored in a small bay surrounded by magnificent views of karst islets, mini white sand beach, and clear blue and green water.  We joined with our friends, Jan, Laura, and Oscar the dog, to make a dinghy exploration of the dramatic karst rock formations and the waterways and channels between.  With each new turn around a corner a new breathtaking view was revealed.  The tall imposing cliffs change their moods with the changing light of the day.  On the western edge of Wayag, we did 2 dives, first trying to go to Pelagic Rock only to find a swirling, boiling mass of current!  At 2 Hump and Figure 8 Islets, just a little further in toward the lagoon, we saw some beautiful U/W scenery, of colorful fish and magnificent soft corals.  One of the best highlights was climbing up one of the steep sided rock mountains to find a fantastic panoramic view of the whole western side of Wayag.  We could see Laura’s sailboat far below, and all the incredible colors of water, vegetation, rocks, and beaches. Whew!  Looking down from up there, we could see the perfect place to snorkel a colorful reef.  Immersing ourselves, we caught a glimpse of some Humphead Parrot fish cruising off into the blue.  A rare and beautiful find was a yellow spotted flatworm, a creature that normally crawls like a slug across the bottom, that was swimming with crazy undulations in the shallow water.  What a video opportunity! Filmed in October 2014.