RAJA AMPAT: Diving & Sailing Paradise!

Have you ever been on one of those adventures that you look back on for the rest of your life and you're like, oh man That was awesome Well, I think we're right in the middle of one of them at the moment It's now been three weeks at sea exploring one of the last true Paradise areas on earth and somehow each day just keeps getting better and better I'm not sure what to expect today But after yesterday's crazy encounter with some giants of the deep right at the anchorage here I've come to expect the unexpected. Good morning and welcome back to another beautiful anchorage in remote Indonesia We're in here in the mangroves, but the water is crystal clear and just out here Mum's been talking about one of the favorite scuba dives she's ever done. Conditions are just right this morning So we're gearing up really quickly. We're gonna go and get straight into it. This is gonna be good Do you realize why this is one of mum's favorite dives? I mean the colors and variety of life here is out of this world Corals and anemones of all different species cover the bottom and they all house their own little macro worlds While the cracks and crevices are home to some scary looking creatures like this moray eel who is in the middle of a dentist checkup by the look of it from a very trusting cleaner rats a spot a pile of shell minions in a cave which catches my attention because I've been seeing this quite a bit a Big pile of half-eaten oysters Pearl shells hermit crabs all discarded in a big pile Generally under a cave and wonder what animal is responsible for this now I know that octopus are able to open up and eat some smaller shells But I mean judging by the size of these this thing must be like a kraken like creature Now let me know in the comments what you think is responsible in amongst the coral. I spot one of the coolest creatures The peacock mantis shrimp or some of the mantis shrimp species remain well hidden and quite shy Not this guy It's like he knows that he's armed with the fastest punch in the animal kingdom and he doesn't mind strutting his stuff around That combined with the most complex eyesight known to man Make him one of the most remarkable animals on planet Earth and it looks like he's just spotted something big behind me We keep swimming up into the current to arrive at the pressure point and it's loaded with schooling fusiliers and larger patrolling pelagics like giant trevallies It's not a very safe place to be if you're a bait fish at the moment There's smaller trevally hunting impacts darting through the school While down closer to the coral. There's a whole bunch of better camouflage creatures waiting in ambush. I love having a dive first thing in the morning because everything is out having their morning feed So we could kind of just sit in the one spot there and watch the the Mother Nature show unfold with the big vermiculite trout I love seeing them and feeding and also the the trevallies feeding there. It was very very cool This is where we were anchored last night a beautiful little bay in there It was glassy calm and from the drone this morning. You can see like around every point here There's so many schools of fish and just love this environment where the mangroves transition into the coral reefs and then the deep water It's just such a hot spot for fish Biodiversity and coral biodiversity. So now we're now moving anchorage. We're just kind of coming through the passage here It's actually a little bit of wind today. So at some point we'll be able to get the sail up We've got about a 30 mile run down to where we're next hoping to dive and anchor up for a couple of days But yeah, beautiful day beautiful day. You can see there's a big school of fish off this point here They look like a big-eyed trevally which loves schooling up and they're actually feeding and chasing some smaller stuff Very very fishy area this this is this is really really nice This is probably the most wind we've had all trip. We've been so so damn lucky that for the previous three weeks It's just been glassy glassy calm, but that means we haven't been able to sail but today I think we're really gonna be able to get the sails up and yeah, we'll be flying along I reckon it's about 20 knots of wind at the moment If you'd like to see a detailed breakdown of where we went on this adventure our favorite anchorages and even our favorite dive sites here Welcome to jump onto our patreon page where we share all that stuff and that also helps fund these adventures Dijon Sashimi for dinner. Oh, sorry Cabbage Oh The wrong species of tuna, all good man I've just arrived at our new anchorage. We've got the kayaks in the water We're gonna go up and explore from the drone. We spotted a bit of a lagoon up here So we're gonna take the kayaks out and see if we can hike through and check out what's in the lagoon Sometimes there's crocodiles in these types of setups. Sometimes there's mud crabs. You never know. Let's go see what we can find Look at that giant clam This is so nice through here. Oh Big crayfish big crayfish There's a big crayfish there. Oh And there's an anemone I'm gonna have to have a good look at this crayfish That's so cool. It's just like snorkeling from the kayak at the moment. It's completely glassed out We don't actually have the mask with us So we're just gonna keep on exploring and seeing what we can see from the kayak before heading inland for this lagoon A big school of parrotfish This is beautiful coral here. This coral here is incredible You know what? This would be the perfect spot to have a night snorkel I reckon it's nice and shallow so we'll be able to see all of this with a torch at nighttime and a lot of different Animals come out like that crayfish might be out grazing around at nighttime. So I reckon that's the plan Come back tonight with a torch and a mask. We'll have a swim through here Coming into a bit of a mangrove section now from the ocean looking in this looks like the lowest point So just gonna have a bit of a bush bash through. It's pretty thick jungle, but it's alright walking through at the moment We'll see how we go Look at this beautiful thick rainforest Need to watch where I'm going I'm just looking around a little bit because there's a couple of animals which I'd love to see here There's a couscous Which is just the cutest bloody animal and they hang around up in the trees kind of like where a possum hangs out And there's also a cassowary which we do see in North Queensland where I'm from It's the only other place in the world where the cassowaries are found, but they're like a dinosaur looking looking at them Well, they're pretty crazy and you actually don't want to run into them in this type of type of setup They can get a little bit territorial and aggressive. So just keep my eyes peeled So in here is a green ants nest If ever you've found yourself walking through and you bump on one of these you'll know about it because they'll come out in the hundreds See them all here How the hell did a cowrie shell get all the way up here? I wonder how many years old this is to be up here. It's a bit of like swamplands here This might be where the lagoon drains down to the ocean. Looks like pretty tough to walk on So we're gonna try and like navigate it across the higher ground, but follow this. Let's cross this muddy swamp Oh bugger, some of this mud is super sinky Geez I'm proper stuck here Something's in fruit Look at the size of this one holy moly Whatever you do, you just don't want to fall here Well, I hope this can take my weight That is a festy old swamp. That's not that strong Gonna have to take a rain check on the lagoon mission It was taking a little bit longer than expected and it's getting later in the day now I want to make the most of the last hour of light to kayak across to one of the islands across here So backtracked and we're getting back towards the coast now This beautiful little island here I'm gonna pull the canoe in and then jump in for a snorkel to freshen up and cool off There's like an undercut ledge that runs all down under this rock there that's created like a bit of a cave So I'm gonna put a mask on, swim around and see what's hiding under there That's awesome, and along the edge here this coral life is incredible Check this out They're feeding the current They're doing their best to pick up their own food and dodge the plastics coming down Such a beautiful little snorkel, but it is a little bittersweet I must admit like it breaks your heart seeing so much plastic and rubbish washing through there All those fish are doing their best to get a feed and the corals, but they're just getting smothered by the plastic coming down It's the same story for the manta rays, whale sharks, turtles, basically everything in the ocean It's getting so so affected by the plastics and rubbish washing down Alright, I've got a beautiful dark night now There's a little bit of lightning behind me But before that storm arrives I'm gonna jump in for a night snorkel and this reef here is the one we're looking at earlier today Corals look beautiful and there's all different creatures that come out and hunt at night time That's what I'm gonna be looking for Let's throw a mask on and dive in there. This blue starfish is hiding because there's a starfish assassin on the loose The harlequin shrimp, but don't let his flamboyant looks fool you. He's a starfish's worst nightmare He consumes his prey by flipping them over and eating them alive It's a whole different environment after dark with all sorts of strange animals coming out from their daily hiding spots Some animals have developed very clever ways of staying alive Like this decorator crab that has covered his shell in stinging anemones Or this parrotfish that each night blows himself a mucus cocoon so sharks can't smell him But without these clever advantages other fish are just playing a game of hide-and-seek every night Wolf was that hey, you just never know what you're gonna see especially diving a new area and at night time There's so many different creatures out, but as the torch light fades and the battery fades, that's it for this episode guys Thanks a lot for coming along for the ride. Just a reminder. This episode is part of a bigger series That's playing out over six weeks across both channels this one here as well as B2B castaways with myself and Fran Hope you're enjoying it. Thanks guys. We'll see you bright and early in the morning for a new one. Cheers