Dive Dive Dive, Waisai Childrens Festival, World Rugby Finals, Wes's Bday and our Raja Ampat Swan Song

We began our trek back south saying goodbye to this beautiful part of Indonesia for the last time.

During our many months in Raja Ampat I had enjoyed many fun dives, but I had been saving the best for last. 

I had been told that there was one MUST dive location in all of Raja Ampat, Palau Kri.  

Conveniently the Mansur Home stay on Palau Kri offers a free mooring which is a reflection of the warm welcoming attitude we found when we went ashore. During the next three days, while Kaija was exploring the fabulous house reef, Kri Dive offer a number of Dive locations, but the one most recommended is at the northern tip of the island, Cape Kri, but you had to time it just right...otherwise? 

It was my first choice. We we were warned to be careful of the current and the sharks.

We dove…and it OUTSTANDING. It was without doubt the best dive I have ever experienced.  What made it so special was the timing…we nailed it.

The current runs fast around this end of the island…and accounts for why the coral is so alive,

and why there are so many fish…but the current is not always a divers best friend…especially when you need a hook just to hang on and not get swept away.  We hit the water just as ‘slack’ began and over the next hour it remained almost current free.  However, the coral remained, the color was out of this world and the fish were huge,

did I say HUGE in size and numbers…the schools of the smallest in the thousands to some of the largest predator fish…snapper, grouper, barracuda, shark…they were all there…it was thrilling, breathtaking and awe inspiring.  What a treat…the other dives were good, but paled by comparison…in fact,I was told by two dive masters that I dove with that day, that it was the best dive either had experienced in the 25 years of diving. It was so good that I signed up to do it again the next day...we did it just as the day before however, the current was huge and running fast an it was all we could do to hang on.  When you unhooked from the coral..you went for a ride as the current swept us fast, and not always in the direction you wanted to go...what a difference a day makes.

It was now mid-October and time to meet up with Jams and Sarabande back at Waisai Marina in time to enjoy the annual Waisai children's festival.  

 It was also time for the Rugby world cup finals.  Our friends Murry & Carol are Kiwis, and the marina is staffed by South Africans.  Both Teams, The All Blacks and Springboks were in the semifinals and it promised to be an exciting weekend.  It did not disappoint.  The first match we was NZ All Blacks and Ireland…NZ prevailed and our friends were ecstatic.  The second match of the evening was SA Springboks against Japan.  The Springboks won.  It was quite a night with free drinks all around.  Unfortunately, for M & C, their All Blacks lost the next round to England.  However, the Springboks did win in the finals…it was a crazy fun place to be, you might say the Marina Staff were highly highly energized… A fun night for all.

Nov 1, The Party

Halloween was fast approaching and so was Wee Wes’s birthday.  This guy is a down to earth all round good guy with a big heart and and generous warm disposition.  Women love him with his little boy grin and for an Aussie bloke, I must say...he is ok, oh and not a bad hunter gatherer.  So all in all, worthy of a birthday bash.  We decided to we would have a party at T. Garam Marina.  We were joined by new friends Di and Bruce, Sc Toucan and delighted to find other cruisers already resident.  Our party of 8 quickly became a party of 27.  Kaija made her now famous Carrot Cake for all…a good meal was had along with lots of fun and laughter.  It was also our first meeting of Dave and Sherry of Sv Soggy Paws whose website we have followed for years.  Finally, fun to put a face with the names we felt we knew so well.  Also, meeting up with Sue n Jon on Sv Ocelot who have provided so much wonderful information from their travel log website.

This party was also our Raja Ampat Swan Song Bon Voyage Party.  We had thoroughly enjoyed spending time in this beautiful piece of Paradise, especially with our good friends Murry & Carol. However, It was time for us to fish or cut bait.  It is the hardest part of this lifestyle…meeting new friends who become good friends, then having to go your separate ways and say goodbye, know full well you may never meet again.

 Our dream is to circumnavigate and for others, this is just a local cruising ground.  If we are to make it back to the Caribbean, we need to keep sailing west.  After many hugs and warm words it was time to cast off the dock lines and set sail.  We departed Nov 2, with mixed emotions but with a sense of purpose as we continued to the next leg of our journey…South to Ambon and the wee spice islands of Banda.