Released From Captivity
15/01/2020 Sorong, West Papua, Indonesia
Ah, nothing beats being out of the boatyard. We are anchored off the marina restaurant in Sorong surrounded by huge cargo ships spewing exhaust smoke and blowing their horns every few hours, speeding police boats, as well as Indonesian fishing boats and liveaboard charter boats. It is heaven!
We were slid back down into the water this morning at around 10:30 and tied off to the cement walls of the slipway so we could be refuelled and washed before heading back to town. It all went very smoothly except for one minor hiccup. Remember the water pumps I rebuilt the other day, well I put the pulley on back to front so when I started the engines the pump wouldn’t spin, so no water. No problem, 30 minutes later and 1kg of sweat lighter all was fixed and the pumps were spinning like new. Oh, and they are no longer leaking! Beautiful. Speaking of success stories I checked all the plumbing on the new watermaker install and it appears to be all good as well.
The fuel arrived an hour or so later. I was a little anxious about having to pour the 13 jerry cans into the tanks all by myself, but it turns out I shouldn’t have been as I didn’t really have to do a thing. The boatyard guys did it all. I basically just sat and watched, occasionally checking the levels in the tanks. They then proceeded to wash the boat down with a power hose and a soapy brush. A bloody good thing too as the deck was absolutely filthy with a fine layer of coal dust from the coal fire power station lying about 100m away.
We said our goodbyes and cast off the lines, eager to get out of there. Back in Sorong we jumped in the dinghy and headed into town for some action at the night market. We jumped on a couple of mopeds with the kids tucked “safely” between us. I’m not sure we actually made it to the night market but we were dropped off at a spot with a bunch of makeshift restaurants consisting of a couple of tables under a tarp with one or more gas stoves in the corner where the chefs were working and a stand of fresh seafood out the front. We struck it lucky choosing a place that had a waiter who spoke a little English. He promptly asked us to sit and he sat down with us to help us order. Vanja then went with him outside to choose a fish to be cooked on the BBQ. It was so cool to be there. The place was packed with friendly locals and the food did not disappoint! Definitely some of the best we’ve had since arriving in Indonesia.
We caught a bemos (loud yellow bus/taxi thing) back to the dinghy with the driver blasting out the bass while we all squirmed with our fingers in our ears in the back. It was a great end to a fantastic day.
16/01/2020 En route to Wayag, Raja Ampat, Indonesia
Up and out early again this morning. Vanja and I went to shore to visit the fresh food market to stock up for the trip North to Wayag. The market was ok, but not as cheap as I thought it would be. The fresh food in the supermarket was cheaper, but I guess it’s nicer buying directly from the farmers. I suppose it’s a bit like a farmers market back home, but not as fancy or clean. Just as many characters though.
After getting back and washing all the food, getting rid of the bugs that were surely living amongst it, we went to shore to pickup our new tables we had Wick organise to be made. When he brought them out we were blown away by how beautiful they were. And for only $AU200.
With that all done we packed up the boat and left for Wayag where we’ll meet up with Family Circus and ZigZag again. I can’t wait. I don’t know where the time went today though, as we didn’t get away until 2:30pm. We had the perfect wind for the first 5 hours of the trip with 12kts right on our beam. By nighttime though the wind was dead so now I’m giving the new engine pumps a good workout. So far so good.
17/01/2020 Wayag, Raja Ampat, Indonesia
Imagine crystal clear turquoise water surrounding huge cone shaped jungle clad rocks and white sand beaches stretching between them with absolutely nobody around. That is what I’m looking at right now. It’s breathtaking. Anyone who’s ever put Indonesia or diving into a search engine has surely seen some photos of this place, but it really is a whole new level of special to be here with friends after sailing over 7000km and years of dreaming and planning to get here. To think that 2 years ago I was catching trains from Newcastle to Sydney for work and dreaming about places like this. Now we are actually here. It just seems incredible to me.
We arrived this afternoon around 2:30, 4 hours ahead of schedule thanks to some wind in our favour and some current also. It was a beautiful sail really, with practically no waves or chop. The rebuilt pumps worked flawlessly and we also made water on passage thanks to my skills back in the boatyard, if I don’t say so myself.
As soon as we arrived and got settled ZigZag and Family Circus came over to say hello and all the kids immediately jumped into the water and played around our boat. Chris invited us to go for a dive and we said yes with a little hesitation as we were both so tired. But we geared up and after a bit of organisation with the other two boats we had a driver and a babysitter. We needed a driver as we were doing a drift dive (first time for us). What that means is you jump in the water and let the current take you past something to look at. The nice thing about drift dives is that big fish hang out in the currents looking for food. The horrible thing about drift dives is you have to fight the current to get places in certain situations, and doing that while breathing under water can be a tad scary.
Anyway, the trick with this dive is to jump in the water and immediately sink to the bottom where there is a shelf to hang onto. Chris and I got down ok, but when we looked back Vanja was about 20m away and struggling to get to the shelf against the current. We could see her kicking furiously but not making any ground. Chris told me in hand signals to stay where I was and he went back to help her. They eventually got back to where I was and we then clawed our way over the coral to get to the ridge where we could then drift alongside it.
The drift part of the dive was incredible with three huge dog tooth tunas coming to say hello along with a massive school of barracuda and a giant wrass. The coral was absolutely spectacular as well with all kinds of soft corals everywhere you looked with huge fans and giant clams. After finishing the drift we clawed our way back up another ridge only to get sucked up to the surface by an updraft. Chris managed to stay down but Vanja and I went straight to the surface from about 8m. We quickly dove back down for our decompression stops before coming back to the surface again where Irene picked us up in the dinghy. Intense.
Anyway, after that we went back to the boat to find the kids still playing in the water and having a great time with the others. It’s good to see, since they haven’t had any human contact other than us for the past 2 weeks, not to mention the lack of swimming opportunities. Ah, to be back in paradise. We are so lucky!
18/01/2020 Wayag, Raja Ampata, Indonesia
Irene casually mentioned yesterday that you can swim with sharks over at the ranger station. We were in the dinghy and didn’t quite make out exactly what that meant, so this morning we radioed over to see what the go was. She said that you just rock up there and they feed the sharks. We still weren’t too sure what to expect but we hopped in the dinghy and went to find out.
The trip over itself was beautiful winding through all the small islands jutting up out of the turquoise water like mini volcanoes. When we came near to the ranger station, Sayo was saying that she couldn’t see the sharks. Still not knowing what was going to happen I was a little relieved. But as soon as we landed the dinghy and hopped out a bunch of shadows started moving through the shallow water just off the back of the dinghy. The ZigZag kids and Aya from Family Circus jumped straight into the water. I couldn’t believe it! Our kids quickly followed, with just a little bit of hesitatation. I donned my goggles and followed the kids with slightly more hesitation.
The sharks were black tipped reef sharks that have come to learn that when dinghies show up on the beach they might get a feed. Not from the delicious tourists, but from the rangers feeding them for the enjoyment of the tourists. They didn’t feed them for us, but it didn’t stop the sharks from swimming around us like stray puppy dogs looking for a handout. After a few minutes I found myself swimming towards them to get a closer look and even reaching out to touch them. They of course would swim away way faster than I could get to them. It was an absolutely incredible experience.
Lara spent the rest of the day on Family Circus while Vanja and Jake pottered around the boat and I continued with the forever list of boat projects. We finished the day off with a swim in the water and some delicious pizzas for dinner.
20/01/2020 Wayag, Raja Ampata, Indonesia
The last couple of days have been absolutely perfect. Well, not so much for Chris as he injured his ankle during an epic wakeboarding wipeout. Everyone thinks he’ll be ok though, so that’s good news.
Yesterday we started it off with a magical drift snorkel over some beautiful coral and amazing schools of fish. I think this is my new favourite water activity. The feeling you get as you drift over the underwater world is akin to flying over an alien city. We went a second time and I was giddy like a school kid lining up for a second ride at a theme park. I absolutely loved it.
When we got back Aya came over after lunch and had a swim with Lara and Jake before the wakeboards came out. Aya, who has done it before showed Jake and Lara how to do it. This was their second time and I’m happy to report both of them got up on their feet and went along nicely. It won’t be long before they’re jumping over the wake.
Chris then took me for a spin around the lagoon before I returned the favour. He was doing some pretty cool tricks on the board, but unfortunately on one of them he landed a little awkwardly and twisted his ankle. We were all a little worried about a break, but today he seems to be putting weight on it and hobbling around a bit, which suggests no break.
We followed up yesterday with a another beauty today, finding another amazing spot to snorkel. Swimming over the hard coral forest beneath us was like looking down on another planet. The huge coral fans and giant clams were in abundance. Jake could’ve almost lay down for a sleep in the clams they were so big. Lara found some cool snails which retreated when coming close to them and Jake was amazed by the ever changing colours of the cuttlefish that Sayo’s Dad found.
After lunch the kids went over to Family Circus for a game of Red Dragon Inn. For anyone who hasn’t played that board game yet, you should go to the effort of finding it and playing it. It’s so much fun. And if anyone wants to bring a gift for Toc, that is definitely high on the list. Vanja and I went and did the climb up Mt Pinito for the obligatory photo of the lagoon. Unfortunately you couldn’t see our boats from up there, but the view was still spectacular.
When we got back we loaded up the dinghies with snacks and a couple of beers and went for a sunset cruise through the labyrinth of the islands. I can’t help but be blown away by the scenery here. The photos on the internet, and ours as well for that matter, just don’t do the place justice. It is otherworldly. Prehistoric. Beautiful.
21/01/2020 Wayag, Raja Ampat, Indonesia
Today was a nice relaxing day of not doing much. Snorkel along an endless wall of beauty this morning, followed by a play on the pristine empty beach. Some relaxation on the boat in the afternoon, then a game of Carcasson on Family Circus in the evening.
22/01/2020 Wayag, Raja Ampat, Indonesia
Aya had her 9th birthday today and it was an absolute cracker for the kids. The festival begun with brunch consisting of pancakes from ZigZag, waffles from Toc and crepes from Family Circus, with real maple syrup direct from Canada! Delicious. Afterwards, the MC, Jake, introduced a show put on by the big girls (Lara and Aya) who had been practicing for the last couple of days.
After the sugar settled a little Chris asked the kids if they wanted to learn how to dive. Jake pretty much jumped out of his skin with excitement as he has been waiting for this since I went on the first dive with Chris back in Kokopo. They all sat quietly around Chris while he taught the theory, to everyone’s astonishment. It was a lot to take in, but everyone seemed to get the gist of it. Well, the bigger kids anyway.
We loaded up the dinghies with the equipment and headed to the beach from yesterday that had a very nice sandy bottom for their first breaths underwater, but also a nice reef if they were feeling confident enough to go a little deeper. Chris was amazing with them. Jake, Lara and Aya all ended up going for dive down on the coral. Jake went to at least 7m while Lara and Aya went down to 12m. We were all absolutely blown away by the experience, maybe I was a little more than them. I mean, who gets to learn how to scuba dive at the age of 7?! Jake, that’s who.
We all went home for a shower and bit of a sit down before heading over to FC again for dinner and cake. I think Aya had a good day, and so did we.
23/01/2020 Wayag, Raja Ampat, Indonesia
After the shenanigans of yesterday we all had a bit of down time today. That is until we setup for a bonfire to end all bonfires. We loaded up the dinghy with wood from the forest behind us and took it over to the picturesque beach around the corner. Unfortunately we had to share the beach with tourist boat full of people, but they were nice and in the end they had fire dancers, so we couldn’t complain too much.
After dropping off the wood we went back and loaded the dinghy with marshmallows, drinks and all the fireworks I bought in Biak for this very occasion. It was a great night. The kids went wild and the fireworks were of course a big hit.
When we got back to the boat we jumped in the water to wash the sand off when an explosion of phosphorescence lit up all around us. Sayo, Aya, George and Mia came over for a swim when they heard the commotion. With all the bodies in the water splashing around the sea lit up like a birthday cake. It was unbelievable! I don’t think I’ve ever seen the kids more excited… in the water. Xmas morning doesn’t count.
With the obvious boredom of Wayag we are thinking of moving the boats a little further Northwest tomorrow to the little known Island of Sayang. There is supposed to be a turtle sanctuary there. Not sure what that means exactly, but I’m sure we’ll find out.
24/01/2020 Sayang, Raja Ampat, Indonesia
Yep, we moved the boats. No, we still don’t know what turtle sanctuary there is here. It’s been a nice relaxing day though, which are few and far between, if you can believe. We left this morning at about 10:30am and arrived around 1:30pm. No wind, but a massive cross current that we had to keep an eye on. It’s funny with those cross currents as you end up travelling 30° in a different direction to where you are pointing the boat.
26/01/2020 Wayag, Raja Ampat, Indonesia
It turns out that this turtle sanctuary is basically just a place where turtles come to breed and lay their eggs. The Indonesian government must consider it something to protect so they have setup a ranger station on the island to monitor and “help” the turtles do their thing.
Irene, Steve, Lara and I went on a fact finding mission yesterday to find the ranger station and to get some info about what goes on here. We found the station, but no one with sufficient English skills to explain to us what goes on here. We did manage to ascertain that turtles come up the beach at night to lay eggs and that a couple of months later they hatch in the night and the babies scoot down the beach to the safety of the water.
Apparently this happens quite often so we went back to the beach at around 8:30pm to see what we could see. As soon as we landed the dinghies, one of the rangers flashed us with his torch and we hurried over to see a huge turtle shuffling down the beach, presumably to get back in the water after laying her eggs. The kids were so excited. We then went for a walk further up the beach when we saw another ranger flashing us with the torch. We hurried over to him to find a turtle in the midst of laying her eggs in a huge hole she was digging. It was absolutely incredible to be seeing this in such a beautiful natural setting. The kids were blown away by the whole spectacle. It was also nice to see the rangers making sure we didn’t disturb the turtle with our cameras. Of course once she finished her business all the rules went out the window and the paparazzi descended on her like she was royalty. It was a bit sad really as you could see her confused movements from all the different lights. Normally their tracks show a straight line down to the water, but this poor turtles did 3 s-bends to get down there. Lara and Vanja were quite distraught by the whole thing having to ask people to move so she could get down to the water.
After the turtle sighting last night we decided to get up early and go to the beach where there was a chance of witnessing baby turtles scuttle down to the water. We landed the dinghies at about 8:30am and as we did the rangers appeared out of the bushes. We don’t know for sure but what we think they do is walk up the beach each morning looking for baby turtle tracks. When they find them they go looking for the nest which they marked a couple of months earlier. When they find them they dig them up, rescuing any babies that didn’t make the climb out of the hole and take them back to the station to be released later that night. Well, we followed along hoping to see some action, but after the first nest produced a dead baby our hopes were pretty much dashed. The second nest though produced the goods where 2 babies were found healthy and alive. The kids were giddy and couldn’t believe what they were holding. The rangers then did something pretty stupid in our minds, they gave the turtles to us, we think, to release them into the wild tonight. Not exactly world class conservation, is it? Sure, we’ll rescue these turtles from their sandy grave, but then we’ll give them to a bunch of strangers who have absolutely no idea what to do with them or how to care for them let alone how to release them. We took them in the end, but mainly because the rangers just walked off leaving them with us. Crazy. Anyway, we put them in a bucket of water and took them back to the boat where the kids were happy to care for them.
In the midst of all that though it was sort of decided that we would leave the anchorage today and head somewhere else. It was a bit late in the day for us to leave for Uranie, which is where Family Circus wanted to go, so we decided to go back to Wayag on our own for a couple of days. We gave the turtles to ZigZag as they were going to stay one more night and motored back to Wayag. No wind again, and perfect calm water for the trip. It was lovely. When we motored back into the bay everyone had a big smile on their face. We set the anchor and packed the dinghy for a sunset cruise through the islands again. It is so good to be here with the family to experience this amazing place together.
27/01/2020 Wayag, Raja Ampat, Indonesia
We got up this morning all fresh and ready to charge into the day… at around 10:30am. The kids wanted to go visit the sharks again, so we dinghies over and got friendly with them again. They are so cool. The ranger station has a few dogs running around and on this visit they were in the water chasing the sharks. We couldn’t believe it. They seem like such an easy target for the sharks, but they all swam away from them we they came up close. Sharks really have no interest in land animals it seems, well these ones anyway.
After we’d had enough fun with the sharks we decided to go do the drift snorkel again, but as luck would have it we were heading home right on low tide and we couldn’t get though the way we’d come. So we ventured off in a different direction to find a way. Lucky too, as we ended up finding a new coral forest as beautiful and colourful as any we’ve seen so far. We jumped in and had a good swim around, marvelling at nature’s beauty.
When we got back to the boat it was decided another bonfire night was required. The kids and I went to the beach in search of more firewood and loaded the dinghy to sinking point. Vanja got the pizza dough ready for “bread-on-a-stick”, a delicious fire night food we learnt from ZigZag. You cook pizza dough, wrap it around a stick and cook it on the fire like a marshmallow. When it’s cooked you slide it off, stuff it with something and eat it. Genius.
What a great day and night we had with just the four of us. It’s always nice to be able to reconnect with the kids when their adopted families aren’t around.
28/01/2020 Wayag, Raja Ampat, Indonesia
Another day in paradise. The kids came with us to snorkel the wall of beauty again which we all absolutely loved. After lunch we then went and did the walk up the mountain again, this time with kids in tow. Jake surprised us by saying that if he knew this was the walk he “would’ve done it every day!”. It is an amazing view from the top, but I think he just likes the death defying rock climbing aspect of the climb.
We are thinking that we’ll leave for somewhere towards Pef tomorrow as we need some internet. Not sure where yet, maybe Eagle Rock, Wofoh or Gof Besah which is where FC and ZZ are.
29/01/2020 Wofoh, Raja Ampat, Indonesia
We left this morning nice and casually for Eagle Rock which is a calm relaxing distance to sail in one day. There was no wind, but a very nice current in our favour for a change. So nice in fact we arrived at Eagle Rock with 3 hours to spare so we made the snap decision to keep going towards Wofoh. Wofoh island is described in our cruising guide as having the best diving in the whole of Raja Ampat and as luck would have it FC and ZZ arrived at the same place only hours before us. And just as we were coming in Chris was taking Sayo and George for a dive. I see a dive in our future!