Misool, 31 January 2025

This morning we reached Raja Ampat. This is a separate island group, north of the spice islands, and I think it will mean more wildlife and less people overall. We got to Misool, the southern most island. Off to the east side of the island there are a couple of arms reaching out into the sea and we anchored off one of those. They’re not so much a peninsula as a series of limestone islands. The islands are all tall and narrow, worn away by the sea, a bit like Halong Bay in Vietnam.

First thing this morning we were out for a snorkel. Unfortunately the conditions kept changing and it took quite a while to get into the water. This was in a sheltered bay, but even then they couldn’t keep the tender steady and repositioning it disrupted everyone snorkelling in the vicinity. The middle of the bay was murky with a coral wall around the edge. The conditions generally put Lynn off and while I found the reef fairly interesting, there were maybe 70 people in a limited area and constantly having to avoid people drove me crazy.

We got back, cleaned out gear etc and had lunch. Then Lynn had a rest while I went on the afternoon excursion. The boat trip started in heavy rain but it cleared after a while. This wound between the small islands and came to a couple of rock art locations. These were on cliffs several metres above the water and it’s not clear who, when, or how they were done. Between the islands it is a mix of very shallow water and reefs, then deep channels.

Eventually we reached a jetty and steps that lead up to Harfat Peak (Puncak Harfat) the stairs were long and not always reliable and at the top was a muddy slope, but eventually it reached a viewing point looking over the islands. Coming down was even more precarious and because it was humid and there was no breeze I was soaked in sweat by the time I reached the bottom.

We got a short rest before dinner, which was a buffet tonight and our best opportunity to really eat too much.