When it comes to diving, Indonesia has no shortage of bucket-list worthy destinations, boasting some of the most biologically diverse tropical reefs and critter sites in the world. For the macro photographer, North Sulawesi’s Lembeh Strait is the proverbial Holy Grail.
If you are thinking about going on a romantic getaway to Indonesia with your significant other, you should probably reconsider your choice of destination if you are not married. Indonesia's parliament has approved a new criminal code that bans sex outside marriage with a punishment of up to one year in jail.
DAN President and CEO Bill Ziefle and COO Panchabi Vaithiyanathan met with Indonesia Minister of Tourism Dr. Sandiaga Uno on September 1 to further the two organizations’ Partnership to Promote Diving Safety.
The meeting took place in Jakarta amid the opening of Deep and Extreme Indonesia, Asia’s largest outdoor adventure, diving, and marine tourism show, and followed the signing of a memorandum of understanding earlier this year in which the organizations committed to working together to promote safe diving.
And, to welcome her to their fleet, Emperor have put together an offer as magnificent as the boat herself.
Anyone booking a trip on Harmoni for 2022 or 2023 will receive a 25% discount if they book and confirm before October 1st 2022.
That means the first guests on board can not only explore and dive the Indonesian waters in the finest of style but do so at an incredible price.
And sailing on Harmoni really is fine.
We feel for so many who have had their plans dashed by the effects of this global pandemic. We have been missing our guests for too long. With no international tourists being permitted to enter Indonesia since April last year, we have been forced to suspend cruises.
The Raja Ampat Islands, located in Indonesia’s West Papua province, nestled between the Pacific Ocean, the Halmahera Sea and Seram Island, are at the crossroads of tremendous biodiversity and coral diversity—home to 75 percent of the world’s reef species. Pierre Constant returned to the region and shares his tales of diving and cultural experiences there.
It all starts east of the Philippines where the constant blowing of the tradewinds and the ocean currents forces huge masses of water up against the Philippines, where it is trapped and forced southwards.
Most of this current is directed by ocean bottom morphology to flow into the Sulawesi basin and down between Borneo and Sulawesi—the fat red arrow on the figure above. The only thing sitting in this giant current’s way is the lesser Sunda Islands, predominantly Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores and Timor—with Bali sitting right in the ideal position to benefit from this flow.
For underwater photographers, when we talk about Lembeh Strait in Indonesia, lots of macro subjects and small critters come to mind. “Muck diving,” which involves diving in muddy areas where lots of small animals can be found, is actually the main business of the localresorts and dive centres. But as you will find out in this article, there are lots of other things to see here too.
Five minutes into my first dive in the Banda Sea, I came face-to-face with a scalloped hammerhead shark, gliding effortlessly in its underwater realm as it emerged from the depths to investigate the alien visitors descending from above. A second hammerhead swam past a moment later but was less bold in its approach and quickly disappeared back into the abyss.
Very warm wishes from the Arenui Team!
We hope that you and your loved ones are well during these past few, COVID-19 affected months. Although we are in another part of the world and the situation has meant different things to us all, we've all been impacted. But with every cloud, can come a silver lining.
What can you expect to see once you’re onboard?...
