Raj Ampat Trip Report - Pearl of Papua

[dirtfarmer]

So far one decent review and two bad ones. And lot's of comments how the guides and CD are so very important to a good trip.

I will be doing a 10 day- North/South trip on the Pearl of Papua next November, and am looking forward to it. This will be directly after another 10 day trip
from Ambon-Ring of Fire-Sorong on the Black Manta. ( yes I know, trips back to back are a bit extravagant but it will amortize the airfare and jet lag) The last two years I've done Komodo trips on Mermaid 2, which were awesome from the diving, to the CD, my guide, the entire crew and boat, ( props to Kutut- the best spotter I've ever had and thanks to the CD for fulfilling my request for Ketut) I will have excellent reference points for both the Black Manta and Pearl of Papua. And yes I will file a trip report.

If anyone else has comments on the Pearl I'd love to hear them, and heck who knows maybe the Pearl owner or CD actually pays attention to their reputation and can work to improve area's that need it.

 

[jamesdiving]

Black Manta is a great boat and I'm insanely jealous of the crossing trip. Please do post a trip report as there is relatively little objective info available on that route - would love to hear what it's really like. I'm particularly sceptical about the tales of schooling hammerheads but I hope you can prove me wrong...

 

[dirtfarmer]

Black Manta is a great boat and I'm insanely jealous of the crossing trip. Please do post a trip report as there is relatively little objective info available on that route - would love to hear what it's really like. I'm particularly sceptical about the tales of schooling hammerheads but I hope you can prove me wrong...

I certainly will post a report. People working on other boats that do that crossing trip say that that's the best time for the Hammers. And I'm also looking forward to the volcano that spews lava. A CD working the area tells me of surfacing from a night dive to lava erupting- sounds spectacular. I've always wanted to see active lava flow, and that would take the cake.

I've no worries about the operation of the Black Manta, it's the Pearl of Papua that's the wild card.

 

[Zippsy]

Black Manta is a great boat and I'm insanely jealous of the crossing trip. Please do post a trip report as there is relatively little objective info available on that route - would love to hear what it's really like. I'm particularly sceptical about the tales of schooling hammerheads but I hope you can prove me wrong...

You have seen the proof, no?

"The ring of fire" Maumere - Banda sea - Ambon 2-12 OCT 2014 with Black Manta liveaboard. - YouTube

 

[dirtfarmer]

You have seen the proof, no?

"The ring of fire" Maumere - Banda sea - Ambon 2-12 OCT 2014 with Black Manta liveaboard. - YouTube

Thanks Zippsy. It's been a few months since I've seen the video's now that I've seen them again I"m so excited I don't think I'll be able to sleep till next November. Good thing I'm diving in the morning that might bring me some rest.

 

[LiquidDivingAdventure]

I have some folks booked on a 10-day trip to Raja Ampat from 31 March to 10 April on the Pearl. I had expressed some concerns to the management team and have been told much on the ship has been improved from a year or two ago. We have a couple of cabins left to fill and are expecting this to be a great trip. If they run the ship like they have communicated with me, it should be a great operation.

 

[jamesdiving]

You have seen the proof, no? "The ring of fire" Maumere - Banda sea - Ambon 2-12 OCT 2014 with Black Manta liveaboard. - YouTube

Ha, I guess I have now!