20 August 2009 We got off our 12-day liveaboard on the Seven Seas and hired ourselves a local floating home named Merannu, or Bajo language for “happy.” Our four-night floating hotel - Flores style We swung again from luxury to basic and as always, found ourselves pleasantly surprised. Now our aim was to [...]
6 - 18 August 2009 A panoramic shot of the upper deck of the Seven Seas We spent 12 wonderful days diving with the entire Pet family and their friends onboard The Seven Seas, a super luxurious dive live aboard operating all over the best sites of Indonesia. The Seven Seas - a [...]
6 - 24 August 2009 It is very interesting that mangroves and seagrass beds do not hold as much tourist attraction as flamboyant coral reefs. Fair enough as coral reefs are magical and full of variety of shapes and animals. But there is beauty in each ecosystem - so much so that we have this [...]
6 - 22 August 2009 It was both Yogi and my first time to see the underwater world of the World Heritage Site Komodo National Park. About 15 years ago Yogi spent time here on land, photographing Komodo dragons. Not much was known about underwater Komodo, and there were few dive operators then as is the [...]
In the beginning of our journey, we knew part of this expedition was going to be about food. About eating. But it was far from our minds to eat well in Jamursbamedi. In fact, we thought we were going to survive on instant noodles or instant anything, as this was by far the most remote [...]
By Alya B. Honasan IT was serendipitous that an important meeting of Coral Triangle partners was going on in Bali at the same time we visited, as scientists, conservation experts, and government representatives from all over the world gathered to work out plans of action. That meant that a whole battery of experts was ready [...]
24 - 29 July 2009 Our Warmamedi tent beside the WWF turtle hatchery For the next four nights, we consistently saw two leatherback turtles laying eggs. We didn’t have as many companions now as the first night, and we developed some sort of nightly ritual. A long boat (dugout canoe with outriggers) would [...]
23 July 2009 We arrived in Batu Rumah sometime 3 pm of July 23. Immediately our WWF leaders Mr. Bas and Franki called for a meeting with all the site monitoring staff and some local Papuan patrol volunteers. WWF Sorong staff photo in Warmamedi. They loved our flag! Our presence and intentions were [...]
23 - 29 July 2009 Um Island Batu Rumah We have been planning this part of our expedition since before we left Australia for Asia four months ago. When we found out that WWF Indonesia had a project site for leatherback turtles, we zeroed in on what we needed to do and plan. Malaria was [...]
By Alya B. Honsasan Trawler catch being sorted into baskets in Kudat Bay In the Kudat-Banggi Priority Conservation Area (PCA) in Sabah, Malaysia, fish is a big deal. You see it everywhere, from the fish cages outside settlements like Tampakan and Sibogo, to the dozens of trawlers and purse seiners docked at the harbor, equipped with [...]
