FORGOTTEN ISLANDS – KEI ISLANDS – TRITON BAY

12 Days/11 Nights Saumlaki – Kaimana Cruise Itinerary

Day 1 Embarkation in Saumlaki

Welcome aboard Arenui in Saumlaki, on Yamdena Island in the Tanimbar
archipelago.

After embarkation, our crew will help you settle into your cabin and prepare
your dive equipment. Following the vessel and safety briefings, Arenui begins
her journey into one of Indonesia’s most remote marine regions.

We will use our first navigation to position Arenui toward the volcanic islands
of the South Forgotten Islands, making the most of our time at sea and
preserving as much diving time as possible for the days ahead.

During this expedition we will experience three remarkably different regions:
the wild and remote South Forgotten Islands, the rarely
explored Kei Islands, and the extraordinary biodiversity and
soft-coral reefs of Triton Bay.

Days 2–3 South Forgotten Islands – Approximately 6–7 Dives

The Forgotten Islands stretch across a vast and isolated section of
southeastern Maluku. Even by Indonesian standards, this is an exceptionally
remote region, where volcanic islands and isolated reefs rise directly from
very deep oceanic water.

Few liveaboards visit these waters and much of the region remains only lightly
explored.

The diving can be spectacular: steep walls disappearing into blue water,
enormous sea fans and sponges, healthy hard and soft corals, schooling fish
and the possibility of encounters with larger pelagic species.

Our principal areas will be Teun and Dawera, although the
exact sites and sequence will always depend on conditions.

Teun Island

Remote Teun provides a dramatic introduction to the Forgotten Islands.

This isolated volcanic island rises from deep waters of the Banda Sea, and
underwater its volcanic origins continue in the form of steep walls, ridges,
drop-offs and unusual rock formations.

The reefs can support impressive fish life, with jacks, barracuda, dogtooth
tuna, Napoleon wrasse and reef sharks among the possible encounters. Mobula
and eagle rays may also appear in the blue, while these deep oceanic waters
always offer the possibility of larger pelagic visitors.

Teun remains rarely dived, and that sense of remoteness and discovery is an
important part of its attraction.

Dawera Island

From Teun we continue east to Dawera, long considered one of our favourite
areas in the southern Forgotten Islands.

Steep reef slopes and walls are covered with healthy coral growth and large
sea fans, while clouds of reef fish surround the reef. Barracuda, trevally,
tuna and reef sharks can patrol the blue.

One of the highlights is an offshore seamount where the concentration of
marine life can be exceptional. When conditions are right, the entire reef
seems to move with fish.

Dawera perfectly represents Forgotten Islands diving:
remote, beautiful and wonderfully wild.

After our final dives in the area, Arenui begins the longer navigation east
toward the Kei Islands.

Days 4–6 Kei Islands – Approximately 7–8 Dives

We now reach the Kei Islands, also known as the Kai Islands,
for the exploratory middle section of our expedition.

Depending on our arrival time from the Forgotten Islands, our first dive may
be a late-afternoon or night dive, followed by two days exploring the best
available reefs in the region.

Kei is famous above water for idyllic islands and brilliant white-sand
beaches, but beneath the surface there is still much to discover.

Unlike Indonesia’s better-known diving destinations, many reefs here do not
have famous dive-site names or established diving circuits. This gives our
Cruise Directors the freedom to select the most promising locations according
to currents, sea conditions and the latest local knowledge.

We may encounter dramatic walls, coral-covered slopes, channels, pinnacles
and extensive reef systems populated by colourful reef fish, turtles and
schooling fish, together with the possibility of pelagic encounters around
the more exposed reefs.

The sense of exploration is part of the experience.

On our final day in Kei we plan our diving so that Arenui can begin the
navigation toward Triton Bay while preserving as much of the following diving
day as possible.

Days 7–10 Triton Bay – Approximately 15 Dives

After the oceanic landscapes of the Forgotten Islands and the exploratory
diving of Kei, the character of the expedition changes again as we reach
Triton Bay.

Triton Bay is renowned for extraordinary marine biodiversity and some of the
most luxuriant soft-coral growth in Indonesia.

Most of our diving takes place around the islands and channels south of the
West Papuan mainland, particularly around Aiduma, where enormous boulders and
reefs can be covered in colourful soft corals, black coral bushes, sea fans
and clouds of anthias and sweetlips.

With several days available in the region, we can select our sites according
to tides, currents and prevailing conditions.

Larry’s Heaven

One of Triton Bay’s signature dives.

Huge boulders and sections of reef are covered almost completely in soft
corals. Anthias, sweetlips and clouds of small reef fish fill the water column,
creating the intense colour for which Triton Bay has become famous.

Bo’s Rainbow

What appears above water to be a small rock conceals a surprisingly extensive
reef below.

Large boulders covered in soft corals lead toward areas of dense black coral
where ghost pipefish and other cryptic species may hide. A shallow
swim-through adds another dimension to the dive and can occasionally shelter
resting wobbegong sharks.

Little Komodo & Christmas Rock

These sites showcase another side of Triton Bay: densely populated reefs where
brilliant soft corals mix with huge schools of fish.

Snappers, fusiliers, sweetlips and trevally can fill the water around
coral-covered rocks, creating superb wide-angle diving when conditions are
favourable.

White Rocks

An excellent site for slowing down and looking closely among soft corals and
the reef for smaller creatures.

Candy crabs are among the prizes for sharp-eyed divers, and this area also
offers the possibility of encountering Triton Bay’s remarkable epaulette or
walking sharks.

Flasher Beach

Several species of flasher wrasse can be encountered here, including the
beautiful Triton Bay flasher wrasse,
Paracheilinus nursalim.

The combination of spectacular wide-angle diving and fascinating endemic and
unusual smaller species is one of the things that makes Triton Bay so special.

Day 11 Namatote – Whale Shark Diving

For our final full day we plan one of the most memorable experiences of the
expedition: diving with whale sharks.

Around Namatote, traditional fishing platforms known locally as
bagans operate in these productive waters. Whale sharks often
visit the platforms, attracted by the concentration of small fish around the
nets.

When the whale sharks are present and conditions and local arrangements allow,
we will dive alongside the largest fish in the ocean.

The experience of watching these enormous but gentle animals moving slowly
around the bagans can provide an extraordinary finale to the cruise.

We normally plan approximately two whale-shark dives, with
the possibility of an additional dive in the area depending on timing and
conditions.

As with every wild animal encounter, the presence and number of whale sharks
cannot be guaranteed.

After our final dives, Arenui makes the short navigation toward Kaimana.

Day 12 Disembarkation in Kaimana

After breakfast, it is time to say goodbye to Arenui and her crew.

We disembark in Kaimana, completing an extraordinary journey
from the volcanic islands of southern Maluku across the Kei archipelago to the
remarkable waters of West Papua.

Three very different regions. One expedition across some of Indonesia’s
least-travelled seas.