19th May 2026 - End of Raja Ampat and onto Flores
Nik and I made a call after Waisai to start heading west as we believe we had seen enough of Raja Ampat and the remaining places we wanted visit could be seen on the way out of the area over the following couple of weeks. The overall plan has to take into account the other places we want to visit and the dates required to meet seasonal winds for voyaging past Indonesia.
Not to say there is not a lot more to see in Raja Ampat but it all revolves around island beaches, limestone karst formations and underwater life and we had seen a lot of that over the last 6 weeks. Originally I thought I would cruise here for up to three months but I guess I get impatient for the next destination. Also there are a couple of areas here which are iconic but which are off limits due to issues with the locals who are annoyed at the government closing down a nickel mine in the area.
After the Blue River we headed to the island of
Gam. Gam looks like part of the main
island of Waigeo but is actually separated from it by a large bay called Kabui
Bay leading to a very narrow channel called the Kabui Pass which we understood
was navigable for a vessel of our dimensions.
We wanted to explore the bay and transit the channel.
First stop was on 9th May at an island in the mouth of the Kabui Bay called Pulau Ura where we wanted to stop for a couple of days to rest up. There is a resort called Katembe on the island and we contacted them out of courtesy and got permission to drop anchor in a small protected bay just around the corner from the resort.
Now when I say “resort” it is not a 5 star hotel type place but more an upmarket homestay consisting of nine over the water bungalows and a main restaurant bar /socializing area. All the structures are wood and thatch. It does look very comfortable if a little basic. There is also a dive charter business on the island to cater for guests who wish to dive. There were only three guests at the resort and so on one night we went in and had a beer and dinner with them and a couple of staff who are the resident coral rejuvenation techs.
After two days at anchor we transited further
into the bay to the start of the Kabui Pass and anchored amongst a scattered
collection of small karst islets. The
area looks a bit croki (as in saltwater crocodiles) so there was no swimming
but we did have a look around in the dingy through the channel and visited a big
cave full of large bats that you could wander into. The karst islands are classic Raja Ampat and provide
a spectacular backdrop for the anchorage.
As usual there were no other boats around except for the locals moving
through the channel and across the bay.
We had one visit from an old fisherman with a couple of small fish on
offer which we passed on but we did get some fresh water from him. All in all it was very peaceful and serene. Have had to plagiarise the picture below from
the internet as it is best viewed from above.
The transit of the channel was a bit nerve wracking
as it narrows to maybe 20m at its narrowest point and has quite strong currents
swirling along its length. The minimum
depth was reported to be 7m but we found shallower.
Our next stop after an overnight stay in another secluded bay was Airborek Island. Airborek is a very small island of 200 people located in the Dampier Strait and surrounded by coral reefs. Its main claim to fame is, of course, the diving around the island but also has two manta ray spots nearby.
We
stayed three days here and it was fantastic – probably one of our favourite
places so far. The first day we we hired
a local boat and a guy called James took us out to Manta Ridge. Within 10minutes in the water he had us
snorkelling over a manta being cleaned.
It was amazing. We stayed
watching it for about 15minutes until I guess he figured he was clean enough
and swam off. That evening we had dinner
at James’ homestay with his other guests.
Another plus for Airborek was that there was a beach bar. This is the first bar as such that we have
found and it was just a shack with a fridge right on the waters edge near the
town jetty. Once discovered Nik and I
had our evening ritual established.
The rest of the time at the island we spent
snorkelling or looking around the island.
The snorkelling just meters from shore is some of the best we have seen
this trip. The island itself is very
neat and tidy with a couple of really basic shops.
From Airborek we travelled to the Fam Islands
about 15NM further west. This was to be our
last stop in Raja Ampat. Again we
anchored off a homestay and we had previously arranged with the owner Ridwan to
do a trip with him to the nearby island of Pyanemo which is iconic Raja Ampat. There are a couple of lookouts and the views
are incredible. When we got back to the
boat the heavens opened which was actually welcome as we both needed showers
and we managed to collect some water.
The next day at first light we started the passage to Labuan Bajo at the western end of Flores. This is a journey of over 800NM and Nik is very bravely doing it with me.
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