(29-01-10) This is our second trip aboard the Ondina; we have fond memories of the previous trip in Komodo, and therefore, we were really keen to try out our new destination. After a day’s navigation in the Moluccas, scuba-diving of course, (I will talk you about it in a future article), we reached what was formerly known as Irian Jaya and whose name, even today, is still unclear to the locals. Let me explain.

     It turns out that the western half of this large island of New Guinea (the second biggest on Earth) belongs to Indonesia; at one stage it was baptized Irian Barat, although before that it was known as Dutch New Guinea by its discoverers.Later on it fell under the sovereignty of Indonesia and was baptized Irian Jaya, for political reasons it was later renamed simply as Papua, even though it is now referred to as West Papua.

     To complicate matters even more, this Indonesian portion of the island is split into two provinces: Papua and Irian Jaya Barat. Anyway, in this part of the Indonesian Republic, or however you want to call it, on the most eastwardly corner of its vast territory, tucked away, there is a small but priceless treasure called the Bay of Triton or, just for friends, Triton Bay (and yes! This is its one and only name).

     Diving is relatively new to this area, just to give you an idea, since the beginning of this new century only a few cruises have ventured there due to its remoteness and the complexity of stocking up on provisions ( in the town of Kaimana). It goes without saying that the Ondina, the King of all Indonesia, is one of the chosen few. Word has it that there is project to convert the area into a National Park, however, at least for the moment, a special permit is still required to be able to dive in the Bay.

     On one of the walls near the entrance to the maze-like bay, and almost by way of a greeting to the adventurer, you come across a terrific collection of rupestrian drawings, created with a kind of ochre pigment (hands, animals, cabalistic symbols) which takes us back to the distant past of the local inhabitants. Without a doubt, the paintings were created inside the natural tunnels formed in the limestone cliffs. Over the course of the years, erosion has caused the walls to crumble away uncovering secret treasures.

A DAY ON BOARD THE ONDINA  

     Everyone wakes up to the clang of the bell at 7 in the morning (the crew is already up and on the go) and the deck gradually fills up with divers from every corner of the world, far and beyond, not of course forgetting Spain. It goes without saying that the Ondina is one of the few diving cruise vessels flying the Spanish flag.  

     The briefing takes place on the stern where the diving area is located, each diver has a basket for their things, their own shelf for storing torches or strobes, a towel with a number and a BCD with a bottle mounted, for the whole trip, etc.  

     On this particular trip we didn’t coincide with the regular cruise director, the well-known Ricard Buxó, but with a man named Celso and his charming partner and dive master, Mrs Whan (alias) Obi-Whan Kenobi. What can I say about them…the truth is they are both very “laid-back” and their style differs greatly from ... how can I put it ...the “vigorously dynamic” Ricard, and this doesn’t mean in any way less efficient. But you do get the impression that before coming on deck in the morning they have already had a session of yoga/tai-chi and Zen relaxation, such is their serenity and control. They literally glide along the deck.  

     Celso asks the rowdy Spanish-speaking contingent to quieten down, as he outlines the diving plan and gives the opportune technical recommendations, whilst whetting our appetite by detailing the creatures we’ll come across. Meanwhile, Whan gives the corresponding briefing to the divers who don’t speak “Spanglish”.

     Lazily we all get dressed, while the local crew members (from various different parts of Indonesia, but above all from Sulawesi, where the “pinisi” was built) start lowering the heavy material onto the two dinghies which assist the Ondina. Like a gentleman, one descends the steps to sea-level (watch out if it’s “choppy”) and with a “gracious” hop you find yourself in the craft. If you don’t want to lug the bottle down yourself, you’ll find it waiting for you in the “zodiac”.  

     The cruise to the dive-site is usually short and the mother-boat either drifts or anchors nearby. On reaching the site, flippers and masks on, we all fall backwards on the dive master’s cue. Once beneath the surface only one thing remains to be done: enjoy it like a hog wallowing in mud.  

     If you are UW photographer it’s better to go with one of the expert guides on board (yes, yes I agree that the tendency is to flee like mad from any kind of group diving, but they are the ones who will spot the pigmy seahorse hidden in that dull sea fan that you just passed by without seeing a blooming thing!).

     Take my advice; if Noldi is on board, he’s an absolute ace at finding whatever you ask him for. Don’t give him the Latin term as he’s not too up in this language, he’s more into Greek, say it in English or if not show him a photograph from one of the identification books in the ship’s library.  

     When you are out of air (yes, I do know all about the 50 bars and all that stuff) we emerge to the surface where the boatman, who has been skilfully following our little bubbles, is waiting for us. Once dried off, it’s breakfast time. You can choose between eitherContinental or a traditional one. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served in the lounge situated on the main deck or, weather permitting; you can eat around the large, glass table at the stern of the ship.

     In the lounge there is a flat screen TV and a DVD and the best thing of all is... they work! While you’re having breakfast you can listen to music either on the Ondina’s sound system or on your IPod, or you can sing along to Beyonce´s latest hit, but if you don’t mind, “the quieter the better...!“

     Breakfast over, the photographers, head towards the ship’s stern where the camera rinse tanks are stored. We take the equipment out of the water and place it on a kind of table protected by rubber. Underneath there are shelves with little baskets to store more stuff and a towel for each “fanatic”. A great idea! Open up cameras, memory cards out, recharge flashes etc …And then when you least expect it, the bell sounds again. Off we go, down again! Ugh, Neptune...my God! What stress!  

     There are on average three or four dives a day, plus a night dive if we’re not sailing and the maritime conditions are good. Not to mention the “land trips” which the cruise boss has planned for us and which I strongly recommend you do not miss. In Triton Bay, one afternoon we “sacrificed” one of the dives and in the two dinghies made our way into the enormous and intricate bay. There are enormous islands scattered in the bay as a result of erosion and its worn sea bed s totally covered with vegetation.

     On one of the islands you can even find hanging carnivorous plants. If you have seen pictures of some areas of Vietnam or Thailand, or one of the James Bond films, you will no doubt find certain similarities. In one of the multiple canals we came across a family of Papuans who make their living by cultivating Sargasso on board their canoe. Using sign language they explained to us how they did this by hanging cord from one island to another, most probably in the same way as their ancestors had done hundreds of years before. It was like getting into a time machine and going back to the year 1000.

WHAT CAN BE SEEN IN TRITON BAY?

     Visibility is not generally good especially in comparison to the rest of Indonesia, due to the incredibly nutrient-rich water, but is, at worst, like the Mediterranean on a normal day. The first thing that strikes you is the sheer amount of life in and around the reef, precisely due to the abundant, drifting foodstuff.

     Never and I repeat, never in my life, have I seen such a large quantity of fishes and creatures spread over such a vast area. (In some specific areas I have in fact found a similar range and quantity of biodiversity, but not over an extensive area). The seabed is generally carpeted with incrustive orange coral, whose open polyps are a magnificent spectacle.  

     The first dive is one of the best: Black Forest owes its name to the black coral which truly resembles a forest on the slopes at this particular point of the dive-site. In all reality it should be called White Forest given that the polyps of the black coral in this area are really white; it is the skeleton which, once dried, gives it this colour. It’s difficult to focus with a wide-angle lens, such is the myriad of “crystal” fish swarming in the zone that the auto-focus is driven mad.

     The water is at some 25ºC and with a 3mm or l ycrasuit with a fleece lining, is easily bearable. On this dive, “good old Noldi” found me pygmy seahorses of two different types while I dedicated time to “shooting” all the strange little animals that came into range. Sea-snakes (the notorious “laticaudiacolubrina”), frogfish, nudibranchs which don’t figure in any of my guidebooks…, etc…

     Another dive which just cannot be missed is White Falls, a true Paradise for the macro shooting and the location of our night dive. On one single dive we found the following: a leopard shark, two kinds of seahorses, ghost pipefish, minutecypraea which live in the soft coral, dwarf cuttlefish, thousands of nudibranchs or gobies of different species.

      It is not at all unusual to find more common fishes but in larger numbers and sizes than usual, like different species of sweet lips, jacks, big groupers, rays or bat, butterfly or lion fish, and yes, enormous schools of Spanish (of course) fusiliers, swimming madly in all different directions.

     It’s also quite common to find sleepy wobegong sharks not too far from the surface and with a bit of luck, on the night dives, the oddly strange walking shark; but in a place of such biodiversity, don’t be surprised if you hit on a new species without even knowing it, lucky diver! Like a mad scientist, or a “Pro” diver from the “Nash’nalGiografick”.

     There are about 20 different dives and most probably many more will come to light, it’s just a question of time. But don’t miss out on Larry’s Heaven, TanjungAiduma or 7h Heaven for example. (Bear in mind that depending on the cruise and because these are such recent discoveries, they may have different names and that in the majority of diving guides they are not even mentioned).

JELLYFISH VOLUME-WISE AS A VAN!

     On a deco stop for one of the many dives which we did in the area, I saw what in the distance looked like a piece of brown plastic and with the intention of getting it out of the water I swam towards it, you can tell I’m from “Greenpeas”; when I was about 20 metres away from the object I began to see tentacles, Oh hell!, this is not a piece of plastic, it’s a jellyfish!

     Now closer to it, I observed astonished that the jellyfish occupied a similar amount of space, volume-wise, as a van! I set about photographing it from every possible angle, “oh yikes, careful!”, as I didn’t know what species it was.

     Swimming awkwardly, I must have grazed the jellyfish with the flash and I suddenly saw stunned how the gelatinous creature curled in all of its tentacles to finally end up as a jellyfish no larger than those seen in our seas in summer. In less than a minute,it had reduced itself to the space of one of the wheels of the van! You can’t imagine how I swore my head off for not having my “bideocámra” instead of my “photoecámra”.

     Having consulted my guidebooks, it turned out to be an Arctic Lion Mane’s Jellyfish or Cyanea c apillata which competes for the title of the longest animal in the world with the worm ("Lineus longissimus"). Up to 36.5 metres long! Even longer than a blue whale.

     It goes without saying that on a Spanish ship, something as traditional as the Siesta could not be overlooked. Great invention, yes siree! With the soft humming of the air conditioning you can dribble to your heart’s content on your pillow as images slip through your mind, becoming more and more of a blur, of pygmy seahorses, nudibranchs in 3D, enormous sea fans swaying to the rhythm of the waves and some fishes which you still have not been able to find in the numerous marine life books which are in the lounge. Will they really be named after me?  

     After the soothing Siesta, comes the last day-dive and then dinner. The real “fanatics" review their torches and flashlights for the night dive while a delicious aroma of spices comes lingering from the kitchen. When we get back after the dive, wrapped up in warm blankets which, I swear to God, are handed to you as soon as you step out of your wetsuit, we’ll find out what the chef has prepared for us.  

     Night comes to an end with a good old lively chinwag at the stern or in the lounge, full of “lies and exaggerations” typical of “frogmen” and with a video or photograph session organised byWhan (Photo pro).  

     One night while we were having dinner, we all ran to the bow alerted by one of the crew. (What on earth was causing such a rumpus?) Drawn by the lights of the ship an enormous snake, more than 3 metres long was slinking around the hull raising its head and part of its flank. Undoubtedly it was taking advantage of the fact that the light was attracting small marine creatures which would be its main course. What a monster! Luckily, we didn’t come across it on one of our dives and more so, that it is not a known predator of divers …although it is believed to have a weak spot for tasty Spaniards!

Text and pictures: Carlos Virgili / RiscK