Administrator’s note: Alex has been a friend and contributor to the BHS site since first visiting the region in 2006.  He recently returned from two trips: one land-based, which gave him a new perspective on the value of live-ashore diving.  The other trip was via liveaboard, which confirmed his appreciation of being able to visit multiple regions on a single, in his case back-to-back, visit.  He shared so many amazing images, I feel the need to split his submission into 2 parts, even though I still can’t share them all, so we can leisurely appreciate the depth of his talent as a creative image maker.  We’ll start with his visit to the land-based Misool Eco Resort. Enjoy! 

A portrait of a large female reef manta ray (Mobula alfredi) swimming over a coral reef. Misool, Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia. Ceram Sea. Tropical West Pacific Ocean.

100 Dives In Raja by Alex Mustard

A group of blacktip reef sharks (Carcharhinus melanopterus) circling over a shallow coral garden (Acropora spp.). Misool, Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia. Misool Marine Protected Area. Ceram Sea. Tropical West Pacific Ocean.

I was fortunate to make two long visits to Raja Ampat in 2019 and clocked up over 100 dives. This collection shares some of my favourites from a stay at Misool Eco Resort in January and back to back liveaboard trips on Indo-Siren in October-November. I have to admit that I am not that efficient with my processing, so these very much represent a first skim through the images.

A Denise’s pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus denise) looks out from its home in a sea fan (Annella sp.). Misool, Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia. Ceram Sea. Tropical West Pacific Ocean.

Every dive in Raja Ampat is a privilege. Yet, despite so much time in the water, there were lots of spots I didn’t get to see on this trip. While other dive sites I visited several times and was fascinated by how much the diver experience/quality of a site usually changes so much between visits.  Despite many previous trips to Raja, I still found myself diving at least 10 sites for the first time ever, during 2019.

Hard coral reef (Porites sp.) exposed by a low spring tide in front of an island. Yillet Island, Misool, Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia. Ceram Sea. Tropical West Pacific Ocean.

I loved both trips to Raja in 2019 and despite making so many dives in the same destination, I felt the variety of my experiences were as rich as if I had spread these dives all around the world. I was uplifted by the success of marine protected area in Misool, seeing biomass booming and so many big creatures, especially sharks. I first dived Misool in 2006 and didn’t see a single shark all trip. Although, it does make me a little sad to see development slowly creeping into the archipelago. It was definitely upsetting to hear chainsaws running so regularly in parts of the Dampier Strait.

A commensal emperor shrimp (Periclimenes imperator) moves across the coloruful red patterned surface of its host candycane sea cucumber (Thelenota rubralineata). Misool, Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia. Ceram Sea. Tropical West Pacific Ocean.

2019 marked my first visit to Raja land based – staying at Misool Eco Resort, which is an amazing place and really delivered underwater. I’d always been sceptical about going land-based in Raja because the different areas, that can be accessed on a single trip by liveaboard, offer such diversity. However, I was bowled over by the array of underwater experiences, secret spots and subjects we could access from the resort. Plus, the ability to shore dive and dive and dive in the heart of Misool is something liveaboards can’t match.

Three pink anemonefish (Amphiprion perideraion) living in a purple skirted magnificent sea anemone (Heteractis magnifica) on a coral reef, below a small island. Misool, Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia. Ceram Sea. Tropical West Pacific Ocean.

I also really enjoyed doing an early season liveaboard. Sailing on Indo-Siren in late October worked well, with so many boats doing multiple crossing trips these days, Raja was really quiet and we hardly saw anyone, which was great. It felt like the old days – but with more sharks!

“Rush Hour School” A long exposure of school of Bigeye Trevally (Bigeye Jack: Caranx sexfasciatus) swimming in front of a jetty, close to sunset. Misool, Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia. Ceram Sea. Tropical West Pacific Ocean.

Alex Mustard is an underwater photographer from the UK and author of the book Underwater Photography Masterclass. www.amustard.com

A huge female reef manta (Mobula alfredi) swims close to a coral reef, while cleaner wrasse (Bluestreak cleaner wrasse: Labroides dimidiatus), tiny by comparison, pick parasites from her lips. Misool, Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia. Ceram Sea. Tropical West Pacific Ocean.

Schools of baitfish (including cardinalfish: Apogon spp., silversides: Atherinidae) mass on a coral reef, with giant barrel sponge (Xestospongia sp.) and predatory coral grouper (Cephalopholis miniata). Misool, Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia. Ceram Sea. Tropical West Pacific Ocean.