We are posting a series of recently surveyed dive sites in the Bird’s Head Seascape last frontier, Fakfak and the Bomberai peninsula.  This is the third in the series, Fakfak and Panjang Island.

To read about last year’s expedition of discovery click here, survey of the Bomberai peninsula, Fakfak and its surrounding waters.  (Additionally click here to read an article in DAN’s Alert Diver magazine Q4-’22 about the expedition.)

The idea is to expand the itineraries of LOB’s transiting between Raja and Triton Bay.  Now LOB’s can leisurely spend days making the passage.  When we have finished adding all the sites including topside activities for each area, a LOB will be able to create a stand-alone itinerary in the vast region between the Pisangs and Momon.

To access each area’s dive site info including maps, GPS coordinates, dive directions, surrounding activities and images, open the website, hover over and/or click on Maps in the top tier menu.  Click on Bomberai/Fakfak to bring up the regional map.  This map contains yellow circles for all the areas we surveyed.  Click on the Fakfak & Panjang circle (now yellow with a flashing red halo).  Hover on a dive flag to highlight a dive site.  Then click on the flag to bring up that site’s information.  Or simply click here to go directly to the Fakfak &
Panjang Map with the dive site flags.

This is the third in the series of posts about the new sites.  The new areas we have completed, they are indicated by a flashing red circle on the regional Bomberai/Faklfak map.  As each additional area’s info is uploaded the area’s yellow circle will flash red, indicating that area is now actionve with dive site information.

At the moment Fakfak is barely on most divers “bucket list”.  Our intent and the reason for this survey is to expand the tourism opportunities in the Bird’s Head Seascape, assist locals in generating income, while using the LOB’s presence to patrol the area for illegal activities.  More exploratory work needs to be done in his little known and basically unexplored region but this survey provides a huge leap forward.

A huge thanks to our web designers at New Media Soup, Joel and Jennifer Penner and to master map maker, Garry Bevan.  Garry is a renaissance man!  Besides making maps he’s a cruise director, author, content creator, dive tech and a musician.  He is presently working on a series of dive and cruising guides of Indonesia.  If you need someone to sort things out, while making you laugh, Garry is your man.  Without the assistance of the Pindito and it’s owner Edi Frommenwiler this trip would not have been possible.  So a big shout out of thanks go to them as well.