Misool Eco Resort Review (trip report) for new resort in Raja AmpatIndonesia

I posted this same review on the scuba board as well, but thought I'd
put it here in case anyone is interested in some hard objective info
regarding this remote diving region.

Destination Misool Eco Resort, Raja Ampat Misool, Indonesia
Overview
There is a substantial amount of hype on the internet about Raja
Ampat
in General and a bit about Misool in particular. I cant speak for the
Northern region of Raja Ampat, but I can offer some helpful firsthand
info with regard to Misool. Before my trip, I made every effort to
research the destination, but most available info is either from dive
operators or others with vested interests. I sincerely hope this
objective overview will help others considering a similar trip. Its
tough to admit, but i was quite disappointed with the diving itself
(the resort wasn't bad though from a facilities standpoint.) I
intentionally went during the "high visibility" time of year
(NOVEMBER-
DEC) and stayed for a whole month and made 3 dives per day. The
visibility the WHOLE time was simply terrible....often as low as 30
feet. Yes, if you looked closely at the reef there were indeed
unusual
creatures....but the colors were all muted and grey due to low light
low vis conditions. Also, most of the reef flats/tops (the richest
part of the reefs) have bomb damage from past abuse. The walls were
in
decent shape...but as mentioned, the reef flats/ crests where the
action usually is was often in shambles/rubble. There were a few
exceptions...including the fiabacet pinnacle....but this resort is
just too far to travel to for just one decent site (West Boo point is
also good--so 2 good sites.) I think this area is best visited via
livaboard as this way you will have a variety and not just be stuck
on
the same low vis sites.
Operator-- Misool Eco Resort.
The dive operators, while very professional do NOT seem to understand
how to maximize the sites they dive on with regards to timing of
currents. In all fairness I am not altogether sure that these
currents
can be timed as the area is complex. However, we never seemed to
catch
the corals opening, and we always (100%) of the time seemed to be
going AGAINST the currents. This is a major problem for me as it
wastes all of my air and makes the diving more of a chore than
relaxing. I think the German Divemasters are such strong swimmers
that
they dont realize the hardship this caused a couple of Norweigian
divers (so much so they skipped out on half the dives.) The dive
boats
themselves had tons of engine problems and were of the
"uncomfortable,
simple but functional" basic type. The transport boat to the resort
was horrific and took 12 hours....long, awful trip from
Sorong...everybody was very upset by this part. The extra day of
transport to get to the Misool resort makes an already looooong trip
to Raja Ampat a whole day longer (4 days.) Also, it should be NOTED
that it is strongly reccomended that you leave an extra day or two on
either side of your domestic airline transport to Sorong (West
Papau.) These domestic airlines (particularly Merpatie and Lion Air
and Express) are notorious about last second cancellations. If you
happen to miss the transport boat to Misool (which only transports
every 11 days), it will cost you about a thousand bucks to have them
make a special trip to pick you up. So you really need to plan for
this as this happens all the time with these airlines. Essentially,
this means 6 days to travel there and around the same to travel out.
This is another aspect of the trip to Misool Eco Resort that requires
major inconvenience.
Accomodation Misool Eco Resort
Okay....the resort is indeed as beautiful as the pictures. And the
food was at times fairly good. Some problems though: Composting
toilets located Right in the resteraunt....fecal smell was strong at
times...very unsettling while dining. Many people had GI discomfort
(to put it mildly.) This could be from many things, but it was a
concern that the large amount of flies contacting the buffet food
might have previously stopped by the composting toilets 10' feet
away. Who knows, as I'm sure just traveling in indonesia could make
this malady likely anyway. BAD Mosquitos (this made me wish I opted
for a liveaboard as Malaria is a theoretical possibility in this
region despite reassurances to the contrary. They ran out of drinking
water and had to use a broken desalinator.....very nasty water for
several days. The generator room seems to constantly spill fuel right
onto the house reef. I came up from snorkeling smelling like Deisel
and I'm sure this is not good for the health. Also, I noted this
resort uses around 1200 gallons of fuel a month just for the
generator....not very ECO if you asked me.
Getting there
This is the worst part. It litterally takess four days to get to
Misool resort from the united states or Europe (could be done in 3
days if you don't stop to rest....brutal!) However, as mentioned,
you
really need an extra day or two for safety margin as domestic flights
are highly highly unreliable in this area. If this place was a one
day flight like Fiji....then it would be a reasonable return on the
investment of time and money. But at 4 or 5 times the travelling days
for inferior (low vis) diving, I'd definitely pass a repeat visit.
Honestly, this is very special interest sort of diving (akin to muck
diving.) A dedicated Macro photographer who dosn't need high vis or a
research scientist looking for new small inverts might find this
perfect. But for a regular recreational diver....don't automatically
buy into the hype for the "newest hot spot" as you might be
disappointed. Really this was my general observation...the guests who
were regular divers who value visibility, fish numbers, color, coral
coverage/density were on the whole disappointed. On the other hand I
noticed some guests with 5k cameras seemed pleased at spotting pygmy
seahorses and walking sharks. For me, If I had it to do over again,
I'd see Misool as part of an overall itinerary on a liveaboard as its
worth seeing, but maybe not diving many times day in and day out.
Most
people in the know seemed to think the fish action and hard corals
were more impressive up by Kri, so I would have liked to have at
least
spent equal time up there (in the North.)
Tips Bring tons of bug repellant...tons (it washes off everytime you
swim.) Insist they dive the fiabacet site often as this is really one
of only a few good spots here. Many guests who only stayed 10 days
only got to dive fiabacet ONCE. This was a bit tragic as most of the
other dives were not near the caliber. The resort bleives its better
to provide a variety of mediocre dives rather than concentrate on
proven sites. Sometimes we actually dove in fields of rubble left
from
the bygone days of dynamite fishing. Don't waste your time on the
house reef....it is patchy due to lots of dynamite damage and is a
waste of valuable dive time (most people make only 20 dives on a trip
here......) Bring ALL your own gear as the resort had very limited
supplies and looked to have rather less than premium gear. Bring
spare
parts....I was surprised that a resort so isolated didn't even have a
spare hose when mine blew out. Plan to dive either in Nov-early Dec
or
April-May....at least you will stand a small chance of decent
visibility (I am quite sure the resort is being "overly optimistic"
when they claim 25meter average.) Keep your mosquito net tightly
tucked in, as the roofs are made of thatch in the cottages, and I
wound up getting bitten very badly by a giant centipede that i
suspect
lived in the thatch roof. Also, even though they have a whaleshark
in
their videos, you should know that this are is NOT known for sitings
of these creatures. Mantas yes, but no one who works at the resort
has
ever seen a whaleshark there, and I have no idea why they put it in
their videos on the website. Seems misleading as several guests were
upset when they learned that no whale sharks had ever been sited. We
did see mantas on one dive out of the month of diving. Bring
earplugs....very important as the 50 (yes fifty) native employees are
very noisy in the early mornings and late evenings as they pass the
cottages on the way to and from their staff quarters. For a resort
that charges nearly 10 grand (for 2 people staying 10 days in a water
cottage), I found it very strange that they seemed to make no effort
to keep things peaceful and quiet for the high paying guests. I was
woken up early nearly every day by these workers laughing and
yelling. The cottages up in the hills away from the water might be
more quiet, but not nearly as nice.

On Feb 8, 12:37*am, joe <speak2...@yahoo.com> wrote:

[snip long rant]

> cottages on the way to and from their staff quarters. *For a resort
> that charges nearly 10 grand (for 2 people staying 10 days in a water
> cottage), I found it very strange that they seemed to make no effort
> to keep things peaceful and quiet for the high paying guests. *I was
> woken up early nearly every day by these workers laughing and
> yelling. *The cottages up in the hills away from the water might be
> more quiet, but not nearly as nice.

Yikes. For a while there, reading through your diatribe, I figured
someone would only go there 'cause it must be real cheap. That's
pricier than Wakatobi and definitely more than a luxury liveaboard.
Sorry you had such a rough time, but thanks for the warning!

On Feb 8, 8:16*am, Greg Mossman <moss...@qnet.com> wrote:
> On Feb 8, 12:37*am, joe <speak2...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
Oh, I wouldn't say that it was exactly a rough time at all. I think a
lot of people who go to these type of fancy resorts have high
expectations, but I really only cared about the lack of visibility and
significant lack of pristine (un bombed) reef flats. It was a real
shock for me to discover that bomb fishers had so thoroughly covered
such a totally remote place. As it turns out, it seems that perhaps in
today's situation, the more truly remote locations might actually be
in more peril than reefs located closer to civilization...at least in
terms of such blatantly destructive fishing practices. I'm pretty
sure that the northern areas of Raja Ampat closer to Sorong do not
have quite this level of bombed areas. I could stay in a tent and
eat beef jerky as far as I care about that sort of "fancy resort"
stuff.


> > cottages on the way to and from their staff quarters. *For a resort
> > that charges nearly 10 grand (for 2 people staying 10 days in a water
> > cottage), I found it very strange that they seemed to make no effort
> > to keep things peaceful and quiet for the high paying guests. *I was
> > woken up early nearly every day by these workers laughing and
> > yelling. *The cottages up in the hills away from the water might be
> > more quiet, but not nearly as nice.
>
> Yikes. *For a while there, reading through your diatribe, I figured
> someone would only go there 'cause it must be real cheap. *That's
> pricier than Wakatobi and definitely more than a luxury liveaboard.
> Sorry you had such a rough time, but thanks for the warning!

On Feb 9, 1:23*am, joe <speak2...@yahoo.com> wrote:

> Oh, I wouldn't say that it was exactly a rough time at all. *I think a
> lot of people who go to these type of fancy resorts have high
> expectations, but I really only cared about the lack of visibility and
> significant lack of pristine (un bombed) reef flats. *It was a real
> shock for me to discover that bomb fishers had so thoroughly covered
> such a totally remote place. As it turns out, it seems that perhaps in
> today's situation, the more truly remote locations might actually be
> in more peril than reefs located closer to civilization...at least in
> terms of such blatantly destructive fishing practices. *I'm pretty
> sure that the northern areas of Raja Ampat closer to Sorong do not
> have quite this level of bombed areas. * *I could stay in a tent and
> eat beef jerky as far as I care about that sort of "fancy resort"
> stuff.

Sure, but it would cost you a lot less to stay in a tent and eat beef
jerky. If you're paying the price of a luxury resort, you should
expect and receive the amenities of a luxury resort. Then, if the
diving is crap, at least you have a nice place to enjoy the topside
portion of your vacation/holiday. A tent, beef jerky, and air fills
should run you $300/wk not $3,000/wk.

But even a liveaboard doesn't guarantee great diving. On my Bali-to-
Komodo trip, we dove a few sites en-route where I would have stayed on
the boat had I known they were going to be so barren. It was a slow
boat and I guess they decided we'd be happier taking occasional dive
breaks rather than motor on through the daytime hours. I found myself
regretting I didn't take either a faster boat that could skip the
lousy stuff, or taking a boat out of Bima and saving the long haul
from Bali.

On Feb 8, 8:37*am, joe <speak2...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> I posted this same review on the scuba board as well, but thought I'd
> put it here in case anyone is interested in some hard objective info
> regarding this remote diving region.
>
> Destination * * Misool Eco Resort, Raja Ampat Misool, Indonesia
> Overview
> There is a substantial amount of hype on the internet about Raja
> Ampat
> in General and a bit about Misool in particular. I cant speak for the
> Northern region of Raja Ampat, but I can offer some helpful firsthand
> info with regard to Misool. Before my trip, I made every effort to
> research the destination, but most available info is either from dive
> operators or others with vested interests. I sincerely hope this
> objective overview will help others considering a similar trip. Its
> tough to admit, but i was quite disappointed with the diving itself
> (the resort wasn't bad though from a facilities standpoint.) I
> intentionally went during the "high visibility" time of year
> (NOVEMBER-
> DEC) and stayed for a whole month and made 3 dives per day. The
> visibility the WHOLE time was simply terrible....often as low as 30
> feet. Yes, if you looked closely at the reef there were indeed
> unusual
> creatures....but the colors were all muted and grey due to low light
> low vis conditions. Also, most of the reef flats/tops (the richest
> part of the reefs) have bomb damage from past abuse. The walls were
> in
> decent shape...but as mentioned, the reef flats/ crests where the
> action usually is was often in shambles/rubble. There were a few
> exceptions...including the fiabacet pinnacle....but this resort is
> just too far to travel to for just one decent site (West Boo point is
> also good--so 2 good sites.) I think this area is best visited via
> livaboard as this way you will have a variety and not just be stuck
> on
> the same low vis sites.
> Operator-- * * *Misool Eco Resort.
> The dive operators, while very professional do NOT seem to understand
> how to maximize the sites they dive on with regards to timing of
> currents. In all fairness I am not altogether sure that these
> currents
> can be timed as the area is complex. However, we never seemed to
> catch
> the corals opening, and we always (100%) of the time seemed to be
> going AGAINST the currents. This is a major problem for me as it
> wastes all of my air and makes the diving more of a chore than
> relaxing. I think the German Divemasters are such strong swimmers
> that
> they dont realize the hardship this caused a couple of Norweigian
> divers (so much so they skipped out on half the dives.) The dive
> boats
> themselves had tons of engine problems and were of the
> "uncomfortable,
> simple but functional" basic type. The transport boat to the resort
> was horrific and took 12 hours....long, awful trip from
> Sorong...everybody was very upset by this part. *The extra day of
> transport to get to the Misool resort makes an already looooong trip
> to Raja Ampat a whole day longer (4 days.) *Also, it should be NOTED
> that it is strongly reccomended that you leave an extra day or two on
> either side of your domestic airline transport to Sorong (West
> Papau.) *These domestic airlines (particularly Merpatie and Lion Air
> and Express) are notorious about last second cancellations. *If you
> happen to miss the transport boat to Misool (which only transports
> every 11 days), it will cost you about a thousand bucks to have them
> make a special trip to pick you up. *So you really need to plan for
> this as this happens all the time with these airlines. Essentially,
> this means 6 days to travel there and around the same to travel out.
> This is another aspect of the trip to Misool Eco Resort that requires
> major inconvenience.
> Accomodation * *Misool Eco Resort
> Okay....the resort is indeed as beautiful as the pictures. And the
> food was at times fairly good. Some problems though: Composting
> toilets located Right in the resteraunt....fecal smell was strong at
> times...very unsettling while dining. *Many people had GI discomfort
> (to put it mildly.) *This could be from many things, but it was a
> concern that the large amount of flies contacting the buffet food
> might have previously stopped by the composting toilets 10' feet
> away. *Who knows, as I'm sure just traveling in indonesia could make
> this malady likely anyway. *BAD Mosquitos (this made me wish I opted
> for a liveaboard as Malaria is a theoretical possibility in this
> region despite reassurances to the contrary. They ran out of drinking
> water and had to use a broken desalinator.....very nasty water for
> several days. The generator room seems to constantly spill fuel right
> onto the house reef. I came up from snorkeling smelling like Deisel
> and I'm sure this is not good for the health. Also, I noted this
> resort uses around 1200 gallons of fuel a month just for the
> generator....not very ECO if you asked me.
> Getting there
> This is the worst part. It litterally takess four days to get to
> Misool resort from the united states or Europe (could be done in 3
> days if you don't stop to rest....brutal!) *However, as mentioned,
> you
> really need an extra day or two for safety margin as domestic flights
> are highly highly unreliable in this area. *If this place was a one
> day flight like Fiji....then it would be a reasonable return on the
> investment of time and money. But at 4 or 5 times the travelling days
> for inferior (low vis) diving, I'd definitely pass a repeat visit.
> Honestly, this is very special interest sort of diving (akin to muck
> diving.) A dedicated Macro photographer who dosn't need high vis or a
> research scientist looking for new small inverts might find this
> perfect. But for a regular recreational diver....don't automatically
> buy into the hype for the "newest hot spot" as you might be
> disappointed. Really this was my general observation...the guests who
> were regular divers who value visibility, fish numbers, color, coral
> coverage/density were on the whole disappointed. On the other hand I
> noticed some guests with 5k cameras seemed pleased at spotting pygmy
> seahorses and walking sharks. For me, If I had it to do over again,
> I'd see Misool as part of an overall itinerary on a liveaboard as its
> worth seeing, but maybe not diving many times day in and day out.
> Most
> people in the know seemed to think the fish action and hard corals
> were more impressive up by Kri, so I would have liked to have at
> least
> spent equal time up there (in the North.)
> Tips Bring tons of bug repellant...tons (it washes off everytime you
> swim.) Insist they dive the fiabacet site often as this is really one
> of only a few good spots here. Many guests who only stayed 10 days
> only got to dive fiabacet ONCE. This was a bit tragic as most of the
> other dives were not near the caliber. The resort bleives its better
> to provide a variety of mediocre dives rather than concentrate on
> proven sites. Sometimes we actually dove in fields of rubble left
> from
> the bygone days of dynamite fishing. Don't waste your time on the
> house reef....it is patchy due to lots of dynamite damage and is a
> waste of valuable dive time (most people make only 20 dives on a trip
> here......) Bring ALL your own gear as the resort had very limited
> supplies and looked to have rather less than premium gear. Bring
> spare
> parts....I was surprised that a resort so isolated didn't even have a
> spare hose when mine blew out. Plan to dive either in Nov-early Dec
> or
> April-May....at least you will stand a small chance of decent
> visibility (I am quite sure the resort is being "overly optimistic"
> when they claim 25meter average.) Keep your mosquito net tightly
> tucked in, as the roofs are made of thatch in the cottages, and I
> wound up getting bitten very badly by a giant centipede that i
> suspect
> lived in the thatch roof. *Also, even though they have a whaleshark
> in
> their videos, you should know that this are is NOT known for sitings
> of these creatures. Mantas yes, but no one who works at the resort
> has
> ever seen a whaleshark there, and I have no idea why they put it in
> their videos on the website. Seems misleading as several guests were
> upset when they learned that no whale sharks had ever been sited. *We
> did see mantas on one dive out of the month of diving. *Bring
> earplugs....very important as the 50 (yes fifty) native employees are
> very noisy in the early mornings and late evenings as they pass the
> cottages on the way to and from their staff quarters. *For a resort
> that charges nearly 10 grand (for 2 people staying 10 days in a water
> cottage), I found it very strange that they seemed to make no effort
> to keep things peaceful and quiet for the high paying guests. *I was
> woken up early nearly every day by these workers laughing and
> yelling. *The cottages up in the hills away from the water might be
> more quiet, but not nearly as nice.

After reading the above report and actually spending 26 days at Misool
Eco Resort diving during most of February 2009 i feel i have to make
comments on many of the misleading remarks that have been made, in my
opinion.

As for the visibility, or suppose lack of it , i was diving during
what is supposed to be the low visibility time of the year February,
we had 30++ for most of the time it was as far as you could see on
most sites , obviously when there was currents the visibility was less
because of particles, which means food for the fish and more fish
hunting.
Indonesia is renowned for less than perfect visibility thats why it
has so much life in the waters and diversity within.
One diver summed it up beautifully after a dive and said " The colour
of the water is like Cartoon Blue "

Yes there has been dynamite fishing damage , but not all damage to
coral reefs is down to dynamite , Coral bleaching and El Nino has done
much damage and devistation to many reefs especially in 1998 , which
devistated many of the flat top reefs !

There were many good dive sites , Fiabacet actually has 6 dive sites
around it and are you forgetting Nudi Rock, Tank Rock ,Camel
Rock ,Potato Point , Whale rock , boo west 1,2 and 3 boo point, boo
pinnacle , Magic mountain , the Egg and more !

As for the currents, you are diving in an ocean, a rather large one at
that so not to expect currents is rather dim to say the least.I am a
disabled diver having had one leg amputated above my knee joint.I had
no problems dealing with the currents and i prefer to have some
current because that is where you tend to get the schools of fish and
the pelagic fish aswell as sharks.

The guides were very adamant that if anybody was struggling or having
any problems whatsoever then it was fine to end the dive at anytime.
As for you having problems with your Air the dives are limited to 30
Meters and 60 Minutes max dive time due to the remoteness of the
location and thus safety reasons.
I usually came up with 80 or 90 bar using one leg so get
real !! All the tanks were also filled well over 200
bar.Usually 220+ bar.

All the dive boats were fitted with 2 engines so if they had problems
with one of them they always had another !I was on one with a roof and
my own seat and tank next to me , very comfortable.Most of the
liveaboards we encountered were open and/or very small ribs .
Indonesia is known for its low grade fuel and for having a percentage
of water added to bulk it up .During my trip we probably had 3 or 4
problems which were resolved quickly.

Sorong is about 5 hours or around 100 miles away.So of course it
takes time to get there, but nowhere near the 12 hours you state.Also
6 days to get there and 6 days back , i travel to Indonesia quite a
bit and i know they are not known for departing on time and it is a
third world country but it's not that bad.
You have to get to Sorong to board the liveaboards and i bet they take
longer to get to the area of Misool Eco Resort !Much longer than 5
hours.

The food was excellent everyday and varied , bearing in mind the
remoteness of the location and having to ship everything in to the
island , the variety and ammount was plentiful.I was there a month and
didn't notice bad smells or lots of flies, the toilets were very clean
as was the restaurant and kitchens
and the food was covered with mesh covers when people weren't using
it.

There are mosquitoes but you are in the tropics ! That's like being on
an island and saying that there was water all around you !!

As for the diving I found the soft corals and hard corals very
colourful and plenty of them and very varied.One customer who had
about 1500+ dives remarked after our first dive that he hadn't seen
coral life like it since Fiji some 30 years previous.

So the house reef you drop into huge shoals of fish underneath the
jetty , fusiliers , snappers , parrotfish , trevally.Usually a
Napoleon wrasse or some Bumpheads or even passing Baracudas.
On the huge Barrel Sponge there are Squat Lobsters and right next to
that a Spearer mantis shrimp.
Passing many fans and other corals at 14 meters a fan with 7 Pygmy
seahorses resident and 2 meters below another fan with 2 Denise Pygmy
seahorses .
A crocodile fish just laying in wait , all this before you turn the
corner and head onto the wall of the house reef passed more Pygmies
and a couple of Orangutang crabs and more fans and corals until you
head back into the shallow lagoon.
I dived the house reef several times and wanted to dive it more than i
did.
We also could dive which sites we liked if we requested this ,a few
times we dived the sites we dived the day before if the divers all
agreed in that group.

As for many of the other divesites the Corals and Fans were amazing ,
walls with fans that went on as far as you could see and the biggest
fans i have ever seen.

The fish life was abundant and varied especially as mentioned above
when there was current , it is rather a large ocean and to expect wall
to wall fish is rather lame.

I am sure that if we could pay extra for perfect visibilty or for the
fish to be passing just as we are looking in that direction we all
would but this is mother nature and apparently there is only one
person that has that control!!

One question i have is that if it was as bad as suggested in the
report above
why did this person dive 3 times a day for nearly a month and why
didn't they leave the resort after the 1st eleven days , or on one of
the many cargo boats that are coming and going to Sorong , in one
month there would have been probably 7 or 8 I would think !
Also if the staff were waking them up,even unintentionally, wouldn't
it be in time for breakfast and that first dive ,of three, at 7-8
a.m. !

The staff i must say were very friendly and very polite.

Just to add-

The first day i got there i snorkeled in the shallow lagoon , about 4
feet deep, i saw 2 bumphead parrotfish a napoleon wrasse ( i saw both
on many dives also) a turtle , a shoal of mullets, needlefish
juvenille batfish about 8 along with many other fish.All around the
water cottages there were many things to see.

Everyday it was like a wildlife sanctuary, the lagoon had resident
juvenille black tip sharks , six of them aswell as mature sharks
coming thru the lagoon.We saw many feeding frenzies right from the
restaurant , sharks needlefish and jacks feeding on small fish .
There was large schools of bumphead parrotfish, at least fifteen, in
the lagoon on many occasions , playing with their fins and bumps
breaking the surface and usually for an hour at least.This was in the
shallow lagoon not the house reef.

Judging from the report before in my opinion i think that somebody
must need their eyesight tested especially for colourblindness and
vision !!
Maybe me !

Diving was my primary reason for travelling to this 'Dive Resort' and
as i stated previous i wear a Prosphetic limb and i managed to get
there in much less than 5 days of travelling from the UK !
If your travelling to remote regions of the world give yourself enough
time for flight or travel delays
you are travelling in a third world country!

I love taking macro pictures but i tried to capture the beauty of the
corals with wide angle photography,which is hard to do .I am an
amatuer photographer and not used to wide angle , but i have hopefully
left a link to some photos of Misool eco Resort and of the waters
around the resort, please notice the visibility within the photos , i
have photoshopped them but i have not manipulated or changed them .
i hope you like them as much as i enjoyed taking them.

http://s727.photobucket.com/albums/w...0reef%20scapes

http://s727.photobucket.com/albums/w...0Eco%20Resort/

http://s727.photobucket.com/albums/w...0Eco%20Resort/


vinny

<oneped@googlemail.com> wrote in message
news:23fa39fa-2e90-4031-b0ff-1963d8557783@j8g2000yql.googlegroups.com...

I love taking macro pictures but i tried to capture the beauty of the
corals with wide angle photography,which is hard to do .I am an
amatuer photographer and not used to wide angle , but i have hopefully
left a link to some photos of Misool eco Resort and of the waters
around the resort, please notice the visibility within the photos , i
have photoshopped them but i have not manipulated or changed them .
i hope you like them as much as i enjoyed taking them.

http://s727.photobucket.com/albums/w...0reef%20scapes

http://s727.photobucket.com/albums/w...0Eco%20Resort/

http://s727.photobucket.com/albums/w...0Eco%20Resort/

Very nice. Thank you for sharing.

Hello there, i did around 500 dives, of which around 300 in Raja
Ampat. The rest in Egypt, Maldives, Malaysia, Indonesi and the rest of
(Bali, Bunaken, Bangka, Ambon, Banda and the Banda Sea) and I think
Raja Ampat is the best place to go. I went to the north of Raja Ampat
5 times, but I prefer the south, mostly because the scenery underwater
is more diverse. There is walls, pinnacles, big rocks, reef flats,
everything.
I spent 16 days in Misool Eco Resort in october and was very happy
with the quality of the resort, the staff, the scenery above water and
especially with the diving. I was surprised about the contents of the
original post by 'joe'. So I decided to react on his comments.
First the visibility was somewhere between 15 and 30 meters. In some
spots it was even more. The colours were really beautiful, because
there's all kinds of corals everywhere. I never saw a place with so
many seafans. The walls are in excellent shape. I saw some damage,
probablu by bombing, in some spots. When I came to Misool Eco Resort I
had just finished a live-aboard from Flores to Sorong and I can only
conclude that the damage to the corals and to the fish population is
much worse in other places. In Misool I sometimes didn''t see the
reefs because of all the schools of fish. In terms of fish I saw
almost everything I wanted, the biggest were the manta's and the
smallest a species of pygmee seahorse I never saw before. There is
quite a lot of big potato groupers overthere and I saw bigger schools
of barracuda's (1000 or more) overthere then anywhere else and tuna,
sharks, schools of batfish, enormous schools of fusseliers and off
course the walking sharks and wobbegongs. The no-fishing zone around
the resort seems to be working. The diving is simply fantastic. And
most important is that the sites around Fiabacet, are only 5 minutes
away by boat and all the sites (around 10) are fantastic. There is no
need to go the places a bit further away, but off course it is
interesting to see something else.
About the resort. The food was excellent; a buffet style combination
of western and asian cuisine, with enough choice for vegetarians. And
something different every day.
The bungalows in the bay are fantastic. Spacious, with a large
balcony, excellent design, with a BIG bed.
The guides were very good. They really knew all the sites very well.
On some occassions we had some current, especially in the channels
between the islands, but even the inexperienced divers (30 dives)
didn't have to much trouble with is. And I think we had full moon in
that period.
About the mosquitos: yes we had mosquitos, but only between 5 and 6.30
in the afternoon. I use mosquito repellent, but I didn't even finish
half of my 100 ml bottle. And I only had shorts and a t-shirt on when
I was there and I don't use anything against malaria. I asked some of
the staff about malaria profylaxis. They had spent more than a year on
the island without taking a pills. I am sure there is no malaria on
the island.
I don't really care about the travel time. I leave Holland on friday
and arrive in Sorong Sunday morning at 6. I had some delays in the
East of Indonesia, but no cancellations (this is based on 10 years of
experience, on or two trips every year, often to remote parts). If you
don't like travelling, it is quite far, but I regard the stopovers as
holiday as well. I like oing out for dinner or sleeping next to the
swimming pool.
I will go back to Misool later this year or at the beginning of next
year, this time to stay for a month. The place is highly reccommended.

On Apr 1, 8:18*pm, mkruiden...@vxcompany.com wrote:
> Hello there, i did around 500 dives, of which around 300 in Raja
> Ampat. The rest in Egypt, Maldives, Malaysia, Indonesi and the rest of
> (Bali, Bunaken, Bangka, Ambon, Banda and the Banda Sea) and I think
> Raja Ampat is the best place to go. I went to the north of Raja Ampat
> 5 times, but I prefer the south, mostly because the scenery underwater
> is more diverse. There is walls, pinnacles, big rocks, reef flats,
> everything.
> I spent 16 days in Misool Eco Resort in october and was very happy
> with the quality of the resort, the staff, the scenery above water and
> especially with the diving. I was surprised about the contents of the
> original post by 'joe'. So I decided to react on his comments.
> First the visibility was somewhere between 15 and 30 meters. In some
> spots it was even more. The colours were really beautiful, because
> there's all kinds of corals everywhere. I never saw a place with so
> many seafans. The walls are in excellent shape. I saw some damage,
> probablu by bombing, in some spots. When I came to Misool Eco Resort I
> had just finished a live-aboard from Flores to Sorong and I can only
> conclude that the damage to the corals and to the fish population is
> much worse in other places. In Misool I sometimes didn''t see the
> reefs because of all the schools of fish. In terms of fish I saw
> almost everything I wanted, the biggest were the manta's and the
> smallest a species of pygmee seahorse I never saw before. There is
> quite a lot of big potato groupers overthere and I saw bigger schools
> of barracuda's (1000 or more) overthere then anywhere else and tuna,
> sharks, schools of batfish, enormous schools of fusseliers and off
> course the walking sharks and wobbegongs. The no-fishing zone around
> the resort seems to be working. The diving is simply fantastic. And
> most important is that the sites around Fiabacet, are only 5 minutes
> away by boat and all the sites (around 10) are fantastic. There is no
> need to go the places a bit further away, but off course it is
> interesting to see something else.
> About the resort. The food was excellent; a buffet style combination
> of western and asian cuisine, with enough choice for vegetarians. And
> something different every day.
> The bungalows in the bay are fantastic. Spacious, with a large
> balcony, excellent design, with a BIG bed.
> The guides were very good. They really knew all the sites very well.
> On some occassions we had some current, especially in the channels
> between the islands, but even the inexperienced divers (30 dives)
> didn't have to much trouble with is. And I think we had full moon in
> that period.
> About the mosquitos: yes we had mosquitos, but only between 5 and 6.30
> in the afternoon. I use mosquito repellent, but I didn't even finish
> half of my 100 ml bottle. And I only had shorts and a t-shirt on when
> I was there and I don't use anything against malaria. I asked some of
> the staff about malaria profylaxis. They had spent more than a year on
> the island without taking a pills. I am sure there is no malaria on
> the island.
> I don't really care about the travel time. I leave Holland on friday
> and arrive in Sorong Sunday morning at 6. I had some delays in the
> East of Indonesia, but no cancellations (this is based on 10 years of
> experience, on or two trips every year, often to remote parts). If you
> don't like travelling, it is quite far, but I regard the stopovers as
> holiday as well. I like oing out for dinner or sleeping next *to the
> swimming pool.
> I will go back to Misool later this year or at the beginning of next
> year, this time to stay for a month. The place is highly reccommended.



I have found my paradise off Papua
Dreamtime

Waking up in the morning from a big, extended splash underneath my
water cottage I recognize millions of small fish being chased by a
baby blacktip shark, and then another one and still another one. It
doesn’t need much to convince me of an early morning snorkeling out
into the serene lagoon of Misool Eco Resort (MER). Curious parrotfish
accompany me out. And then I bump into a majestic school of large
parrot bump-head fish, none less than a meter in size, there might be
more than 40 in this group. I can hear them chewing. Their teeth are
impressive. On my way back I spot a medium sized hawksbill turtle. Now
I am ready for breakfast as I still “have to go diving” --- but even
if I didn’t I have already encountered more than I ever would have
imagined for a short swim.
Raja Ampat is said to host the greatest variety of marine life and
it’s supposed to be one of the areas of origin of all life on earth.
But predators are foraging: shark finning hunters, also fishing boats
from Sulawesi using dynamite to ensure a huge catch within minutes.
Misool Eco Resort which is the only resort operating in the Southern
Raja Ampat region which otherwise is just being passed through by live-
a-boards is the only one dedicated to marine protection. They have
rented a large area of 250 sea miles2 around the resort which is
marked now as a “no fishing zone”
Today we are off in one of the speedy dive boats to a manta ray
cleaning station. On our way we pass a live-a-board and see some of
the crew fishing off the vessel. We interrupt our journey to remind
them that they have to stick to the rules set in the protected area if
they expect to still do diving here in the years to come. It can’t be
that the local owners of the area refrain from fishing whereas
“intruders” don’t care, Lauren, one of the very knowledgeable dive
guides explains. Her eyes, together with local guide Sanggut, spot
even the smallest macro creatures. And they have a very good timing to
avoid currents which can be violent in Raja Ampat. Still on that same
trip we spot a bag filled with rubbish swept ashore. We inspect it and
read the name of a live-a-board on the packing, empty bottles of wine,
milk, plastic bags. Although they should, it seems that liveaboards
operating in the area don’t care about the marine conservation as
Misool Eco Resort as a stationary enterprise does.
We not only encounter several manta ray this morning, but also jack,
emperor, a few white tip sharks and an octopus defending his feast
against some ferocious groupers. Lunch is back in the resort’s
stunning setting. The buildings are all constructed from drift wood
which they dug out under meters of sand, as far as Seram. It was cut
on site and then arduously transported back to Batbitim, the little
island the resort sits on. Buidling here must have involved oceans of
sweat and heart blood. A delicious buffet lunch is served in a very
stylish octagonal restaurant on the far end of the lagoon which is
thatched with elephant grass from Seram. That way it’s always nice and
cool, also in the cottages (which are too comfortable to leave) and
the resort could employ a whole village over several months sowing
roof elements. It’s part of their philosophy. Ecological and
environmentally friendly as much as is possible and socially
responsible.
I didn’t know that these bizarre islands must have been inhabited some
60,000 years ago. Andy, the resort manager and director of MER,
explains to me when he takes us on an excursion to a little island
labyrinth one day. In caverns and ridges just above the waterline we
amaze at rock paintings which are thousands of years old. There’s
fish, dolphins, hunters, there are hands in a print negative and there
are shells piled up on ledges in a certain pattern that must have been
used by the former inhabitants of these waters as sign markers. It’s
unreal. Those sharp, bizarre rocks sticking out of the water, some
like mushrooms, being shaped by water erosion and wind abrasion. I
imagine people paddling their canoes around here and at night
gathering for chats and feasts.
During the night dive in the absolutely amazing house reef off the
resort we encounter a walking shark and a huge moray eel. I choose to
keep my distance…
I am a dive resort owner myself in Sulawesi, a different class though,
and this is my hide away. I love to swing in my cottage hammock just
above the crystal clear water of the lagoon. I enjoy diving as a
guest, not a host. And I am impressed by this stunning beauty under
water and the amount of big fish which exceeds what we have in
Sulawesi. Visibility is - except for two dives – more than 30 metres.
Coral colors vivid. Maybe I will come to live out here when I retire.
Dreamtime, timeless-

where is this place on the map? Is it on the coast of Papua? Ambon?

katindo@gmail.com wrote:

> On Apr 1, 8:18 pm, mkruiden...@vxcompany.com wrote:
> > Hello there, i did around 500 dives, of which around 300 in Raja
> > Ampat. The rest in Egypt, Maldives, Malaysia, Indonesi and the rest of
> > (Bali, Bunaken, Bangka, Ambon, Banda and the Banda Sea) and I think
> > Raja Ampat is the best place to go. I went to the north of Raja Ampat
> > 5 times, but I prefer the south, mostly because the scenery underwater
> > is more diverse. There is walls, pinnacles, big rocks, reef flats,
> > everything.
> > I spent 16 days in Misool Eco Resort in october and was very happy
> > with the quality of the resort, the staff, the scenery above water and
> > especially with the diving. I was surprised about the contents of the
> > original post by 'joe'. So I decided to react on his comments.
> > First the visibility was somewhere between 15 and 30 meters. In some
> > spots it was even more. The colours were really beautiful, because
> > there's all kinds of corals everywhere. I never saw a place with so
> > many seafans. The walls are in excellent shape. I saw some damage,
> > probablu by bombing, in some spots. When I came to Misool Eco Resort I
> > had just finished a live-aboard from Flores to Sorong and I can only
> > conclude that the damage to the corals and to the fish population is
> > much worse in other places. In Misool I sometimes didn''t see the
> > reefs because of all the schools of fish. In terms of fish I saw
> > almost everything I wanted, the biggest were the manta's and the
> > smallest a species of pygmee seahorse I never saw before. There is
> > quite a lot of big potato groupers overthere and I saw bigger schools
> > of barracuda's (1000 or more) overthere then anywhere else and tuna,
> > sharks, schools of batfish, enormous schools of fusseliers and off
> > course the walking sharks and wobbegongs. The no-fishing zone around
> > the resort seems to be working. The diving is simply fantastic. And
> > most important is that the sites around Fiabacet, are only 5 minutes
> > away by boat and all the sites (around 10) are fantastic. There is no
> > need to go the places a bit further away, but off course it is
> > interesting to see something else.
> > About the resort. The food was excellent; a buffet style combination
> > of western and asian cuisine, with enough choice for vegetarians. And
> > something different every day.
> > The bungalows in the bay are fantastic. Spacious, with a large
> > balcony, excellent design, with a BIG bed.
> > The guides were very good. They really knew all the sites very well.
> > On some occassions we had some current, especially in the channels
> > between the islands, but even the inexperienced divers (30 dives)
> > didn't have to much trouble with is. And I think we had full moon in
> > that period.
> > About the mosquitos: yes we had mosquitos, but only between 5 and 6.30
> > in the afternoon. I use mosquito repellent, but I didn't even finish
> > half of my 100 ml bottle. And I only had shorts and a t-shirt on when
> > I was there and I don't use anything against malaria. I asked some of
> > the staff about malaria profylaxis. They had spent more than a year on
> > the island without taking a pills. I am sure there is no malaria on
> > the island.
> > I don't really care about the travel time. I leave Holland on friday
> > and arrive in Sorong Sunday morning at 6. I had some delays in the
> > East of Indonesia, but no cancellations (this is based on 10 years of
> > experience, on or two trips every year, often to remote parts). If you
> > don't like travelling, it is quite far, but I regard the stopovers as
> > holiday as well. I like oing out for dinner or sleeping next to the
> > swimming pool.
> > I will go back to Misool later this year or at the beginning of next
> > year, this time to stay for a month. The place is highly reccommended.
>
> I have found my paradise off Papua
> Dreamtime
>
> Waking up in the morning from a big, extended splash underneath my
> water cottage I recognize millions of small fish being chased by a
> baby blacktip shark, and then another one and still another one. It
> doesn’t need much to convince me of an early morning snorkeling out
> into the serene lagoon of Misool Eco Resort (MER). Curious parrotfish
> accompany me out. And then I bump into a majestic school of large
> parrot bump-head fish, none less than a meter in size, there might be
> more than 40 in this group. I can hear them chewing. Their teeth are
> impressive. On my way back I spot a medium sized hawksbill turtle. Now
> I am ready for breakfast as I still “have to go diving” --- but even
> if I didn’t I have already encountered more than I ever would have
> imagined for a short swim.
> Raja Ampat is said to host the greatest variety of marine life and
> it’s supposed to be one of the areas of origin of all life on earth.
> But predators are foraging: shark finning hunters, also fishing boats
> from Sulawesi using dynamite to ensure a huge catch within minutes.
> Misool Eco Resort which is the only resort operating in the Southern
> Raja Ampat region which otherwise is just being passed through by live-
> a-boards is the only one dedicated to marine protection. They have
> rented a large area of 250 sea miles2 around the resort which is
> marked now as a “no fishing zone”
> Today we are off in one of the speedy dive boats to a manta ray
> cleaning station. On our way we pass a live-a-board and see some of
> the crew fishing off the vessel. We interrupt our journey to remind
> them that they have to stick to the rules set in the protected area if
> they expect to still do diving here in the years to come. It can’t be
> that the local owners of the area refrain from fishing whereas
> “intruders” don’t care, Lauren, one of the very knowledgeable dive
> guides explains. Her eyes, together with local guide Sanggut, spot
> even the smallest macro creatures. And they have a very good timing to
> avoid currents which can be violent in Raja Ampat. Still on that same
> trip we spot a bag filled with rubbish swept ashore. We inspect it and
> read the name of a live-a-board on the packing, empty bottles of wine,
> milk, plastic bags. Although they should, it seems that liveaboards
> operating in the area don’t care about the marine conservation as
> Misool Eco Resort as a stationary enterprise does.
> We not only encounter several manta ray this morning, but also jack,
> emperor, a few white tip sharks and an octopus defending his feast
> against some ferocious groupers. Lunch is back in the resort’s
> stunning setting. The buildings are all constructed from drift wood
> which they dug out under meters of sand, as far as Seram. It was cut
> on site and then arduously transported back to Batbitim, the little
> island the resort sits on. Buidling here must have involved oceans of
> sweat and heart blood. A delicious buffet lunch is served in a very
> stylish octagonal restaurant on the far end of the lagoon which is
> thatched with elephant grass from Seram. That way it’s always nice and
> cool, also in the cottages (which are too comfortable to leave) and
> the resort could employ a whole village over several months sowing
> roof elements. It’s part of their philosophy. Ecological and
> environmentally friendly as much as is possible and socially
> responsible.
> I didn’t know that these bizarre islands must have been inhabited some
> 60,000 years ago. Andy, the resort manager and director of MER,
> explains to me when he takes us on an excursion to a little island
> labyrinth one day. In caverns and ridges just above the waterline we
> amaze at rock paintings which are thousands of years old. There’s
> fish, dolphins, hunters, there are hands in a print negative and there
> are shells piled up on ledges in a certain pattern that must have been
> used by the former inhabitants of these waters as sign markers. It’s
> unreal. Those sharp, bizarre rocks sticking out of the water, some
> like mushrooms, being shaped by water erosion and wind abrasion. I
> imagine people paddling their canoes around here and at night
> gathering for chats and feasts.
> During the night dive in the absolutely amazing house reef off the
> resort we encounter a walking shark and a huge moray eel. I choose to
> keep my distance…
> I am a dive resort owner myself in Sulawesi, a different class though,
> and this is my hide away. I love to swing in my cottage hammock just
> above the crystal clear water of the lagoon. I enjoy diving as a
> guest, not a host. And I am impressed by this stunning beauty under
> water and the amount of big fish which exceeds what we have in
> Sulawesi. Visibility is - except for two dives – more than 30 metres.
> Coral colors vivid. Maybe I will come to live out here when I retire.
> Dreamtime, timeless-