There are a lot of snorkeling sites in Kabui bay of Raja Ampat. The most popular ones are along southern beach of Waigeo island. In my recent tour with some European tourists, I saw coral breams, parrotfish, squirrelfish, dolphins, triggerfish, puffer, surgeonfish, butterflyfish and a lot more. Access to the coral reef can be done by swimming from the beach or by descending from the wooden jetty of the guesthouse where we stayed at.
The coral reef was a very rich marine environment. The coral looked hard like a rock but actually they were very fragile. Tour participants who enjoyed swimming, snorkeling or freediving were very careful when they were near the reef.
I highly suggest that visitors bring their own snorkeling gear (mask, snorkel, and swimfins) if they want to swim and see marine life in Raja Ampat.
I highly suggest that visitors bring their own snorkeling gear (mask, snorkel, and swimfins) if they want to swim and see marine life in Raja Ampat.
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| Coral Reef in the Southern Beach of Waigeo island |
I brought my Nikon W300 and used it to take pictures of the fish and the coral reef. Visibility was very good especially in the morning when the sea water was very calm and clear. I could see fish easily up to a distance of around 10 meters. To propel my movement in the sea when I freedived to drop off reef, I wore a pair of swim fins. With a smaller mask and the underwater camera I reached a depth of around 5 to 7 meters below the surface. To stabilize my body, I held a big rock using my left hand and operated the camera with my right hand.
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| Healthy Coral Reef |
After taking some pictures of the underwater world, I returned to the surface again. In addition to snorkeling, I also organized sightseeing and birdwatching tours to several small islands in the Kabui bay and to a beach in Gam island. We saw pufferfish in the shallow water, we immediately inform our guests not to touch the fish because its spikes were poisonous. If one got stung by the fish, he or she would suffer severe pains.
I brought my 10×42 mm Visionking binoculard and Kinglux 20-60×60 spotting scope mounted on a tripod. I greatly enhanced our birdwatching experience. Using that birding devices, we were able to see Spice Imperial Pigeon, Singing Starling, Olive-backed Sunbird, Stephan's Emerald Dove, White-breasted Woodswallow, Torresian Crow, White-bellied Sea Eagle, Beach Kingfisher, Pacific Swallow, Blyth's Hornbill, Brahminy Kite, Hooded Butcherbird, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo and a lot more.
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| Karst in Kabui bay |
If you are interested in taking a sightseeing, snorkeling, hiking and birdwatching tour and want me to be your guide, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by whatsapp to: +6281332245180 or by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com.
Also read: Raja Ampat Snorkeling
Also read: Raja Ampat Snorkeling
