Calico Jack Liveaboard
The trip on Calico Jack was a resounding success. We where only 6 passengers on a 10 passenger boat. The two single Guys where instantly upgrade to single Occupancy cabins. The diving in the northern part right out of Manokwari was marked by WW2 wrecks of ships smaller vessels and aircraft from both sides of the conflict. It reached from a very large heavy transport ship to a wonderful overgrown patrol boat. The food was good it catered to the mostly British clientele on this trip. The chef tried his best to please the taste and heat tolerance of food. I like spicy foods, so I was admiring the Indonesian chefs ability to make the food bland. There were options for me. The middle part of the cruise was marked by very seldom visited dive sites with wonderful pristine sea fans and black corals with everything that lives in it. My favourites are black corals so I got everything I could hope for. The dives were interesting because there was a mix of very nice coral reefs that ended up in a rocky little island or other rock feature that where not overgrown by corals. It turned out that the rock is granite and the corals seem not to like to grow on it. It makes for a very interesting area where lots of coral fish inhabit huge blocks of rock. It also gives big groupers lots of hiding places. The southern part near Nabire is of course marked by the whale sharks coming to fishing platforms to feed on little fish. We did 5 dives with this magnificent creatures over two days. It rained heavily on the first day the rain created a green layer of water over the clear water below. The water temperature was also markably lower in the green. The second day made it clear what the green water did to photography. It was Cristal Clear and bright ideal for taking pictures with no flash. Diving with this giants is definitely a highlight.
I stayed in Nabire for two days after disembarking. I found a very interesting big market and an access to the beach to walk by some boat repair facilities to the market.
