The muck diving capital of Indonesia attracts the curious diver and macro underwater photographers. This type of diving rewards the patient, slow moving diver having near perfect buoyancy and good air consumption with amazing critters and their habitat on a black sand or silty bottom. Good buoyancy control and etiquette is essential for good visibility and diver harmony to take care not to stir up the bottom with your fins.

Most of us depend on dive guides that know the sites well and have a super-power for spotting the sometimes miniscule, well camouflaged and unusual bottom dwelling creatures.

My favourites seen are the velvet Rhinopias, hairy frog fish, well any frog fish really, ghost pipe fish, seahorses and coconut octopus as they are all a good size for my camera set-up. The blue-ring octopus and mimic octopus are amazing to watch and so much smaller than one expects.

Most dive sites seem to be a special hangout for a particular species. You may spend 20-30 minutes searching before it is found by your guides. So meanwhile you mooch around until your own eyes become accustomed to the black sands and the small bits of fluff that hide their special jewels, just like a treasure hunt really.

Dive Into Raja Ampat operates within the Waiwo Resort, Waisai and their dive and stay packages offer great value in Raja Ampat and a relaxed environment. The Indonesian style waterfront bungalows with AC were nice and large with water lapping at the deck at high tide. Fresh water, tea and coffee provided in the room, but bring your own shampoo, conditioner and mosquito repellent.

The chef prepared Indonesian food was plentiful and some of the best I ever had in Indonesia which they kindly adjusted to a milder spice level for my husband. Western meal choices are also offered and their hamburgers were an excellent alternative.

Wifi is only available in the open air dining room where a limited choice of alcohol drinks are kept in a locked fridge. On request the manager kindly went out to get some tonic from town and also some extra toiletries, which was much appreciated.

The diving was well organised- the day before you would know which of the iconic Dampier Strait dive sites you would be going to. New divers arrive any day, so they try to give variety and take into account where you have already been. Some of the sites were a bit further 45 -60 min (surcharge for 60 min trips) but their big boat was fast and comfortable, sheltered and had a toilet. They also have a smaller boat, with shelter. The dive guides gave good briefings and set a relaxed pace underwater suiting us photographers. We had 1 guide between 2 divers while they were not very busy and were allowed up to 70 minutes on closer dive sites. Surface intervals were often spent on an island with refreshments.

The dive team loaded, unloaded and rinsed our gear after each days diving and hung in our individual stalls overnight to dry. They offered Nitrox and had a large dedicated camera room with plenty of charging outlets, workspace and dedicated rinse baths.

We were a bit early in October and thought the visibility was lower than previous visits, apparently there had been a lot of rain. All of the usual fishes and critters were seen except we were unlucky with the mantas, which were seen in big numbers the day we departed. Snorkelling in front of the resort over a sandy bottom , there was clear water, but I did not see much.

Dive Into Raja Ampat will organise your transfer from the airport to the resort by a 2 hour twice daily public ferry between Sorong and Waisai Island any day of the week. There is no minimum stay, so it suits divers that have time before or after a liveaboard. They also offer birdwatching excursions to see Birds of Paradise.