24 - 31 MARCH 2011 or 01 - 08 APRIL 2011 or 24 MARCH - 08 APRIL 2011
Guided Photographic Expedition
7 nights, 24 - 31 March 2011 (overnight in Sorong, departure on 01 April) OR 7 nights, 01 - 08 April 2011 (overnight in Sorong, departure on 09 April ) OR 15 nights, 24 March - 08 April(overnight in Sorong, departure on 09 April)
Spectacular Southern Raja Ampat 2011 MISOOL ECO RESORT, Southern Raja Ampat
MISOOL ECO RESORT (MER) is an exclusive and extremely luxurious dive resort and conservation center in remote southern Raja Ampat. This private resort is nestled deep in an archipelago of uninhabited spectacular mountainous rock islands, with cliffs plunging into coral lagoons and the world’s richest reefs below the surface. A romantic getaway with phenomenal diving and snorkelling. Lounge on the private deck of your water cottage, and take a swim/snorkel in the azure lagoon. Dive with Raja Ampat’s most experienced dive guides to get a glimpse of the best reefs on the planet, and as a bonus, the Bittenbysharks Dream team is on hand topside and in water for all your underwater imaging needs.
MER & CONSERVATION: Spend your holiday at MER, and directly support their ongoing conservation initiatives: the No-Take Zone that they established in 2006, protects the dive sites and the island within a 425 sq km area and is patrolled by their own local rangers, many of them former fishermen. The Ranger Patrol is funded by MER, Wild Aid, CORAL and many generous private donors. MER is deeply committed to a policy of environmental and social responsibility, endeavouring to raise the benchmark for sustainable tourism by demonstrating that tourism can indeed support a local economy with much more favourable terms than mining, logging, overfishing, or shark finning.
ITINERARY: 7 nights 24 - 31 March 24 March: Arrive Sorong, West Papua, transfer to harbour for departure. Boat transfer to Misool Eco resort approx. 3.5 hrs 24 - 31 March : 7 nights, beautiful water cottage, unlimited diving on the world's richest reefs located in the 'bulls-eye of biodiversity' 3-15 mins away by boat, as well as a few optional topside day-trip excursions 31 March : Depart resort approx 09.00. Arrive in Sorong. Overnight in Sorong, including dinner, breakfast and transfers. 01 April: Transfer to airport for departure flight. OR 7 nights 01 - 08 April 01 April: Arrive Sorong, West Papua, transfer to harbour for departure. Boat transfer to Misool Eco resort approx. 3.5 hrs 01 – 08 April: 7 nights, beautiful water cottage, unlimited diving on the world's richest reefs located in the 'bulls-eye of biodiversity' 3-15 mins away by boat, as well as a few optional topside day-trip excursions 08 April: Depart resort approx 09.00. Arrive in Sorong. Overnight in Sorong, including dinner, breakfast and transfers. 09 April: Transfer to airport for departure flight. OR 15 nights 24 March - 08 April 24 March: Arrive Sorong, West Papua, transfer to harbour for departure. Boat transfer to Misool Eco resort approx. 3.5 hrs 24 March - 08 April : 15 nights, beautiful water cottage, unlimited diving on the world's richest reefs located in the 'bulls-eye of biodiversity' 3-15 mins away by boat, as well as a few optional topside day-trip excursions 08 April : Depart resort approx 09.00. Arrive in Sorong. Overnight in Sorong, including dinner, breakfast and transfers. 09 April: Transfer to airport for departure flight.
ADD-ONS: ASK US HOW to extend your trip in the Raja Ampat/Indonesia: other land-based resorts, live-aboard or even a stay in Bali...
Claudia and Leon are personally present during this trip. Bittenbysharks Imaging services are available. Please ask for more details.
Rates & packages: Please note: other dates are ALSO available simply ask for info, if you prefer another period, and don't necessarily need a photography workshop with Claudia and Leon present. MER (Misool Eco Resort) 1 WEEK TRIP: 24 - 31 March OR 01 - 08 April: 7 nights, unlimited dives air or Nitrox*, water cottage: € 2305 pp sharing OR 2 WEEK TRIP: 24 March -08 April 7 nights, unlimited dives air or Nitrox*, water cottage: € 4610 pp sharing *Nitrox is free of charge.
Domestic flights: Jakarta-Sorong-Jakarta: €470 per person (approximately) Non diver package available. Snorkelling excursions available. Honeymoon package available. Please ask for information.
GROUP SPECIALS: 7 paying guests = 8th person free of charge* 16 paying guests = 17th & 18th free of charge* 22 paying guests = 23rd, 24th, 25th free of charge* *applies to shared accommodation and diving only
Arrival NOTES: Domestic flights will be booked on your behalf with Express Air XN 800, which departs Jakarta daily ETD 05.00 arriving in Sorong ETA 12.30 on the day of the start of the trip. Should you choose to arrive on a different flight which is cancelled or delayed, the transfer boat will not be able to wait for them beyond 13.00. In this case guests will be held responsible for the cost of a private charter. Boat transfer to the island is on a comfortable 14m boat, with reclining seats and 20 person capacity. The journey takes 3.5 hrs.
Departure NOTES: Departure from the island is about 09.00. An over-night stay in Sorong is arranged on your behalf, including dinner, breakfast and transfers. The night in Sorong is an additional night to the package above (eg Oct 9 - 22) although it is included in the rate. The Express Air return flight typically departs Sorong at 13.30.
Terms and Conditions apply. Above quotes are 2010 rates. Rates and schedules and availability are subject to fluctuation without notice. DAN diving insurance is highly recommended. Travel insurance is highly recommended
Rates include the following: -Rates quotes are per person based on double occupancy, Water cottage,‘Meet and greet’ at the Sorong airport, porter service and airport transfers, Boat transfers to and from the resort on scheduled departure dates, All meals and snacks, Dives as specified, Papua Travel permit (Surat Jalan) Unlimited drinking water and non-alcoholic beverages including canned soft drinks, Meals, accommodation and transfers in Sorong (end of trip) and government taxes. (Nitrox is free of charge)
Rates do not include the following: -Visa US$25 per person on arrival into Indonesia (please check: 30 day tourist visa on arrival is only available to certain countries passport holders, must be valid for 6 months after entry into Indonesia with at least 2 full empty pages available) -Flights, airport taxes, personal expenses, laundry (€ 3 per kilo), souvenirs, equipment rentals and courses, snorkel excursions, alcoholic beverages (Beer € 3.50), Marine Park entry permit (valid 1 calendar year Rp 500 000 (€45), Single occupancy rates apply, Honeymoon package (€ 250 per couple), Internet.
Payment: - non-refundable and non-transferrable 25% deposit is due within 1 week to confirm booking - balance is due 90 days before the start of the trip (the full amount must be transferred, including any transfer fees.)
Cancellation policy: - cancellation more than 121 days prior to the start of the trip forfeits the deposit only - cancellation 120-91 days prior to the start of the trip forfeits 40% of the invoice amount - cancellation 90 or fewer days prior to the start of the trip forfeits 100% of the invoice amount - cancellation policy applies to situations beyond your/our control, including but not limited to ill health, inclement weather, airline strikes, flight cancellations/delays, etc - trips may be transferred, minus the 25% booking deposit
All arrangements, except for International flights, will be made on your behalf. Terms and Conditions apply. Itineraries, flights schedules and routes subject to change without notice. Cancellations policy as listed above. All cancellations must be received in writing. Unused dives are non-transferrable and non-refundable.
Read an excerpt below, by Claudia and Leon, from the book 'Raja Ampat through the lens of...':
"Under the water, we became convinced that this must surely be the final aquatic frontier. Nowhere on the planet had we witnessed such excess, such undisturbed abundance of life in the water. Nothing had prepared us for the spectacle that played before our eyes: a jumbled mess of coral and fish, fish and more fish. We became enveloped in walls of fish so thick, that they blotted out the sun. A cacophony of sound reached our ears: the crackle and pop, munch and crunch of thousands of fish going about their business, utterly oblivious to our stares. On Cape Kri, the house reef of Kri Island, we would watch in pure fascination as eight or more giant trevallys patrolled the outer edges of a swirling mass of thousands of fusiliers, their slow confident movements causing the schools to shiver and swoop to and fro in trepidation. It was like a grand opera stuck in its thundering crescendo with all the instruments in use at the same time: we became confused, and overwhelmed. More than once, we would lower our cameras, and look on transfixed. How could we capture this for the world to see? How could this be real?
The variety of dive sites is staggering: historic World War II wrecks and unblemished reefs teeming with life; virgin mangrove ecosystems and protected bays alive with pulsating jellyfish; spectacular rich coral gardens and sheer vertical walls; from calm glass-like conditions to adrenaline-filled drift dives; giant Manta Rays, Wobbegong sharks and rare pygmy seahorses.
The Raja Ampat has it all!
We understood when a fellow diver, moved almost to tears after his dive, sat dazed and dripping, muttering a mantra under his breath: “one million fish, one million fish, one million fish….”
...this is not just another dive destination, this is the 'Holy Grail' of phenomenal scenic wonder.."
