Samambaia Liveaboard

Banda Sea

This journey cruises through a wide range of geological landscapes and formations of Indonesia, from volcanic islands to limestone pinnacles developed from ancient coral reefs. As we cruise along the natural migratory paths and playgrounds of marine mammals such as whales and dolphins, this trip is guaranteed to provide amazing diversity and beauty both above and below the water. The Banda Sea is blessed with some of the finest diving in the country. Banda Islands Banda had an important place in Indonesian and world history. Dominated by a 2.000 feet active volcano, for more than three hundred years these tiny islands were the centre of wealth for the Dutch colonies. They were the only source of the rare spices of nutmeg and mace for centuries and the Dutch, after capturing them from the Portuguese, guarded them jealously from all comers including the English. For centuries, a kilo of these spices held more value than the same weight in gold. The old fort, the governor’s house, the church, nutmeg plantations, are well worth visit and bring us back to colonial era. Let’s not forget the diving, both Pulau Run and Pulau Ai have pristine clear waters, lovely walls and good fish life, we might go a bit deeper in search of more hammerheads, big fish can be seen here as well, napoleons, schools of black snappers, bumpheads, etc. The outer reefs of Bandaneira are full of marine fauna of all colors and shapes. Schooling fish gather and the macro life is rich. A really unique area is the dive under the pier of Bandaneira. The size of the mandarin fish are just out of this world and if you are looking for other critters, cockatoo wasp fish, flying gurnards, frog fish, juvenile barramundis, juvenile emperor angle fish, juvenile sweetlips. Of course diving is our main focus and the dive site Lava Flow is not to be missed. Twenty years ago Gunung Api erupted and the lava poured into the ocean and in the short time since a hard coral garden grew which is unrivalled in the world. Table corals are over 5m width, staghorn corals as far as the eye can see and even endemic species found nowhere else is just a sample of what you can see here.

Gunung Api It’s a volcano that’s summit breaks the sea’s surface by 800 feet yet which has its base on the seabed some 13.000 feet below. The island created by the volcano is 120 miles from the next nearest landfall and is therefore home to the reef fish that populate its steep drop offs and walls, occasional visiting pelagics, and extraordinarily an uncountable population of banded and olive sea snakes. These marine reptiles have found a sanctuary here among the warm volcanic vents and reef fish that live in the area. It is truly a unique spot that never ceases to amaze divers. In some shots there are over thirty snakes in the frame and they make inquisitive yet docile subjects. Lucipara In the north of Gunung Api is a remote archipelagic atoll named Lucipara. These atolls are also surrounded by a seafloor that is 3.000 feet below and consisting of three large islands and a few tiny reefs that just break the surface. The islands offer vertical walls and visibility of over 120 feet with very mild currents. They are also home to a population of the large sponges. Some barrel sponges can swallow a diver in their orifice without difficulty. Wetar The west coast of Wetar boasts amazing dive sites with drop-offs, colorful reefs and abundant fish life. Here there is a good chance to see some pelagics. Mind your depth as you swim over the edge in deep blue water as we are many miles away from civilization! Along the north coast we have regular sightings of dolphins and whales, often just a few meters away from the dive site!

Alor

Being remote and untouched the 18 islands of the Alor and Solor group are considered one of the best diving destinations in Asia. Tourism has not developed yet and only few divers have explored these waters. One of the very last traditional whale hunter communities on the planet still lives in this magical archipelago. The islands are from volcanic origin, which make for stunning scenery. The waters around the islands are known for their strong currents, particularly in the relatively narrow strait between Pantar and Alor and also between Lembata and Pantar. With each tide, large water masses are pushed through the straits causing strong upwellings. The straits in the area play an important role in the exchange of marine life between the Indian and Pacific Ocean. Each year whales and dolphins travel from the Pacific and Indian Ocean through the deep but narrow Nusa Tenggara island chain.

The four island passages between Flores and Alor seem to be some of the richest in large marine life of all of Nusa Tenggara, and are especially abundant in whales and dolphins. The area is renowned for its large marine mammal migration and the whale watching in particular is breathtaking. During the season, while cruising through the area, you can spot whales surfacing by their water spout. Because of this, coastal communities living along eastern Indonesia’s marine migratory routes, especially in the villages of Lamalera and Lamakera have been hunting whales for centuries. Equipped with simple spears, they take only what their village needs to eat and barter just a bit in return for vegetables and rice. In every cruise is also possible to visit the traditional whale-hunters villages. Alor is teeming with numerous dive sites that offer even the most seasoned of muck divers an experience they will never forget. So dust off those cameras and prepare to meet some weird creatures that in any other context could come from another planet: pegasus sea moths to mimic octopus; devil fish to ornate sea horses. Coral reefs are mostly found along the northern coast of the Solor and Alor island group with some coral reefs lining the channels in between major islands. The southern coastline of the islands, particularly on the island of Lembata, is lined with rocks and just little coral. The reefs also include rocky bottoms along the northwest tip of Alor starting in the strait between Alor and Pantar.