The archipelago Raja Ampat in the Halmaherasee lies between the North Moluccas and the bird's head (Semenanjung Doberai) Western New Guinea. Access is usually from there via Sorong. 35 of the islands are inhabited.
background
Dynamic cardsThe administrative district of the same name is not entirely congruent with the archipelago. In 2010 there were 60,386 inhabitants in the administrative district of Raja Ampat.
The archipelago is located in the so-called coral triangle, a center of marine biodiversity. Almost the entire population lives by the sea, the villages and accommodations partly consist of stilt houses in the sea. The only source of income besides the high-priced tourism, which has been developed since 1997, is traditional fishing.
Islands
The four main islands are 1 Misool(1 ° 54 ′ 0 ″ S130 ° 5 ′ 0 ″ E) in the south (2034 km²), 2 Salawati(1 ° 6 ′ 0 ″ S130 ° 52 ′ 0 ″ E) (1623 km²) and 3 Batanta(0 ° 52 ′ 0 ″ S.130 ° 40 ′ 0 ″ E) in the east and as the largest waigeo (3155 km²) in the north, it is surrounded by numerous smaller islands and rocks. The Dampierstraße runs between Waigeo and the nearby one 4 Gam(0 ° 27 ′ 0 ″ S.130 ° 36 ′ 0 ″ E) as well as Batanta, Salawati and New Guinea in the southeast. Kepulauan Wayag, the 5 Waiag Islands(0 ° 9 ′ 28 ″ N.130 ° 3 '11 "E) protrude from the sea in a dome shape and are covered with dense vegetation.
Smaller Islands (pulau) with accommodation are:
- The group of 6 Famines(0 ° 39 ′ 38 ″ S.130 ° 17 '26 "E) extends in a semicircle, the three larger ones are Jar, Fam and Groot-Fam (= Piyanemo or Penemo). Numerous day visitors also come here. You will be asked to pay an additional visitor fee. With luck you can see rays at Manta Point (Fam).
- 7 gag(0 ° 27 ′ 6 ″ S.129 ° 52 '35 "E)From the 1960s until the nature reserve was established in 1999, nickel was supposed to be mined here. The settlement of Gambier Bay with 450 inhabitants was created for this. There is an airfield on the north bank.
- 8 Gam (at Misool)(1 ° 38 ′ 27 ″ S129 ° 54 '57 "E.)
- 9 Kofiau(1 ° 11 ′ 0 ″ S129 ° 50 ′ 0 ″ E)
- 10 Kri(0 ° 33 ′ 37 ″ S.130 ° 40 '37 "E)
- 11 Mansuar(0 ° 34 ′ 58 ″ S.130 ° 36 '33 "E.)
Waigeo
The main town is Waisai, with the 1 port, Bank, 1 hospital, some restaurants, shops and the only high school.
language
Seven different languages are spoken.
getting there
A police travel permit (Surat Jalan) is not necessary.
Foreigners pay a hefty 1 million IR[1] (€ 62, March 2019) National park fee for any number of visits within a year. These are sold in Waisai:
- at the counter in the port (if this is closed at KKPD in the blue and white building of the port authority), only cash payment.
- at the airport
- UPTD office, Jalan Yosudarso, Siwindores, ☎ 629513170089. This department also asks for notifications if you notice dynamite or cyanide fish or willful damage to the corals.
Arrivals are occasionally asked for their permission and then taken to the counters. In any case, you should only pay there! As proof you will receive a colored plastic card with the date punched into it.
By plane
An expansion of the airfield has been planned since 2017. Wings Air flies twice a day Manado - Raja Ampat - Sorong - Monokwari. Daily Direct flights Jakarta - Makassar started October 2017.Open: 8:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.There are several daily flights from Jayapura or Jakarta to Sorong, the latter mostly with a stopover in Makassar. A taxi from the airport to the port there costs 150,000 IR.
By boat
High-speed ferries for the two-hour crossing leave Sorong or Waisai daily at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. In 2017 they paid 130,000 IR 2nd class, 230,000 IR 1st class.
Pelni-Long-haul ferries or Perintis / ASDP freighter the passengers have to be identified in Indonesia.
Sailing yachts
Those coming from abroad must formalities in Sorong. A national park fee is also charged for yachts, which can amount to US $ 80-2500 depending on size and crew. The accuracy of printed nautical charts in the region often deviates even more than in Indonesia from GPS.
It is planned to prohibit any anchoring in the coral reefs from 2020 (previously regional), there are few moorings, apart from the jetty in Waigeo. The 1 Meridian Adventure Marina Club & Dive Resort has a marina for six boats (VHF 16 and 72). Also at 3 Raja4Divers can be invested (€ 20 p.p., booking makes sense ☎ 62 811 485 7711; VHF 9).
mobility
The journey is usually made by ferry from Sorong to Waigeo. In order to get to the outer island, you will have to communicate with the respective accommodations. There is no boat connection in the sense of local public transport. Occasionally there are carpooling opportunities Perintis- Freighters E.g. according to family The mixture required for outboard motors (bensin campur) costs with 10000-12000 IR / l (2017) significantly more than the subsidized prices of the main islands, whereby a cartel of middlemen drives all goods costs.
A ring road is to be built around Waigeo "to improve traffic." On the one hand, however, the natives have no cars, on the other hand, thirteen percent of the land area has already been leased for clearing for palm oil plantations, a corrupt process by the rulers of the Indonesian rulers Central government among themselves.
accommodation
(All prices at the beginning of 2019. Naturally, always with full board.)
The Raja Ampat Homestay Association, an association of pensioners who want to ensure a minimum standard, they operate a room service in the port of Waisai. This type of accommodation ensures that the "tourist dollars" reach the locals. Prices were around 350,000 IR in 2017, a little higher on Waigeo.
At the beginning of the 1990s, Waigeo had already been expropriated in the best locations in order to build seven Japanese-owned luxury resorts, each with a golf course. The bursting of the Japanese "real estate bubble" prevented implementation after 1992. Nevertheless, some luxury resorts have already been built that charge well over € 200 per night.
Arefi
The accommodations, including several homestays, are along the north coast.
- luxury
- 2 Papua Paradise Eco Resort, Arefi Birie Island, Arefi. Tel.: 62 821-9045-2969. Minimum stay for non-divers 3 nights. Diver package deals, minimum stay 7 nights. WiFi in the common area.Price: from € 250.
- 3 Mamberamo Resort
Fam Islands
- Five homestays close to each other at the eastern tip of Fam.
- A guesthouse on Pam.
- Miosba Homestay on the small island of the same name.
- Piaynemo Homestay on Groot-Fam.
Kri
Seven homestays along the north coast beaches. Are luxurious with daily prices over € 300 Kri Eco Resort and Sorido Bay Resort. Only one accommodation on the adjacent island of Timbul to the north.
Mansuar
- at the eastern tip of the island near the village of Yenbuba
- Lumba Lumba Raja Ampat Guesthouse (☎ 62 812-8100-9244).
- Mansuar Raja Ampat bungalows (☎ 62 812-2759-0131), 500000 IR for pile dwellings built into the sea from traditional materials.
- Luxury class is that Raja Ampat Dive Lodge, which also offers one-week diving packages with sailing trip for 2019 US $ 1650-3000. Bungalows cost over € 300.
- Mambetron Homestay (☎ 62 812-4740-9452).
- Best Raja Ampat Homestay (☎ 62 813-8042-6694) on the south coast
Waigeo
The accommodations are concentrated on the south coast around Waisai, where the accommodation service for homestays is also located directly at the harbor.
- 5 Waisai Beach Hotel. Tel.: 62 812-4755-3799.
- 6 Raja Ampat City. Tel.: 62 813-4407-7377.
- luxury
activities
Diving in the coral reef. Endemic species such as the green tree python (Morelia viridis), its subspecies to the 12 Boo Islands(1 ° 9 ′ 0 ″ S129 ° 24 '0 "E) retains a yellow tint in adulthood or Symposiachrus julianae, a monarchy that can only be found on Kofiau.
Saltwater crocodiles that attack snorkelers are found at least on Minyaifun.
Oxygen cylinders are being filled and the compressors are waiting PT EON engineering in Sorong (☎ 62 9513173260).
climate
Humid and tropical with temperatures between 23 and 31 ° C all year round. Southeast winds prevail from May to November, northeast winds for the rest of the year, which bring less moisture.
The water temperature fluctuates locally or seasonally between 19 and 36 ° C. The coral reefs are not (yet) affected by the “coral bleaching” caused by global warming elsewhere in 2018, the biodiversity underwater is greater than ten times greater Great Barrier Reef in front of Australia. However, in July 2018, the poisonous, coral-eating ones were found for the first time Crown of thorns sea stars (Acanthaster planci) spotted here.
Practical advice
Except in parts of Waigeo there are no roads, supermarkets or cell phones. Electricity is generated when using generators.
In the settlements there are quite a few free-range promenade mixtures, rats look for food in the huts at night, and one should also be prepared for mosquitoes.
literature
Descriptions of the diverse flora and marine fauna as well as the languages are scattered across numerous scientific journals. There are hardly any monographs or travel guides.
- Robert de Vaugondy, Gilles; Carte des Isles des Papous; Paris 1756, approx. 1: 1500000
Web links
- Stay Raja Ampat official tourism site
- Topographic map 1 in 500 ', from 1972
- Waigeo-Gam map from Dutch colonial times
- ↑That was the Indonesian legal minimum wage for one month in 2018.