The Raja Ampat
Islands is a series of four adjacent island clusters located in the western part of the Bird's Head ( Vogelkoop ) of Papua Island. Administratively, this cluster is under Raja Ampat Regency , West Papua Province . This islands are now the
destination of divers who are interested in the beauty of underwater scenery. Four
islands that are members named by the four biggest islands, namely Pulau Waigeo , Misool Island , salawati and Batanta Island.
The origin of the name Raja Ampat according to
the myth of the local community comes from a woman who found seven eggs. Four
of them hatch into four separated princes and
each ruler of Waigeo, Salawati, Misool East and Misool West. Meanwhile,
three other eggs became ghosts, a woman, and a stone.
In
the course of history, Raja Ampat territory has long been inhabited by noble
society and apply the customary system of Maluku . In
this system, society is a group of people. Each village is led by a king . Since the
founding of the five Muslim sultanates in
Maluku, Raja Ampat became part of the claim of the Tidore
Sultanate . After the Tidore Sultanate was subdued from
the Netherlands, the Raja Ampat Islands became part of the claim of the Dutch East
Indies .
The people of the Raja Ampat Islands are generally traditional
fishermen who live in small villages located far apart and different islands. They
are a friendly society to receive guests from outside, especially if we bring
gifts for them in the form of areca or candy . This
item became a kind of 'indian peace pipe' in Raja Ampat. The show chatted
with eating pinang also called "Para-the Pinang" often take turns to
each other throwing mobs, the local term for funny stories.
They
are Muslims and Christians and often in one family or clan there is a
member who embraces one of the two religions. This makes the people of
Raja Ampat remain harmonious despite different beliefs.
Raja Ampat Islands is a very potential place to serve as a
tourist attraction, especially diving tours. The waters of the Raja Ampat
Islands according to various sources, is one of the 10 best waters for diving
sites around the world. In fact, it may also be recognized as number one
for the completeness of underwater flora and fauna at this time.
Dr
John Veron, an experienced rock expert from Australia, for example, in a site
he revealed, Raja Ampat Islands located at the westernmost tip of Papua Island,
about 50 miles northwest of Sorong, has the best coral reefs in Indonesia . About
450 species of corals were identified during two weeks of research in the area.
A
team of experts from Conservation International , The
Nature Conservancy, and the Institute of
Oceanography (LON) Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI)
never conduct rapid assessments in 2001 and 2002. As a result, they noted in
these waters there are more than 540 species of hard corals (75% of the total
species in the world), more than 1,000 species of reef fish, 700 species
of mollusks ,
and the highest record for gonodactyloid stomatopod crustaceans. This
makes up 75% of the world's coral species in Raja Ampat. No place with the
same area has as many coral species as this.
There
are some coral reefs that are still very good condition with the
percentage of live coral cover up to 90%, ie in the Dampier strait (strait
between Waigeo Island and Batanta Island), Kofiau Islands, Southeast Misool
Islands and Wayag Islands. The types of coral reefs in Raja Ampat are
generally coral reefs with sloping contours to steep. But also found type
of atoll and type of burn or taka. In some places such as Saondarek
village, when the lowest tides, can be seen coral reefs without diving and with
its own adaptation, the coral can still live even in the open air and exposed
to direct sunlight.
Unique
species that can be found at the time of diving are several types of sea horses dwarf, wobbegong ,
and Manta stingrays. There
is also a fish endemic king of amphibians, namely Eviota king, which is a kind
of gobbie fish. At the Manta point located in Arborek Dampier Strait, you
can dive with the company of some Pari Manta tame as you dive in the Derawan
Islands, East Kalimantan. If you dive in Cape Kri or Chicken Reef, you can
be surrounded by thousands of fish. Sometimes a collection of tuna, giant
trevallies and snappers. But it is exciting if we are surrounded by a
collection of barracuda fish, although in fact it is relatively harmless (which
is dangerous if we meet solitary or solitary barracudas). Coral sharks are
also often seen, and if lucky you can also see turtles are still eating sponge
or swimming around you. In some places like in Salawati, Batanta and
Waigeo also seen Dugong or mermaid.
Because
of its many islands and narrow straits, most of the dive sites at any given
time have strong currents. It is also possible to do drift dive, dive
while following a strong current with very clear water while through the
collection of fish.
