diveguide.com
01-20-2012, 02:16 PM
http://www.thearenui.com/newsletter/img/784001192324142012.jpg
First, let us wish you a wonderful start to the New Year! We hope that you had a relaxing holiday over the festive season, so you’re ready to grab your mask & fins for some fantastic dive trips in 2012.
We’ll be sending this every 2 months, to keep you updated on not just our own cruise stories and trip availability but also some of the major news from the dive industry. Expect some fun facts, some inspiring photos and some ideas for future dive vacations!
Meanwhile, in-between newsletters, you can always head to our Facebook or Twitter pages to see what’s going on with the Arenui and what news we’ve found from the dive industry.
http://www.thearenui.com/_admin/tmp/images/img1-1/letter1_1_13.jpg
http://www.thearenui.com/newsletter/img/157501192326132012.jpg
INDUSTRY NEWS
Divers across the world rejoiced, in October, as California passed a law banning the sale of shark fin products (read more here (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/07/shark-fin-trade-banned-california_n_1000906.html)). CA, as the largest market outside Asia, joined a growing list of places (including Washington, Oregon, Hawaii and Guam) that recognizes the need to end this destructive practice. It seems that support for this important campaign is growing worldwide, with encouraging work being done in China and elsewhere in Asia, to make the public aware of the decline in shark numbers and the disastrous impact this has on our oceans. Shark sanctuaries have recently been established in Palau and the Maldives, with Honduras declaring a moratorium on shark fishing and the islands of Cocos and Galapagos protecting significant shark populations via general MPAs (marine protected areas). Even closer to home, Indonesia’s stunning dive destination of Raja Ampat was very recently declared a shark sanctuary too! For some inspiration to pass on to friends, read more about the Shark Savers (http://www.sharksavers.org/en/sharkfinsoup.html) and Wild Aid (http://www.wildaid.org/news/yao-ming-calls-shark-fin-ban-china) campaigns, including support from Chinese basketball player Yao Ming (http://www.sharksavers.org/en/media/videos.html?task=play&tmpl=component&layout=lightbox&id=6&xp=1).
http://www.thearenui.com/newsletter/img/17501192327212012.jpg
Here in Asia, dolphins are making headlines. The infamous ‘cove’ in Taiji, Japan, is on our radar as the season for hunting continues. Meanwhile, in Singapore, groups of people (many inspired by the ACRES ‘World’s Saddest Dolphins’ campaign) have been pressuring RWS (Resorts World Sentosa) to change its plan to import wild dolphins for their theme park. There’s hope that the RWS campaign will be successful given the positive reaction to previous public outcry over the whale shark enclosure. As for ‘Taiji’, we’ll have to keep our fingers crossed that the dolphins stay far away from the cove, at least until international campaigns force the annual hunt to stop. For more info on the dolphins of ‘Taiji’, see the oscar-winning documentary (The Cove (http://www.thecovemovie.com/)) or read more here (http://www.savejapandolphins.org/). For the RWS campaign, find out more via the ACRES (http://www.saddestdolphins.com/) website.
http://www.thearenui.com/newsletter/img/553901192328192012.jpg
Have you kept an eye on the voting process for the new 7 wonders of nature? There were 28 finalists announced, one of which was our very own KOMODO and voting has been going on all over the world. Details are here (http://www.new7wonders.com/) but voting closed on 11th November and we are delighted to announce that Komodo made it onto that final list, so our beautiful dive destination is now officially one of the new “7 Wonders of Nature”.
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ARENUI CRUISE NEWS
It’s been a busy few months for us on the boat. We had our annual dry-docking in June, where we gave our vessel a good spring clean and added some extra touches to the boutique design!
In late June, we headed out to explore the diverse underwater world of Komodo National Park for seven back-to-back cruises, until mid-September. Then we enjoyed four trips between Komodo and Alor, taking in the relatively unexplored sites of Flores and Maumere. Last month, we headed over towards the Maluku area, on our very popular Komodo to Ambon once-a-year cruise, with a ‘Spice Islands’ (Ambon to Ambon) cruise at the start of December. We are now kicking off our Maluku to Raja Ampat cruises over Christmas and into the New Year, before we settle into the Raja Ampat season until next April. WOW!
Hear direct from our Cruise Director, Debbie, as she updates us on life aboard the Arenui:
“During August 2011 alone, in Komodo, we packed in enough action for a whole season! Our latest find is a new ‘muck’ diving site in Komodo where so far we have seen Wunderpuss and Mimic octopus, Ocellated frogfish, Ambon scorpionfish, seahorses, ghost pipefish and possibly a new undescribed species of Harlequin shrimp. During the first half of August, we enjoyed the effect of the full moon with fast currents making for exciting diving! The ‘Alley’ at the famous dive site in the south of Komodo Island, Manta Alley, was full of manta rays. The mantas were swimming up the alley and swooping around our heads. While on the back side eight mantas were dancing on top of the cleaning station. At Crystal Rock every cruise we have seen eagle rays seemingly floating on the currents completely oblivious to the divers. Tatawa Besar continues to be one of our favourite drift dives in Komodo National Park. The reef is simply stunning. It is a sensory overload to glide along watching all the orange and yellow soft corals carpeting the reef and thousands of colourful anthias dipping in and out of the hard corals. Almost guaranteed to see a turtle or three feeding here, this dive is a must do on our Komodo itinerary.
At the beginning of September, Arenui took part in the Underwater Festival by having William Tan onboard. ‘The Australasia Challenge’ incorporated an Australasia-wide simultaneous photo and video competition. Arenui awarded a prize (free cruise) to the lucky winner of the ‘big stuff’ photo category! It was an absolute pleasure having William onboard, along with his eagle eyed divemaster the famous Noldy. William gave hints and suggestions to help photographers get great shots and Noldy provided the critters to shoot. Throughout September 2011, Komodo gave us plenty of manta rays sightings, one dolphin encounter, two resident Rhinopias at Cannibal Rock, critters galore on our many muck diving sites, one big fat pregnant giant frogfish and on one exceptional cruise we saw not one, not two but THREE mimic octopus on one dive! The end of September was the beginning of our time in Alor. Our first cruise was very successful with Hammerhead shark and Mola Mola sightings, along with beautiful reefs, a new dive site full of white tip reef sharks and great muck diving.
In October we cruised between Komodo and Alor. Komodo’s manta rays moved north into the warmer blue waters of Takat Makassar and guests experienced exhilarating drift dives with sightings of mantas swimming effortlessly against the current or circling over cleaning stations. Our most exciting critter find was the Kyonemichthys Rumengani (new species of pipehorse discovered in Indonesia in 2006) named after Noldy Rumengan – who had joined us on the Arenui just a few weeks before with photo pro William Tan. Our eagle-eyed dive guide Tobi found a pair on a wall dive at Babi Island off Maumere, Flores. Another highlight was Komba Volcano, located 50km north of Lembata in the Flores Sea. Komba is the most active volcano in the Adonara Pantar sector of the Sunda Islands and we cruised out to watch the volcanic activity at sunset. It was a spectacular site as the volcano spurt out hot rocks every 10-15 minutes … we heard a rumbling deep inside and saw a puff of smoke, as the volcano erupted making a sound like a dragon was living inside!
Our first November cruise left Maumere, on Flores Island, heading east to Alor. In the Pantar Strait, we took out the tenders to try to find some of the whales that this area is famous for. Our guests even got the opportunity to snorkel with a Mola-Mola (oceanic sunfish) for over 10 minutes, while it swam around close to the surface. The second cruise was the Kaleidoscope itinerary - leaving Labuanbajo and arriving 15 nights later in Ambon. This amazing trip takes in many different areas of top Indonesian diving! We started in Komodo, with fast currents and manta rays in the channel; thousands of fusiliers blacking out the sky at the famous Castle Rock; exhilarating drift dives at the colourful Tatawa Besar; and of course a walk to see the Komodo Dragon. While on Rinca Island, in Komodo National Park, we planted a tree in the name of Arenui as part of a rejuvenation project on the island. At the next stop, on Pamana Island - just off the harbour of Maumere on Flores Island - we spotted the blue ringed octopus. It displayed its blue rings magnificently and we even saw it catch and eat a crab! In Alor, we found eight Rhinopias during just three dives at our favourite muck diving spot on Kawula Island, plus Halameda ghost pipefish, frogfish, leaf fish and a pair of Arenui-coloured robust ghost pipefish. At Pura Island, in the Pantar Strait, the waters had warmed up since the previous cruise so no sign of the molas, but all the guests were very impressed with the unique anemone covered seascapes at Anemone City. Continuing east we stopped at Wetar and Reong Islands, before heading north up into the Banda Sea. Here, at Gunung Api, we witnessed - without a doubt - the highlight of the cruise! As the tenders approached the dive site, we saw little ripples all over the surface of the water. Is it fish? No it’s SEA SNAKES, poking their heads out for a breath of air. There were literally hundreds and hundreds of them. At any one time you could look up into the crystal clear blue and see more than fifty either swimming up or coming back down, and that was just in the direction you looked! They were everywhere. The reef was like snake spaghetti. An amazing experience and no need to be scared - the snakes are curious but we certainly aren’t food for them. Then, at Lucipara - our next stop north – dive guide “eagle-eyes” Tobi found a pair of Pontohi seahorses hiding among the stunning soft corals and enormous sponges covering the walls. A school of thousands of jacks sped past and several black tip and grey reef sharks were seen. In the Banda Islands, we were treated to mandarinfish mating at sunset. The next morning, a tour of the town took us to the museum, the old Dutch fort and a nutmug plantation. Nusa Laut, our last stop before Ambon, had great visibility with large school of jacks and bumphead parrotfish. One group was very lucky and saw two hammerhead sharks circling close by. The final day of the cruise, in Ambon Bay, offered up its usual excellent muck diving, with wunderpuss, harlequin shrimps, frogfish, ghost pipefish and much much more.”
If you’re keen to find out more about the recent cruises or need more details on joining an Arenui cruise, then why not drop by our Facebook “event (https://www.facebook.com/ArenuiBoutiqueLiveaboard?sk=events)” pages (and “past event (https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=215643678503643)” pages) to read trip reviews!
Interested in a review of our Raja Ampat trip from earlier this year? Visit the website of photo pros - Les Argonauts (http://www.lesargonauts.com/tripreport/komodo-cruise-report-april-2011) - to read all about their April 2011 cruise!
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ARENUI AVAILABILITY UPDATE
We’re very pleased to be so popular, but it does now make it hard to accommodate everyone’s requests!
So, our advice is to plan ahead and book up as early as you can… and keep an eye on our Facebook pages for the latest on last-minute cancelations if you are flexible to join a trip! In fact, the ‘events’ section of our Facebook site is a great source of information on all the upcoming cruises, so be sure to click and find out more about the diving and cruise itinerary.
2012
Only TWO cruises in RAJA AMPAT & MALUKU area (three single spaces available), then SIX trips in the KOMODO area with very limited spaces, so let us know as soon as possible and secure your place!
April 14 depart Sorong for 11-nights in RAJA AMPAT & MALUKU (http://www.facebook.com/events/206601686058585), ending in Ambon 25 April: just ONE bed available (accomodation available on sharing basis for female diver)
May 2 depart Labuanbajo for 11nights in KOMODO (http://www.facebook.com/events/238808926139658), ending in Bali 16 May: just TWO cabins available
June 28 depart Bali for 11-nights in KOMODO (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=150469408362952), ending in Bali 9 July: just ONE cabin available
July 10 depart Bali for 11-nights in KOMODO (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=258424954172419), ending in Bali 21 July: just ONE cabin available
July 22 depart Bali for 8-nights in KOMODO (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=212825138763998), ending in Labuanbajo 30 July (great chance to see Komodo if you don’t have a lot of holiday time available): a few cabins available, including master-suite ‘Rama”
August 10 depart Bali for 11-nights in KOMODO (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=233532513344089), ending in Bali 21 August: a few cabins available, including master-suite ‘Rama”
September 5 depart Bali for 11-nights in KOMODO (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=220747267966708), ending in Labuanbajo 16 September (special cruise, with photo pros Les Argonauts!): just THREE cabins available
December 30 depart Ambon for 13-nights in MALUKU & RAJA AMPAT (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=175887695812424), ending in Sorong 12 January 2013: just TWO single-diver space available
2013
Only TWO cruises (both with special features) in RAJA AMPAT and FIVE in KOMODO, so don’t delay and miss your chance!
March 20 depart Sorong for 11-nights in RAJA AMPAT (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=206854642696480), ending in Sorong 31 March: special cruise, with the ‘Queen of Mantas’ Dr Andrea Marshall
April 2 depart Sorong for 11-nights in RAJA AMPAT (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=174013115997772), ending in Sorong 13 April: special cruise, with photo pros Les Argonauts
June 27 depart Bali for 8-nights in KOMODO (http://www.facebook.com/events/112372295525350), ending in Labuanbajo 5 July: great chance to see Komodo if you don’t have a lot of holiday time available
July 7 depart Labuanbajo for 13-nights in KOMODO & ALOR (http://www.facebook.com/events/260234084025371), ending in Maumere 21 July with the photo pro Pascal Kobeh
August 5 depart Maumere for 11-nights in FLORES & KOMODO (http://www.facebook.com/events/284847728227127), ending in Bali 16 August
August 18 depart Bali for 11-nights in KOMODO (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=244868558871356), ending in Bali 29 August
September 13 depart Bali for 11-nights in KOMODO (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=166757073397258), ending in Labuanbajo 24 September
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PHOTOS
In our recent onboard photo-competitions (https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150196281585838.311177.342691100837&type=3) we have had some excellent entries and fun winners too! If you’ve already joined a cruise with us, then you’ll know that the point of these onboard competitions is to get the crew involved as well, so we ask members of our team to cast the final votes. It’s not necessarily about skill alone, since it’s up to our crew what they think works as an interesting image!
Here are some highlights from recent winners.
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VIDEOS
- We’ve been uploading and commenting on clips at our YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/user/ArenuiLiveaboard) page, so if you haven’t dropped by for a while then check out these 2 great videos from recent guests.
- LesArgonaut share their experience on the Arenui from April 2011 (http://youtu.be/Euy0hr5AGUc), cruising and diving the stunning landscapes and underwater sites of Raja Ampat... enjoy great shots of the vessel, the relaxing setting, the great food PLUS wobbegongs, frogfish, nudi, blue-ring octopus, manta and much more!
Another sample of the truly boutique Arenui experience! Nelson has been kind enough to share his video from the August 2011 (http://youtu.be/I8jn9OTv4To) Komodo cruise, with great footage of the stunning scenery in Komodo as well as the critters below the waves… look out for squid, cuttlefish, manta, turtles and more!
DIVE EXPOS
Thanks to all who came to say hello at ODEX in Brisbane (October 2011), DEMA in Orlando (November 2011) and SALON DE LA PLONGEE in Paris (January 2012).
We hope to meet more of you at upcoming dive shows!
FESPO (http://www.fespo.ch/) | 26-29 Jan 2012, Zurich, Switzerland
DUIKVAKER (http://yourdivexperience.nl/) | 4-5 Feb 2012, Houten, The Netherlands
OUR WORLD UNDERWATER (http://www.ourworldunderwater.com/) | 17-19 Feb 2012, Rosemont, IL, USA
BENEATH THE SEA (http://www.beneaththesea.org/) | 23-25 March 2012, Secaucus, NJ, USA
LIDS (http://www.diveshows.co.uk/) | 31 March-1 April 2012, London, UK
SCUBA SHOW (http://www.scubashow.com/) | 5-6 May 2012, Long Beach, CA, USA
DIVE TRAVEL EXPO (http://www.divenewsnetwork.com/dive-and-travel-expo/bay-area-dive-a-travel-expo.html) | 12-13 May 2012, Santa Clara, CA, USA
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Here are a few fun facts about our beloved marine environment:
1 = Blue Planet
5 = Oceans (Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, Pacific, Southern)
108 = Seas
130 = Species of Marine Mammals
450 = Described species of Sharks
845 = Types of reef-building Corals
3,000 = Recorded species of Nudibranchs
http://www.thearenui.com/_admin/tmp/images/img1-1/letter3_37.jpg
http://www.thearenui.com/_admin/tmp/images/img1-1/letter3_34-39.jpg (http://www.facebook.com/ArenuiBoutiqueLiveaboard)
http://www.thearenui.com/_admin/tmp/images/img1-1/letter3_39.jpg
http://www.thearenui.com/_admin/tmp/images/img1-1/letter3_34-44.jpg (http://twitter.com/#!/TheArenuiTeam)
http://www.thearenui.com/_admin/tmp/images/img1-1/letter3_34-48.jpg (http://www.youtube.com/user/BorderCP#p/u/0/pT3GQ8Ghw0E)
http://www.thearenui.com/_admin/tmp/images/img1-1/letter3_34-50.jpg (http://vimeo.com/arenui)
http://www.thearenui.com/_admin/tmp/images/img1-1/letter3_41-53.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/arenui/)
http://www.thearenui.com/_admin/tmp/images/img1-1/letter3_62.jpg (http://www.thearenui.com/cksend.php?cid=&lg=1)
http://www.thearenui.com/_admin/tmp/images/img1-1/letter3_66.jpg (http://www.thearenui.com/)
First, let us wish you a wonderful start to the New Year! We hope that you had a relaxing holiday over the festive season, so you’re ready to grab your mask & fins for some fantastic dive trips in 2012.
We’ll be sending this every 2 months, to keep you updated on not just our own cruise stories and trip availability but also some of the major news from the dive industry. Expect some fun facts, some inspiring photos and some ideas for future dive vacations!
Meanwhile, in-between newsletters, you can always head to our Facebook or Twitter pages to see what’s going on with the Arenui and what news we’ve found from the dive industry.
http://www.thearenui.com/_admin/tmp/images/img1-1/letter1_1_13.jpg
http://www.thearenui.com/newsletter/img/157501192326132012.jpg
INDUSTRY NEWS
Divers across the world rejoiced, in October, as California passed a law banning the sale of shark fin products (read more here (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/07/shark-fin-trade-banned-california_n_1000906.html)). CA, as the largest market outside Asia, joined a growing list of places (including Washington, Oregon, Hawaii and Guam) that recognizes the need to end this destructive practice. It seems that support for this important campaign is growing worldwide, with encouraging work being done in China and elsewhere in Asia, to make the public aware of the decline in shark numbers and the disastrous impact this has on our oceans. Shark sanctuaries have recently been established in Palau and the Maldives, with Honduras declaring a moratorium on shark fishing and the islands of Cocos and Galapagos protecting significant shark populations via general MPAs (marine protected areas). Even closer to home, Indonesia’s stunning dive destination of Raja Ampat was very recently declared a shark sanctuary too! For some inspiration to pass on to friends, read more about the Shark Savers (http://www.sharksavers.org/en/sharkfinsoup.html) and Wild Aid (http://www.wildaid.org/news/yao-ming-calls-shark-fin-ban-china) campaigns, including support from Chinese basketball player Yao Ming (http://www.sharksavers.org/en/media/videos.html?task=play&tmpl=component&layout=lightbox&id=6&xp=1).
http://www.thearenui.com/newsletter/img/17501192327212012.jpg
Here in Asia, dolphins are making headlines. The infamous ‘cove’ in Taiji, Japan, is on our radar as the season for hunting continues. Meanwhile, in Singapore, groups of people (many inspired by the ACRES ‘World’s Saddest Dolphins’ campaign) have been pressuring RWS (Resorts World Sentosa) to change its plan to import wild dolphins for their theme park. There’s hope that the RWS campaign will be successful given the positive reaction to previous public outcry over the whale shark enclosure. As for ‘Taiji’, we’ll have to keep our fingers crossed that the dolphins stay far away from the cove, at least until international campaigns force the annual hunt to stop. For more info on the dolphins of ‘Taiji’, see the oscar-winning documentary (The Cove (http://www.thecovemovie.com/)) or read more here (http://www.savejapandolphins.org/). For the RWS campaign, find out more via the ACRES (http://www.saddestdolphins.com/) website.
http://www.thearenui.com/newsletter/img/553901192328192012.jpg
Have you kept an eye on the voting process for the new 7 wonders of nature? There were 28 finalists announced, one of which was our very own KOMODO and voting has been going on all over the world. Details are here (http://www.new7wonders.com/) but voting closed on 11th November and we are delighted to announce that Komodo made it onto that final list, so our beautiful dive destination is now officially one of the new “7 Wonders of Nature”.
http://www.thearenui.com/_admin/tmp/images/img1-1/letter1_1_29.jpg
ARENUI CRUISE NEWS
It’s been a busy few months for us on the boat. We had our annual dry-docking in June, where we gave our vessel a good spring clean and added some extra touches to the boutique design!
In late June, we headed out to explore the diverse underwater world of Komodo National Park for seven back-to-back cruises, until mid-September. Then we enjoyed four trips between Komodo and Alor, taking in the relatively unexplored sites of Flores and Maumere. Last month, we headed over towards the Maluku area, on our very popular Komodo to Ambon once-a-year cruise, with a ‘Spice Islands’ (Ambon to Ambon) cruise at the start of December. We are now kicking off our Maluku to Raja Ampat cruises over Christmas and into the New Year, before we settle into the Raja Ampat season until next April. WOW!
Hear direct from our Cruise Director, Debbie, as she updates us on life aboard the Arenui:
“During August 2011 alone, in Komodo, we packed in enough action for a whole season! Our latest find is a new ‘muck’ diving site in Komodo where so far we have seen Wunderpuss and Mimic octopus, Ocellated frogfish, Ambon scorpionfish, seahorses, ghost pipefish and possibly a new undescribed species of Harlequin shrimp. During the first half of August, we enjoyed the effect of the full moon with fast currents making for exciting diving! The ‘Alley’ at the famous dive site in the south of Komodo Island, Manta Alley, was full of manta rays. The mantas were swimming up the alley and swooping around our heads. While on the back side eight mantas were dancing on top of the cleaning station. At Crystal Rock every cruise we have seen eagle rays seemingly floating on the currents completely oblivious to the divers. Tatawa Besar continues to be one of our favourite drift dives in Komodo National Park. The reef is simply stunning. It is a sensory overload to glide along watching all the orange and yellow soft corals carpeting the reef and thousands of colourful anthias dipping in and out of the hard corals. Almost guaranteed to see a turtle or three feeding here, this dive is a must do on our Komodo itinerary.
At the beginning of September, Arenui took part in the Underwater Festival by having William Tan onboard. ‘The Australasia Challenge’ incorporated an Australasia-wide simultaneous photo and video competition. Arenui awarded a prize (free cruise) to the lucky winner of the ‘big stuff’ photo category! It was an absolute pleasure having William onboard, along with his eagle eyed divemaster the famous Noldy. William gave hints and suggestions to help photographers get great shots and Noldy provided the critters to shoot. Throughout September 2011, Komodo gave us plenty of manta rays sightings, one dolphin encounter, two resident Rhinopias at Cannibal Rock, critters galore on our many muck diving sites, one big fat pregnant giant frogfish and on one exceptional cruise we saw not one, not two but THREE mimic octopus on one dive! The end of September was the beginning of our time in Alor. Our first cruise was very successful with Hammerhead shark and Mola Mola sightings, along with beautiful reefs, a new dive site full of white tip reef sharks and great muck diving.
In October we cruised between Komodo and Alor. Komodo’s manta rays moved north into the warmer blue waters of Takat Makassar and guests experienced exhilarating drift dives with sightings of mantas swimming effortlessly against the current or circling over cleaning stations. Our most exciting critter find was the Kyonemichthys Rumengani (new species of pipehorse discovered in Indonesia in 2006) named after Noldy Rumengan – who had joined us on the Arenui just a few weeks before with photo pro William Tan. Our eagle-eyed dive guide Tobi found a pair on a wall dive at Babi Island off Maumere, Flores. Another highlight was Komba Volcano, located 50km north of Lembata in the Flores Sea. Komba is the most active volcano in the Adonara Pantar sector of the Sunda Islands and we cruised out to watch the volcanic activity at sunset. It was a spectacular site as the volcano spurt out hot rocks every 10-15 minutes … we heard a rumbling deep inside and saw a puff of smoke, as the volcano erupted making a sound like a dragon was living inside!
Our first November cruise left Maumere, on Flores Island, heading east to Alor. In the Pantar Strait, we took out the tenders to try to find some of the whales that this area is famous for. Our guests even got the opportunity to snorkel with a Mola-Mola (oceanic sunfish) for over 10 minutes, while it swam around close to the surface. The second cruise was the Kaleidoscope itinerary - leaving Labuanbajo and arriving 15 nights later in Ambon. This amazing trip takes in many different areas of top Indonesian diving! We started in Komodo, with fast currents and manta rays in the channel; thousands of fusiliers blacking out the sky at the famous Castle Rock; exhilarating drift dives at the colourful Tatawa Besar; and of course a walk to see the Komodo Dragon. While on Rinca Island, in Komodo National Park, we planted a tree in the name of Arenui as part of a rejuvenation project on the island. At the next stop, on Pamana Island - just off the harbour of Maumere on Flores Island - we spotted the blue ringed octopus. It displayed its blue rings magnificently and we even saw it catch and eat a crab! In Alor, we found eight Rhinopias during just three dives at our favourite muck diving spot on Kawula Island, plus Halameda ghost pipefish, frogfish, leaf fish and a pair of Arenui-coloured robust ghost pipefish. At Pura Island, in the Pantar Strait, the waters had warmed up since the previous cruise so no sign of the molas, but all the guests were very impressed with the unique anemone covered seascapes at Anemone City. Continuing east we stopped at Wetar and Reong Islands, before heading north up into the Banda Sea. Here, at Gunung Api, we witnessed - without a doubt - the highlight of the cruise! As the tenders approached the dive site, we saw little ripples all over the surface of the water. Is it fish? No it’s SEA SNAKES, poking their heads out for a breath of air. There were literally hundreds and hundreds of them. At any one time you could look up into the crystal clear blue and see more than fifty either swimming up or coming back down, and that was just in the direction you looked! They were everywhere. The reef was like snake spaghetti. An amazing experience and no need to be scared - the snakes are curious but we certainly aren’t food for them. Then, at Lucipara - our next stop north – dive guide “eagle-eyes” Tobi found a pair of Pontohi seahorses hiding among the stunning soft corals and enormous sponges covering the walls. A school of thousands of jacks sped past and several black tip and grey reef sharks were seen. In the Banda Islands, we were treated to mandarinfish mating at sunset. The next morning, a tour of the town took us to the museum, the old Dutch fort and a nutmug plantation. Nusa Laut, our last stop before Ambon, had great visibility with large school of jacks and bumphead parrotfish. One group was very lucky and saw two hammerhead sharks circling close by. The final day of the cruise, in Ambon Bay, offered up its usual excellent muck diving, with wunderpuss, harlequin shrimps, frogfish, ghost pipefish and much much more.”
If you’re keen to find out more about the recent cruises or need more details on joining an Arenui cruise, then why not drop by our Facebook “event (https://www.facebook.com/ArenuiBoutiqueLiveaboard?sk=events)” pages (and “past event (https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=215643678503643)” pages) to read trip reviews!
Interested in a review of our Raja Ampat trip from earlier this year? Visit the website of photo pros - Les Argonauts (http://www.lesargonauts.com/tripreport/komodo-cruise-report-april-2011) - to read all about their April 2011 cruise!
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ARENUI AVAILABILITY UPDATE
We’re very pleased to be so popular, but it does now make it hard to accommodate everyone’s requests!
So, our advice is to plan ahead and book up as early as you can… and keep an eye on our Facebook pages for the latest on last-minute cancelations if you are flexible to join a trip! In fact, the ‘events’ section of our Facebook site is a great source of information on all the upcoming cruises, so be sure to click and find out more about the diving and cruise itinerary.
2012
Only TWO cruises in RAJA AMPAT & MALUKU area (three single spaces available), then SIX trips in the KOMODO area with very limited spaces, so let us know as soon as possible and secure your place!
April 14 depart Sorong for 11-nights in RAJA AMPAT & MALUKU (http://www.facebook.com/events/206601686058585), ending in Ambon 25 April: just ONE bed available (accomodation available on sharing basis for female diver)
May 2 depart Labuanbajo for 11nights in KOMODO (http://www.facebook.com/events/238808926139658), ending in Bali 16 May: just TWO cabins available
June 28 depart Bali for 11-nights in KOMODO (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=150469408362952), ending in Bali 9 July: just ONE cabin available
July 10 depart Bali for 11-nights in KOMODO (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=258424954172419), ending in Bali 21 July: just ONE cabin available
July 22 depart Bali for 8-nights in KOMODO (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=212825138763998), ending in Labuanbajo 30 July (great chance to see Komodo if you don’t have a lot of holiday time available): a few cabins available, including master-suite ‘Rama”
August 10 depart Bali for 11-nights in KOMODO (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=233532513344089), ending in Bali 21 August: a few cabins available, including master-suite ‘Rama”
September 5 depart Bali for 11-nights in KOMODO (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=220747267966708), ending in Labuanbajo 16 September (special cruise, with photo pros Les Argonauts!): just THREE cabins available
December 30 depart Ambon for 13-nights in MALUKU & RAJA AMPAT (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=175887695812424), ending in Sorong 12 January 2013: just TWO single-diver space available
2013
Only TWO cruises (both with special features) in RAJA AMPAT and FIVE in KOMODO, so don’t delay and miss your chance!
March 20 depart Sorong for 11-nights in RAJA AMPAT (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=206854642696480), ending in Sorong 31 March: special cruise, with the ‘Queen of Mantas’ Dr Andrea Marshall
April 2 depart Sorong for 11-nights in RAJA AMPAT (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=174013115997772), ending in Sorong 13 April: special cruise, with photo pros Les Argonauts
June 27 depart Bali for 8-nights in KOMODO (http://www.facebook.com/events/112372295525350), ending in Labuanbajo 5 July: great chance to see Komodo if you don’t have a lot of holiday time available
July 7 depart Labuanbajo for 13-nights in KOMODO & ALOR (http://www.facebook.com/events/260234084025371), ending in Maumere 21 July with the photo pro Pascal Kobeh
August 5 depart Maumere for 11-nights in FLORES & KOMODO (http://www.facebook.com/events/284847728227127), ending in Bali 16 August
August 18 depart Bali for 11-nights in KOMODO (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=244868558871356), ending in Bali 29 August
September 13 depart Bali for 11-nights in KOMODO (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=166757073397258), ending in Labuanbajo 24 September
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PHOTOS
In our recent onboard photo-competitions (https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150196281585838.311177.342691100837&type=3) we have had some excellent entries and fun winners too! If you’ve already joined a cruise with us, then you’ll know that the point of these onboard competitions is to get the crew involved as well, so we ask members of our team to cast the final votes. It’s not necessarily about skill alone, since it’s up to our crew what they think works as an interesting image!
Here are some highlights from recent winners.
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VIDEOS
- We’ve been uploading and commenting on clips at our YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/user/ArenuiLiveaboard) page, so if you haven’t dropped by for a while then check out these 2 great videos from recent guests.
- LesArgonaut share their experience on the Arenui from April 2011 (http://youtu.be/Euy0hr5AGUc), cruising and diving the stunning landscapes and underwater sites of Raja Ampat... enjoy great shots of the vessel, the relaxing setting, the great food PLUS wobbegongs, frogfish, nudi, blue-ring octopus, manta and much more!
Another sample of the truly boutique Arenui experience! Nelson has been kind enough to share his video from the August 2011 (http://youtu.be/I8jn9OTv4To) Komodo cruise, with great footage of the stunning scenery in Komodo as well as the critters below the waves… look out for squid, cuttlefish, manta, turtles and more!
DIVE EXPOS
Thanks to all who came to say hello at ODEX in Brisbane (October 2011), DEMA in Orlando (November 2011) and SALON DE LA PLONGEE in Paris (January 2012).
We hope to meet more of you at upcoming dive shows!
FESPO (http://www.fespo.ch/) | 26-29 Jan 2012, Zurich, Switzerland
DUIKVAKER (http://yourdivexperience.nl/) | 4-5 Feb 2012, Houten, The Netherlands
OUR WORLD UNDERWATER (http://www.ourworldunderwater.com/) | 17-19 Feb 2012, Rosemont, IL, USA
BENEATH THE SEA (http://www.beneaththesea.org/) | 23-25 March 2012, Secaucus, NJ, USA
LIDS (http://www.diveshows.co.uk/) | 31 March-1 April 2012, London, UK
SCUBA SHOW (http://www.scubashow.com/) | 5-6 May 2012, Long Beach, CA, USA
DIVE TRAVEL EXPO (http://www.divenewsnetwork.com/dive-and-travel-expo/bay-area-dive-a-travel-expo.html) | 12-13 May 2012, Santa Clara, CA, USA
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Here are a few fun facts about our beloved marine environment:
1 = Blue Planet
5 = Oceans (Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, Pacific, Southern)
108 = Seas
130 = Species of Marine Mammals
450 = Described species of Sharks
845 = Types of reef-building Corals
3,000 = Recorded species of Nudibranchs
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