THE REGION

Kalimantan is the Indonesian part of Borneo, a biodiversity hotspot of South East Asia. Around 250km South of the famous Sipadan island lies a group of islands including Derawan, Sangalaki and Maratua which seem to combine sightings of so many bucket list species. With our favorite boat the MSV Amira we will explore the area and encounter school of fish, manta rays and reef sharks as well as whalesharks and maybe thresher sharks. To top it off there is even a jellyfish lake.

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In detail we will be visiting the following atolls and islands.

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Derawan

Our first reef and a great place to look for macro life. 

 

Kakaban

This jungle island is surrounded by stunning reefs where we can encounter schooling fish and other pelagics. The inside of the island features one of the few jellyfish lakes of Indonesia, where we will snorkel with these stingless animals.

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Maratua

Another great reef atoll with many drop offs and good chances for sharks, eagle rays, tuna and turtles. Huge schools of barracuda are common, but even hammerheads can be countered. Here there are often good sightings of Thresher Sharks, so we will be looking for those as well.

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Sangalaki

This island and small atoll is known for its manta rays which come to feed and clean in the area. There are four known cleaning stations at recreational depths. Turtles and other marine animals frequent the area as well.

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The final part of our trip will be the fishing platforms or "bagans" located offshore from Kalimantan which offer the unique chance to snorkel with inquisitive whalesharks.

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Our boat partners from Amira have scouted out the area and run the first season here. This is one of the first liveaboards to operate this destination. So while above sightings are planned they cannot be guaranteed but we will do our best to optimize the week for maximum encounters. 

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THE BOAT

Amira is one of our favorite dive boats. She was built with locally grown timber by indigenous crafts men using ancient Pinisi boat building traditions. She is equipped with a state of the art navigation, security and rescue equipment. With a length of 52 meters Amira offers 9 comfortable double cabins and one single cabin, all equipped with personal showers and toilets and natural lighting. There is a cozy restaurant, a romantic lounge area and a huge sun deck and our absolute favorite dive boat. Generously designed space to gear up with a fixed site for each diver, several rinse tanks, plenty of surface space and a large camera room. All in all an ideal base camp for the most beautiful dive excursions in Komodo, Raja Ampat and Banda.