Papua's Whale Sharks and Birds of Paradise

Tour leaders meet you at the airport or your hotel and escort you directly to the ship. Once you settle into your cabin, the vessel weighs anchor to begin the voyage. You take an early morning trek into the jungle to witness Red and Wilson’s Birds of Paradise performing mating rituals in the trees and on the forest floor.

You visit small islands for snorkeling, swimming, and kayaking. You explore the jungle-clad coastline by dinghy to view the scenery and look for birds. Afterward, you enjoy cocktails on the upper deck while watching hornbills fly back to their roosting trees.

Visit a locally initiated program where the villagers are replanting mangroves into their coastal areas to prevent erosion and to provide safe environments for juvenile fish to thrive. You will get hands on and plant a few of them for yourself and hear from the founder of the project. Snorkel on a nearby reef and visit the traditional village of Marandanweser, where the locals will perform some traditional song and dance for you. Bring your dancing shoes because you will be invited to join in. Trek to a viewpoint high above a aquamarine lagoon that overlooks a picturesque limestone karst chain of islands.

Enjoy more relaxing time snorkelling on the reefs, exploring the inlets and local areas by paddle board and kayak, or swimming and sunbathing from the white sand beaches of this beautiful piece of paradise. Visit the Pisang Islands, a small group of picture-perfect islands, where you will spend the morning exploring the beaches and crystal clear waters and vibrant reefs with your snorkels. On the mainland of Papua, where you will visit a local village and meeting the residents, who will welcome you into their village, sharing with you their way of life which consists or fishing and growing nutmeg.

You have the chance to swim with wild dolphins and also enjoy some spectacular snorkelling and beach time on a remote white-sand beach. Experience a most serene and primal scene of a jungle waterfall, where a roaring river surrounded by virgin rainforest pours into the sea. Here you will swim and play in the waterfall and the sea as you take in this most tranquil tropical scenery.

Triton Bay is a place of unsurpassed natural splendor, where time and tides have sliced the limestone landscape into tall cliffs and numerous islands separated
by lagoons and narrow channels. Heading through the Namatote Passage, you will see an impressive collection of ancient cave paintings high up on the cliffs. It is also home to fishermen who collect baitfish and keep them in nets attached to specially built platforms, also known as ‘bagans’. It is these and their fish that attract whale sharks.

You will head out in the tenders in the early morning light to see if the sharks are around, and if you are lucky, you will spend a couple of hours in the water with these magnificent creatures. Take a short walk into the forest to see a most spectacular jungle waterfall surrounded by virgin rainforest and take a dip in its cool refreshing waters.