Route Description - Whale-Macro cruise
Accompanied by the expert Dr. Heike Vester
This special cruise offers guests a glimpse into the world of the largest mammals on earth. Learn incredible details from a qualified expert on whales and dolphins and watch them with your own eyes!
For example, did you know why the family of whales & dolphin are called Cetaceans? Ceta comes from ancient Greek and today means whale. In the past this term was used for large sea animals, or even sea monsters. This explains some of the sailor stories about sea monsters. Cetaceans are also the only air breathing animals that can spend 7-30 minutes under water on one breath without surfacing, just incredible! On this tour you will learn much more about these unique creatures!
The tour departs from Sorong and heads towards Waigeo before it leads to Batanta. As dolphins and whales are the focus of this cruise the itinerary is laid out to maximize the encounters. From experience we know that most whales are sighted in the Dampier Straight near Batanta. Because it often has strong currents you cannot only see Cetaceans. Manta rays are also frequent visitors.
On this cruise we offer approx. 24 dives. Macro enthusiasts will love it: A whale in the morning, a sea horse at noon. And of course you will be diving Raja Ampat's famous and beautiful reefs.
At the beginning of the journey Heike Vester will present a special briefing to inform the guests about the process. When animals are sighted, Heike will give us detailed information about the species and the occurrence, its routines and hunting behavior. Morning until noon will be planned for whales and dolphin tracking and monitoring. In the afternoon and evening Pindito offers "normal" dives - if you can call diving here normal. As we deal with nature, this sequence might be reversed, i.e. diving in the morning, whale watching the afternoon. With a little luck you can snorkel with the animals (Heike decides if it is suitable). Guests of the first ever tour in March 2011 enjoyed an incredible snorkeling experience with orcas.
Impressions of the Whale-Macro cruise
With a little bit of luck the whales and dolphins can be observed and escorted at close range. During prior tours the following species were located: Blue whale, Bryde's whale, Sperm whale, Pygmy sperm whale, Killer whale (also known as Orca), False killer whale, Pygmy killer whale, Short-finned pilot whale, Risso's dolphin, Long-beaked spinner dolphin, Dwarf spinner dolphin, Pantropical spottet dolphin, Indo-pacific Bottlenose dolphin, Common Bottlenose dolphin, Fraser's dolphin and Dugong. As we deal with wild animals sightings cannot be guaranteed. The chances are very good to be able to observe different species of whales and extremely rare species of dolphins.