Triton Bay: New Degress of Difference

TRITON BAY

Triton Bay

Indonesia

TRITON BAY beauty and natural

INDONESIA Located in Kaimana district, West Papua.

This area is known for its underwater beauty and cultural heritage. In this bay, there are 959 types of fish and 471 types of coral and 16 of them are new species.

New Degrees of Difference:

Triton Bay,

Misool & Batanta 極度不同：崔坦灣，密索島 & 巴坦塔島

Gone are the days when one has to live in outback conditions to explore remote frontiers. Enter The Arenui, a luxury boutique liveaboard that makes the epic journey all worthwhile. 離群索居且探勘著遙遠國境的日子已一去不復返。進入Arenui這艘豪華精緻的宿船，讓此趟如史詩般的旅行更為值得。

Text & Photo | Rod Klein

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Triton Bay

Indonesia

Photo by: JEZ TRYNER

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n the past 10 years I’ve had the opportunity to dive most of the popular dive sties of Indonesia: Lembeh, Komodo, Bali, Ambon, Banda, and North Raja Ampat, but when an invitation came to join an 11-day charter on Arenui; the spanking new Indonesian liveaboard from Triton Bay to Sorong – via Misool – I could hardly say no.

Normally it is the diving that takes centre stage, but the Arenui is such a spectacular phinisi (traditional Indonesian wooden vessel) with all the modern amenities of a luxury boutique hotel, that she is as much a part of this adventure as the diving itself.

The Arenui has probably the two best dive guides in the region – Ali and Toby. Ali honed his skills from the late legend Larry Smith.

It was their experience and ability to find the most unusual critters, as well as their overall enthusiasm, that made the icing on my cake.

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I was blown away by the sheer luxury of the Arneui. Not only that, once I got settled I was offered a free 30-minute welcome massage. How cool was that? Our charter began in Triton Bay and ended in Sorong, with diving in Misool and Batanta Island along the way.

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Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world comprising 17,504 large and small tropical islands fringed with white sandy

beaches, many still uninhabited and a number even still unnamed.

Discover Eden

The dives contain a mixture of deep basins and shallower water. Triton Bay and the surrounding region are known for its underwater beauty and extensive biodiversity. Liveaboards had previously given Triton Bay a miss due to its remoteness and complexity in stocking provisions in the town of Kaimana. It has been only since the middle of this decade that liveaboards started to venture into the waters of Triton Bay. "Habitat, habitat, habitat," says biologist Mark Erdmann, who sites the reason for the incredible explosion of life in this region.

"Extensive fringing reefs, wave-pounded drop-offs, calm deep bays funneling upwellings of nutrients, sand flats, mangroves, sea grass meadows—all in an area that's isolated and still for the most part intact."

There is a price to pay for the great biodiversity in Triton Bay. Visibility is generally not good compared to the rest of Indonesia, due to the incredibly nutrient-rich water, but this is easy to overcome due to the sheer amount of life in and around the reef.

This may not be a dive destination for every diver; if you want clear water diving and big fish on all dives.

A diver views the unique white "black coral" which is a signature of Triton Bay Diving. 一名潛者觀看著獨特的白色「黑珊瑚」，它們可是崔坦灣最大的賣點。

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Triton Bay

在過去的十年裏，我有幸潛游了印尼大部份知名的潛點：藍碧海 峽、科摩多島、巴里島、安汶、班達海以及北四王群島，不過，當我 受邀參加一趟「The Arenui」這艘全新印尼宿船的11天船潛之旅，從崔 坦灣經密索島到索隆的行程，還是讓我無法開口說不。 一般來說，到特定的區域潛水是船潛旅遊的主軸，不過，「The Arenui」是一艘如此壯麗且不凡的宿船，光是身歷其中，就已經感受 到如同潛水般的驚豔刺激。 除此之外，他們還擁有兩位可能是該區域最棒的潛導，Ali和Toby， 其中Ali 的潛水技巧可是傳承自已故的傳奇人物Larry Smith。他們有豐 富的經驗與專業的能力，能夠找到最稀有的生物，而他們全然的熱 忱，更為我的潛水之旅錦上添花。 別誤會，要享受「The Arenui」上奢華的住宿與美好的潛游，可是得 付出代價的。從我位於加州威尼斯海灘的家中出發，經新加坡前往巴 里島得花上將近24個鐘頭的飛航時間。接著，在巴里島花了三天克服 時差，然後得到安汶過上一夜才能搭上飛機，前去距離一個鐘頭航程 遠的凱瑪那。 印尼國內的飛航行程並不總是如想像中的平順。在安汶的「Maluku Divers」潛店度過了輕鬆愉悅的一天並飽餐一頓後，我早早的出發去 搭早上七點的班機。但是，班機卻沒有起飛。當我抵達機場時，我發 現當地的航空公司，獅子航空，已經更改了他們飛往凱瑪那的班機日 期，卻沒有通知乘客，因此我得等到隔天才有班機飛行。

top: There's lots of great macro life too, a beautfiul Pygmy seahorse (hippocampus Denise).

和「The Arenui」位於巴里島的辦公室通過電話，並請他們必須將包 船的日期再多保留一天後（我到國外旅行時，總是會攜帶一隻當地的 電話），我帶著所有的裝備搭計程車回到「Maluku Divers」，再多度過 一天放鬆的日子。所以，這趟旅程到目前為止，已經過了六天，而我 的大腳趾卻都還未曾浸到海水裏。情況一定會好轉的。

Indonesia

性情的史詩，包含了18部篇章與24,000首詩文，區分成500首的頌 謠。 以青銅、黃銅與紅銅為形塑特色，如此獨一無二的鍊軸與扶手全 都是手工製成，大部份的燈具都是在爪哇以紅銅或黃銅手工打造， 舷窗則是由青銅鑄製而成。而這裏最棒 的還有那一部有著寬螢幕高 畫質的電視，與兩座完整的蘋果電腦工作站。這艘船可能是我搭過 最棒的宿船。 印度尼西亞共和國是全球最大的群島國家，總共含括了17,504座 大大小小點綴著白色沙灘的熱帶島嶼，許多島嶼依舊杳無人跡，有 的甚至連島名都沒有。 這些島嶼各自擁有不同的水域，有的深縱，有的淺近，都以其 美麗的海底風光與多樣的海中生物聞名遐邇。當船宿潛水早已到訪 印尼其他許多地區有段時間的同時，崔坦灣的潛水運動才正開始興 起，而凱瑪那城鎮的偏遠與繁富豐饒的生物，正是吸引宿船近年來 深入此處尋幽探勝的原因。 「棲息地，棲息地，棲息地。」發現這個區域有著驚人新物種的 生物學家 Mark Erdmann 呼籲著：「遼闊散佈的珊瑚礁岩、千軍萬 馬般的浪濤、平靜深邃的海灣狹穴、源源湧出的豐沛養份、平坦海 灘、紅樹林、茂密海草，全都存在這孤離且尚有許多地方未受損傷 的區域。」 維護崔坦灣這些壯觀多樣的生物群需要付出極大的心血。因為其 水質極為滋養，它的能見度一般都不是很好，尤其和印尼的其它潛 點相比較；不過，這點很容易克服，因為在這裡的礁脈到處都見得

上圖：這裏也有許多美妙的迷你小動物：一尾學名為Hiippocampus Denise的美麗豆丁海馬。

Yes, there are giant groupers, Napoleon wrasse, eagle rays, a few sharks, schooling barracuda and jacks, but all this does not happen on every trip. This area changes, water clarity changes, and critters are not always there.

Typical of the area is the site Black Forest; it owes its name to the black coral which truly resembles a forest on the slopes at this particular point of the dive site. In all reality it should be called White Forest, given that the polyps of the black coral in this area are really white; it is the skeleton which, once dried, gives it its color.

It’s also quite common to find sleepy wobegong sharks not too far from the surface and with a bit of luck, on the night dives, the oddly strange walking shark; but in a place of such biodiversity, don’t be surprised if you hit on a new species without even knowing it!

Two other Triton dive sites stand out: Larry’s Heaven and Little Komodo (also named by the late Larry Smith). Diving on this site was one of my most adrenalin-powered dives. I was making a dive in very strong current, hanging on to my camera housing, I was surrounded by a whole assortment of fish and felt that the fish here had never shared their environment with a scuba diver. There was so much fish on a daily basis that you could hardly see your buddy.

The most exciting moment came when I looked up and was face to face with a few giant groupers. It was sort of like running into The Terminator on a dark evening and he does nothing but stand there, staring down on you!

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At Misool wide-angle photography is the name of the game.

The Misool Island group sits at the entrance of the Ceram Sea, two degrees south of the equator and is about half way between Triton Bay and Sorong. This entire region is one enormous ancient limestone basin.

Misool offers canyons and lagoons speckled with white sand beaches ideal for tender boat rides. We were able to spend hours exploring and never see the same bay. Soft coral, masses of schooling fish and incredible rock and coral formations make for great photo opportunities.

Batanta is the smallest of the four islands that make up northern Raja Ampat. Here we were able to do some serious “muck” diving at Black Beauty and Happy Ending dive sites. This was a nice change from the soft coral infested areas of Triton Bay and Misool.

Visiting Triton Bay, (as well as Misool and Batanta) was somewhat of a pilgrimage for us, as this was the area where diving legend Larry Smith explored shortly before he passed on. It is a fantastic and still somewhat unexplored area that presented one stunning dive after another.

當我終於抵達凱瑪那時，我的老友Ali的笑臉立即呈現在我眼前。因 為他天天都充滿幹勁而且笑臉迎人，所以我知道，很快的一切都會更 好。我們將我那三個裝滿了潛水裝備和攝影器材的大花格袋子搬運到 一輛搖晃老舊的小貨車上，然後由著它運送客人的行李到幾公里以外 一處「堪稱」海港的地方，之後便跳上了載我們前去搭乘小艇的出租 計程車，再乘著小艇接續在外港等候我們的宿船。我們11天的包船船 潛之旅會在崔坦灣起航，於索隆落幕，沿途將潛游於密索島與巴坦塔 島。 登上「The Arenui」後，我驚嘆連連，訝異於其如此的豪華與雅緻。 不僅如此，當我安頓後，還免費享受了30分鐘的迎賓按摩，真是太帥 啦！ 經過三年的打造，「The Arenui」於2007年7月誕生。它以古羅馬船 為草圖而建造，主船身由南蘇拉威西當地五十多名工匠以鐵木精巧地 製作而成，且整艘船的結構是在爪哇島和巴里島建製。「The Arenui」 百分之七十的木材原料為回收再利用的木頭，該艘船的許多部份是來 自於爪哇人的房屋拆卸後再利用的柚木，前後共使用了十二種不同的 木材，精雕細琢而成了「The Arenui」。 船身由七種木材組成，而內部則用了五種木材。有十七款不同的 裝飾技術運用在這艘船上，所有木頭的加工潤飾完全依傳統素材與技 巧以手工打造。他們利用爪哇建築的一些傳統元素加以創新改造。舉 例來說，餐廳前面讓船員通往上方甲板的階梯，就是取材於爪哇的木 屋。船上隨處可見雕刻了錯雜精細圖案的三角支柱，而露天吧台區賞 心悅目的柱子則是在巴里島手工打造，精心的設計出典型巴里島式門 廊的氛圍。

PACIFIC OCEAN

RAJA AMPAT Misool CERAM Ambon

Kaimana

TRITON BAY

BANDA SEA

INDONESIA

從餐廳一路往下到客艙的階梯上那些繁錯細緻的雕飾，則是另一項 獨特的風格。這些當地雕刻的木材梯板描述著羅摩衍那的故事。「羅 摩衍那」是印度信仰中很重要的一部份，它是一部關於勇氣、魔法與

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top: Lush coral proliferation is a common sight in Boo Windows, Misool. 上圖：一名潛者在Boo Windows的潛點，盤旋於一朵大大的紅色海扇上方，留下了屬於 四王群島密索地區獨特的美景。

Getting There

If your charter starts in Kaimana: It is easiest to fly to Kaimana via Jakarta or Bali (via Singapore). Garuda, Merpati, Express Air and Lion Wings operate daily flights from Jakarta to Sorong (with stopovers in Ujung Pandang/Makassar). From here, fly to Ambon where you will stay for the night due to the flight schedules. From Ambon you can take a direct one-hour flight to Kaimana. Your liveaboard operator can make all of the internal flight arrangements for you and charter departures are aligned with the flight schedules.

If your charter starts in Sorong: Fly direct from Manado (via Singapore) or from Bali with a stopover at Ujung Pandang/Makassar.

When To Go All of the liveaboards dive in different parts of Indonesia depending on the season. The best season for Triton Bay-Misool-Raja Ampat is January through mid April.

Visas A visa is issued on arrival for stays of up 30 days (non-renewable). The following 11 countries/territories receive a 30 day no-charge visa on arrival: Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei, Philippines, Hong Kong, Macau, Chile, Peru and Morocco. Other nationalities are required to pay for US$10 for a 3-day visa, or US$25 for a 30-day visa. Your passport must be

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valid for at least six months and you have to show an onward ticket out of the country.

Electricity 220/240 V, 50HZ is the standard.

Health Malaria and dengue is a health threat in Indonesia but not common. Take bug spray if you are susceptible to being bitten by mosquitoes.

Language Official language is Bahasa Indonesia though English is widely spoken.

Currency Indonesian Rupiah.

Dive Operator Arenui Liveaboard www.thearenui.com email: info@thearenui.com

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The rich sealife of Triton Bay can be seen on every dive. 每次的潛游都能夠遇見崔坦灣豐饒的海洋生物。

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到生物。這裡或許並不是個適合每一位潛水者的潛點，而如果你想 潛游在清澈的水域，在每個潛點都想見到大魚，那麼崔坦灣也無法 如你所願。沒錯，這兒是有大型石斑魚、拿破崙魚、燕魟、少數的 鯊魚、一大群巴拉金梭魚和鰺魚，不過，並不是每一次潛游都可全 部遇到。這個地方會改變，水的清澈度也會改變，而生物也未必會 一直待在這裏。 該區最具代表性的潛點就是「Black Forest」，而之所以將這一個 特殊的潛點命名為「黑森林」，確實就是因為其斜坡上成片的黑珊 瑚活像是一片森林般。而事實上，或許該為牠們取個「白森林」的 名號，因為此處黑珊瑚上的珊瑚蟲是如此的蒼白；這些珊瑚蟲是珊 瑚的骨幹，一旦珊瑚乾枯死亡，這些部份就會呈現出白色的樣貌。 水面下不遠處也很容易就遇上昏昏欲睡的斑紋鬚鯊，如果再幸運 些，在夜潛時還可能碰上鯊魚走路這樣奇特古怪的奇景；不過，在 這麼一處擁有豐富多樣生物的場所，假若你遇見了從未見過的新品 種也無需太大驚小怪，算你幸運！ 另兩處令人注目的崔坦灣潛點為：「Larry’s Heaven」（為紀念 已故的Larry Smith所命名）以及「Little Komodo」（同樣是Larry所命 名）。 潛游於此潛點會讓我的腎上腺素急速上升。身處在強力的水流 中，我緊緊的握住我的相機。我被各式各樣的魚群團團包圍著，彷 彿這些魚兒們不曾見過潛水客現身在牠們的世界。當我向上仰望 時，迎面而來的是幾尾大石斑魚，有點兒像是在漆黑的夜晚，遇到 了魔鬼終結者，而他什麼事也沒做，就只是站在那兒怔怔的盯著你 看！這真是最令人興奮的時刻。 在密索島運用寬角取鏡是一定要的。密索群島座落於西藍海，赤 道南方兩度，大約是位於崔坦灣與索隆間的途中。整個區域是一處 古老的石灰岩盆地，甚至連海底地面都有著石灰岩質。 密索島本身有著裝點著白色沙灘的峽谷與礁湖，適合接駁船停 泊。我們花了幾個鐘頭探索此地，所見的海灣都不盡相同。軟珊 瑚、成群成隊的魚群、奇形怪狀的岩塊，還有珊瑚組成的陣列式， 在在都形成取景的好機會。

top: A Juvenile pinnate batfish (Platax pinnatus) mimics a flatworm. 上圖：一尾年幼的圓翅燕魚偽裝成一尾扁蟲。

簽證 美國、英國、中國、台灣以及其它一些國家的公民均可以在抵達後辦 理30天的落地簽，費用為美金25元。泰國、馬來西亞、新加坡、汶 萊、菲律賓、香港特別行政區、澳門特別行政區和越南的公民，則可 以免費取得30天的落地簽。

電力 巴坦塔島是組成北四王群島四個島中最小的一個。在此處，我們 可以在「Black Beauty」和「Happy Ending」這兩處潛點中進行一些 有趣的微距潛水。在經歷過滿是軟珊瑚的崔坦灣和密索島後，換種 感覺也是不錯的改變。 探訪崔坦灣（還有密索島與巴坦塔島）對我們來說有幾分朝聖的 意味，因為它是潛水傳奇人物 Larry Smith 在他去世前不久才探索過 的地方。它是一處美好的所在，且仍帶有些許未被探究的神秘感， 其所綻放出那目眩神迷的魅力，讓潛客們禁不住地再三造訪。無論 如何，在此處你每天想做的事就是潛入水裏，看看那些讓你看不清 潛伴身影、密密麻麻的魚群，而這等樂事，也是定義這個地方最具 體、最貼切的形容。

220/240V，50Hz 為標準電力。

保健 印尼有瘧疾與登革熱的病例，如果你容易被蚊子叮咬，可以攜帶防蚊 液預防。

語言 雖然英語的使用極為廣泛，但是官方語言仍然是印尼語。

貨幣 印尼盧比

潛水中心 交通 如果宿船的行程起點是在凱瑪那（自此處進入崔坦灣），就要從巴 里島搭乘飛機前往安汶（中途停靠馬卡薩）過夜，接著再飛往凱瑪 那。 請務必與您的宿船業者確認班機時間以及可更改班機的日子。 當地的航空公司有：印尼獅子航空、Wings 航空、Garuda 航空。

前往時機 所有的潛水宿船會依據季節的變化而安排在印尼各個不同的地方潛 水。潛游崔坦灣--密索島--四王群島，這條路線的最佳時機在一月 至四月中旬。

Arenui Liveaboard www.thearenui.com email: info@thearenui.com

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Batanta Island was also on our itinerary.

At Happy Ending Divesite I found this tiney Halimeda decorator Crab with eggs, blending in with its host, Halimeda Alge. 巴坦塔島也在我們的潛游路線中。在Happy Ending 的潛點，我遇上了這隻抱著蛋的嬌小偽裝蟹 正和牠的房東仙掌藻話著家常。

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