A Tale of Sharks & Shipwrecks

During August/September we visited Cenderawasih Bay in West Papua, our main objective was to visit the whale sharks that visit the bagan's at Kwatisore, but also to dive the reefs and WWII wrecks within Cenderawasih Bay. We travelled with 10 friends via live-aboard from Manokwari port in the far east of Indonesia, then a hundred nautical miles south, visiting remote reefs and islands enroute.
Not only did we have have a fantastic experience with the whale sharks, but we also dived some beautiful reefs and dived on wrecks that gave us a real feel of the area's history as a battleground during WWII.
Having five whale sharks swimming among our group (and being lifted from the water by one 10 meter long female) was for me an experience of a lifetime.
Then descending on almost intact ship wrecks in shallow clear waters and visiting reefs that revealed species of fish we had only ever seen in ID books.
We left Cenderawasih Bay and immediately booked a return trip for 2015 to further explore this fascinating region.

Japanese WWII Shipwreck in Manokwari

Whale Sharks of Cenderawasih Bay from Jeff Mullins on Vimeo.

Our friend Margaret Flierman meets a 10 meter long Whale Shark.

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Two Whale Sharks wait beneath a fishing bagan

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Whale Shark swims below me at Kwatisore Bay