Our excitement is beyond description. After two days of travel from the mainland we have finally arrived on the island of Mansoear in West Papua. The Raja Ampat ('Four Kings') archipelago, with more than 9.8 million acres of land and sea, is located off the northwest tip of Indonesia's West Papua province. Located in the Coral Triangle, the heart of some of the world's richest bio-diverse coral reefs, the seas around Raja Ampat are recorded to hold the largest variety of marine species in the...
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Our excitement is beyond description. After two days of travel from the mainland we have finally arrived on the island of Mansoear in West Papua. The Raja Ampat ('Four Kings') archipelago, with more than 9.8 million acres of land and sea, is located off the northwest tip of Indonesia's West Papua province. Located in the Coral Triangle, the heart of some of the world's richest bio-diverse coral reefs, the seas around Raja Ampat are recorded to hold the largest variety of marine species in the world. Divers come from all corners of the globe to experience this phenomenon. Though to date this remote region has been predominantly a diver's paradise, this extraordinary experience with nature is also perhaps one of the few undiscovered and uncharted regions in the world absolutely perfect for remarkable discoveries sea kayaking. To a majority of the local Papuans, a sea kayak is about as familiar as an alien space ship. It is very rare to see anything other than dugout canoes or fishing boat in these parts, so the moment a kayak comes remotely close by, the entire village comes to check things out. They are fascinated and of course all want to take a try at paddling. Unknown to many of them they will be seeing more adventurous kayakers paddle their way very soon. Dutchman Max Ammer of Papua Diving has been working closely with the Papuan people for the past 20 odd years. With his continued efforts and commitment to support the Papuan people, Max has begun encouraging and helping the locals with a community based project to build home stays in their villages and near-by islands. These home stays will not only provide accommodation but will also provide the perfect opportunity for travellers to interact and learn more about the Papuan people, at the same time providing an income for the local people. "Kayaking is environmentally friendly, and simply the best way to discover the 'hidden secrets' of Raja Ampat." says Max.
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