Manokwari Liveaboard Diving

Liveaboard Diving in Manokwari

What to Expect On a Manokwari Liveaboard

Liveaboards to Manokwari offer scuba divers the chance to explore some of Indonesia's best locations. Manokwari is the largest city in West Papua, and serves as the provinceís capital. Located on the eastern fringes of Indonesia, Manokwari liveaboard cruises will take full advantage of the incredible dive sites at Cenderawasih Bay. Manokwari is located just on the north-western tip of Cenderawasih Bay.

Liveaboard diving in Manokwari offers great conditions. Average water temperatures in the bay are a very pleasant 79 Fahrenheit (26C), with less than a degreeís Celsius of fluctuation all year round. Visibility depends on the site, but it is usually around 65 to 100 feet (20 to 30 m), and depths range from 16 feet to 130 feet (5 to 40 m). Currents around the bay can be very strong at times and not always suitable for a beginner diver.

Liveaboard diving from Manokwari

Diving in Cenderawasih Bay has only recently been undertaken, and many sites, even if they are known sites, have yet to be visited by scuba divers. Perhaps the most famous site of Cenderawasih, Kwatisore Bay is renowned for the huge numbers of whale sharks that visit here.

For years, whale sharks have been attracted to the area near Nabire, where fisherman utilise small, floating, bamboo platforms as tie offs for their nets. A rather special relationship has been formed by these fishermen and the whale sharks, who are totally at ease with divers. To prevent whale sharks from disturbing their nets, fishermen have been throwing small amounts of food to satisfy them. These epically big fish, growing up to 40 feet (12 m) and weighing over 20 tons, are wonderfully gentle giants and provide divers with an opportunity to tick something off the bucket list. Not only this, but itís also possible to see giant ocean sunfish, also known as Mola mola. These amazing sightings have also attracted dive liveaboards to Manokwari.

This magnificent bay is strewn with World War II wrecks. Cenderawasih Bay was used by the Japanese as a sheltered harbour. At many dive sites it is possible to find all sorts of WWII memorabilia including cases of grenades and ammunition, helmets, crockery, Japanese beers, sake and even chopsticks. Manokwari Liveaboard tourse can really take advantage of this bay by being able to easily access wreck sites. Many of these wrecks have never been dived before, especially those lying beneath recreational dive limits. One of the wrecks includes a 390 foot (120 m) long cargo ship, the Shinwa Maru that sunk off Marsinam Island within recreational diving depths, and even a P40 Tomahawk fighter plane. Most wrecks are in good condition and are now completely encrusted in beautiful soft corals and sponges. They are home to many small critters, as well as large moray eels and grouper, with oceanic whitetip and blacktip reef sharks patrolling the sandy areas in between.

Getting To Manokwari

Manokwari is in a very remote region of Indonesia, and as such, it is typical to have to board several flights. As with many inaccessible locations in Indonesia, catching a connection via Singapore is usually the most direct route. From Singapore, head to Soekarno Hatta International Airport in Jakarta. Next, catch a flight to Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport in Ujung Pandang; and finally onto Rendani Airport in Manokwari.