A last snorkel, saying goodbye.. some realisation and reflection.
“We zoom through the Dampier Strait and I realise how much it’s changed in the last eight years. Two weeks ago I was in a wild and raw part of West Papua. Here now there are resorts and ‘home stays’ (housing up to 40 people) dotted all along the small island coasts, with just the occasional village in-between. When I first came to the Strait there were villages here and there, with just the occasional resort or home stay in-between.” … “I hope this place never becomes the mini-Maldives but it feels like it’s heading that way, minus the seaplanes (so far). If I want to go to the Maldives, I’ll just go to the Maldives.”
My last day in the water in West Papua with The SEA People.
Day Thirteen
I keep to my routine on my last day in the boat and pour black coffee into my Looney Tunes Christmas coffee cup. The film crew are off with the local fisher to film and I’m preparing myself to depart.
Whenever I leave a reef system I make the time for one last snorkel. It’s a chance to be deliberately mindful, to take it all in and to marvel. If God created these places then they must have been in a rush that day – dumping every crazy creature idea and ludicrous colour combination in one spot instead of testing each first and carefully mapping it all out. Somehow, it works.
I never know if I’ll be back, and I never know if the reef will still be here if I am. Anyone who thinks I’m overstating things should Google “2023 marine heatwave” or “Barrier Reef bleaching”.
My last hour in the water is breathtaking. The visibility is amazing and the reef is vibrant and teeming with life. A juvenile batfish takes a shine to me and follows and photo bombs at every opportunity, and angry clown fish charge out to meet me whenever I get too close. My dive computer freaks out when I free dive to 20 feet and then shoot to the surface. And when I get out I walk along a jetty and spot an endemic walking shark, the first time I’ve seen one here in daylight.
I say goodbye to my French colleagues who are visiting a home stay for lunch and head back to the main boat.
The goodbyes with The SEA People are too short and heartfelt. Our fierce and funny captain, Yos, gives me a big hug. Piet and Roy shake hands and I make a ceremonial presentation of the fishing rod. The worst goodbyes are last but eventually I let go of Lynn and Arnaud and hitch a ride on a local dive centre’s speed boat that’s bound for Sorong.
We zoom through the Dampier Strait and I realise how much it’s changed in the last eight years. Two weeks ago I was in a wild and raw part of West Papua. Here now there are resorts and ‘home stays’ (housing up to 40 people) dotted all along the small island coasts, with just the occasional village in-between. When I first came to the Strait there were villages here and there, with just the occasional resort or home stay in-between.
There’s a famous dive site in this area called ‘Blue Magic’ where the oceanic mantas come to clean. The site itself housed spectacular corals as well in its day. The last time I dived it was about six years ago when I watched a tourist ram his tripod into the coral so he could get a better shot.
A Papuan friend told me a few years back that the site was “now only blue, no more magic”. Go figure.
As the speedboat pounds its way to Sorong I’m thinking again about the balance between tourism and development here. I hope this place never becomes the mini-Maldives but it feels like it’s heading that way, minus the seaplanes (so far). If I want to go to the Maldives, I’ll just go to the Maldives.
Source: LinkedIn | Greg Johannes
Photo: Greg Johannes
Past Entries:
About The Author: Greg Johannes, Ambassador – The SEA People. Greg spent 2 weeks aboard the Galaxea with us and documented his experience in his daily entries into ‘The SEA People Diaries’.
Day 12 – Read here
Day 11 – Read here
Day Ten – Read here
Day Nine – Read here
Day Eight – Read here
Day Seven – Read here
Day Six – Read here
Day Five – Read here
Day Four – Read here
Day Three – Read here
Day One and Two – Read here
Day Zero – Read here