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Responsible
Dive Travel |
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Ahe Dive Resort Papua, Indonesia
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| Prices
starting from: 995 Euros for 7 nights dive & stay
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| Why choose Ahe Dive Resort Papua?
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| The Diving
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The Accommodation
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REEFsponsible Activities
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There is an abundance of dive sites in the proximity of Ahe Dive Resort, and many still waiting to be discovered. Below the waters you take your first breaths amongst pristine reefs largely unaffected by human impact. There is a large diversity of sites, everything from shallow reefs to drop-offs to sea grass beds. At the moment there are a total of 25 mapped dives sites, however, for the adventurous diver you are encouraged to map at least one new dives site and therefore contribute to the knowledge of the area.
Being an explorer isn’t the only reason to visit this soon to betop destination. In a word, or two actually: Whale Sharks. These majestic creatures roam about 2 ½ hours by boat from the resort, and have been consistently spotted the whole year long. The preliminary conclusion is this: they seem to be there the whole year long. Visitors can expect multiple hour sessions with a group of whale sharks (on average you encounter 5) either snorkelling or diving. The behaviour of the sharks in Cenderawasih Bay is unlike their behaviour in other well known destinations, as these whale sharks seem curious, coming almost nose to nose with divers. Morgan Riley, a well known researcher in the Maldives recently said: “I am unaware of anywhere else in the world where such large groups of whale sharks can be found seemingly so regularly and with such predictability.”
If this weren’t reason enough to visit Ahe Dive Resort, then the astounding macro life and wide array of other pelagic is sure to put you over the edge. Many of the top wish list species such as pygmy seahorse, ghost pipefish and an abundance of bizarre shrimps and crabs can be found right in front of your door on the house reef. An incredible 20 pygmy seahorses were found on a single dive site at the very reasonable depth of 16 meters. Don’t be surprised if you put your wide angle lens to good use as well catching the dolphins, reef sharks, Wobbegong, bumphead parrotfish, Napoleon wrasse and turtles lazing around. This untouched piece of diving haven will remind you why you fell in love with the underwater world.
Above land there have been encounters with Dugong, dive guides have seen large sharks, further north wales have been spotted, and there are stories of crocodiles, leatherback turtles, hammerheads, coconut crab, and sawtooth sharks. Most of these leads are from sightings further away from Ahe and require some extra planning. Because so little is known about the Cerderawasih Bay, we expect more unique and even new species to be found with further research in the coming years.
At the moment, there are three large perahus, large dugout canoes with side riggers, used for diving. The largest measures 16 meters and has a cabin on top that can be used for overnight trips. A large fibreglass vessel is currently being renovated that should reduce travel time to the whale sharks down to 1 ½ hours. The island currently houses one compressor and 20 dive tanks, but should soon have a second compressor and 20 more tanks increasing capacity modestly. Dive equipment is available for rent minus suits, computers or dive lights. Ahe Resort has an extensive first aid kit and oxygen available at the resort, and a clinic for basic injuries is located 10 minutes away on the island of Mambor. They also have the necessary antidotes and medicines for hazardous marine life injuries, however the nearest recompression chamber is quite far away in Manado and therefore dive insurance is insisted upon.
Ahe has monsoonal climate with temperatures ranging from 28 to 35◦C with high humidity and heavy rainfall (mostly in the evenings) in both rainy and dry season. The official rainy season runs from the end of November to end of March and brings with it additional rainfall and higher wind speeds, however, conditions are still good for diving. The temperature is fairly consistent at 30◦C and visibility can differ greatly from day to day from 40+ meters to less than 15 meters. Most dives sites have little or no current making this a picture perfect destination for soaking up the beauty beneath the waves.
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Ahe Island measures approximately 250 x 150 meters and is part of the Haarlem Islands, a total of 8 small islands. Ahe Dive Resort is pleased to welcome you to venture into this unique area of which very little is known. After first exploring the vast area if Cenderawasih Bay, may discoveries have been made, and we hope you will join in on the exploration of this area where hardly anyone has dived before.
Ahe is not a common dive resort. This is a project fully owned and run by the local Papuan community; it is their ambition to create a sustainable economic alternative to replace practices such as over-fishing, shark finning and other less sustainable exploitation of their environment. The Scubasigns foundation together with Papua Eco Tourism helps them in their efforts.
At this stage Ahe is one big adventure, and with that comes the unexpected. The local staff don’t speak English, dive briefings are limited, and sometimes materials may break temporarily; add this to the tough climate and you will realise this is not a trip for everyone. For the selected few that are mad about marine life, exploring, are positive and pro-active, this may just be your dream come true. On the island you will find all the facilities you need for the dive trip of a lifetime and a willingness of the people to assist you in your exploration.
You will stay in traditional Papuan style wooden bungalows that are roomy (5 x 6 meters) and all have private, European style toilet. Showering is also in the traditional Indonesian style mandi, using a pan. Solar heating for the water is available in each bungalow. All rooms have electricity from 6-11 pm and are equipped with 5 electricity plugs, and mosquito nets.
During the day there are three 220 volt plugs available on solar energy. Every night the generator is run to meet power needs for the resort. It is recommended that you bring a torch as well for after the generator is turned off or in case of a temporary problem with the generator.
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This is a project fully owned and run by the local Papuan community and is 100% about conservation. It is their sole ambition to preserve the waters in their current condition and where possible improve fish numbers. By creating an economical incentive that is more interesting than catching the marine life, we hope that in time protection of the marine environment will become a logical choice for the Papuans. The Scubasigns foundation together with Papua Eco Tourism helps them in their efforts.
Currently, 15 people from the local community work on the island. They are the first generation not to become fishermen and are very keen to learn more and develop themselves within the tourism and diving industry. Contracts have been set up with nearly all kampongs (villages) in the area and relevant Adat (common law) bodies. The contracts mean direct money for the kampongs, in return they will no longer catch certain species, agree on the increase of no take zones, experiment with new fishing methods and no longer allow commercial fishing within their waters. These contracts are monitored and if they are effectively put into practice the kampongs receive their monthly payment. As the number of divers increase, the resort will arrange further compensation for the fisherman. The total profit of Ahe Dive Resort flows back to the regional community.
Divers don’t always mean good news for the marine environment and therefore the number of divers permitted to enter the area will be limited and a strict Code of Conduct is enforced. Any diver found not following the code will be asked not to dive. Please read the Code of Conduct here.
The staff and local community are involved in conducting research on both reef condition as well as a whale shark research project. All visitors are encouraged to join in the research by giving feedback on their sightings and donating whale shark pictures to the database. This information is constantly analyzed by the whale shark program to assess the number of whale sharks in the region, their migration pattern, male/ female ratios and so on.
Every two months the kampongs receive an update on the results of the resort as well as information about the eco system and marine life that surrounds them. With the knowledge passing onto them, we hope to achieve more awareness regarding their natural treasure and how to safeguard it for future generations.
A new project is also running in which school children from the region will be taken to the whale sharks and on snorkelling trips. Diveguides will be teaching them more about the marine life and give them a unique experience in the underwater world.
Scubasigns Foundation and Papua Eco Tourism help the community in their efforts.
About Scubasigns Foundation
Many regions in the world are blessed with astonishing marine life and reef ecosystems. Often, these environments are heavily exploited with the use of unsustainable fishing methods aimed purely at short-term profit for a small group of people.
The Scubasigns Foundation helps local communities to create more sustainable and more profitable income from their natural treasures by implementing eco-dive tourism as an alternative. Their approach is simple and effective. In the long run, a successful dive tourism operation is more profitable and far more sustainable than destruction of the environment. It is not a matter of telling people what they can or cannot do, but letting them work out the math for themselves and supporting them with the knowledge and the tools to get things done.
Subasigns works closely with regional governments, local community, private investors, NGO’s and individuals that believe marine life is a treasure to safeguard. They are a fully non-profit organization, and funds needed for their work comes directly from excited people like them that want to protect the ocean ecosystems.
Diving Code of Conduct (in brief):
-Diving is allowed for anyone with advanced or higher level and minimum of 50 dives.
-Diving is only allowed with a local dive guide
-Strictly no touching of anything underwater and use of gloves is not permitted.
-No chasing or harassing the marine life in any ways.
-Reef hooks are not allowed.
-Ensure equipment is streamlined before entering water and practice good buoyancy control.
-No littering before, during, or after the dive.
-No anchoring on the reef.
-Local divemasters directions are always followed.
Special guidelines when visiting the whale shark:
-Touching the whale sharks is strictly forbidden.
-No chasing or interrupting natural swimming pattern.
-Not more than 20 people per day allowed in proximity of whale sharks and maximum number of 10 people in the water at any given time.
-No interference with the sharks using apparatus like scooters or horns.
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7 nights’ accommodation + 3 boat dives daily + unlimited house reef dives from € 995.
Please inquire about additional nights, extra trips to the whale sharks, and overnight excursions.
The REEFsponsibles have teamed up with Uniglobe Geo Travel to provide you with all your travel needs, from your front door to the reef.
Contact us for booking, inquiries or any additional information about our projects and how YOU can help.
Papua, Indonesia is home to the world's richest reefs and dive sites.
