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/ Kararu (Cheng
Ho)
Kararu
cruises Komodo Island and the remote reefs throughout the
Indonesian archipelago.
 The
Cheng Ho is Kararus newest and biggest vessel. With a length
of 49 meters, a beam of 11 meters, three decks and 13 cabins
catering for a maximum of 20 divers. This liveaboard offers
total comfort and plenty of room to lose yourself between
dives. Due to popular demand, Cheng Ho is now the main liveaboard
vessel which caters for all scheduled cruises.
Dive
Destinations
Indonesia, the world's largest island nation, spans like
a wide arc, (12% of the world's circumference) more than
5000 km of the equator, from mainland Southeast Asia to
Papua New Guinea. It has more than 80,000 km of coastline
with 3.1 million square kilometers of tropical seas much
of which, has never been explored by scuba divers.
From Bali Kararu
Dive Voyages visits
the exciting dive destination, Komodo, the Molukkas, Banda
Sea and Raja Ampat.
Following
is an overview on each region:
Komodo
Island & Marine Park
 Officially
declared a World Heritage Site in 1991, the Komoda Marine
Park encompasses 132,000 hectares of marine waters making
it one of the largest protected zones on the planet. The
number and variety of islands which include Rinca, Padar,
Komodo and several smaller isles, combined with current,
wave action and wind exposure, result in an incredible variety
of coastal and marine habitats.
The Spice Islands
The water's surrounding the Ambon are extremely rich with
varied reef profiles; walls, seamounts, rocky  outcrops,
and pristine coral-reefs. The secret dive site in the Kalibahi
Bay is home to harliquin shrimp, sea horses, ghostpipe fish,
wonderpus, mimic octupus and hairy frogfish.
Sustainable fishing practices and eco tourism are practised
and there are no signs of reef destruction. Opportunities
abound to interact with the locals on the various islands,
these are traditional seafaring people who had the skills
to venture as far as Australia, long before Europeans ever
came to our shores. Visiblity is clear, waters warm and
the density of divers is minimal, around Ambon you will
experience perfect tropical scuba diving.
West
Papua (formerly Irian Jaya)
West
Papua (Irian Jaya) comprises the western half of the world's
second largest island, New Guinea. West Papua is a true
patchwork of ethnicities and one of the last great unexplored
regions of our precious earth. Twenty percent of West Papua's
islands and marine parks are designated conservation areas
yielding the highest fish and coral count of any sea.
 Marine
biodiversity is evident everywhere rivaling any tropical
rainforests in species density. Irian Jaya has a tremendous
variety of creatures on the reefs. From over 3000 recorded
fish species, 300 scleractinian (reef building corals),
100 sponge species, dolphins, dugong, hawksbill (Ertmochelys
imbricata), green (Chelonia) and leatherback turtles (Dermochelys
coriacea) who lay their eggs in West Papua.
Fewer
than two million people live in Irian Jaya's 410,660 square
kilometers. Unique flora and fauna abound including the
bird of paradise, the giant cassowary bird and bird winged
butterlies Idyllic islands finged with white sand beaches,
dotted isles filled with hanging orchids and venus fly traps,
Irian Jaya's western tip holds some truly stunning regions
both above water and below.
Itineraries
Based in Benoa Harbour, Bali, "Voyager" operates
trips to Komodo National Marine Park between late May and
October, and relocates to Raja Ampat for the rest of the
year. The relocation trips especially, offer some of the
most exciting diving, off the beaten track. One of the signature
itineraries has to be the Ambon (Spice Islands) to Sorong
(Raja Ampat) expedition.
The
Vessel
 
 
Constructed
with three decks the Cheng Ho gives you plenty of space
to lose oneself; whether it is in the air-conditioned comfort
of the large saloon or on the decks under the shade of one
of the ship's huge sails.
Guest
are accommodated in 2 x twin cabins, 3 x double state room,
2 double cabins (below deck) and 6 x single cabins. This
makes Cheng Ho a great place for single divers! All cabins
have individually controlled air conditioning, ensuite bathrooms
with plenty of hot/cold water, and windows and/or port holes,
which not only offer fascinating seaviews, but also natural
light.
The
main
salon is fully air conditioned and features a comfortable
lounge area, shop and library corner. Also equipped with
sound system, TV, Video and DVD player and wireless email
access. The Cheng Ho has her own cinema room featuring a
wide selection of movies and comfortable seating arrangements
as well as DVD projector for slide show enthusiasts.
There
are equipment service areas, a private library and a lounge
area with a wide selection of fish and wildlife books, novels,
travel guidebooks, a music collection plus current movies
and documentaries relevant to the area.
There are individual camera stations located on the port
side as well as charging facilities for 110/220 V located
inside the main saloon.
Dining
on the Kararu live aboard is a gourmet experience! Your
taste buds will travel the world with a different theme
every evening. You can expect a range of Greek, Indian,
French, Thai, Japanese, Italian, Mexican, Indonesian &
Chinese meals .
Outdoor
seafood & meat barbeques on the bridge deck are a highlight
of the voyage as are the tantalizing desserts after each
evening meal.
NITROX fills and certification courses
Camera workstations
20 tank dive stations
Complete scuba and snorkeling equipment for hire
On board equipment servicing and spare parts
PADI/SDI/TDI Scuba Diving courses
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