Welcome to Indopacificimages, the website of Bali based Australian underwater photographer Don Silcock. There is nothing for sale and no adverts on this site – just Don sharing experiences from his travels.
Understanding Conservation in Raja Ampat
Part 1 – Mark Erdmann
Understanding Conservation in Raja Ampat – Part 1 – Mark Erdmann… In just over 20 years Raja Ampat, the “Four Kings” of Indonesia’s remote West Papua province, has evolved from an almost unknown location into one of the world’s most sought-after tropical diving destinations.
Back in 2005, when I first visited the area. Diving options were limited to just a few liveaboards and a couple of land-based “eco” resorts – essentially beach camps. Today, at the height of the main diving season, nearly 100 boats operate in the area. And land-based accommodation ranges from basic village homestays to high-end luxury resorts.
While much has changed, some things remain beautifully constant. Starting with the stunning landscape, which is as picturesque as ever. And underwater, Raja Ampat’s renowned biodiversity is as vibrant today as it was during my first dive nearly two decades ago. Not only has that biodiversity been preserved, but top predators are making a strong comeback. In 2005, shark sightings were rare; now, they’re relatively common at many of the main dive sites. Similarly, encounters with both reef and oceanic manta rays have increased significantly, making Raja Ampat one of the few places worldwide where manta ray populations are actually growing.
Latest Articles
Diving Bikini Atoll – It’s Complicated
Diving Bikini Atoll… How do you tell 167 men, women, and children that their island home, which had always provided for all their basic needs, is going to be destroyed by a nuclear bomb? In the case of Navy Commodore Ben Wyatt, the US military governor of the Marshall Islands, he turned to the …
Diving Uepi in the Marovo Lagoon
Diving Uepi in the Marovo Lagoon… Like a series of random punctuation marks. The many islands of the Solomon archipelago are scattered along the southern arc of the Pacific Ring of Fire, nestled between Papua New Guinea to the north and Vanuatu to the south. An independent country since …
Solomon Islands WWII Wrecks
Diving the Solomon Islands WWII Wrecks… Located at the eastern tip of the renowned Coral Triangle, the Solomon Islands consists of a long string of beautiful tropical islands, which are surrounded by the deep trenches and basins of the vast Pacific Ocean to the east and the Solomon Sea to the south. The …
Diving Baja California
Diving Baja California… Bounded to the north by the US state of California, to the west by the Pacific Ocean. And to the east by the Sea of Cortez, the long and narrow Baja California peninsula is one of Mexico’s most visually spectacular and intriguing locations. Despite its arid climate, Baja California boasts some …
Diving the Banda Sea
Diving the Banda Sea… It seems almost beyond belief that some 360 years ago, one of a cluster of ten small and very isolated volcanic islands at the remote eastern end of what was then called the Malay Archipelago, was so valuable that it was exchanged for New York’s Manhattan Island. Those …
Blackwater Diving – The Anilao Night Shift…
Getting into Blackwater Diving… The images are what immediately grab your attention – seemingly alien creatures lurking somewhere out there in the dark of night. Long after most people have called it a day! What are these creatures and why are they there? How does it work? Was it …
Diving Misool in Raja Ampat
Misool Scuba Diving… The second king – Misool, the large, remote, and sparsely populated island that is the second biggest of Raja Ampat’s “four kings”. It is said that the name Raja Ampat derives from the local folklore story of a woman who finds seven eggs. Four of which hatched and the hatchlings grew to …
Southern Right Whales of Peninsula Valdés
Southern Right Whales of Peninsula Valdés – The key lies in how you enter the water… Slip ever so gently over the side and swim quietly toward them, always approaching from the front so that the mother can see you coming and assess the level of threat. The mother, ever vigilant for potential orca attacks …
Big Animal Articles
Posted below are some of the articles I have had published over the last couple of years. I try very hard to write accurate and informative articles and only use images that were taken on the trip – so what you see is what I saw when I was at the location.
All the articles are available as a free download by clicking on the link provided. But please respect my copyright…
Diving the Ogasawara Islands
Diving the Ogasawara Islands… Often referred to as the Oriental Galapagos, the Ogasawara archipelago is located in the north-west Pacific Ocean. About 1000km south of Tokyo and is one of the most isolated and remote parts of Japan. Despite their distance from Tokyo, the 30+ Ogasawara Islands are administered from the Japanese capital. And the …
Chinchorro Crocodiles Encounters…
Chinchorro Crocodiles… The pursuit of unusual and compelling photo-opportunities has led me on some interesting journeys over the last few years. But few come close to the raw excitement of photographing the American Crocodiles of Mexico’s Banco Chinchorro! Chinchorro Crocodiles – American Crocodiles The American Crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) is considered as a relatively large species. …
The Giant Japanese Salamander
The Giant Japanese Salamander is a quite unique, if rather mysterious, creature that lives in rivers across western and south-western Japan. As endemic species of Japan that is protected under federal legislation. It is formally nominated as a special natural monument because of its cultural and educational significance. The giant Japanese salamander is indeed quite large …
Oceanic Whitetip Sharks
The Oceanic Whitetip Sharks of Cat Island… It seems almost unbelievable that as recently as the mid-1960’s Carcharhinus longimanus, the Oceanic Whitetip shark, was widely considered to be one of the most abundant large animals in the world. And just over 50 years later, these sharks are on the IUCN Red List as “Vulnerable” globally. And …
Great Hammerhead Sharks of Bimini
The Great Hammerhead sharks of Bimini really are very special… There is literally nowhere else in the world where you can come face-to-face with these incredible animals so reliably. Large, increasingly rare and generally solitary animals – Great Hammerheads are really difficult to see underwater. When underwater encounters do happen they are typically fleeting at best, …
Iconic Australian Diving
The Australian Grey Nurse Shark
The Australian Grey Nurse… Large enough to get your complete and undivided attention. Probably the best way to describe an encounter with a Grey Nurse Shark (Carcharias taurus). Big and fierce looking, with a set of prominent sharp teeth. Grey …
The Great White Shark Down Under
The Great White Shark, Carcharodon carcharias is one of the ocean’s most magnificent creatures. Superbly evolved, they are truly an apex predator. But, unlike their terrestrial equivalents, there is very little reverence for them. Instead, and they …
The Amazing Australian Giant Cuttlefish
The Amazing Australian Giant Cuttlefish – The first ones start to appear in early May, as the southern hemisphere autumn fades away and the winter months loom. Initially they just blend in with the abundant seagrass. And, to the casual …
Scuba Diver ANZ – Papua New Guinea Article Series
Diving in PNG – Intro and Overview
Diving in Papua New Guinea… At the closest point of contact just 6km separates Australia from PNG. And yet there is so much that is incredibly different between these two close neighbours!
Australia is a first-world country with generally excellent health, education and social systems, a robust and fully functional democracy together with an average life expectancy of 83 years.
PNG on the other hand is very much a third-world country. Which has major issues with its health and education systems, an operating but troubled democracy and an average life expectancy of just 64 years.
So… why even go there? Well, the answer to that question lays in those very differences plus the amazing topography, the unique cultures and the incredible biodiversity of Papua New Guinea
Diving New Guinea Island in PNG
Diving New Guinea Island… When the 16th century Portuguese and Spanish explorers first arrived in the far-eastern part of what was then called the Malay Archipelago. They had no way of knowing they had stumbled upon the second largest island in the world. Neither could they possibly know that the island is one of the …
Diving New Britain Island in PNG
Diving New Britain Island… Papua New Guinea’s “second island” sits right on the interface of some incredibly powerful forces of nature! Physically located along the infamous Pacific Ring of Fire. New Britain is a large crescent shaped island that is defined by the incredibly high mountain ranges that run down its spine. Together with its …
Diving New Ireland Province in PNG
Diving New Ireland Province… Located along the edge of the Bismarck Archipelago, the province of New Ireland forms the eastern flank of Papua New Guinea. It is quite remote from the main island of New Guinea. And the province has its own remarkably interesting and quite distinct traditional cultures, together with some fantastic diving. It is …