Diving in Indonesia
Lure: Dive green and dive often
Location: Indonesia's Raja Ampat Islands
Tiny Batbitim—part of a mostly uninhabited(无人居住的) karst(卡斯特地貌) archipelago(群岛) northwest of West Papua—is home to great schools of giant tuna(金枪鱼) and mobula(蝠鲼) rays hunting shimmering clouds of anchovies(凤尾鱼). "We hung in mid-water watching this spectacular dance unfold," Misool Eco Resort owner Andrew Miners says of his first dive there. "I realized that not only had I stumbled upon a place of spectacular beauty, but, aside from(除……之外) a few intrepid(无畏的) divers, I had arrived before anyone else."
Miners decided this was the place for the land-based conservation(对自然环境的保护) project he’d been dreaming of. Working closely with elders from nearby villages, he leased(租赁) Batbitim and established a 77-square-mile (199-square-kilometer) No-Take Zone where all fishing (including prevalent(盛行的) cyanide(氰化物) fishing, bombing, and shark finning) and harvesting of turtle eggs is prohibited(禁止). With the help of his wife, Marit, and local craftsmen(工匠), he designed 11 unobtrusive but stylish cottages using salvaged(回收利用的) driftwood(浮木) and native thatch(草屋顶), incorporating a dive resort(度假胜地) into his mini-eco-paradise that’s committed to operating sustainably(可持续地). Request one of the eight stilted structures hovering over(悬置于) the lagoon(小淡水湖); they have built-in deck hammocks(吊床) and are just a few kicks away from the house reef.