The trip is guided by Benjamin Kahn, a marine biologist specializing in whales and dolphins. He has lived in Indonesia for many years and knows the waters around the archipelago very well. He actively is involved in many projects to protect and understand the underwater world.

Benjamin uses hydrophones to locate the whales and dolphins by picking up their unique sounds. The crew is organized into "observation teams" and keeping an eye on the water surface. Benjamin knows the areas which are preferred by the large whales and his long experience and a trained eye do the rest.

This special cruise offers guests a glimpse into the world of the largest mammals on earth. Learn incredible details from a qualified expert on whales and dolphins and watch them with your own eyes!

For example, did you know why the family of whales & dolphin are called Cetaceans? Ceta comes from ancient Greek and today means whale. In the past this term was used for large sea animals, or even sea monsters. This explains some of the sailor stories about sea monsters. Cetaceans are also the only air breathing animals that can spend 7-30 minutes under water on one breath without surfacing, just incredible! On this tour you will learn much more about these unique creatures!

The tour departs from Sorong and heads towards Waigeo before it leads to Batanta. As dolphins and whales are the focus of this cruise the itinerary is laid out to maximize the encounters. From experience we know that most whales are sighted in the Dampier Straight near Batanta. Because it often has strong currents you cannot only see Cetaceans. Manta rays are also frequent visitors.

On this cruise we offer approx. 24 dives. Macro enthusiasts will love it: A whale in the morning, a sea horse at noon. And of course you will be diving Raja Ampat's famous and beautiful reefs.

At the beginning of the journey Benjamin Kahn will present a special briefing to inform the guests about the process. When animals are sighted, Benjamin will give us detailed information about the species and the occurrence, its routines and hunting behavior. Morning until noon will be planned for whales and dolphin tracking and monitoring. In the afternoon and evening Pindito offers "normal" dives - if you can call diving here normal. As we deal with nature, this sequence might be reversed, i.e. diving in the morning, whale watching the afternoon. With a little luck you can snorkel with the animals (Benjamin decides if it is suitable). Guests of the first ever tour in march 2011 reported an incredible snorkeling experience with orcas.

During the first tour which took place in March 2011, whales & dolphins were located every day. The animals pin pointed were Pygmy Bryde's Whale, Bryde's Whales, Pilot Whale and Orcas. As we deal with wild animals sightings cannot be guaranteed. The chances are very good to be able to observe different species of whales and extremely rare species of dolphins. Benjamin said that there was also a chance to see sperm whales.

Bryde's whale
The Bryde's whale measures a length of about 12 to 14 meters and weighs about 16 to 25 tons. Thus, this type is one of the smaller whales. He has a long, dark gray body. Only the throat and belly is lighter colored. Three high notches on the top of the head are a typical characteristic for this type of whale.

Pilot Whale
The pilot whale belongs to the family of dolphins. The male reaches a length of max. 8 meters, the female animal reaches a maximum length of 6 meters. The ball-shaped head, with its melon characterizes this type of whale (The melon is a body of fat and connective tissue, which almost looks like an ulcer).

Orca
The orca, also known as killer whale, hunts often in groups and can therefore also attack larger animals, even other whales. This hunting method has earned him the name killer whale. Males are up to 9m long. A special feature is the huge triangular fin on the back of a bull, which can be up to 1.8m high.

Sperm whale
The sperm whale is the largest toothed animal in the world. Males grow up to 18meters long and weigh around 50 tons. Researchers say that the animals grow to over 20 meters and can weigh more than 100 tons. The characteristic of this animal is its gigantic head which is filled with the so-called "spermaceti organ". This organ helps the animal to control its buoyancy on dives.

Dolphins
In addition to bottlenose and spinner dolphins, some very rare species like the Atlantic spotted dolphin and the Risso's dolphin were sighted.

The porpoise-dolphin is the best known species of dolphins and became famous with the movie "Flipper". It can be up to 4 meters long.

The spinner dolphin, with its cream-colored belly has its name for obvious reasons. It likes showing off jumps, where it rotates around its body axis.

The Atlantic spotted dolphin, also known as Spotted Dolphin is up to 3 meters long. It is named after its spots. With age more and more spots spread on the body.

Risso's dolphin grows up to 4 meters long. With age, some parts of the white and gray body turn black which makes the animal look spotted.