Our arrival in Mioskon awakens hundreds of bats hidden in the trees. (Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia, July 2012)
Our arrival in Mioskon awakens hundreds of bats hidden in the trees. (Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia, July 2012)

Mioskon, the island of bats

  Indonesia: Alor + Raja Ampat - July 2012

Dear English-speaking readers, this page is an automatic translation of an article originally written in French. I apologise for any strange sentences and funny mistakes that may have resulted. If you read French, click on the French flag below to access the original, correct text: 


The Indonesian archipelago of Raja Ampat sometimes looks like Jurassic Park. The pretty little island of Mioskon is home to thousands of bats.

A swarm of bats

We believe to arrive on a small desert island of dream, paradisiac, with its white sandy beach and its mini-jungle in the background...

Surprise! The island of Mioskon is in fact a den of bats.

We hear a kind of strident whistle when we approach... It is the cloud of bats... 😲 They come out of their diurnal lethargy at our approach, awakened by the noise of the boat's engine. 

Our arrival in Mioskon awakens hundreds of bats hidden in the trees. (Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia, July 2012)
Our arrival in Mioskon awakens hundreds of bats hidden in the trees. (Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia, July 2012)

The spectacle is striking. But I realize afterwards that we would have done better to approach in silence, engine reduced or cut. Our noisy arrival disturbs the colony of bats. Shortly after they disappear, return to their interrupted nap under the trees...

Mioskon : the pictures

Aside from bats, Mioskon has everything to please. It is located not far of Kri Island and Sorido Bay Resortwhere I spent a few days in July 2012.

Mioskon Island. Raja Ampat. West Papua, Indonesia. July 2012.

The only other guests at the resort, during my stay, are a family of Dutch people on vacation - the parents and a little girl of about 8 years old. They are only snorkeling (fins, mask, snorkel).

Next, Sarah, a young scientist who came to take surveys for Manta Trusta British NGO which works for the protection of manta rays. She dives like me with her camera. So we are perfectly synchronized as underwater partners.

I'm lucky, as I often am, when my solo trips... I'll be doing "private" diving for most of my stay!

I'm happy to meet Nathan, my favorite guide, with whom I had already dived in March. Jimmy or Julia, managers of the resort at the time, who have become friends, also come to dive with us whenever they can. A dream team, for me, the photographer under...

Nathan, my underwater guide to Raja Ampat. Papua, Indonesia, July 2012.
Nathan looked at the horizon...
Mioskon Island. Raja Ampat. West Papua, Indonesia. July 2012.

Short. That day, we land the family of Dutch on the beach of Mioskon, after the show of bats, who returned to their trees.

They will discover the corals on their side, in snorkels, with one of the Papuan guides of the resort, while we, the bottle divers, will be busy making bubbles a few meters below...

Because under the surface, the amazing Mioskon is also worth a visit... On the program: giant clams.

  Indonesia: Alor + Raja Ampat - July 2012

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  1. MERRY CHRISTMAS! !
    AND ALL MY WISHES OF EXTRAODINARY TRAVEL FOR 2013 AND,
    HAPPINESS WILL BRILL IN YOUR EYES ... ..

    GOOD IT IS I GO FOR THE 5TH TIME ON BALI AND COME TO BLOCK 7 DAYS ON KRI ... ..
    I TOOK A PACKAGE OF 15 DIVES FOR A WEEK IT'S REASONABLE FOR A GRANDPA DIVER... I'LL TAKE MY DOMESTIC TICKETS MYSELF AND SPEND 2 DAYS IN MACASSAR UJP AND 1 DAY IN ASORONG BEFORE AND AFTER I SEE THAT WE VISITED A LOT OF SITES:
    FLORES KOMODO, AND HIS RIES MANTAS AND OTHER DRAGONS WITH REEF SEEKERS KATE & ERNST,
    GILI TRAWAGAN BOF FOR DIVING ....
    TULAMBEN ,AMED,CANDI DASA, LOVINA PERMUTERAN "TEMPLE GARDEN
    RANTEPAO MARKET AND BUFFLES AND PIGS FAIR ... ..
    AND MANADO WELL ON BUNAKEN WITH FROGGIES FOR ME DIVIDED A LITTLE POOR,
    BUT HOME VERY WARM BENNY ...
    AND ABOUT LEMBONGAN 2 TIMES GOOD ADDRESS BUNDA 7 200 000 SOLO WITH BRKF
    AND RIES MANTA
    AND I PASS 5 WEEKS ON BALI TO KUMALA LEGIAN AND ME RESTORED EVERY DAY
    AT WARUNG SOBAT 1 AND 2 ON BTUBELIG JL LIMIT KEROBOKAN THE BEST OF BALI, IF NOT, HANA RESTAURANT ON SEMINIAK IN FRONT OF MADES WARUNG (VERY SMALL JAPANESE RESTAURANT VERY FINE & VERY FRESH HERE IS THE ESSENCE OF MY FAVORITE ADDRESSES ...........

    AND THANKS FOR EVERYTHING
    NB HOW HAS YOU TAKEN TO LESS THAN 15 KG WITH YOUR BCD + REG = +++ ???

    CHRISTIAN

    1. @Christian: Sorry for being a little late in responding... All the best (with lots of bubbles and travel in them) for this new year 2013.

      I see your program is shaping up to be mouthwatering!!! 🙂

      To answer your question: no, I don't travel with less than 15kg, unfortunately... Before I started to seriously take underwater pictures, I used to be around 20-23kg. But since I've been shooting underwater with my SLR, also carrying my dive gear, my checked baggage has reached... 27-28kg!!! 😯

      I talk about it here:
      -> http://petitesbullesdailleurs.fr/dans-mon-sac/
      -> https://petitesbullesdailleurs.fr/le-sac-20100307/

      In fact, what weighs the most in my checked bag, in addition to the diving gear, are the accessories for underwater photography: turntable for the housing, arm for the flash, flash and battery for the flash, charger for the flash, etc.

      My cabin bag also weighs a little, since I put a lot of fragile things in it that I don't want to leave in the hold: Ikelite housing, dome and porthole for the housing, cameras (SLR + compact), lenses, dive computer, laptop, spare hard drive, etc.

      For the flight to Asia, I now choose Emirates Airline, which allows up to 30 kg in the hold for free in economy class, or I ask other airlines to know if they allow extra weight for divers.

      For domestic flights in Asia, I usually pay my extra kilos, but the rates are quite reasonable, and often, as I try to be friendly and smiling, the man or woman at the counter is nice and gives me a discount. It even happened once or twice that I wasn't charged for the extra luggage...
      🙄

    2. hello corinne

      I DIDN'T SEE THAT YOU HAD REPLIED TO ME.
      THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT FOR THE INTERNAL FLIGHTS FOR MY TRIP ON KRI.......... IN MARCH

      GOOD TRAVEL IN INDONESIA BANDA ?? TIMOR ??? KALIMANTAN ???
      CORDIALLY CHRISTIAN

  2. merry christmas Corinne
    you make our mouths water, we are waiting for the underwater pictures with impatience!
    The only time I saw big bats (nearly 1m) was in Mauritius.
    In 2013 I'm going to Koh TAO (I had to give up Mabul because the plane tickets increased from 25% overnight :-(( )

    1. @Laurence: Hello Laurence, and all my wishes for this new year 2013 !!!
      I should have some time to myself this weekend, and manage to post some pictures of Mioskon underwater.

      I haven't seen these bats up close, only from a distance, and I think I'm fine with that... 😉

      Too bad for Mabul/Sipadan, it's always annoying to see airfares fluctuate in the wrong direction... Grrrr... Tell yourself that it's only a temporary fix. Keep an eye on the fares for next year...

      Koh Tao is not as spectacular underwater, but the island is quite pretty. The last time I went there was in 2006... It must have changed since then. From memory, there were three dive sites that really stood out: Chumphon Pinnacle, South-West Pinnacle, and Sail Rock.

      Good Thai bubbles !!! 8)

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