We will board the vessel in Saumlaki, one of the easternmost islands in Indonesia. We'll then sail west and then north through the Banda Sea exploring a chain of islands and atolls known as the Forgotten Islands. One of the main attractions of the Banda Sea, outside of the fact that we will most likely be the only boat in the area, is the reefs. They are absolutely mind-blowing. For most of the sites, the coral is so dense you will be hard-pressed to see any patches of the reef's limestone foundation. Many of the reefs are made up of expansive fringing shallow hard coral plateaus that extend from the island or atoll and then eventually drop off into deep blue as walls or slopes covered in sponges, colorful soft corals, and sea fans. Aside from the stunning coral gardens, you can rest assured that there will also be plenty of everyone's favorite reef dwellers like dazzling schools of tropical fish, larger pelagic species like tunas, jacks, and batfish passing in the blue, and juvenile reef sharks patrolling the shallows. If weather permits we'll also spend a day around Manuk, Indonesia's most easterly volcano which is home to an impressive colony of sea snakes! As it's also the time of the year when the blue whales start their migration south to Australia, it's not impossible to spot one or several from the boat.