Kararu cruises Komodo Island and the remote reefs throughout the Indonesian archipelago.

The Cheng Ho is Kararus newest and biggest vessel. With a length of 49 meters, a beam of 11 meters, three decks and 13 cabins catering for a maximum of 20 divers. This liveaboard offers total comfort and plenty of room to lose yourself between dives. Due to popular demand, Cheng Ho is now the main liveaboard vessel which caters for all scheduled cruises.

Dive Destinations
Indonesia, the world's largest island nation, spans like a wide arc, (12% of the world's circumference) more than 5000 km of the equator, from mainland Southeast Asia to Papua New Guinea. It has more than 80,000 km of coastline with 3.1 million square kilometers of tropical seas much of which, has never been explored by scuba divers.
From Bali Kararu Dive Voyages visits the exciting dive destination, Komodo, the Molukkas, Banda Sea and Raja Ampat.

Departures and rates
2009	2010

Following is an overview on each region:

Komodo Island & Marine Park
Officially declared a World Heritage Site in 1991, the Komoda Marine Park encompasses 132,000 hectares of marine waters making it one of the largest protected zones on the planet. The number and variety of islands which include Rinca, Padar, Komodo and several smaller isles, combined with current, wave action and wind exposure, result in an incredible variety of coastal and marine habitats.

The Spice Islands

The water's surrounding the Ambon are extremely rich with varied reef profiles; walls, seamounts, rocky outcrops, and pristine coral-reefs. The secret dive site in the Kalibahi Bay is home to harliquin shrimp, sea horses, ghostpipe fish, wonderpus, mimic octupus and hairy frogfish.
Sustainable fishing practices and eco tourism are practised and there are no signs of reef destruction. Opportunities abound to interact with the locals on the various islands, these are traditional seafaring people who had the skills to venture as far as Australia, long before Europeans ever came to our shores. Visiblity is clear, waters warm and the density of divers is minimal, around Ambon you will experience perfect tropical scuba diving.

West Papua (formerly Irian Jaya)
West Papua (Irian Jaya) comprises the western half of the world's second largest island, New Guinea. West Papua is a true patchwork of ethnicities and one of the last great unexplored regions of our precious earth. Twenty percent of West Papua's islands and marine parks are designated conservation areas yielding the highest fish and coral count of any sea.
Marine biodiversity is evident everywhere rivaling any tropical rainforests in species density. Irian Jaya has a tremendous variety of creatures on the reefs. From over 3000 recorded fish species, 300 scleractinian (reef building corals), 100 sponge species, dolphins, dugong, hawksbill (Ertmochelys imbricata), green (Chelonia) and leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) who lay their eggs in West Papua.
Fewer than two million people live in Irian Jaya's 410,660 square kilometers. Unique flora and fauna abound including the bird of paradise, the giant cassowary bird and bird winged butterlies Idyllic islands finged with white sand beaches, dotted isles filled with hanging orchids and venus fly traps, Irian Jaya's western tip holds some truly stunning regions both above water and below.

Itineraries

Based in Benoa Harbour, Bali, "Voyager" operates trips to Komodo National Marine Park between late May and October, and relocates to Raja Ampat for the rest of the year. The relocation trips especially, offer some of the most exciting diving, off the beaten track. One of the signature itineraries has to be the Ambon (Spice Islands) to Sorong (Raja Ampat) expedition.

Departures and rates
2009	2010

The Vessel

Constructed with three decks the Cheng Ho gives you plenty of space to lose oneself; whether it is in the air-conditioned comfort of the large saloon or on the decks under the shade of one of the ship's huge sails.

Guest are accommodated in 2 x twin cabins, 3 x double state room, 2 double cabins (below deck) and 6 x single cabins. This makes Cheng Ho a great place for single divers! All cabins have individually controlled air conditioning, ensuite bathrooms with plenty of hot/cold water, and windows and/or port holes, which not only offer fascinating seaviews, but also natural light.

The main salon is fully air conditioned and features a comfortable lounge area, shop and library corner. Also equipped with sound system, TV, Video and DVD player and wireless email access. The Cheng Ho has her own cinema room featuring a wide selection of movies and comfortable seating arrangements as well as DVD projector for slide show enthusiasts.

There are equipment service areas, a private library and a lounge area with a wide selection of fish and wildlife books, novels, travel guidebooks, a music collection plus current movies and documentaries relevant to the area.

There are individual camera stations located on the port side as well as charging facilities for 110/220 V located inside the main saloon.

Dining on the Kararu live aboard is a gourmet experience! Your taste buds will travel the world with a different theme every evening. You can expect a range of Greek, Indian, French, Thai, Japanese, Italian, Mexican, Indonesian & Chinese meals .
Outdoor seafood & meat barbeques on the bridge deck are a highlight of the voyage as are the tantalizing desserts after each evening meal.

NITROX fills and certification courses
Camera workstations
20 tank dive stations
Complete scuba and snorkeling equipment for hire
On board equipment servicing and spare parts
PADI/SDI/TDI Scuba Diving courses