Eastern Indonesia: On the way to the Moluccas

On the Moluccas these boats are called kora-kora; they once carried warriors across the sea, today they escort guests into the harbour.

Up on the hill, a picker breaks open a nutmeg fruit. Beneath the flesh, a scarlet mantle wraps the dark kernel: mace and nutmeg, two spices from a single fruit. Until 1770 they came only from these islands.

Nutmeg fruit on Banda Neira – the red seed mantle becomes mace.

Eleven nights, ending in Darwin

Banda Neira is the first landing on the ‘Raja Ampat and the Spice Islands’ itinerary, which the French cruise line Ponant offers round trip from Darwin. Over eleven nights, two sea days are followed by Banda, four days in Raja Ampat, the Kitikiti waterfall in West Papua and the Kei Islands.

The Le Soleal, built in 2013 by the renowned Italian shipyard Fincantieri, is 142 metres long and has 132 cabins and suites. She presents herself as an elegant boutique ship. Landings are made by Zodiac. As is standard in the industry, excursions in the motorised inflatables are included in the fare, as are the lecturers’ talks and the snorkelling equipment.

In Misool, our expedition guide Jacky Yu steers the Zodiac beneath overgrown karst walls that were once seabed. Some 600 species of coral grow in Raja Ampat, three quarters of all known species.

By Zodiac among the limestone pinnacles of Misool.

A marine biologist on board

Marine biologist Mathilda Bates from the expedition team spent a year and a half researching in the archipelago. After a heatwave in December 2024, 72 per cent of the most common corals on one reef in the Dampier Strait bleached; eleven months later the figure was down to 19 per cent.

‘The reefs here are heat-tolerant,’ she explains, ‘but only up to a certain maximum temperature.’ At Cape Kri, where 374 fish species were counted on a single dive in 2012, we snorkel between regal angelfish and Napoleon wrasse.

The Le Soleal’s captain on this voyage, Pierre Ducournau, joined Ponant as a cadet 18 years ago. Today he leads 158 crew members from 17 countries. ‘Happy crew, happy cruise’ is his motto.

The 142-metre Ponant ship off Banda Neira, beneath the volcanic cone.

Stabilisers measuring five by two metres actively counter the swell. On sea days, marine biologists, geologists and ornithologists give talks for interested passengers; the languages on board are French and English. Between two courses, a waiter runs a small crumb brush over the tablecloth – details like these define the service of a luxury product.

Ponant does not publish its anchorages in Raja Ampat in advance, because the Wayag lagoon, a motif in many travel brochures, has been closed by local residents since last summer. Instead, cruise passengers climb a few hundred steps on Piaynemo; the karst cones there grace the back of the 100,000-rupiah note. Anyone booking the trip should be sure-footed and enjoy snorkelling.

The karst cones of Piaynemo grace the back of the 100,000-rupiah note.

On the Kei Islands, the last stop of our eleven-night voyage, an oath protects the sea: a yellow coconut frond on a pole signals that a reef is closed for protection until the village reopens it.

On Kei Besar live descendants of the Bandanese, who fled here from the Dutch East India Company in 1621. And so the circle closes back to the nutmeg.

On the Moluccas these boats are called kora-kora; they once carried warriors across the sea, today they escort guests into the harbour.

A kora-kora at full length off Banda Neira.

Up on the hill, a picker breaks open a nutmeg fruit.

Beneath the flesh, a scarlet mantle wraps the dark kernel: mace and nutmeg, two spices from a single fruit. Until 1770 they came only from these islands.

Nutmeg fruit on Banda Neira – the red seed mantle becomes mace.

Eleven nights, ending in Darwin

Banda Neira is the first landing on the ‘Raja Ampat and the Spice Islands’ itinerary, which the French cruise line Ponant offers round trip from Darwin.

Over eleven nights, two sea days are followed by Banda, four days in Raja Ampat, the Kitikiti waterfall in West Papua and the Kei Islands.

The Le Soleal, built in 2013 by the renowned Italian shipyard Fincantieri, is 142 metres long and has 132 cabins and suites.

The 142-metre Ponant ship off Banda Neira, beneath the volcanic cone.

She presents herself as an elegant boutique ship. Landings are made by Zodiac.

As is standard in the industry, excursions in the motorised inflatables are included in the fare, as are the lecturers’ talks and the snorkelling equipment.

In Misool, our expedition guide Jacky Yu steers the Zodiac beneath overgrown karst walls that were once seabed.

Some 600 species of coral grow in Raja Ampat, three quarters of all known species.

By Zodiac among the limestone pinnacles of Misool.

A marine biologist on board

Marine biologist Mathilda Bates from the expedition team spent a year and a half researching in the archipelago.

After a heatwave in December 2024, 72 per cent of the most common corals on one reef in the Dampier Strait bleached; eleven months later the figure was down to 19 per cent.

‘The reefs here are heat-tolerant,’ she explains, ‘but only up to a certain maximum temperature.’

Last light over Misool: island behind island, and the sea between them.

At Cape Kri, where 374 fish species were counted on a single dive in 2012, we snorkel between regal angelfish and Napoleon wrasse.

The Le Soleal’s captain on this voyage, Pierre Ducournau, joined Ponant as a cadet 18 years ago.

Today he leads 158 crew members from 17 countries. ‘Happy crew, happy cruise’ is his motto.

The island of Ransiwor from the air: a few roofs among the palms, sandbanks in front, the Le Soleal behind.

Stabilisers measuring five by two metres actively counter the swell.

On sea days, marine biologists, geologists and ornithologists give talks for interested passengers; the languages on board are French and English.

Between two courses, a waiter runs a small crumb brush over the tablecloth – details like these define the service of a luxury product.

Ponant does not publish its anchorages in Raja Ampat in advance, because the Wayag lagoon, a motif in many travel brochures, has been closed by local residents since last summer.

Razor-edged limestone with a screw pine anchored in it.

Instead, cruise passengers climb a few hundred steps on Piaynemo; the karst cones there grace the back of the 100,000-rupiah note.

Anyone booking the trip should be sure-footed and enjoy snorkelling.

The karst cones of Piaynemo grace the back of the 100,000-rupiah note.

On the Kei Islands, the last stop of our eleven-night voyage, an oath protects the sea.

A yellow coconut frond on a pole signals that a reef is closed for protection until the village reopens it.

On Kei Besar live descendants of the Bandanese, who fled here from the Dutch East India Company in 1621. And so the circle closes back to the nutmeg.