An expedition voyage to the original Spice Islands and Raja Ampat reveals a captivating time-lapse of Indonesian history and natural heritage. 

Early spice traders wrote of smelling the Banda Islands before they saw them, with the exotic aroma of nutmeg – exclusively found in this remote corner of modern-day Indonesia until the late 18th century – carried for kilometres by the tropical breeze.  

Today, I inhale only the briny scent of the sea as our expedition ship glides into the narrow strait separating the small islands of Banda Api and Banda Neira, the latter being the administrative capital of the Banda Islands in the heart of Indonesia’s Maluku province.  

Along with my fellow passengers on Australian-owned Coral Expeditions’ Raja Ampat & the Spice Islands cruise, I’ve been summoned to the promenade deck of the Coral Geographer to witness a long-held tradition in this volcanic archipelago, closer to Darwin than Jakarta. 

Originally used for warfare, a pair of brightly painted kora-kora (traditional longboats) paddled by about 30 men apiece arrives to guide us to our anchorage before racing each other to Banda Neira’s eponymous main town with a synchronised splash of paddles. With the hulking grey ramparts of Fort Belgica peeking above the coconut palms beyond the kora-koras, it feels like we’ve cruised back in time.  

The Banda Islands: a lesson in living history 

The explosion of nutmeg as a luxury status symbol in medieval Europe prompted a succession of kingdoms to dispatch fleets to monopolise the trade. More than 400 years have now passed since the Dutch East India Company’s (VOC) brutal conquest of the Bandas, characterised by massacres, slavery and forced deportations.  

But time moves slowly here. While physical traces of Dutch rule are now hard to find in former colonies such as Bali, the sunbaked streets of Banda Neira remain lined by grand colonial buildings in various stages of disrepair. In one street, two 17th-century cannons lie in the gutter. 

“We didn’t want to see things from the Dutch, so we buried them," explains local guide Ongen Dide, who leads a small group of us on a walking tour of this peaceful, predominantly Muslim island community of around 7000 residents. “Now when we dig, we always find something." 

A whitewashed mansion with buttermilk yellow shutters built in the 1820s to house the Dutch contrôleur (administrator) now stands eerily empty. Ongen shows us a window in a corner room of the building now known as the Istana Mini (Mini Palace) with a lonely note etched into the glass, reportedly by a French officer in 1831 before taking his life. The haunting inscription offers a sobering insight into the profound isolation experienced by the tag-team of colonial forces stationed here over the centuries.  

Echoes of another era and candied nutmeg in Banda Neira

The local spice trade all but collapsed in the 19th century amid the expansion of global supply. A faded mural on the side of a building speaks to a more recent chapter of Banda Neira’s history as a forced island exile for nationalist leaders Mohammad Hatta and Sutan Sjahrir, the founding fathers of Indonesian independence.  

Also depicted is the late Des Alwi, Hatta’s adopted son, who went on to become a diplomat and ardent ambassador for the Bandas as a tourism destination. Mick Jagger and Princess Diana were among the former guests of The Maulana Hotel, the waterfront property he founded. Regional sectarian violence in the early 2000s slowed tourism development, but also the march of mass tourism, which remains refreshingly absent.  

After pounding the pavements of Banda Neira – dotted with nutmeg-shaped streetlights – in the equatorial heat, the perkenier (Dutch nutmeg farmer) property turned boutique hotel Cilu Bintang Estate offers a welcome refreshment stop and an opportunity to support the local economy via its treasure trove of a gift shop.  

Made with locally grown spices, Cilu Bintang Estate’s iced cinnamon tea is a fabulous thirst-quencher and its candied nutmeg delivers a spicy-sweet sugar hit. The hotel’s origins are undoubtedly dark, but its magnificent transformation by current husband-and-wife owners Pak Rizal Bahalwan (Abba) and Ibu Dila Thalib, descendants of two of the island’s oldest families, is an extraordinary example of Bandanese resilience.   

Banda Neira beneath the surface 

Banda Neira isn’t just rich in history but also marine biodiversity. In-the-know divers flock here in September and November to observe huge aggregations of hammerhead sharks, but there’s good diving year-round.  

Following an evening cultural performance in the atmospheric ramparts of Fort Belgica, which dates from 1611 and is one of two colonial forts on the island, I head out on one of the ship’s comfortable Xplorer tender vessels early the next morning to explore a local dive site called T-Bone Reef.  

Drifting alongside a craggy wall festooned with a riot of corals, I admire spotted moray eels, uncover expertly camouflaged scorpionfish and hunt for nudibranch with another onboard fan of the fancy sea slugs.  

Later, we follow the contours of a lava flow that oozed down the jungle-clad slopes of Banda Api and fizzed into the strait during the island volcano’s last eruption in 1988, creating an instant reef. While its unusually fast-growing fields of cabbage and staghorn corals lack the vibrancy of more established reefs, the novelty factor of a dive or snorkel here is sky high.  

Beyond the Bandas: from Cenderwasih Bay to Raja Ampat 

We explore many more islands above and below the surface on our 18-night voyage from Sorong in Southwest Papua to Darwin, linking destinations difficult to reach by other means.  

Our journey begins with a detour to the ultra-remote Cenderawasih Bay, where fishermen have developed a symbiotic relationship with whale sharks that contributes to their conservation. Nearly all of the ship’s 115 passengers seize the chance to snorkel with these gentle giants of the deep, lured to the surface by a floating bagan (fishing platform).  

In West Papua’s Manokwari Harbour, the advanced divers among us explore the 120-metre-long wreck of the Japanese bulk carrier Shinwa Maru, still remarkably intact aside from the Allied blast holes in its starboard side.  

A string of traditional Papuan villages welcomes us with tribal dances en route to Raja Ampat, where an early-morning excursion to Waigeo island rewards me with a sighting of a Wilson’s bird-of-paradise, its electric blue crown and crimson back almost glowing in the pre-dawn light as it tidies the entrance to its nest. And I’m not surprised that his attention to housework soon attracts a female.  

The main draw in Raja Ampat, of course, is the world-class snorkelling and diving. Exuberant onboard dive department head Elise Norman ensures there are plenty of opportunities for both as we traverse the heart of the Coral Triangle.  

Well-spaced sea days offer an opportunity to relax in my marine-hued balcony stateroom or hit the gym, with a packed schedule of lectures and activities including wine-tasting available for expeditioners keen to maximise every moment.  

A daily recap-precap presented by ever-patient expedition leader Tanika Boxer merges into cocktail hour, followed by a three-course dinner showcasing premium Australian produce and free-flowing wine. But my favourite parts of the ship are the state-of-the-art stabilisers, which keep movement to a minimum – and my susceptibility to seasickness at bay – as we cruise this storied Indonesian seascape. 

Spice Islands cruise travel details 

Coral Expeditions’ 18-night Raja Ampat & the Spice Islands cruise on the Coral Geographer operates from Sorong in Indonesia’s Southwest Papua province to Darwin and vice versa, with four departures for this itinerary during the January – September 2027 sailing season.  

Rates start at AU $25,190 per person including all meals, excursions, snorkelling, soft drinks and house wine/beer with lunch and dinner.