Archive for September, 2009
Rawa Aopa Watumohai National Park covers an area of 105,194 hectares, not far from the main road between Kolaka and Kendari in Angata District, Konawe Selatan Regency. The park contains a wide variety of ecosystems: tropical rain forest, marsh, and mangrove. The Rawa Aopa area includes two shallow lakes 25 km wide and a hill with an elevation of 549 meters (Gunung Watumohai). The park is home to many types of plants and animals – water plants, birds, and dwarf buffalo (anoa), among others.
The savanna vegetation in the park is unique, Read the rest of this entry »
I shudder at the thought of hypothermia.
At a chilly 19° Celsius and 30 metres down, my three-millimetre wetsuit is no match for the brutal thermocline: the wild temperature variations as steep as 8° Celsius in the space of mere metres. I rub my arms vigorously in an attempt to maintain my body temperature. We are on a hunt. Photo hunt, that is.
“When I dive, I feel alive. Everything else is just a surface interval”, said Dr. Phil Nuytten, a renowned Canadian ocean explorer.
A statement I can easily relate to. I am blessed, as I live in the highlands of Bali. For a scuba fanatic, it’s a dream come true. I often feel the need to descend from the hills to answer the call of the ocean and lubricate my lungs. The beauty of living on a tropical island is that world-class dive spots are simply a phone call and an hour’s drive away. Read the rest of this entry »