Archive for the ‘Diving and Snorkeling’ Category
Bunaken Island has become an icon of the city of Manado, and indeed of North Sulawesi, since an underwater paradise was discovered by several North Sulawesi diving pioneers, among them Loky Herlambang and Ricky Lasut. The vertical coral reefs that seem to go down forever immediately made Bunaken one of the world’s favorite diving venues. The underwater walls of Pulau Bunaken are full of colorful corals and exotic fish.
Like mushrooms in the rainy season, in the mid 1990s diving resorts sprouted up along the beaches of Malalayang and Molas, not far from the Manado city center. Bunaken is now home to dozens of diving resorts; over 30 diving operators are eager to take you on a dive trip to Bunaken every day.
The run over to Bunaken takes only around 50 minutes on a motorboat specially designed to accommodate diving tourists. As long as the seas are fairly calm and the sun is gently shining, it’s an ideal time for those who want to sunbathe before the sun’s rays get too fierce.
There are more than 12 diving sites around Pulau Bunaken. Some of these dive sites are characterized by steep walls quite densely covered with coral to a depth of 40 meters.
Others are more gently sloping but covered even more densely with coral. Typically one will see many types of reef fish – butterfly fish Read the rest of this entry »
In Berau Regency, on the eastern side of the island of Kalimantan, is a unique cluster of islands, comprising Pulau Derawan, Pulau Kakaban, Pulau Maratua and Pulau Sangalaki. This island chain lies to the east of Tanjung Redeb, the chief city of Berau Regency, and can be reached by traveling around two hours down the Berau River.
Pulau Derawan first became known to the outside world in the early 1990s. It has a resort that accommodates divers who are eager for adventure. Great numbers of green turtles live around Derawan, Read the rest of this entry »