Diving Wakatobi
" What a great idea - if only I had thought it: take a trip to paradise, stay in a comfortable bed, by boat, snorkeling and diving every day come around like there's no tomorrow, and take a look with the locals for some interactions ;. not much, but definitely meaningful "
That was the plan.
Sun a few weeks ago, in early October I went on a vacation with a group of friends and their children (we were aged 5 to 48 years old) to Wakatobi. Wakatobi is an acronym of the four main Tukang Besi Islands - WA ngi-Wangi, KA ledupa to mia, and BI nongko. It is an archipelago located in one of the richest marine hotspots on Earth. 1996 Indonesian government Wakatobi was area as Wakatobi Marine Conservation. In 02, the Wakatobi National Park was established has cover an area of 1.39 million hectares, and since 05 UNESCO this park was listed as tentative World Heritage Site. It is rumored that Jacques Cousteau was satisfied enough to maintain this area, as possibly the best diving in the world. There are some truths in it; The world has more than 850 coral species, about 750 of them are found in Wakatobi. Compare that to 50 species in the Caribbean islands and 300 species in the Red Sea.
was to get to Wakatobi quite difficult. With the remote site at the bottom corner of Southeast Sulawesi province in central Indonesia and the high seas during the rainy season, for many years the limited infrastructure in Wakatobi visitors had allowed to enjoy this paradise in plenty of rest and solitude, away from prowling tourists , Things are changing slowly since the Wakatobi government a regional airport in 09. At the time of Wakatobi Airport on Wangi-Wangi Island opens serviced by daily Express Air flights from the city of Makassar in South Sulawesi that and a hub for several domestic airlines also serves a few direct international flights. If traveling in a group, choose a group check-in, as Express Air has a limited baggage allowance of 10 kg per person. Then ... what about the diving equipment? Excess baggage is charged extra kg between Rp.25,000-40,000 /. (Ouch!)
. For more scenic routes and those who are not in a hurry, there are boats and ferries from the cities of Kendari, building construction and a few other small ports around This "free" options take anything from 4 hours to 2.5 days before one of Wakatobi passenger seaports arrive!
Unlike my previous trips to Wakatobi, where I had to stay in modest hostels lack of better options on Wangi -Wangi Iceland, this time I have in the recently reviewed open Patuno Beach Resort. What we experienced there as a group exceeded our expectations by far, from the moment their friendly staff came to pick us up at the airport, up to the last day of our stay. Our daily breakfast consisted of local filled with fresh seafood dishes or varieties of western deals. The resort has standard rooms, deluxe rooms and executive suites. Our group was booked in all three types of rooms, and we were pleased with our personal choices. If their room rates (between Rp.500,000 to 1,500,000 / night) are a little steep for the budget, the hostels and "losmens" in "Downtown" Wanci - the capital of Wakatobi - offer rooms between Rp.100,000 to 250,000 / night. Words of warning: you get what you pay
Our holiday began and ended at the beach or in the sea to play with !. There were 18 of us on this trip. Every day with two boats, we would on an island or another, in search of good diving spots and slowly enjoy the rides dare from. Some days we have two dives, others had three. We determined that it was not really good dive sites, but there were only a better and best spots! We stopped breathtaking walls with hard and soft corals to find covers to inspire to many colorful fish, graceful sea turtles and smaller ray, different eels, Slugs, various kinds of pygmy and shining sea snakes each of us home! The giant gorgonians were in abundance, as were sponges and crinoids. I felt personally like diving in a "fish soup", as they were no longer the daily fish. Frogfish, barracudas, snappers, lionfish sweetlips, boxfish, ghost pipefish, angelfish, leaf fish, several species of anemone fish, mackerel, squid, crocodile, batfish ... and as far as I was concerned, the list has not. In addition, easy to find gazillion kinds of other small and miniature floating things that were hard to miss, and.
. For the younger children and the adults do not dive, they also enjoyed the crystal clear blue water snorkeling, and the diversity of coral and fish in less depth Also with the help of the friendly staff of Patuno Beach Resort, we could also various lunch and snacks on secluded white sand beaches, soft and airy Wind to enjoy under the coconut trees. Fine dining à la tropical paradise, and we never had to repeat any settings!
The nice surprise we find another dive site, one morning had on the way, hundreds of wild dolphins spotting. Bottlenose was safe, and some appeared to be Melonhead dolphins! Which feasts for the eyes!
Realize how important Wakatobi National Park not only opted for Indonesia, but also in the world of our group, even with some of the local middle and high school students to join. One morning we walked a beach of waste to clean and garbage, and another afternoon we worked together to bring garbage to a historic public bath cave. These collaborations also allows local students to practice speaking English with the teenagers in our group. While in another trip to a Sea Gypsy Village, our multinational children had the opportunity to learn from the local children on to how to maneuver their traditional canoes. Priceless!
Behind the blue sky and sea, Wakatobi also offers rich crops such as local dances, hand-woven cloths and traditional wet markets full of colors. And I'll be back.
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