Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine April 2019 | Page 94

Travel / Wakatobi
/ ON THE MAP
Wakatobi Regency is a group of four islands,
located in Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia.
The great naturalist Alfred
Russel Wallace sailed past
the Wakatobi archipelago in
1857. This year marks 150 years
since Wallace wrote The Malay
Archipelago – a book that,
even today, remains the
most engaging travel book
ever written about the
Indonesian islands. In its
pages, he described Sulawesi
(then known as Celebes) as
“the most remarkable and
interesting island in the whole
region, or perhaps on the globe”.
E/ Wakatobi’s name derives from the four biggest
islands: Wangi Wangi (WA), Kaledupa (KA), Tomia (To)
and Binongko (BI). Situated within the Asia-Pacific
Coral Triangle and boasting an estimated 9,000km 2
of tropical coral reefs, this area is home to the
highest number of fish species in the world and
750 coral reef species (out of a world total of 850).
By comparison, there are fewer than 70 coral
reef species in the entire Caribbean!
92
DIVING UNDERWATER CAMERA
E/ The best season for diving are
between April and June as well as
between October and December.
I/ Waktu terbaik untuk menyelam
adalah April hingga Juni dan
Oktober hingga Desember. E/ Bring along your underwater
camera as you do not want to
miss the magnificent views.
I/ Bawa serta kamera tahan air
untuk mengabadikan panorama
istimewa bawah laut.