Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine January 2020 | Page 88

Travel / Archipelago Journal
/ ON THE MAP
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Morotai is an island in the Halmahera group of eastern
Indonesia's Maluku Islands. Morotai Island was once
a military base during World War II, but is now
a tourist destination rich in historic sites.
An immense body of clear
blue sea frames Morotai and
the tiny islands off its coast.
Its assertion to be the crown of
North Maluku is no false claim
– this remote tropical island is
abundant with lush greenery
fringed with inviting beaches;
life here is warm and joyful
thanks to the abundant
goodness of the Pacific.
“But at one time, during the turbulent years of
World War II, the Pacific Ocean brought gloom to
Morotai,” says Sarwan Hamdi, a local from Daruba,
the island’s largest town, who is giving me a ride.
“Our island was deemed strategic by the Allies, and
made into a base. Just imagine how worried people
were watching the warships sail back and forth
every day. Thankfully, the war came to an end
and peace has prevailed until now,” he continues.
Morotai is situated not far from the Philippines,
and the Allied troops of the United States, Great
Britain and Australia joined forces and chose Morotai
as their base. Victory in the Battle of Morotai was
the gateway to victory for the Allies in other areas.
“The Philippines is indebted to us,” jokes Sarwan.
He outlines the history of his home town while we
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spend the afternoon on the western edge of Daruba
in a place known as Army Dock, a calm and ideal
location for warships to dock, with a background
of islands ringed with white sand.
If you look closely from Army Dock towards the
south, Morotai forms a peninsula shaped like
the tail of a stingray, featuring rows of coconut
trees, medium-sized home-stays, and a World
War II Museum. The end of the peninsula, Cape
Dehegila, is the best spot to wait for sunrise.
The next day, we make an excursion to Zum Zum,
one of the islands straight across from Army Dock,
which, according to Sarwan, “was once inhabited by
the most feared person in the world”. The island is
uninhabited, but every day boats drop off visitors at
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