TRAVELSPECIAL
Anemone city with tomato clownfish at Bualo dive site
Ascending freedivers
For non-diving guests, there’ s a spa, a library and lounge areas plus gentle island walks. There’ s also a dolphin spotting boat trip followed by lunch under an umbrella on a sand bar with stunning views of the island’ s volcano.
Oasis aims to be ethical as well as ecofriendly. Where possible, it employs local people, offering career development and language training. Several young women graduates are now on dive guide apprenticeships. Roads built for the resort have improved access across the island for locals and water supply boreholes provide clean water for both locals and the resort.
The Oasis Foundation provides scholarships and community support, including replacing the roof of the local church.
Wonder walls: Bunaken’ s greatest hits
Oasis has a house reef with entry from its own jetty. The island is ringed by intertidal mangroves and seagrass meadows, and at high tide the area around the jetty hosts goat fish, juvenile damselfish, wrasse, filefish and butterflyfish.
The shape of the island and its protected bays also means that, even after a large storm, there are sheltered spots guests can be taken to with the addition of a fun ride on a three-wheel truck from the village jetty, across the island back to the resort.
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