SCUBA Editor Simon Rogerson joins a group for the long journey to Indonesia and the remote islands of the North Moluccas
TRAVELSPECIAL
Halmahera
a touch of spice
SCUBA Editor Simon Rogerson joins a group for the long journey to Indonesia and the remote islands of the North Moluccas
The final flight had been delayed, gifting us a sleepless night at the Worst Hotel in Indonesia. When we finally arrived at Sali Bay, the best way to lift the mood was to get kitted-up and go diving. Almost as soon as our boat left the jetty we sighted a blue whale at the surface, then three more.
That, dear reader, is what is known in the trade as an arresting introduction,
Malaysia
Cambodia
Singapore
� � � � �
Brunei
� � �
� � �
� �
� �
�
� �
� �
� � �
�
Indonesia
Philippines
� �
� � � � something to grab your attention. It also has the benefit of being mostly true, in that it only felt like Indonesia’ s worst hotel at the time. Now, you’ re probably expecting me to wax lyrical about the privilege of seeing the biggest animal ever to have lived on our planet. But I’ m going to put that on hold – much as Lion Air did to my group – so you can read about it later. First, I must tell you all about this story’ s setting.
� � � � �
W P
North Maluku
Ternate
� � � � �
� � � � � � � �
Sali Bay Resort
Introducing Halmahera
South Halmahera is the rising star of the Indonesia dive scene. Part of North Maluku Province, it is obscure even by the rangy standards of the 3,200-mile Indonesian archipelago. Still, obscurity carries a certain cachet these days, especially if it delivers pristine coral reefs.
I use that word,‘ pristine’, in the knowledge that it is overused by diving hacks describing the destination de jour. But in a time when blue chip locations are reporting widespread coral bleaching, Halmahera has incredibly healthy coral reefs. So the word is out and divers in search of exclusivity have started to venture to Halmahera’ s far-flung islands.
The journey from the UK is a long slog, especially with the final segment being subject to the vicissitudes of the airline officials. We broke up the trip with six days
56