Saturday, July 30, 2011

INDONESIA

(does not include Bali, Borneo, or Java)

FLORES
Maumer
Services
Komodo Dancer – 209 Hudson Trace (Augusta, Georgia); 706-993-2531 or 800-348-2628; aggressor.com/alor.php; live-aboard dive accommodations that are luxurious and perfect for dive vacations.

Moni
Sights & Sites
Kelimutu Crater – 50kms east of Ende (East Nusa Tenggara Province); volcano contains 3 striking summit crater lakes of varying colors; westernmost lake is Tiwu Ata Bupu (“Old People” Lake), usually blue; other 2 lakes, Tiwu Ko’o Fai Nuwa Muri (“Young Men & Maidens” Lake) and Tiwu Ata Polo (“Bewitched” or “Enchanted” Lake) are separated by shared crater wall and are typically green or red, respectively.



GILI ISLANDS
Gili Trawangan
Hotels
Beach House Resort – North Lombok (West Nusa Tenggara); 011-62-370-642-352; beachhousegilit.com.
Ko-Ko-Mo – North Lombok (West Nusa Tenggara); 011-62-370-642-352; kokomogilit.com.
Trawangan Resort – North Lombok (West Nusa Tenggara); 011-62-370-664-7066; thetrawangan.com.

Restaurants
Beach House Resort – North Lombok (West Nusa Tenggara); 011-62-370-642-352; beachhousegilit.com.



NUSA PENIDA
Sights & Sites
Manta Rays – mantatrust.org; among world’s premier manta-viewing locations.



SULAWESI
Dives
Lembeh Strait.
Wakatobi.

Hotels
Lembeh Resort – Bitung (right on strait); 011-62-438-550-3139 or 011-62-438-550-0139; lembehresort.com; among Indonesia’s top 25 resorts; lovely; geared to diving.
Wakatobi Dive Resort – Wakatobi Island; 877-801-8344; wakatobi.com; 26 individual bungalows; open-air restaurant and spa.

Sights & Sites
Bunaken National Park – try to see “tarsier” (world’s smallest primate).



SUNDA ISLANDS
Sumba
Hotels
Nihiwatu – Kuta Poleng Complex Block C/2; 011-62-361-757-149; nihiwatu.com; on beach; 3 Africa-style, 4-suite villas with pools.



WEST PAPUA
Dives
Black Rock – Kawe Island (Raja Ampat Islands); coral reef with turtle and wobbegong (carpet shark).
Cape Kiri – Dampier Strait (Raja Ampat Islands); drift dive with sharks and turtles.
Cendana Fuel Dock – Aljui Bay (Raja Ampat Islands); under dock next to working pearl farm; every type of sea life; great for night dives.
Manta Sandy – Dampier Strait (Raja Ampat Islands); mantatrust.org; among world’s premier manta-viewing locations; on same trip, ask to see "Blue Magic," nearby dive area with pelagic mantas.
Melissa’s Garden – Penemu (Raja Ampat Islands); coral seabed.

Hotels
Misool Eco Resort – 1 Bukit Baru, Komplex Pertamina (Batbitim Island, off Bird’s Head, New Guinea); misoolecoresort.com; Batbitim Island is part of Raja Ampat Chain; 5 thatch-roofed beach villas and 9 stilted water cottages.

Sights & Sites
Cenderawasih Bay Marine National Park – New Guinea; Cenderawasih, along with Raja Ampat and Triton Bay, make up Bird’s Head Seascape; bay’s reef tops comprise some of healthiest hard coral gardens in world: dramatic vertical walls with prolific sponge life; less current moves through Cenderawasih’s waters, and therefore less marine larvae recruitment than in places like Raja; this isolation allows numerous very colorful endemic species to thrive and, further, many normally deep-dwelling fish to exist in these relatively shallow waters; this topsy-turvy reefscape, along with presence of world’s largest fish, whale shark, causes marine biologists to call Cenderawasih “Galapagos of Indonesia’s Reefs”; seahorses (not just pygmies), frogfish, unusual nudibranchs, ghost pipefish, numerous interesting cephalopods, and tiger shrimp; bay’s resident whale sharks have learned that bagans (floating fishing platforms) jetison dead fish overboard; bagan fishermen encourage whale shark visits because enormous fish considered good luck.



YOGYAKARTA
Sights & Sites
Sonobudoyo Museum – nightly Wayang kulit performances.
Sultan’s Palace – nearby at Sasano Hinggil (square at Sultan’s Palace), nightly Wayang kulit performances.

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