Arriving by sea
After a leisurely overnight cruise from Bitung, ‘Caledonian Sky’ arrived off Bunaken Island around 8.00 a.m. where she held station ‘adrift’. Bunaken Island lies at the north eastern tip of Sulawesi, but on the western side of the promontory. Looking towards the mainland, we could see the city of Manado. By road, we could have travelled from Bitung to Manado City in a little over an hour!
Exploring the Marine Reserve
The Marine Reserve at Bunaken is one of the most important sites in the world. There's a little about the area on the Official Indonesian Tourist Site here and on Wikipedia here.
On our arrival, members of the expedition team left the ship by Zodiac to scout a suitable area for snorkelling (using a Zodiac as a ‘snorkel platform’) and a separate area for Zodiac Cruises for passengers who were not snorkelling. Surveys complete, Zodiacs took the snorkellers off the ship first and then remaining passengers were divided into groups of ten for the Zodiac Cruise.
Simon's Zodiac returning to the Marina Deck with a earlier group of passengers.
I was in Simon’s Zodiac and, to my delight, we found that coral was remarkably visible even from a Zodiac. With the outboard engine idling, the view was a little distorted by surface ripples but, from time to time, Simon stopped the engine and the views were splendid.
The world beneath the surface (1).
The world beneath the surface (2).
The world beneath the surface (3).
The world beneath the surface (4).
The world beneath the surface (5).
Looking towards Bunaken Island from the Zodiac, with the coral clearly visible in the foreground.
The world beneath the surface (6).
The world beneath the surface (7).
We spent a happy hour pootling around over the coral reef. Bunaken is supposed to offer some of the finest snorkelling in the world. Viewed from above the surface, I think the colours are somewhat attenuated but a wonderful impression is obtained of how just varied and prolific the coral is.
Most visitors arrive at Bunaken Island (left) by motor boat from Manado at a long pier, just visible extending to the right of the island.
On to Toli Toli
Around 1.00 p.m. we sailed for Toli Toli, our final port call before the end of the cruise in Sandakan. Toli Toli was 266 nautical miles away from Bunaken and we expected to dock around noon the following day, Sunday.
Later in the afternoon, Danny gave a talk in the Lounge.
I’ll describe that visit later but we had an absorbing Sunday afternoon in Toli Toli.
You can find all the posts on this trip here.
My pictures
Bunaken Marine Reserve, Sulawesi.
Sailing to Toli Toli, Sulawesi.
[Scope of text revised, pictures and links added 2-Mar-2015, 5-Mar-2015]
