Bali to produce 110,000 tons of fish

Antara News, Friday, June 18, 2010 17:09 WIB

(ANTARA/GreenLee WM)Denpasar, Bali (ANTARA News) - Bali has a production target of 110,000 tonnes of fish in 2010, which increased from the previous year which was only 106 000 tons, a regional fishery official said.

This target is expected to be achieved, given the fishermen and freshwater fish farming had made maximum efforts to increase production, said Head of Fisheries and Maritime office of the Province of Bali, Gusti Putu Ir Nuriartha said here Friday.

He said the increased production of the fisheries sector will have positive impact on efforts to overcome poverty for fish farmers and fishermen who live on the coast.

Bali Police Pull Endangered Turtles From the Pot

Jakarta Globe, Made Arya Kencana, May 19, 2010

A policeman holding up one of 71 green turtles rescued in Bali on Wednesday. Despite a ban on the turtle trade, the reptile’s meat remains a delicacy on the island. (JG Photo/JP Christo)

Denpasar. Bali Police announced on Wednesday that they had rescued 71 endangered green turtles being kept for their meat.

Some of the turtles “were so big it took three people to lift each one,” Andi Taqdir Rahmantiro, director of the Bali Police’s detectives unit said, adding that the biggest turtles weighed as much as 200 kilograms each.

Green turtles (chelonia mydas) were once commonly used in ritual sacrifices across the predominantly Hindu island, while their meat is a traditional delicacy. In recent years, however, there has been a shift toward symbolic sacrifices where the animals are released alive into the sea.

Andi said the animals were seized on Wednesday from a warehouse in Denpasar owned by Jero Mangku Buda. He added Buda had long fronted as a pork vendor, but actually sold turtle meat on the sly.

Police had staked out Buda’s food stall for months before posing as potential turtle meat buyers to make the arrest. During questioning, the suspect told investigators about the warehouse, just 200 meters away from the food stall.

Buda said he had bought the consignment of turtles for Rp 35 million ($3,850) from a fisherman at Amed Harbor in Karangasem a day earlier, who in turn had netted them in the Sulawesi Sea.

He did not tell police whether he had killed or sold any from the batch, but said he often sold off entire turtles for Rp 700,000 each, while serving up turtle meat for Rp 45,000 a portion.

“He says he’s only done it once before, but we’re not buying it,” Bali Police spokesman Gde Sugianyar Dwi Putra said. “In the meantime, we’re tracking down the supplier.”

Buda would likely be charged with poaching, which could see him face up to five years in prison and Rp 100 million in fines, Sugianyar said.

Police will deliver the 71 turtles to the Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) office in Bali, which plans to release them into the sea from Kuta Beach.

“For now, though, we’ll keeping them at the turtle conservation center in Serangan,” BKSDA Bali head Pamen Sitorus said.

Indonesia implemented a turtle trade ban in 1999, and rejected a proposal last year by Bali Governor I Made Mangku Pastika to set an annual quota of 1,000 animals for sacrificial ceremonies. However, high demand has driven the trade underground, with police foiling several smuggling attempts in recent years.

In February 2009, police stopped a boat carrying 26 turtles, while in July a shipment of 42 turtles from Java was foiled. In September, authorities seized 140 kilograms of turtle meat.

Jeren Kiring crowned junior surf champion

The Jakarta Post, Tim Hain, Contributor, Kuta | Fri, 04/30/2010 12:25 PM

Thirteen-year-old Jeren Kiring claimed the 2010 Rusty GromFest Series Under 16 Division top place at Kuta Beach.

As the Under 16 Series champion, Kiring receives an all expense paid trip to Australia.

In Australia he will compete with other international GromFest winners in the 15th Annual Rusty GromFest at Lennox Heads this coming July.

It will not be his first trip abroad. This budding young surf star has been to Australia before and traveled to New Zealand in January to participate at the ISA World Junior Surfing Championships with the Indonesian Junior Surfing Team.

In the previous two events of the three-part Rusty GromFest series, Kiring surfed to second place at both Keramas Beach and Canggu Beach, putting him out in front of the series point standings to be selected to compete at the final Kuta Beach event.

On the beach after competing, Kiring said he was overjoyed.

"After coming second place at Keramas and again at Canggu, it feels good to get first place to end the series," Kiring said.

"Then to take the Under 16 division series victory and be invited to go to Australia is perfect."

If this young man keeps up his pace, he has the potential finish the 2010 season as the Coca-Cola ISC Junior Tour Champion.

In the Under 14 division, the day belonged to Nyoman Alit.

The overall Under 14 division series win, however, was taken by Komang Sastrawan.

Sastrawan was placed third at the Keramas event and finished second at Kuta Beach.

Sastrawan was also one of the recipient's of the Coca-Cola Youth Encouragement Award.

The award also came with a custom-made surfboard for his performance at the Keramas event.

All finalists received prizes such as Rusty branded clothing and accessories, and Sony Ericsson cell phones.

They also received Creatures brand board grips and leashes, free surfboard art and repairs from Freedom Surf shop among other products from event sponsors Sabre, Macbeth, Stomp, Zinka and Walls.

The Rusty GromFest Series Bali 2010 was part of the Coca-Cola ISC Junior Tour and is a yearly event created by Rusty to help develop surfing in Bali and throughout Indonesia.

Surfing Made Awan wins Oakley Pro 2010 at Canggu Beach

The Jakarta Post, Tim Hain, Contributor, Canggu Beach, Bali | Thu, 04/08/2010 11:40 AM

Balinese surfer Made Awan has taken out the first event of this season’s Coca-Cola Indonesian Surfing Championship Tour, the Oakley Pro 2010, after defeating Dede Suryana of West Java.

Awan received a Rp 10 million cash prize from Oakley and now sits at number one in the ISC Tour rankings, collecting a whopping 3,000 championship points.

He also received the Coca-Cola Best Maneuver Award for recording the highest wave score of the event, nabbing an extra bonus of Rp 1 million.

Back on the beach, drenched in a combination of Coca-Cola and San Miguel Light courtesy of the sponsors and his friends, Made was ecstatic, “I won. Thank God I won. I’m number one! The waves were so good and I had so much fun out there”.

When he heard he scored a 9 on his final wave, he said he knew he had a chance to beat his opponent Suryana.

“Last year I was up against Awan back at my home break of Cimaja in West Java, and I beat him just near the end of the heat, so I guess we are even now,” Suryana said laughing.

“The next ISC comp is in Sanur, so it will be very interesting because that is almost Awan’s home break. He is surfing really well and is a great competitor, so I’m happy for him that he won. We’ll see what happens next time though!” he added.

Suryana went home with a Rp 5 million cash prize and 2,750 ISC Championship points.

The competition was the fifth and final day of the Oakley Pro 2010, a six star rated Coca-Cola Indonesian Surfing Championship Tour sanctioned event, the first of the 2010 Tour season, which took place at Canggu Beach, a few kilometers north of Kuta on Bali’s west coast.

Around 64 of Indonesia’s best pro surfers as well as 11 masters (35 years and older) surfers competed for prestige, prize money and points on some of the best waves in the world.

Prior to the Pro Final, four of Indonesia’s best masters surfers took to the perfect Canggu waves to compete in their final.

Coming back to the beach in first place was Wayan “Ompong” Budayasa, competing in his very first Master’s Division event. He also competed in the Pro Division but failed to advance beyond Round 3.

The next stop on the Coca-Cola ISC Tour will be the Rusty Rumble in Da Jungle at Sanur Beach with a waiting period starting on April 26 and ending on May 16.

Coca-Cola ISC Tour Pro Division

Made Awan (17.25 pts)
Dede Suryana (15.50 pts)
Marlon Gerber, Agus Frimanto

Coca-Cola ISC Tour Masters
Division
Wayan “Ompong” Budayasa
Ketut “Kombong” Juliarta
Made Lapur

Indonesia¹s Best Junior Surfers to Join World Junior Surfing Championships in New Zealand

Surfline, January 16, 2010

Ready to make history as the first Indonesian junior surfers to travel outside of Indonesia as a team to compete in a world junior championship surfing competition are Putra Hermawan, Putu Anggara, Agus Frimanto, Koko Mitsu Antara, Ediana Putra, Jeren Kiring, Sandi Selamet, and Oney Anwar.

Chosen for the honor of representing Indonesia in the 2010 ISA Quiksilver World Junior Championships based on their outstanding competitive surfing performances last year, these "best of the best" young Indonesian surfers ranging in age from 11 to 17 years old will fly from Bali to the city of Auckland and then travel to the scenic surf town of Piha to compete against the best Under 16 and Under 18 surfers in the world for the pride of their country. The event will take place from the 20th to the 28th of January 2010.

The last time Indonesian surfers participated in an International Surfing Association event was in 1996 at the ISA World Surfing Games held at Huntington Beach in California. Those surfers were Rizal Tanjung, Dully Ismael, and current Indonesian Team Coach Tipi Jabrik.

The only other time that an Indonesian team of junior surfers represented their country in an international event was at the Quiksliver World Grommet titles held at Kuta Beach in Bali in 1993. Rizal Tanjung, Pepen Hendrik, Wayan Wirtama, Tipi Jabrik, Dully Ismael, and Wayan Darmawan were among those that participated in that competition almost 17 years ago.

Thanks to the tireless efforts of Tipi Jabrik and others, the Indonesian Surfing Federation (Persatuan Selancar Ombak Indonesia) has now become the ISA's National Governing Body for surfing in Indonesia, as well as has been officially recognized by the Indonesia Department of Sport (KONI) and the Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI).

The result is that Indonesian surfing athletes may once again participate in international ISA events such as the World Junior Surfing Championships, the World Surfing Games, World Masters Surfing Championships, World BodyBoarding Games, and more. In addition, Indonesia can now lobby to host these internationally visible events and further develop their tourism industry, and Indonesian Surfing Championship (Coca-Cola ISC Tour) judges may now participate as judges in these events as well.

The funding for the Indonesian team's trip comes from the generosity of the surf industry and its supporters in Bali: Billabong Asia, Hurley, Oakley Indonesia, Quiksilver Asia, Rip Curl Asia, and Rusty Asia, Coca-Cola Bottling Indonesia, the Coca-Cola Indonesian Surfing Championship Tour and KCB Travel. In addition, we owe an enormous debt of gratitude to Nick "Chongee" Ngau-Chun in Piha for his tireless efforts, the incredible generosity of Fiona Anderson at the Piha Camp Ground for the lodging, transportation and meals for the team, and a special thanks to Ben Kennings of Surfing New Zealand for his help with sorting out the team's visa's.

Throughout the event you can find daily updates at www.isctour.com

Enjoy the ride

The Jakarta Post | Mon, 01/11/2010 10:00 AM | Bali

Tourists enjoy riding a jet ski in Tanjung Benoa, Bali, on Sunday. The Bali administration has targeted 2.3 million foreign tourist visits this year. JP/Zul Trio Anggono

Tulamben, scuba diving heaven

Melissa Umbro Teetzel and Todd Teetzel, Contributor The Jakarta Post, Tulamben | Thu, 01/07/2010 11:20 AM | Surfing Bali

Underwater playground: Scuba diver is seen near the Liberty wreck. Courtesy of Tulamben Wreck Divers. JP/Todd Teetzel

Tulamben, known in the diving world as one of Bali’s premier dive locations, preserves a piece of history as its visitors and residents protect its marine life.

On Jan. 11, 1942, the USAT Liberty started sinking after a Japanese torpedo struck it. Towed to the shore by the American destroyer USS Paul Johns, the Liberty was brought to Tulamben to unload its cargo and supplies since the Singaraya harbor was too full.

It remained in the small village of Tulamben partially submerged in water. Then in 1963, Mount Agung erupted and the lava and earthquakes pushed the ship further down into the water, where it rests on the ocean floor parallel to the shoreline.

Now scuba divers gear up to swim into an underwater playground, where the coral grows on the ship’s 120-meter frame and where marine life includes schooling jack fish, barracuda, napoleon wrasse, humpback parrot fish, white and blacktip reef sharks, as well as pigmy seahorses.

Marine life: Large varieties of tropical fish charm divers in Tulamben Bay, one of Bali’s main dive sites. Given the number of visitors to the bay, protection of marine life is critical.

There are also nudibranches, many kinds of shrimps and crabs, octopus, hard and soft coral. Divers can place their hands on the helm of the ship approximately 13 meters deep. Meanwhile, snorkelers and free divers can marvel at the wreck by swimming 30 meters to the bow and peer down three meters below the surface.

A handful of resorts cater the tastes of guests – divers and non-divers alike.

“Tulamben is a very quiet place with a strong focus on leisure and unwinding, and diving of course,” says Axel Schwan, owner of Tauch Terminal Resort.

While diving at the wreck is the main attraction, guests can also enjoy spa services and scenic spaces to unwind. The black stone beaches might not be ideal for beach-bound sunbathers, but the resort pools and decks all but kiss the ocean and offer a serene setting to capture some rays.

Day trips to Tulamben in East Bali are possible from Kuta, Legian, Seminyak, Sanur, Jimbaran, Nusa Dua and Ubud, for an additional cost. A daytrip from the south of Bali to Tulamben with Tauch Terminal Resort is €72 (US$105) including equipment, two guided dives, lunch and drinks, return transfer and insurance.

Most diving schools offer three leisurely days of classes, theoretical and practical, for those wanting a scuba diving certificate. Certification types vary according to diving organizations (SSI and PADI), which offer anything from beginner courses to professional diving.

JP/Todd Teetzel

Given the number of visitors who journey to Tulamben for extended stays or day trips, protection of marine life is critical.

Tauch Terminal Resort is one of Tulamben’s resorts committed to environmental protection. Since their “eco” initiative began, they have installed solar heaters for water, separated waste, and engaged in educating employees on the importance of environmental protection. In collaboration with a professional company in Gianyar, they endeavor to reduce the general waste load and avoid uncontrolled waste burning, especially plastic littering.

“We see more and more positive response and participation here,” Schwan affirmed. For continued success, the cooperation of all parties is needed.

“All together locals, businesses and guests understand today how important it is to take care of nature,” he added.

Green investments are proving to be worthwhile.

“If I save energy replacing all possible light bulbs with energy saving ones, It is costly in the first place, but I save on electricity in the long run. If we replace all our diving torches with rechargeable led torches, we first have to spend serious money buying them, but in the long run we save so much on batteries that it pays off again,” said general manager of Tauch Terminal Resort, Andreas Wittig.

The same goes for their installation of water filters since they can save on the cost of buying and transporting gallons of water.

Wittig sees the potential and the challenges in cooperative efforts.

“It was very interesting to see our staff slowly but surely change their attitude in that matter. We still have a long way to go, but seeing them really participate, or sometimes even take the initiative, only confirms our efforts.”

JP/Todd Teetzel

He added that “the most important point is that every single issue assures a healthier environment, which provides us with the resources to care in the first place.”

Mimpi Resort in Tulamben stocks rooms with tips for protecting life on land and in the sea. Tulamben remains a no-fishing zone. Any time fishing or other illegal activity is spotted, it is immediately reported and the perpetrator is penalized.

Leaders in the field of fish ichthyology estimate there are 500 species of reef fishes just around the wreck environment, states Mimpi Resort’s website.

The porters hired by dive operations to transport the air tanks also help keep the beaches clean and watch for illegal activity, according to Wayan Ambek of Tulamben Wreck Divers.

Tauch Terminal Resort’s overarching “eco” goal ensures the resort keeps investing in sustainable initiatives. That goal is “to keep Bali clean, to keep the environment healthy and balanced, and to preserve Bali’s beautiful nature for following generations,” said Wittig.

Tauch Terminal Resort
Telp. 62 361 774504/772920
Fax: 62 361 778473
Email: dive@tauch-terminal.com

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Cultivated coral reefs now also exported

Antara News, Friday, December 25, 2009 13:01 WIB

Denpasar (ANTARA News) - The coral reefs cultivated by coastal fishermen in Serangan village, Denpasar, have found their way to the export market.

"We have been applying the technique of transplantation in coral reef cultivation and the result is that the products are now exported to Europe," Chairman of the Association of Serangan Fishermen Wayan Patut said here Thursday.

He also said that trading coral reefs is actually against the law, as it harms natural conservation.

However, by applying the transplantation technique in coral reef cultivation, the farmers produced the reefs in such a way that they could be locally marketed and even exported.

"We have been cultivating coral reefs in this way for many years including for natural conservation, in the Serangan waters," one of the farmers said.

"Besides saving nature, the technique also has its economic value, so that the farmers became enthusiastic in both cultivating and rehabilitating coral reefs," he added.

He said he could tell the difference between observed coral reefs from the saleable cultivated ones, by monitoring the reefs and rehabilitating them.

"We have succeeded in cultivating coral reefs of different colors like brown, green, yellow, and other shades," he added.

He said the coral reefs had already been exported to various countries, like the United States, and are also marketed at local markets. Coral reefs are normally used to decorate sea water and fresh water aquariums.

Dutch tourist arrivals in Bali up 22 pct

Antara News, Monday, December 21, 2009 18:12 WIB

Denpasar (ANTARA News) - The number of Dutch tourists visiting Bali in the first ten months of 2009 rose 22.01 percent to 63,622 from the same period last year.

The figure put Dutch in the tenth place as the resort island`s source of foreign tourists, overtaking the US, Head of the Bali Provincial Statistics Office Ida Komang Wisnu said here on Monday.

It was only in the past three months that the European country overtook the US, he said.

The Dutch tourists accounted for 3.21 percent of 1,982,274 foreign tourists visiting Bali in the January-October 2009 period, he said.

Compared to the same period last year, the number of tourist arrivals in Bali in the year ended October 2009 rose 14.22 percent, he said.

The vast majority of the Dutch tourists visited Bali via Ngurah Rai Airport. Only eight of them came to the resort island by cruise liner.

Ida Komang said six of the ten biggest sources of foreign tourists contributed significantly to the total number of tourists visiting Bali over the period. The number of tourists from China rose 65.29 percent, France 51.07 percent, Australia 35.46 percent, Dutch 22.91 percent, Britain 12.36 percent, and Malaysia 9.14 percent.

Meanwhile, the number of tourists from Japan fell 9.12 percent, South Korea 6.11 percent, Taiwan 9.25 percent and Germany 7.20 percent.

Bali's Mangroves are Best in Asia: Official

The Jakarta Globe

Balinese students planting mangroves in Denpasar in 2007.
(Photo: Sonny Tumbelaka, AFP)

Denpasar. The island of Bali is not only Indonesia’s best international tourism destination but is also home to Asia’s best mangrove forests, a local forestry official said on Friday.

“As the best in Asia, the lush mangrove forests have become the destination for comparative studies by experts from various countries,” said Anak Agung Ngurah Buana, who heads the Bali Forestry Office.

He said Bali was home to 1,346 hectares of mangrove forest, all managed under the Ngurah Rai Forest Park, and that visiting experts had come from countries such as Japan, Germany, the Philippines, Italy and the United States to study the forest as a model for similar developments.

Buana said that the Suwung mangrove forest in South Bali had been a model in mangrove management as a result of an agreement between the Ministry of Forestry and the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

He said the project, which started in 1993, was considered to have been fairly successful in cultivating and preserving a number of mangrove variants, some producing substances that may be developed into medicines.

Footpaths connect one part of the forest to another, making it a favorite tourist destination for local and international visitors.

Local communities often fish for recreation in the forest, which stretches along the coast from Benoa Harbor to the Ngurah Rai International Airport in Tuban.

The forest is managed by 42 workers, half of them technical staff from the Mangrove Management Agency and two experts from Japan.

Buana said that the forest saw a continuous planting of new seedlings and a constant maintenance program in the hope that it would act as “lungs” for the city of Denpasar.

Antara

2 stranded whales near death on Bali beach

Google/AP

In this photo taken Saturday, Nov. 28, 2009, Balinese children attempt to rescue one of two beached whales, a rare occurrence on Tabanan beach in Bali, Indonesia. Two young whales are stranded on Indonesia's resort island of Bali and will die on the beach because they are too weak to survive even if returned to the water, an official said Sunday. (AP Photo/STR)

BALI, Indonesia — Two young whales are stranded on Indonesia's resort island of Bali and will die on the beach because they are too weak to survive even if returned to the water, an official said Sunday.

Attempts to rescue the beached whales, a rare occurrence on Bali, have been abandoned, said Bali's Fisheries and Marines Department officer Nyoman Wirna Ariwangsa.

"They are in critical condition now," he said.

The two short-finned pilot whales, a protected species, were both extensively scratched and bruised, apparently from fishing nets at sea. Their carcasses will be buried before they decompose, Ariwangsa said.

The pair was among four whales that washed ashore Saturday near Tanah Lot Beach, one of the most popular and picturesque tourist destinations on the island province, Ariwangsa said.

Dozens of locals hauled all four of the 7-foot (2.1-meter), 1,000 pound (450 kilogram) whales into the shallow water. Fishing boats successfully led two back to sea, he said. But waves washed another two back to shore.

"Powerful tidal waves are believed to have separated them from their pod and left them stranded here," Ariwangsa said.

Live whales rarely become beached on Bali, although 10 dead whales — eight short-finned pilot and two giant sperm — washed ashore in February in stormy weather.

Locals butchered their carcasses for the oil, which they use as a traditional medicine.

Here be dragons and dives

Discover rare flora and fauna, dramatic views and untouched waters, all within easy reach of Bali, says Ben Mondy

From The Times, UK, March 14, 2009

 In the clear: a fisherman in a dugout boat in the waters off Alor island, which also provide a world-class destination for deep-sea diving. (Wolfgang Poelzer/Axiom)
 

My first experience of the bounties of the rather obscure Nusa Tenggara came about ten years ago when I dragged myself away from the world-famous waves of Bali and travelled to the lesser-known island of Lombok. Ditching the surfboard, I headed to Indonesia’s third-highest peak, Mount Rinjani, an active volcano located about three hours’ drive from the island’s capital, Mataram. 

On offer was a fairly rigorous, three-day/two-night guided trek, leaving from the village of Senaru, gateway to the huge Mount Rinjani National Park. A 3am start on the second morning brought me tired and elated to the summit for a dramatic sunrise. It was at this point, 3,762 metres (12,340 ft) above the newly lit Indian Ocean, with the whole Nusa Tenggara stretched and dotted below me as far as the eye could see, that I had the first inkling of what this part of the world could offer. 

Following that revelation, there was a two-hour descent to Segara Anak, the crater lake of Mount Rinjani. At 2,500 metres above sea level, the breathtakingly beautiful lake is is an important ceremonial site, utilised for various rituals by both the local Wetu Telu Islamic people and by nearby Hindu communities. 

And all this within reach — heck, within sight — of Bali, a favourite tourist paradise since the early 1970s. Nusa Tengarra refers to an area containing the 550 or so islands that lie to the east of Bali, stretching from the lush, mountainous Lombok all the way to the desert-like Timor. Smack bang in the middle and bisecting the island chain is what is known as the Wallace Line, named after Alfred Russel Wallace, the 19th century naturalist. 

His studies in this area in the 1850s led him to devise a dividing line that marked the transition between the flora and fauna of western and eastern Indonesia. We could go into the huge significance of this imaginary evolutionary halfway line, but for the visitor it is sufficient to know that this huge range of unique flora and fauna is what makes Nusa Tenggara such a fascinating place to visit. 

Elsewhere in Lombok, in the far south, Kuta’s great waves, stunning bays and hotels attract a steady stream of visitors, many coming for the annual ritual of the Bau Nyale, held on the second full moon of the year. And if you cannot celebrate a sea worm’s annual reproduction cycle, what can you celebrate? For more standard tourist fare, the coral reefs, white sandy beaches and beach bars of the Gili Islands, just off Lombok’s northwest coast, offer a variety of accommodation and excellent diving. 

Moving east from Lombok, Nusa Tenggara is dominated by its largest island of Sumbawa. This is drier than Lombok and its southern coastal flank, with dramatic cliffs and wild oceans, and is a favourite for thrill-seeking surfers. Sumbawa’s biggest tourist attractions, however, lie with its offshore islands on the northern, more sheltered side. 

Perhaps the most well known of these is Komodo, made famous by its Komodo dragons. While not known to breathe fire, the dragons are in fact giant monitor lizards that can grew up to four metres long. These reptilian throwbacks are considered to be the only examples of their kind left in the world and have been gorging on Komodo’s rare bird species, deer and wild pigs, not to mention each other, for half a million years. 

The whole island is a designated national park and offers only rudimentary accommodation, meaning most visitors are day trippers from nearby Sumbawa or Flores. While you will often see the dragons close to the accommodation huts (mostly dozing under a tree if my experience is anything to go by), a guided tour to see them in the wild is the key to a) seeing their primitive table manners and b) not getting devoured by an animal who can date his family tree back to the Triassic age. 

From Komodo it is a short boat trip to Flores, an untouched, volcano-strewn island that straddles the Wallace Line and provides one of the world’s most dynamic marine environments, in addition to being a famous “biodiversity hotspot”. 

With infrastructure pretty crude on most of the island, the best bet is to stay in the town of Maumere. Using this as a base, you can take advantage of the great diving and snorkelling nearby. (It was in Maumere harbour that the marine photographer Rudie Kuiter catalogued more than 1,200 species of fish, including some new to science, in 2005.) In addition there are the picturesque, coloured, cratered lakes of Keli Mutu, about half a day’s drive away. 

Crossing Wallace’s marker and into East Nusa Tenggara, the island of Sumba does not offer much for anyone except the most intrepid of explorers or those willing to make a little effort to see an authentic, ancient culture with none of the layers of Hinduism or Islam found elsewhere in Indonesia. 

“I stumbled upon this place in 1979 and have been here ever since,” Claude Graves, the American owner of the Nihiwatu Resort on the south of the island, told me on my last visit over a plate of just-caught swordfish, a cold beer and a sun setting over the surf. “I recognised a true paradise and have done everything in my power to protect the natural beauty and cultural heritage.” 

Sumba, which was once known as Sandalwood Island after its most valuable commodity, can be reached by sea, including ferries from nearby islands, and air (the only airport is situated at Waingapu on the northeast of the island). Among its offerings there is access to mind-boggling fishing and diving, some world-class surf breaks, and a glimpse into the past through tours of ancient tribal villages. 

In fact, this place may just sum up the experience of travelling through Nusa Tenggara. It is a unique mix of natural beauty and incredible culture which, for the most part, is untouched by the ravages of tourism. I’ve been there many times and only scratched the surface, but as old Wallace discovered, this is a unique part of the world that demands close inspection. 

Deep-sea dream 

• Located between the Flores and Savu Seas, in East Nusa Tenggara, Alor island sits in the Pantar Strait, a world-class destination for deep-sea diving. 
  
  
• Unlike many other parts of Indonesia, the Pantar Strait has avoided the ravages of cyanide and blast fishing. Instead the locals still practise traditional fishing methods, so the unique and incredibly diverse species of fish and coral remain both virgin and accessible. 
  
  
• Perhaps the best-known site is “Kal's Dream”, an underwater mountain named after Kal Muller, a famous Hungarian-born ethnologist who studied the tribes in West Papua, Indonesia. Muller was an experienced diver who called the area his dream site. 
  
  
• The marine life here includes two-metre long dogtooth tuna, eagle rays, silvertip sharks, grey reef sharks, barracudas and Napoleon wrasse. 
  
  
• While this site may be for expert divers, beginner sites exist that offer perfectly vertical coral walls dropping to 50 or 60 metres with more than 30 metres of visibility (most common during the best months of May till November) and the area is an ideal place for snorkelling.