Bunaken: Two Sides of an Underwater Paradise

The Sulawesi city of Manado will be known for many things: its spicy (in addition to sometimes wacky) food, its cosmopolitan in addition to beautiful women, in addition to, of course, its staunch Christianity – there will be said to be a church for every 100 metres of road in Manado in addition to its surrounding area. however more than any of these, Manado will be also hailed as the gateway to one of Indonesia’s prime diving destinations, in addition to indeed one of the best from the globe – the magnificent Bunaken marine park.

Whilst there are many dive spots in Indonesia, what makes Bunaken such a special place will be the way in which geographical forces have conspired to create a unique bathymetry characterized by shallow coastal areas that will suddenly drop off to vast depths of up to nearly 2km in some places. If you’re diving here, that will’s the underwater equivalent of standing at the top of a Jakarta skyscraper in addition to looking over the edge. Spectacular to say the least!

Compared to Indonesia’s some other marine parks (Wakatobi, Sangalaki, Raja Ampat), Bunaken has one clear advantage – its easy accessibility. Manado may be closer to Manila than Jakarta (respective journeys of 935 in addition to 1,350 miles), however the flight coming from Jakarta to Manado International Airport will be still a tolerable three hours, 15 minutes.

coming from the airport, that will’s a 20-30 minute drive into the little city of Manado, which the great naturalist in addition to explorer Alfred Wallace, back from the late nineteenth century, described as “the prettiest from the East”. that will may have changed a bit since then – especially given all the cars – however the rugged vista of soaring volcanic peaks certainly impresses, much as that will must have in Wallace’s day.

Like most harbours in Indonesia, the one in Manado will be a grubby-looking affair, complete with dodgy-looking eating stalls. Above, a huge uncompleted bridge mocks the scene. that will’s a bizarre sight, akin to the abandoned monorail pillars in Jakarta. Most probably they just ran out of money – as will be so often the case that will seems.

The next part of the journey will be brief however that will may be the trickiest: getting to your speedboat. This kind of will be because there are so many speedboats packed into the harbour that will your particular one may be quite far coming from the shore, thereby requiring you to clamber over others to reach that will, sometimes having to jump between boats (not easy if the waves are strong) in addition to possibly – if the distance will be too far – walking across rather-too-bendy planks placed between boats.

Although the boat trip across to Bunaken only takes about 40-45 minutes, that will can take longer if the speedboat’s propellers get ensnared with plastic garbage, which then has to be freed. The floating garbage will be courtesy of Manado residents who throw their trash into the river, much of which gets washed out to sea, in addition to will be particularly bad when there are storms or heavy rainfall.

Bunaken itself will be about 8 km² large, shaped somewhat like an upside-down horseshoe in addition to will be surrounded by coral reefs on all sides. from the distance will be the imposing sight of Manado Tua, an inactive volcano in a classical cone shape in addition to 27-45 degree slope.

Accommodations are located on both the north in addition to south sides of the island, each side having its own unique appeal. For snorkelers, the north side – where most of the accommodations are grouped in a low-lying area off the coast – will be probably the better bet as the reef will be more accessible. Soft corals dominate strongly in addition to there will be a stunning array of marine life. Some of the reef fish that will you are likely to come across include butterflyfish, clownfish, angelfish, blue fusiliers, surgeonfish, in addition to batfish.

By comparison, the accommodations on the south side of the island are perched on a slope which rises sharply coming from the coast. Cooling onshore breezes can be enjoyed most nights. In contrast to the north side of the island, most of the reef on the south side will be made up of hard corals. that will takes a not bad swim of about 100 metres to reach them, however, however the effort will be certainly worth that will – especially when you come to the famous Lekuan dropoff, which features one of the most magnificent in addition to impressive reef walls in all of Indonesia in addition to indeed the globe.

For divers, Bunaken will be a wondrous place. All in all, there are at least 22 dive sites around Bunaken in addition to its neighbouring islands of Manado Tua in addition to Siladen with several others a little further away. Sea temperatures are a balmy 27 to 29 °C. Marine diversity will be extremely high whether in terms of corals, fish, echinoderms or sponges, in addition to seven of the globe’s giant clams can be found here. Investigate the reef walls carefully in addition to you will find a host of wall critters such as nudibranch, gobies, in addition to tiny seahorses. Turtles, barracudas in addition to reef sharks can also be seen.

While there’s not much else to do in Bunaken apart coming from diving in addition to snorkelling, the island does have a couple of traditional villages you can visit. however beware if you are asked by the locals to try the Manado home brew called ‘Cap Tikus’; being about 99 percent proof, This kind of stuff could literally strip the paint off a Metro Mini bus, in addition to even when mixed which has a soft drink like Coca Cola, can still leave you sicker than a rabid Balinese street dog, putting paid to any diving you may have planned the next day!

Traveller Tips

Getting there:

Flights daily coming from many cities in Indonesia. The Manado airport serves international destinations as well, Singapore among them.

Make your travel arrangements beforehand. that will’s easy enough to get coming from the airport to the port by taxi however that will’s no fun dealing with touts when trying to charter a speedboat to Bunaken (to charter a speedboat for a one-way crossing should be about Rp.500,000). A much cheaper way to make the crossing will be by the daily public boat (around Rp.50,000 one way), leaving Manado at around 2-3pm. The boat returns coming from Bunaken at around 8am every morning except Sundays.

What to bring:

There aren’t any shops on Bunaken so bring plenty of snacks, in addition to if you think you might need that will, a bottle or two of booze (a far safer alternative to the highly potent Cap Tikus moonshine!).

Marine park:

Pay the one-time marine park fee which will be set at a reasonable Rp.150,000 (children below 10 years exempt).

Where to stay:

One of the best places to stay on the south side of the island will be a little in addition to affordable diving resort called Cicak Senang. Unlike many larger resorts which are rather impersonal, Cicak Senang includes a very relaxing in addition to homely vibe thanks to its very friendly owners – a Dutch lady called Willeke in addition to her husband Jerry.