A Dive Paradise in Sulawesi
Prince John Dive Resort isn’t in Palu. which’s about an hour up the road, in a tiny place called Donggala. The road skirts off to the right in addition to also you hear the tires crush in addition to also crunch ancient corals announcing your arrival at the easy-to-miss entrance.
The resort is usually nothing if not simple. Simple cabins. Simple tone in addition to also tenor— scattered hammocks across the porches of more than a dozen cabins, young in addition to also yellow coconut trees complete using a few chickens scratching at the underbrush. The check-in desk is usually also the bar. No welcome drink. No wet face towel.
nevertheless simple is usually hard to find nowadays. Resorts across Indonesia are overrun with pink drinks in addition to also umbrella stirrers. What most resorts lack in diving locations they try to make up in parade in addition to also splendour. Not Prince John.
Prince John does which right, coming from the dive boat simply named “Dive Boat” to the seasoned divemaster, who after spending 5 minutes slack-lining in 35 kilograms of dive equipment in addition to also basking within the applause of guests, broaches the idea of exploring a 60-year-old wreck which sits some 40 metres below the surface.
“What I saw with Prince John was beyond expectation,” says Riyanni Djankaru, the Editor of Dive Mag Indo. “I had underestimated the dive spots in addition to also was there simply to sunbathe. nevertheless the coral reefs, colourful nudibranchs, frogfish in addition to also sharks were a real surprise. Realizing there’s a hidden jewel down in Donggala is usually one of the best feelings—I love which!”
There’s nothing like a 40-metre dive. The fact which which lies just a seven-minute boat ride coming from your bungalow only helps sweeten the pot. One minute you’re toying with your BCD while Nasrun, one of the resort’s three veteran dive guides, checks the current, dipping his head within the gunwale wake. in addition to also the next you’re weaving your way through the portholes of a football field-long shipwreck. Just you, a few friends in addition to also the dive guide—in addition to also if you’re lucky, Alexander Franz, Prince John’s owner.
in addition to also which’s the beauty of living in Indonesia, with 17,000 islands which’s easy to spend a decade searching out brand new spots like Palu’s Mutiara wreck, just one of the dozens of dive spots the staff at Prince John are glad to show off.
“We have to hide the bouys,” says Alex, hinting using a smile at how Prince John’s is usually OK with keeping a secret or two. “If we left them at the surface they’d be gone in a day in addition to also we’d have a hard time finding the wreck again.”
nevertheless they wouldn’t. Between Alex in addition to also the three dive guides, there is usually about a century of diving experience housed under one resort. A quick glance at the resort’s website gives a detailed description of the crew, who are a beautiful mix of expertise in addition to also humility.
Normally, you’d explore the house reef first, nevertheless here at Prince John the shoreline is usually best left for a night dive—two or three night dives if you’re smart about which. The house reef throws up some of the most amazing sights out there. You don’t know where to look in addition to also your head is usually on a swivel for 60 minutes straight. The hand torches criss-cross the dark water, like searchlights outside a movie premiere.
“We saw a big Spanish dancer, a huge grouper which hunted for food using the divers’ flashlights in addition to also lots more,” says Riyanni. “which was so hectic down there.”
Nasrun, one of Prince John’s three celebrated divemasters, loves the house reef as well. “The house reef incorporates a wide range of animals in addition to also which’s truly easy to dive,” says Nasrun.
The most difficult about Donggala in addition to also Prince John is usually figuring out what to do with your time. Most guests fly coming from Jakarta or Bali in addition to also stay for three or four days. Depending on what time of the year you decide to book with the resort you could run into families fresh coming from Jakarta, backpackers who were smart enough to avoid more crowded dive resorts, or limo drivers coming from Germany who decided to spend eight weeks with Alex, Nasrun in addition to also Prince John.
“I thought about which for a while,” said one of the German guests, “in addition to also Prince John in addition to also Palu just had everything I wanted. I never thought about splitting my trip between some other spots. Everything I wanted was right here.”
Prince John Dive Resort
www.prince-john-dive-resort.com
kontakt@prince-john-dive-resort.com
+62 – 457 71 710
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A Dive Paradise in Sulawesi
A Dive Paradise in Sulawesi