Corals, Cultures & Dragons Indonesia Adventure From Bitung To Komodo

Description

Enjoy a 14-day adventure in Indonesia, starting with a visit to the Tasikoki Wildlife Rescue Centre and then sailing to the Togean Archipelago, where passengers can enjoy snorkelling, swimming, and stand-up paddleboarding, as well as meeting locals in a fishing village. The itinerary includes encounters with rare wildlife, such as stingless jellyfish in Lake Mariona, and Maleo birds at a conservation project on the mainland.

There are also opportunities to experience Indonesian culture, with visits to bustling port towns, traditional weaving communities, and the ruins of a centuries-old Dutch fort. The itinerary includes encounters with the Bajau sea gypsies, a unique people who live on the sea, as well as snorkelling on local reefs, which offer a chance to see threatened species like the Banggai Cardinal Fish.

Passengers will also have the rare privilege of swimming in two different stingless jellyfish lakes. The itinerary ends with two days in the Wakatobi National Park, where passengers can enjoy snorkelling, a personalised tour of Wangi Wangi island, and explore the natural beauty of the park, which is home to outstanding underwater life.

Trip Name

Corals, Cultures & Dragons Indonesia Adventure From Bitung To Komodo

Days

Overview

Vessel Type: Yacht Length overall: 38 metres Passanger Capacity: 14 Led by Captain Ferdi and operated by a crew of 12, the 38-metre Katharina sits low in the water, making her a most beautiful looking boat. Built in 1995 in Kalimantan, her slim hull was originally planned for use as a commercial freighter before she caught our eye with her simple lines and sleek structure. After her 2014 interior refit, her transformation is a conservation exercise back to authenticity of a mighty seafaring tradition. Not only is the Katharina very elegant on the water, she is also fast becoming a classic yacht, as very few of these original designs remain. Accommodating just 12 guests in six cabins, with a salon & bar, two sun decks, and an outdoor dining area, she offers a more intimate experience.

Itinerary

Day 1 - D A Y 1

- Today is a day of firsts as we welcome you aboard the boat, meet the crew and our fellow passengers, settle into our seaborne home for the next two weeks and set sail on our 14-days adventure.- Our first stop will be the Tasikoki Wildlife Rescue Centre, about a one-hour cruise to the south. We will go ashore by tender and have a guided tour of the centre, where we will learn of their conservation efforts and meet some of the wildlife that reside here including monkeys, hornbills, cockatoo, and sun bears.- In the afternoon we will spend the time relaxing on deck while we set sail on our journey south.

Day 2 - D A Y 2

- This morning we will have the opportunity to snorkel on a local reef and spend some time stand up paddleboarding, kayaking, and relaxing.- In the afternoon, we will have our first chance to meet some North Sulawesi locals as we head ashore to a fishing village, where they will invite us into their home to share with us their way of life.- We will head west for the overnight passage to the Togean Archipelago, one of Indonesia's wonderful national parks.

Day 3 - D A Y 3

- Some great wildlife experiences await us today both in the water and the air, with birds, fish and invertebrates as the main features.- We will enjoy a fantastic snorkel on the reefs near the island of Malenge, before taking our snorkels and masks to experience a rare opportunity to swim with stingless jellyfish in nearby Lake Mariona, one of only 20 lakes in the world that are home to these amazing creatures.- We will visit a local village and meet the people, and enjoy a late afternoon walk in the local forest before being witness to a most amazing show of nature as flocks of hornbills come flying in to roost in the trees – a once in a lifetime sight only accessible with SeaTrek.

Day 4 - D A Y 4

- Today will be your first encounter with the Bajau sea gypsies of Southeast Asia, a people with a very unique way of living with the sea. About 2500 people live in Kabalutan village, and we will be welcomed into their world to meet and talk with them about their lives.- We will head to the southernmost tip of the park and have a long snorkel near the before setting sail to the southeast for a most unique wildlife encounter the following morning.

Day 5 - D A Y 5

- A very unique experience awaits you today, one you will very likely have never had before - an encounter with a Maleo bird.- One of Sulawesi’s most interesting birds, the Maleo is a flightless fowl with some very unusual characteristics and behaviours, and also the symbol of the province within which it lives.- We visit a conservation project on the mainland where scores of Maleo live and breed. Entering in twos, we can watch them at their sandy nesting sites from a camouflagued hide as they go about their business.- Later that morning we will cruise south and snorkel in the afternoon on a beautifully rich reef in front or Pulau Dua, or ‘two islands’ in the Indonesian language.

Day 6 - D A Y 6

- A trio of unique experiences await us today involving culture, conservation and wildlife.- We will visit the bustling Indonesian island port town of Bangaii, a place filled with activity and commerce. Here on Banggai Island we will visit the local market, explore the neighbourhoods, the sultan’s palace and the maleo bird egg ‘museum’, and all from our fleet of brightly-coloured motor rickshaws, which will be on the dock awaiting our arrival.- We will pay a hands-on visit to LINI, an NGO doing great work with coral restoration on the surrounding reefs, in addition to working with local fishermen in finding sustainable solutions for supplying fish for overseas markets and the live aquarium fishing trade.- The last of the day’s highlights will be a snorkel on a local reef where we will see the most elegant, but very threatened, Banggai Cardinal Fish – a darling of saltwater aquarium lovers worldwide.

Day 7 - D A Y 7

- The Bokan Islands are an area of unsurpassed beauty and today will a day of marine exploration and relaxation as we snorkel, swim, paddle and kayak around the glorious reefs, beaches and islands with many caves and snorkelling spots.- We also have the rare privilege to swim once again in another stingless jellyfish lake, the exotically named Danau Piasu Botangan.

Day 8 - D A Y 8

- A visit to another Bajau ‘sea gypsy’ community awaits us today, as we get to once again meet and experience one of Southeast Asia’s famous nomadic cultures.- After our visit with the sea gypsies on Padai Kecil Island, we will snorkel on one of the local reefs, and then set sail later in the afternoon, heading south to the wonderful Wakatobi National Park.

Day 9 - D A Y 9

- This is day one of two in the Wakatobi National Park, a very hard to reach archipelago filled with fascinating culture and also one of Indonesia’s best national parks, with outstanding underwater life natural beauty.- As well as snorkelling in the morning and afternoon, you will enjoy a personalised tour of the island of Wangi Wangi, with highlights that include a seaweed farm, meeting with a traditional weaving community, and the ruins of a centuries’ old Dutch fort, a relic of the ancient Spice Trade.

Day 10 - D A Y 1 0

- More fascinating culture and snorkelling awaits us today, as we visit a famous local blacksmiths and do a drift snorkel on the Wakatobi Resort’s magnificent house reef.- Snorkelling comes first in the morning, and then during lunch we will cruise to nearby Binongko Island, where the local craftsmen use hand-operated bellows on the furnace in the blacksmith shop to produce machetes and knives for that are highly sought-after right across Indonesia

Day 11 - D A Y 1 1

- When you awake today the sky will be filled with the sight of Brown- and Red-Footed Boobies and Lesser Frigate birds, many of which will be circling the boat and trying to land on the stays and masts.- The island where we will be is Kakabia, an uninhabited sea mount in the middle of the Flores Sea, rich in upwelling nutrients and a perfect habitat for fishing and raising their young.- We will spend the day here snorkelling and exploring and we will make an attempt to go ashore (tide depending) for an afternoon of swimming, kayaking, paddling and fun. In the evening (also tide depending) we will have a bbq beach party with our crew providing the entertainment.

Day 12 - D A Y 1 2

- Today we will walk amongst the hulls and hulks of a huge unlaunched flotilla of pinisi ships being built on a remote island archipelago. We will meet the shipwrights and discover their age-old traditions of shipbuilding that they have practiced for centuries in this forgotten corner of the world, using basic plans, wood, and a collection of simple tools and age-old techniques.- Bonerate is rarely visited by tourists outside of SeaTrek, and seeing this open-air boatyard is an experience to be savoured. As we walk through the village and along the beaches and meet the locals, you will gain a new appreciation for island life and for the kind of boat you have been cruising with for the past twelve days.

Day 13 - D A Y 1 3

- Giants will loom large in your day today: Komodo dragons, flying foxes and manta rays, three of the biggest and most impressive animals in Indonesia.- Rising early in the Komodo National Park, we will take you for a privately arranged, ranger-led walk around the island of Rinca, where we will see not only Komodo dragons, but also their preferred menu of prey – monkeys, deer, pigs and buffaloes.- After lunch on board we will go in search of manta rays as they glide by as they feed in the current at their local cleaning stations.- This evening, as the sun starts to set, we will gather on the deck and be witness to a most spectacular event as thousands of flying foxes leave their mangrove forest homes en masse on their nightly fruit-foraging missions.- Tonight the crew will prepare a beach BBQ for us all as we feast, sing and dance the night away by a roaring fire under the stars.

Day 14 - D A Y 1 4

- Our final day will be one of snorkelling and culture. After an optional morning swim and snorkel, we will take you on a private tour to a local village high up on a mountain plateau where we will be welcomed in by the elders and offered betel nut and arak, a potent local alcoholic brew.- We will be witness to the traditional ‘caci' whip dance, and the 'bamboo' dance, performed by the villagers for generations.- After a final Indonesian lunch on the boat we will say farewell to our crew, who have looked after us so well for the past two weeks, and transfer to Komodo airport for our flight back to Bali and our onward journey.

Day 15 - Please Note:

Itineraries are subject to change.

Trip Dates

Start	End	Price From	Room Type

Inclusions

Visit the Tasikoki Wildlife Rescue Centre and learn about their conservation efforts
Snorkel on local reefs and swim with stingless jellyfish in Lake Mariona
Encounter the Bajau sea gypsies of Southeast Asia and learn about their unique way of living with the sea
Watch Maleo birds in their natural habitat and visit a conservation project on the mainland
Explore the bustling Indonesian island port town of Bangaii and visit LINI, an NGO doing coral restoration work
Swim in another stingless jellyfish lake in the Bokan Islands
Visit another Bajau sea gypsy community on Padai Kecil Island
Explore the Wakatobi National Park, a hard-to-reach archipelago with fascinating culture and outstanding underwater life natural beauty
Enjoy a personalised tour of the island of Wangi Wangi, including a seaweed farm and a traditional weaving community