Marvellous Derawan
Vacation time!
The Magical Underwater is on. Derawan is one of The Magical Underwater destination
in 2012. Islands are located in Berau, East
Kalimantan province which consists
of many small
islands. Some popular island include
the Derawan island itself, Kakaban island, Maratua island, and Sanglaki
island.
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Left to right: Lydia, Adi, Me, Tatha, Dimas, and Widhi |
I planned this
vacation with Tatha and Widhi from May 2011 when we were in Gili Meno, Lombok. We didn’t go alone this time. Three people
who came with us are Lydia – Tatha’s cousin, Adi – He’s our college from AIESEC
and Dimas a.k.a Papi – Tatha’s junior high friend. I know nothing about Kalimantan, so Kakaban Trip was our choice. We joined Kakaban Trip for Derawan trip.
Kakaban Trip provides local trip like Derawan, Wakatobi and Raja Ampat. It arranged
our trip so the preparation was so much easier.
Thursday, 22nd March
2011 : Maratua Island

Lion Air flew us
from Soekarno Hatta International Airport, Jakarta to Sepinggan Airport,
Balikpapan. It was a two hours flight. Then we had to transit one hour at
Sepinggan before connecting to our flight to Juwata International Airport,
Tarakan. Touched down Tarakan safe and sound, BroJo (Bro Johannes) – our tour
guide came to us and introduced us to other participants. Total people in the
group are 32 people consist of travelers, and photographers. I consider myself
as a traveler; a stylish traveler would be okay. :p I’ve never traveled with
bunch of people. It’d be crazy because huge number or it’d be great because I
meet other travelers. I talked to myself it would be fun and amazing trip. J
Mini bus took us to RM Sundari. Ayam penyet was our lunch of the day. If you are in Tarakan, I recommend to go to RM Sundari, the best sambal and ayam in town. It cost only IDR 20,000 for a nice Ayam Penyet plus tahu-tempe and super delicious sambal.
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Us and the travelers |
After lunch, all
travelers headed to Tengkayu Harbor, Tarakan. From RM Sundari to Tengkayu
Harbor, only took us 10 minutes. Very very crowded harbor, you have to take
care your belonging for your safety. The funniest thing in the harbor is the
voice of lady announcer. The voice is similar to Susana’s voice. Susana is
Indonesian horror movie actress. It was so scary it made us laugh, haha - Youtube
her anyways. There were no fancy boat or cruise. Don’t expect like you were in
Benoa, Bali. It took 3.5 hours from Tengkayu to Maratua Island by boat. I saw a
dolphin on our journey to Maratua. I felt so lucky.
Maratua Island
The name Derawan islands has its meaning respectively. For
example Derawan derived from the word Perawan means virgin. Maratua
derived from the word Mertua means
in-laws. Sangalaki derived from the word Lelaki means man.
and Kakaban derived
from the word Kakak means elder sibling.
It’s already 5 PM, our ship
docked in Maratua Resort. We were so ready to enjoy Borneo sunset.
Maratua Resort was so beautiful resort. You can go snorkeling in front of your
room, swimming with turtle, even if you love diving, they provide us diving
equipment. The resort is suitable to
newlyweds. The fact that make me sad, the resort owned by a foreigner. Where is
our local business tycoon? If you have bunch of money, I suggest investing for
a resort in Indonesia and supporting local tourism. I blame our government
somehow; they use our money for their own interest.
While we
explored Maratua resort we found turtles and fishes. Either small or big turtle were swimming in
turquoise water. When I saw it, I felt I’m the luckiest man on the earth; I travel
and enjoy the beauty of nature.
If you’re
wondering where we stayed at Maratua, we did homestay. I stayed in a big house
with cozy rooms. Two beds and a bathroom inside each room. Most importantly the
lady of the house served us delicious meal every day like red snapper, chicken
fillet, calamari, fried rice, and fried noodle. I was so surprised she also
served tahu and tempe. It’s not easy to
find them in an island. The owners of the house (Bapak & Ibu Jahim) were so
helpful. They also treated us very nicely.
There are four villages
in Maratua. Most
of people who live in the Maratua work as fishermen. If you
wander around the island, you'll find lots of little
kids in every house. We can see there has been no distribution of welfare between major cities and islands
in Indonesia. The gap is huge. The houses are very simple
and made of wood.
Part of the house has been old as time passed.
I met and shared story with other travelers like Pak Abi, Mas Heri, Gisca, Melvi, Ulil, Jeje, Gina, Prana, Joseph, Tiga roda, Ayu Ting-Ting and boyfried - Our captain called their name as he want, haha, and Mehdia.
I met and shared story with other travelers like Pak Abi, Mas Heri, Gisca, Melvi, Ulil, Jeje, Gina, Prana, Joseph, Tiga roda, Ayu Ting-Ting and boyfried - Our captain called their name as he want, haha, and Mehdia.
Friday, 23rd
March 2011 : Derawan and Sangalaki Island
Snorkeling Day! I
was super excited to enjoy the underwater beauty of Derawan. I decided to sit on
the roof of our boat. I saw beautiful
views in front my eyes. It took one hour from Maratua to Derawan.
The ship was docked
in Derawan. I
quickly changed my clothes and wore my snorkeling
equipment. The first time I went snorkeling without a life vest. Oh, Heaven on earth. Beautiful coral reefs and fishes are everywhere. Tatha and i swam
with turtle near pier. It
felt amazing. After
snorkeling, we decided
to take banana boat
to explore Derawan. Don’t tell other travelers! The man who rode our banana boat
took us to a huge carpet of gorgeous white sand and crystal clear water. The
view was close to Gusung Islands. It was breathtakingly beautiful. Tatha and i decided to go snorkling for last
time before we’re going to lunch. Lucky us, one of other tour guide showed us a
giant clam or what the locals call it, Kima and a crocodile fish.
Only two
of us left, my friends have gone up for lunch. We walked on the bridge to Derawan
resort and passed local houses to find our restaurant. We were last bunch to
arrive however lunch was not started yet. I sat in front of the fish that will
be served. I immediately took the red snapper in front of my eyes before anyone
did. It was very tasty.
Lunch was over. The ship
began to sail to Gusung Island. It was very beautiful scenery in Gusung Island.
Wider white sand and very clear water really spoiled my eyes. O Mon Dieu. They
say further you are to the east of
Indonesia, the beautiful the marine sights would be.
After we enjoyed the beautiful scenery of Gusung Island, the ship sailed to
Sangalaki Island. It took 30 minutes
from Derawan. The ship docked at the pier,
we jump into the sea
for snorkeling. The
beauty of the underwater Sangalaki
made me stunned. I found family
of clowfish! It was mother of Nemo and
two little nemos, I kept starring
for 10 minutes. That should be my
way to enjoy underwater beauty. Coral reefs are
everywhere, different shapes and
colors, from large
to small. After we finished snorkeling, we walked on the pier and ready to explore Sangalaki Island. Sangalaki is famous for
Turtle Breeding. Baby turtles or tukik
are maintained by the NGOs before being released into the sea in Sangalaki. They're so cute.
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The Goddess of Sangalaki |
The color of Sangalaki sea water was crystal clear makes
us want to go and play in the water.
The sun began to fade;
we also enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the Sangalaki
beach. I'm gonna reveal top secret for you guys,
the clue is
skinny dipping. Yes,
I tried it too.
* blushing *
Manta point
Before we went
home to Maratua, BroJo took us to Manta point. We saw two Manta’s from above.
Some people were so lucky; they could see them very close include Adi and Tatha.
However unlike the few lucky people, Adi even more saw three Manta’s. Tatha
called him a Lucky bastard. LOL
Saturday, 24th March
2011 : Kakaban and Nabucco Island
It's raining in
Maratua. Our 7.30 AM departure is delayed. OH NO! We continued our journey to Kakakan Island after the rain stopped. The journey took about 30
minutes from Maratua.
Arriving alive at Kakaban
pier, our group was first group to land. There are trees lining from of the
left and right you would feel you were entering The Jurassic Park. We needed to
go through stairs to reach Kakaban Lake. Kakaban Lake then was seen from a
distance, feeling impatient to see jelly fish began to appear. Finally we
reached the lake. It was a beautiful view of Kakaban Lake. We immediately jumped
into the lake to swim with the jelly fishes.
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Can you see the lake? |
This time I didn’t join
snorkeling with friends, I enjoyed the beauty of
underwater Kakaban Lake by snorkeling around and starring at those jelly fishes
for a long time then imagining I was playing Underwater Zen by Bemby Gusti. I
felt peace of mind when I starred jelly fishes. It was really really great. I
always stare at corals and clownfish for a long time; it gives me satisfaction
and peace of mind.
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Catch you |
Nabucco Island
Nabucco
Island Resort located at a small private island called Pahabanan island
surrounded by the Maratua atoll.
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There was clown fish inside |
Sunday, 25th March
2011 : Kawasan Konservasi Mangrove and Bekantan (Mangrove and Bekantan
Conservation Area) in Tarakan
Oh so sad, we had
to go home. I packed my bag and ready to go. BroJo took us to Maratua Resort to
make a group photo. As always, we gave bunch cameras to Maratua Resort’s staff
to take our photo. I thought tatha and I enjoyed pose by pose. Group photo is
done.
We headed back to Tarakan. Touched down Tengkayu Harbour, we finally met Mas
Maliq. He was supposed to be our tour guide from Kakaban Trip. We wish he could
guide us on Derawan trip. Unfortunately he couldn’t join us because a trip of Raja
Ampat. Lunch on Depot Madurasa, we found another great place to eat. We ordered
like crazy. Sorry Mas Maliq. I forgot to take photo our food. It tastes delish.
Last stop before we went to airport was Kawasan Konservasi Mangrove and Bekantan
(Mangrove and Bekantan Conservation Area) in Tarakan. We found a ‘jungle’ in
the middle of the city. I saw four Bekantans cradle in the tree. Nice
sightseeing.
Overall, Derawan
Trip is eight out of ten. I wish I could enjoy more the beauty of underwater in
Derawan. I felt it’s too short for us. One thing I love about Derawan is
swimming with Jelly Fishes. It felt so amazing. I highly recommend to you
guys, if you love underwater, coral reefs, and beaches. Let's experience the wonders of Indonesia and support local tourism!
"Live, Travel, Adventure, Bless, and Don't be sorry."
P.S: Thanks to @tatsqij for editing. ;)
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