After five days here at Derawan Island we can report that we have been having a pretty good time, including several 'first' experiences.
The island is surrounded by coral reefs and sand cays, and turtles are seen often in the anchorage area and also while snorkelling. The tide fairly rips through - it settled down for a few days during neaps but now that springs are approaching again we are getting 2+ knots, whoops make that 2.5+ knots, during the strongest flow. The turbulence has boats dancing about the place and everyone watching out in case another boat gets too close. There are several moorings here which cannot be used as they are too close together.
A couple of evenings ago we were invited to participate in the release of over 200 turtle hatchlings. It was a happy/sad time to see all the little ones make straight for the water, knowing that maybe only one would be lucky to survive the waiting predators.
A two-hour boat trip to Berau City, the administrative centre of this Regency gave us our last glimpse of life in Kalimantan. The city, situated quite a way up a river delta, is celebrating its 60th birthday and we observed one of the ceremonies although we were a bit late. The ceremony culminated in the cutting of a huge, round, three-layered flattish rice 'cake'. Not sure of the significance of this but a line of younger people carried smaller versions of the cake around.
We visited the former Sultan's palace, now a museum, had a very nice lunch, went to the Expo which has a new wet market area plus other retail outlets, and took the time to visit some shops where yachties could purchase some necessary bits and pieces. It was a bit of a long drawn out day. The boat trip back did not seem quite as bad as the trip in though and we were soon back to our own boats and relaxing aboard.
Yesterday we joined four other couples on a boat ride to visit three nearby islands. At Sanggalaki Island we had the amazing experience of swimming with two Manta rays plus saw several others gliding gracefully through the water or along the bottom.
Nearby Kakaban Island is home to a brackish lake which supports three species of stingless jellyfish. This is only one of two places in the world where this occurs, the other being Palau. We took the opportunity of taking a swim in the not-so-clear water to see these creatures but we think once is enough for this activity.
Tomorrow we will sail to Manatua Island for an overnight stop before continuing on to Sulawesi.
The island is surrounded by coral reefs and sand cays, and turtles are seen often in the anchorage area and also while snorkelling. The tide fairly rips through - it settled down for a few days during neaps but now that springs are approaching again we are getting 2+ knots, whoops make that 2.5+ knots, during the strongest flow. The turbulence has boats dancing about the place and everyone watching out in case another boat gets too close. There are several moorings here which cannot be used as they are too close together.
A couple of evenings ago we were invited to participate in the release of over 200 turtle hatchlings. It was a happy/sad time to see all the little ones make straight for the water, knowing that maybe only one would be lucky to survive the waiting predators.
A two-hour boat trip to Berau City, the administrative centre of this Regency gave us our last glimpse of life in Kalimantan. The city, situated quite a way up a river delta, is celebrating its 60th birthday and we observed one of the ceremonies although we were a bit late. The ceremony culminated in the cutting of a huge, round, three-layered flattish rice 'cake'. Not sure of the significance of this but a line of younger people carried smaller versions of the cake around.
Representatives from various parts of Indonesia, including New Guinea, were at the ceremony
Chicken tonight?
Nearby Kakaban Island is home to a brackish lake which supports three species of stingless jellyfish. This is only one of two places in the world where this occurs, the other being Palau. We took the opportunity of taking a swim in the not-so-clear water to see these creatures but we think once is enough for this activity.
Tomorrow we will sail to Manatua Island for an overnight stop before continuing on to Sulawesi.
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