Friday, August 26, 2011

Wakatobi Islands : The Divers Paradise

An expanse of deep blue sea. White sands. Crystal clear water. Pristine coral reefs. Stunning underwater scenery. These are the images that define the richness and the beauty of the Wakatobi Islands in Southeast Sulawesi, which have become a new paradise for sea lovers and divers. Wakatobi name is taken from the abbreviation of the islands that make up the archipelago , andhere they are: Wangi-Wangi, Kaledupa, Tomia, Binongko. Wakatobi is one second-level region in the province of Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. The capital of the district is located at Wangi-Wangi. This district lies between 5:00 to 6:25 south latitude and 123.34 - 124.64 east longitude. Wakatobi region to the north bordering the Banda Sea, the southern border with the Flores Sea, the east bordering the Flores Sea, and west bordering the Banda Sea. Wakatobi has a land area covering 823 km2 and the area of , marine waters covering an area of 18377.31 km2 estimated.


How to get there

To go to Wakatobi, you can choose to use a ship or aircraft. Using the ships are cheaper, but time consuming, from Makassar to Wakatobi it takes more than 10 hours. So, put on a plane is a more appropriate choice might make the trip even if you do not like a backpacker.Currently, flights to the wangi wangi Wakatobi's capital, is available every day.  Express airline, flights from Makassar to wangi wangi once a day, departing from Makassar approximately 8:00 pm. These flights using small aircraft laden 30 peoples and will transit in bau bau. Flights to Makassar can be done with any airline. But, try to be able to arrive several hours before the flight to Wakatobi depart. If you want to be safe, it would be better to choose the same flight with the airline. The cost of Jakarta to wangi wangi with Express Air around Rp 1.9 million rupiahs.


TRANSPORTATION TO WAKATOBI

1.BY AIR PLANE (every day with EXPRESS AIR)
  • JAKARTA - MAKASSAR - WAKATOBI
  • WAKATOBI - MAKASSAR - JAKARTA
  • KENDARI - WAKATOBI
  • WAKATOBI - KENDARI
2.BY NATIONAL SHIP (PELNI)
  • MAKASSAR – BAU2 - WAKATOBI
  • Once a Month at the First Week
3.BY WOODEN SHIP
  • (BAU – BAU) – WANGI-WANGI
  • Every day at 21.00 departures from Murhum Harbor at Bau – Bau Island.

Arriving at Wangi wangi, you can start looking for accommodation by taxi or motorcycle taxi. Taxis in Wangi-wangi usually not metered, so it's better first taxi price survey by asking some of the parties. If you would like wangi wangi tour, a taxi can also be rented all day at a cost of about Rp 250,000.



TRANSPORTATION BETWEEN ISLANDS IN WAKATOBI
*. WANGI WANGI - KALEDUPA
Every day at 08.00, 2 hours trip,Depart from Mola Harbor at Wangi – Wangi Island.

*. KALEDUPA – WANGI WANGI
Every day at 05.00, 2 hours trip, Depart from Buranga Harbor at Kaledupa Island.
*. WANGI WANGI – TOMIA
Every day at 08.00, 3 hours trip, Depart from Mola Harbor at Wangi – Wangi Island.
*. TOMIA – WANGI WANGI
Every day at 08.00, 3 hours trip, Depart from Usuku or Waha Harbor at Tomia Island.

*. WANGI-WANGI THROUGH TOMIA TO BINONGKO
Every Sunday, Wednesday, Friday at 10.00, 1 hour trip, Depart from Usuku Harbor.

For ease of transportation, it would be better to choose accommodation in Wangi wangi. No need to worry about spending another region, because there is a speedboat or a boat can take you to other Wakatobi region, such as the Hoga, Kaledupa, Tomia and Binongo.

Where to stay :

There are a variety of lodging options. The most inexpensive is to stay at home people, it will cost about Rp 50,000 per night. Standard hotel has a cost of Rp 150,000 to Rp 300,000 per night. If you want more luxury, the resort used to choose a price of Rp 500,000 to Rp 1,500,000 per night. Done with the affairs of accommodation, you can begin to prepare the core event, enjoying the beautiful sea.

As elsewhere, there are two alternatives, snorkeling and diving. If you do not have the equipment, you can rent, including a guide and boat will be delivered to the diving site.To find a guide, the easiest to contact the WWF office Wakatobi. They have a network to a few people who can guide to the submarine. There are several guides that offer packages, diving equipment, ships and the inn at a price of Rp 1,000,000 per person per day. In condition, the minimum group is 4 people.

With the package, you can dive in some of the best places Wakatobi, including Hoga, Waha, Tomia and elsewhere. In particular dive site, you can find fish that size is quite large Napoleon wrasse, including sea hares, various starfish and a definite diversity of coral.

What to see :

This national park has 25 pieces of coral reef with a circumference of the coast of the islands along the 600 km. More than 112 coral species from 13 families including Acropora formosa, A. hyacinthus, Psammocora profundasafla, Pavona cactus, Leptoseris yabei, Fungia molucensis, Lobophyllia robusta, Merulina ampliata, Platygyra versifora, Euphyllia glabrescens, Tubastraea frondes, Stylophora pistillata, throchelliophorum Sarcophyton, and Sinularia spp.

Richness of fish species that have this national park as many as 93 species of food fish and ornamental fish trade among argus spots (Cephalopholus argus), takhasang (naso unicornis), pogo-pogo (Balistoides viridescens), napoleon (Cheilinus undulatus), red fish (Lutjanus biguttatus ), rabbitfish (Siganus guttatus), Amphiprion melanopus, Chaetodon specullum, Chelmon rostratus, Heniochus acuminatus, Lutjanus monostigma, Caesio caerularea, and others.

In addition to diving and snorkeling, you can also enjoy the attractions of dolphins with Dolphin Watching or see panoramic sunrise and sunset at Hoga, one of the best panoramic view of sunset and sunrise. Seaweed cultivation can also be seen in certain places, especially around Kaledupa and wangi wangi.At night, dark sky also offers a sprinkling of stars. For those who like astronomy, Wakatobi could also be an alternative. In some areas, can still be found Bajo village in the middle of the ocean, despite the growing number of little moment.

If you really want to surrounding in Wakatobi, at least it took a week to be quite satisfied. Because the trip one island to another must be done by speedboat with a specific schedule that sometimes unreliable. Could have hired a special speedboat, but the pricing is expensive.

Just take a look for this video :



For more information you can visit :
Info Wakatobi

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