Rare Finds

Manado in North Sulawesi has long been hailed as one of the most fascinating marine environments around. But fame has its price, and the area has become crowded with dive operations. Less than an hour’s flight away is another dive destination that is threatening to grab the spotlight. Maria Kegel visits Gorontalo.

Separating Central Sulawesi from North Sulawesi lies one of Indonesia’s newest provinces, Gorontalo, still a rare stop on all but the most curious traveler’s itinerary. Since 1999, American Rantje Allen has been surveying its coastal waters for diving tourism, while staying dedicated to keeping the marine environment intact. Spearheading the area’s sole dive operation, Miguel’s Diving, Allen has documented all the dive sites he has pioneered and preserved all the treasures they hold in the photographs in his recent book, Gorontalo: Hidden Paradise.

Apart from the myriad of pinnacles, reefs, caverns and walls concealing holes, crevasses and caves, there are also two wrecks to explore: an overturned barge with numerous oil drums tied around its circumference from a failed recovery attempt, and a World War II Japanese cargo ship that sank after a fire panicked its crew and they drove the boat into a coral wall instead of the beach.

Unlike Manado’s oversaturated market, Gorontalo has had relatively few divers take the plunge off its coastline, which conveniently drops off into depths of hundreds of meters close to shore, making it unnecessary for locals to dynamite fish. These factors allow for a huge number of species, both known and unknown, to flourish beneath the surface. Several new and endemic species have been listed since Allen began keeping track, and rarities abound at every turn.  

Blue Sea Fan. Featured on the cover of a recent issue of Asian Diver magazine, the rare blue sea fans lie at approximately 35 meters depth; two at Swirling Steps, one at Honeycomb and the last at the Silvertip Grounds dive sites. There may be others elsewhere in the world but two dive companions journeyed all the way from the U.S. just to see them after spotting these blue beauties on the magazine cover.

Coleman Coral Shrimp. With a translucent body and purple joints, this recently discovered species of shrimp enjoys the prestige of being found in only two places: Papua, where it was first discovered, and Gorontalo.

Cigar Sponges: Gorontalo’s underwater conditions are highly conducive for sponges, and giant specimens dot its seascape, including Cigar sponges, which scientists recognized as a new species in 2001. Growing to a meter or more in length, there are reportedly hundreds in the reefs around the dive site called Swirling Steps.

Salvador Dali Sponge. As the name implies, this sponge looks like something the surrealist Spanish artist would have dreamed up, with the outrageous abstract designs carved into its hard surface. Allen, who gave this peculiar sponge the painter’s name, said these sponges are hard to miss on any deep dive and can only be seen in Gorontalo.  

Foxtail Colonial Tunicates: Going also by the name of sea squirts, many species of tunicates make their home in Tomini Bay, including an unknown species that is clear white and measures only about 2 cm in length. They gather by the hundreds in long glorious plume formations. One we spotted dangling off an overhang of the sunken cargo barge’s hull looked more like the freshly-flung boa of an undressing Hollywood starlet than a collection of small sea creatures.

The Orangeback Wrasse is another of Gorontalo’s endemic species and several were spotted on our second dive at the Mirabella dive site.

Seahares: Lying on the sandy bottom of the Sandcastle dive site, just meters away from the tiny village of Olele and its beach, was a swarm of about 150 squirming sea hares, which are members of the sea slug family, or to be exact “the Stylocheilus longicauda or Fine-lined sea hare, which are a type of opisthobranch,” Allen said.

Murex shells: So rare was the sighting of a live murex shell crawling along the sandy bottom of the Sandcastle dive site that following our elation at spotting it, we realized sadly that we would most likely never see one again.

Gold-spec jawfish: Peering up with glowing eyes like the red-hot embers of a dying fire from deep within their safe hiding spots dug into the sand at the Mirabella and Sunken Island dive sites are one of Gorontalo’s species of jawfish, which are so named for their practice of keeping their eggs safe in their mouth until they hatch.  

Getting There….
Two airlines offer daily flights to Gorontalo. Lion Air operates the morning run while Sriwijaya handles the afternoon flight. Although the airport is about 30 km down a single-lane country road from the city’s core, the good news is unmarked taxis are always available outside the arrival area and will drop you off at your hotel for the set price of Rp 50,000. Otherwise, a bentor, Gorontalo’s own twist on the motorcycle taxi, can be hired to take you into town for roughly Rp 75,000 a ride.      

Where to set up camp
There are a few places worth remembering when looking for lodging. The bulk of backpackers and other budget-conscious travelers head to the clean and friendly Hotel Melati on Jl Gadjah Mada, a comfortable establishment, run by the grandson of the former harbormaster of the area, Alex Velberg, and his helpful family.

More comfortable digs can be found at the recently finished Quality Inn, the first star-accredited hotel in the province, on Jl. Ahmad Yani. The Yulia Hotel, also on Jl. Ahmad Yani, is another upmarket choice.

For a more personal feel, the Liberti Hotel on Jl. Kasuari provides travelers with big, charming rooms set in an attractive two-story building.

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