So Far, So Good

The secret is out. Long passed around on the backpacker grapevine as a not-to-be-missed stopover, the Togian Islands in the Tomini Gulf are starting to show up on the radar of jaded Jakartans looking for a new getaway. Maria Kegel takes a time out in the islands.

The Togians, a tight cluster of 56 islands and islets nestled between the two eastern arms of  pinwheel-shaped Sulawesi, offer vast rewards for anybody with the patience and resolve to venture out that way: clear turquoise waters, perfect hidden beaches, dense jungles sheltering exotic wildlife and, best of all, breath-taking coral reefs. 

But prepare yourself for more than a bumpy ride out to this pristine paradise: the airport in Gorontalo is the closest one gets to fly-in convenience. After that it’s about an hour’s drive to the city’s port for a grueling ride on the sole ferry servicing the Togian archipelago (the islands are sometimes known as the Togeans).

The boat journey to Wakai, the best-serviced port of the region and the main jumping-off point to smaller island destinations, can take 18 hours or more, which may seem longer if you dpn’t bring along adequate seasickness medication.   

The big draw of the Togians is the multitude of immaculate reefs that surround many of the islands, with Batu Daka, Malenge, Togean, Kadidiri and Una-Una seeing the most divers and snorkelers. This is the one place in Indonesia to encounter three types of coral environments: fringing, atoll and barrier reefs. And they won’t disappoint you.  

The aquatic realm boasts 500 types of hard and soft corals of unsurpassed beauty and a healthy array of marine life that rivals Bunaken.

For underwater photographers, it’s a macro-lens dream come true, with the plentiful assortment of nudibranchs of all color combinations and docile pygmy seahorses ready to pose.

During our dives, we were dazzled with sightings of sea cucumbers, lobsters, frogfish, leaf fish, stone fish, Napoloean Wrasse, bumpheads and shoals of snappers, tuna, jackfish and trevalli, entertaining us with their succinct synchronized movements. Gray reef sharks, dolphins and dugongs are not uncommon in these waters.

But stealing the show are the more-than-impressive coral gardens and steep drop-offs that fringe the islands. Dark green, teal blue and purple barrel sponges of immense size, vast areas of cabbage coral and pastel salmon pink sea fans of eye-popping proportions decorate the many walls, pinnacles, canyons and slopes.  

One of the main dive attractions in the area is the perfectly intact American B-24 bomber, which crash-landed on the ocean’s surface on May 3, 1945, and then sank an hour later. It lies at roughly 25 meters below the surface on a sandy bottom on the south side of Pulau Togean (about a 45-minute boat ride from Kadidiri).

Massive barrel sponges and a sprawling anemone now occupy the plane’s roof, while other soft corals have grown unchecked over every inch of its exterior.

Greeting divers upon descent is a family of resident lionfish, who diligently patrol the cockpit and areas outside the windows, and a lone lobster, hiding within the corals on the plane’s left wing. Sorry, no skeletons.

Help preserve the structure of the plane and the vast array of life it supports by resisting the temptation to sit in the cockpit or enter the hull.   

After that step-back in time, we headed to the nearby coral gardens, where visibility vastly improves along with the diversity of corals.   

Although the bomber was a hard act to follow, the dive sites around the volcanic island of Pulau Una-Una proved to be in a class all their own with the sheer immensity of their stunning coral formations and the plethora of macro-life to view at the shallower depths.

The still active volcano on the island, Gunung Colo, which last erupted in 1983 after a 100-year silence, is safe to trek up. It takes about three hours to get to the top if you are looking for a surface activity.

Hiking is worthwhile to do on any of the islands to explore the caves, view the birdlife and catch sightings of the amazing wildlife, such as hornbills, cuscus, macaques and tarsiers. Bat caves are behind the village of Bomba on Batu Daka and walking trails have been set up especially for travelers around mangroves and jungles on Pulau Malenge . 

Swimming and snorkeling on Kadidiri, the most popular destination of travelers, is as easy as walking out of your cottage and down the few meters to the shoreline.

Malenge also boasts good snorkeling, but smaller islands beckon, with deserted beaches and inviting coral reefs waiting to be explored. Chartering a boat to take you to nearby islands for snorkeling is simpler to do from Wakai and Bomba.

Travel Notes 

Accommodation
Although backpackers have been journeying to the Togians for many years, scuba diving in the area didn’t take off until 1999. Since then four dive operations have sprouted up, two of which are side by side on Kadidiri island: Paradise and Black Marlin. Other popular dive centers are Island Retreat outside the village of Bomba on Pulau Batu Daka and the Walea Dive Center Resort on an island just off of Pulau Walea Kodi.

All have small cottages, as well as transportation and three meals. Facilities are basic but comfortable and easy to adjust to. 

Not much information is available about the numerous bungalows for hire throughout the islands so it’s best to check with the hotels you stop off at before you take the ferry out. Otherwise, talking to other travelers will be your best source of up-to-date information for names, locations and prices.  

Flights and ferries
The majority of tourists come through Gorontalo, while those who are doing the overland route starting from Makassar come through Ampana, and then find boats around its harbor.

Ampana is certainly the easier point to get to the Togians, as the boat ride is only five and a half hours.  However, since there isn’t a way to fly into Ampana or near it, Gorontalo becomes the next best choice for travelers adhering to any kind of a schedule.

At the time this article was written, only one of the three vessels listed on the ferry schedule was plying the long route between Gorontalo and Ampana twice a week: The Puspita leaves from Gorontalo at 10 p.m. on Wednesday nights and arrives the next day at the islands. It returns on Monday afternoon, leaving Wakai at 3 p.m. and is scheduled to arrive in Gorontalo at 6 a.m. Tuesday, but delays are frequent, so plan for an 8 a.m. arrival. (another boat was expected to return to service within the next few months).

From Gorontalo, stops are made at Dolong , Popoli, Malenge, Ketupat and then Wakai, before the ferry docks at its final destination of Ampana. 

Be warned: the ferry has no chairs and little room for moving around. Once you board, commuters have to jostle for space and plastic mattresses, which are placed on one of two tiers of wooden platforms built on deck for passengers to sleep on for the duration of the ride.

Lion Air and Sriwijaya will take you daily to Gorontalo, but check all the flight times available before booking anything. There is a Sriwijaya flight that lands at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, and this should allow you enough time to catch the ferry. (The port is over an hour’s drive away from the airport).

Conservation efforts
The Togians were designated a national park last year, but there are no park boundaries and no fees in place similar to the scheme implemented at Bunaken’s National Underwater Park in North Sulawesi. Dive shops had earlier proposed to put a portion of the tourist dollars from a dive toward the park, but nothing has been decided yet.

As the Togians span the length of 170 kilometers, this large area is difficult to patrol, despite frequent incidents of dynamite fishing and reports of cyanide fishing around the islands..

Wolf Becker, Black Marlin’s dive instructor and a marine biologist, said dynamite fishing was the biggest threat as it destroys the reefs. “Sometimes you hear nothing (out on the water), but then sometimes you can hear up to seven blasts on one dive.”

The islands will not be spared from the effects of pollution that inevitably come with an increase of visitors, however garbage wasn’t present at any of the dive sites or on the beaches we visited during our short time there.   

Naturalists can take heart that the Togians’ remote location and lack of convenient transportation will ensure that this part of paradise will remain relatively unspoiled and more pristine for just a while longer yet.

Home