Feature: Indonesia, paradise for divers

By Bambang Purwanto

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Divers all over the world must come to Indonesia which offers a diversity of dive sites and is home to incredibly beautiful underwater panoramas inhabited by various species of sea biota like unique coral reefs and fishes.

Indonesia is now promoting certain areas such as Bali, North Sulawesi, West Sumatra and Gorontalo as havens for divers seeking adventure in the deep seas of the archipelagic country.

It has turned out that Indonesia`s main tourist destination, Bali, is not only rich in cultural tourist attractions but also a paradise for divers as its underwater sceneries are wonderful with a lot of sea biota, including colorful fishes and coral reefs.

Divers of all levels are recommended to visit Bali which has several areas rich in fantastic underwater views like Tulamben, Pemuteran and Lembongan.

Tulamben offers daily diving at up to 16 dive sites suitable for divers of all levels of experience, including the world renowned Liberty Wreck which is still one of Bali`s most celebrated dive sites. Night diving is a highlight in Tulamben.

Pemuteran has up to 15 dive sites suitable for divers of all experience levels. It also offers excellent boat diving and great shore dives for macro lovers in Secret Bay and Puri Jati.

In the meantime, West Sumatra is promoting turtle breeding locations as one of its top tourist attractions.

West Sumatra province is rich in marine tourism spots as it has at least seven districts/cities which have coastal areas where tourists can enjoy surfing and diving activities. One such region is Pesisir Selatan district, the head of West Sumatra province`s Office of Tourism, Arts and Culture, H James Hellyward, once said.

"We also have places where tourists can see a more unique thing , namely , the turtle breeding process. For such an experience, why should we go to Brazil? Let`s go to Pulau Penyu (Turtle Island) in West Sumatra," James Hellyward told ANTARA.

The provincial tourism office will involve local fishermen in its effort to develop the turtle breeding process as a tourist attraction as they know precisely when turtles come ashore to lay eggs, James said, adding that the most interesting period is during a full moon.

Divers can also find a dive haven in Gorontalo province where they can observe the most complex underwater rock formations and clusters of dramatic buttresses alternate with deep chutes.

Holes, crevasses, fissures and caverns chock up coral walls in the underwater world of the province where pinnacles and muck basins are common. Divers can also see whales, large rays, shallow coral gardens and dolphine in the waters of Gorontalo.

About the beautiful underwater tourist resort, the head of Gorontalo`s Tourism Office, Henry Freddy Djuuna, once said the province`s submarine wealth should be developed as a national marine park like the one in Bunaken, North Sulawesi.

It is undeniable that North Sulawesi is a paradise for divers and snorkelers who can enjoy the beauty of the famous Bunaken National Park with its impressive, completely overgrown steep walls.

People can dive in at least three different dive areas where they can find enermous sponges, big schools of fish, turtles, sharks and a wealth of smaller creatures in between the abundant corals.

"North Sulawesi has special dive sites where smaller creatures measuring between 5 millimeters and one centimeter long are to be found. Certain fishes are only visible with a macro camera," Anwar Pataria who is a diving instructor of the Thalassa dive center in Manado, North Sulawesi, recently said at the Asia Dive Expo which took place from April 18 to 20 , 2008, in Singapore.

According to Anwar, North Sulawesi is rich in fish species as ghost pipe fish, nudibranch fish and scorpion fish as well as Mandarin fish which usually comes out at 5 pm local time.

Enthusiasts

Indonesia promoted its dive sites at the Asia Dive Expo (ADEX) 2008 in Singapore from April 18 to 20 , 2008, during which many divers from different countries expressed their enthusiastic interest in visiting a number of the country`s areas offering underwater adventures.

Among the enthusiasts was a Singaporean national, Simon Tiong who likes Bali very much for its people`s hospitality, cultural tourist sites and beautiful natural endowments, including marine and dive sites.

"I will go to Bali in July this year to visit a number of tourist sites including those in Nusa Penida to experience sea adventures," Simon who almost every year visits Bali said at the Asia Dive Expo (ADEX) recently.

According to Simon, he wished to go to Bali with his friends including those who are tour operators and to tell them about the beauty of Indonesia`s main resort island.

Meanwhile, I Made Wirawan who is a master instructor of PADI (Professional Diving Instructors` Association) said at the Bali stand at ADEX that Simon told him that he was very interested in Bali and was planning to visit the resort island in July this year.

"He is so interested in Bali. His house in Singapore is even full of decorations from Balinese culture," Wirawan told ANTARA.

Wirawan said Simon was actually an individual tourist but he had a lot of friends including those serving as tour operators so that he was expected to bring many tourists to Bali when visiting the province.

At ADEX, Bali province introduced marine tourist sites, especially underwater tourist sites in different places in the province, including Pemuteran, Lembongan and Tulamben.

After visiting the Bali stand at ADEX 2008, Margaret Flierman from Australia was also planning to Bali to see the unique Mola-mola fish in July.

"Mola-mola fish is an interesting species. Every sea fish is interesting but mola mola fish has some special characteristics. I will go to Bali to see the fish in July or October," said Margaret who likes diving a lot.

Mola-mola fish is a seasonal fish which appears only between July and October.

Meanwhile, Jacky who runs a dive school with about 1,000 students, will also visit Bali in June this year to enable his students to practice diving and to see Mola-mola fish.

"I`ll bring about 30 students to Bali to see Mola-mola. It will be very interesting," Jacky said when visiting the Bali stand at ADEX 2008.

Meanwhile, coordinator of Indonesia`s participation in ADEX 2008, Betty Anita, said the country`s participation in the event was part of efforts to promote the Visit Indonesia Year 2008 program.

She said the Indonesian delegation to the ADEX 2008 included the Marine Tourism Association of the Republic of Indonesia, Gorontalo province`s tourism office, West Sumatra province`s tourism office and Bali province`s tourism office.

The Culture and Tourism Ministry launched the Visit Indonesia Year (VIY) 2008 on December 26, 2007.

Indonesia had also promoted its tourism potentials through a Visit Indonesia Year program in 1991.