Here be dragons and dives

Discover rare flora and fauna, dramatic views and untouched waters, all within easy reach of Bali, says Ben Mondy

From The Times, UK, March 14, 2009

 In the clear: a fisherman in a dugout boat in the waters off Alor island, which also provide a world-class destination for deep-sea diving. (Wolfgang Poelzer/Axiom)
 

My first experience of the bounties of the rather obscure Nusa Tenggara came about ten years ago when I dragged myself away from the world-famous waves of Bali and travelled to the lesser-known island of Lombok. Ditching the surfboard, I headed to Indonesia’s third-highest peak, Mount Rinjani, an active volcano located about three hours’ drive from the island’s capital, Mataram. 

On offer was a fairly rigorous, three-day/two-night guided trek, leaving from the village of Senaru, gateway to the huge Mount Rinjani National Park. A 3am start on the second morning brought me tired and elated to the summit for a dramatic sunrise. It was at this point, 3,762 metres (12,340 ft) above the newly lit Indian Ocean, with the whole Nusa Tenggara stretched and dotted below me as far as the eye could see, that I had the first inkling of what this part of the world could offer. 

Following that revelation, there was a two-hour descent to Segara Anak, the crater lake of Mount Rinjani. At 2,500 metres above sea level, the breathtakingly beautiful lake is is an important ceremonial site, utilised for various rituals by both the local Wetu Telu Islamic people and by nearby Hindu communities. 

And all this within reach — heck, within sight — of Bali, a favourite tourist paradise since the early 1970s. Nusa Tengarra refers to an area containing the 550 or so islands that lie to the east of Bali, stretching from the lush, mountainous Lombok all the way to the desert-like Timor. Smack bang in the middle and bisecting the island chain is what is known as the Wallace Line, named after Alfred Russel Wallace, the 19th century naturalist. 

His studies in this area in the 1850s led him to devise a dividing line that marked the transition between the flora and fauna of western and eastern Indonesia. We could go into the huge significance of this imaginary evolutionary halfway line, but for the visitor it is sufficient to know that this huge range of unique flora and fauna is what makes Nusa Tenggara such a fascinating place to visit. 

Elsewhere in Lombok, in the far south, Kuta’s great waves, stunning bays and hotels attract a steady stream of visitors, many coming for the annual ritual of the Bau Nyale, held on the second full moon of the year. And if you cannot celebrate a sea worm’s annual reproduction cycle, what can you celebrate? For more standard tourist fare, the coral reefs, white sandy beaches and beach bars of the Gili Islands, just off Lombok’s northwest coast, offer a variety of accommodation and excellent diving. 

Moving east from Lombok, Nusa Tenggara is dominated by its largest island of Sumbawa. This is drier than Lombok and its southern coastal flank, with dramatic cliffs and wild oceans, and is a favourite for thrill-seeking surfers. Sumbawa’s biggest tourist attractions, however, lie with its offshore islands on the northern, more sheltered side. 

Perhaps the most well known of these is Komodo, made famous by its Komodo dragons. While not known to breathe fire, the dragons are in fact giant monitor lizards that can grew up to four metres long. These reptilian throwbacks are considered to be the only examples of their kind left in the world and have been gorging on Komodo’s rare bird species, deer and wild pigs, not to mention each other, for half a million years. 

The whole island is a designated national park and offers only rudimentary accommodation, meaning most visitors are day trippers from nearby Sumbawa or Flores. While you will often see the dragons close to the accommodation huts (mostly dozing under a tree if my experience is anything to go by), a guided tour to see them in the wild is the key to a) seeing their primitive table manners and b) not getting devoured by an animal who can date his family tree back to the Triassic age. 

From Komodo it is a short boat trip to Flores, an untouched, volcano-strewn island that straddles the Wallace Line and provides one of the world’s most dynamic marine environments, in addition to being a famous “biodiversity hotspot”. 

With infrastructure pretty crude on most of the island, the best bet is to stay in the town of Maumere. Using this as a base, you can take advantage of the great diving and snorkelling nearby. (It was in Maumere harbour that the marine photographer Rudie Kuiter catalogued more than 1,200 species of fish, including some new to science, in 2005.) In addition there are the picturesque, coloured, cratered lakes of Keli Mutu, about half a day’s drive away. 

Crossing Wallace’s marker and into East Nusa Tenggara, the island of Sumba does not offer much for anyone except the most intrepid of explorers or those willing to make a little effort to see an authentic, ancient culture with none of the layers of Hinduism or Islam found elsewhere in Indonesia. 

“I stumbled upon this place in 1979 and have been here ever since,” Claude Graves, the American owner of the Nihiwatu Resort on the south of the island, told me on my last visit over a plate of just-caught swordfish, a cold beer and a sun setting over the surf. “I recognised a true paradise and have done everything in my power to protect the natural beauty and cultural heritage.” 

Sumba, which was once known as Sandalwood Island after its most valuable commodity, can be reached by sea, including ferries from nearby islands, and air (the only airport is situated at Waingapu on the northeast of the island). Among its offerings there is access to mind-boggling fishing and diving, some world-class surf breaks, and a glimpse into the past through tours of ancient tribal villages. 

In fact, this place may just sum up the experience of travelling through Nusa Tenggara. It is a unique mix of natural beauty and incredible culture which, for the most part, is untouched by the ravages of tourism. I’ve been there many times and only scratched the surface, but as old Wallace discovered, this is a unique part of the world that demands close inspection. 

Deep-sea dream 

• Located between the Flores and Savu Seas, in East Nusa Tenggara, Alor island sits in the Pantar Strait, a world-class destination for deep-sea diving. 
  
  
• Unlike many other parts of Indonesia, the Pantar Strait has avoided the ravages of cyanide and blast fishing. Instead the locals still practise traditional fishing methods, so the unique and incredibly diverse species of fish and coral remain both virgin and accessible. 
  
  
• Perhaps the best-known site is “Kal's Dream”, an underwater mountain named after Kal Muller, a famous Hungarian-born ethnologist who studied the tribes in West Papua, Indonesia. Muller was an experienced diver who called the area his dream site. 
  
  
• The marine life here includes two-metre long dogtooth tuna, eagle rays, silvertip sharks, grey reef sharks, barracudas and Napoleon wrasse. 
  
  
• While this site may be for expert divers, beginner sites exist that offer perfectly vertical coral walls dropping to 50 or 60 metres with more than 30 metres of visibility (most common during the best months of May till November) and the area is an ideal place for snorkelling.