The
adventure to the island of Maratua that is located on the Derawan island conducted
through air travel by plane. From Jakarta, Capital City of Indonesia, the plane
landed in Balikpapan. Then from Pontianak, we take the ATR type aircraft to
Tanjung Beret, Berau District. East Kalimantan Province. From Berau airport, we
then take a road trip by car to Tanjung Batu for approximately two and a half
hours drive. From Tanjung Batu, we can rent a speedboat to Derawan Islands.
The
first island we will visit from Derawan Islands is Maratua Island. During the
trip by speedboat to Maratua, we get a pleasant surprise, a welcome from a herd
of dolphins who are looking for food. These dolphins usually appear in the
morning when the sea water is not too high. After an hour's drive, we will
arrive at Maratua Island.
Maratua Island Paradise Resort |
After
arriving in Maratua, we can choose where to stay. There are several places to
stay, namely maratua Paradise resort, Mirrorliz Pelangi Cottage, Sari Cottage
Derawan, and Ilham Inn, and homestay provided by the locals. One of which we
will live is the Maratua Paradise Resort. The nice thing about this resort is
that some of its residences are built on the blue sea surface on the beach. Of
course this will add a natural atmosphere close to nature. Many call this
resort stay as 'Maldives from Indonesia'.
After
an overnight break, in the morning we can dive under the sea. We will climb the
speedboat to the point of dive, called Coral Garden, located near Sangalaki
island, which is about fifty minutes away. Many foreign tourists who come to
dive in this Maratua Island because of being fascinated by the beauty of nature
under the sea.
Maratua Island Paradise Resort |
Arriving
at the Coral garden, a vast expanse of coral reefs lined under the sea. Inside,
we can see Tiger Clown fish eating coral reefs, Lion Fish with long and
poisonous thorns. We can also see manta rays, which is the main reason foreign
tourists come to this point of dive.
Once
satisfied to dive in Maratua, next we will go to Kakaban Island. From Maratua,
we take a speedboat to Kakaban Island with a travel time for thirty minutes
only. The main attraction of this kakaban island, is the existence of jelly
fish stingless in the lake Kakaban. To get to this lake,
we have to walk to the inside of Kakaban island, about ten minutes walk. The
bridge of Ulin wood is built by the managers along the journey from the jetty
of Kakaban island to the lake of Kakaban.
After
arriving at the Lake of Kakaban, there are rules that you must obey before you do
snorkeling in this lake, that you can not touch, hold and lift this jellyfish
out of water, because it can endanger the safety of this jellyfish itself, due
to run out of air. By the lake kakaban manager, we are only allowed to see it.
We also should not wear frog legs (fins) at the time of snorkeling, because it
is feared to injure the jellyfish.
Jelly Fish Stingless in Lake of Kakaban |
These
jellyfish are only fifteen to twenty centimeters in size. His graceful moves
invite us to dance and dance, and it is a rare sight that is difficult for us
to see up close elsewhere. Totol jellyfish is the most common jellyfish species
in this place. In addition there are transparent jellyfish whose size is larger
and flat. This jellyfish has Latin name Aurelia
aurita which is better known as moon jelly fish. In addition, there is also
an inverted jellyfish that entered in the Cassiopea
family.
Jelly Fish Stingless in Kakaban |
According
to the explanation of the manager, these jellyfish are not toxic resulting from
being trapped in a freshwater lake separated from the ocean. The absence of
natural predators in these lakes eventually made these jellyfish evolve for
millions of years and make them lose their toxic tentacles. Throughout the
world, there are only a few places that have jelly fish stingless, namely in
Polynesia, Raja Ampat Papua, Haji Buang Lake on Maratua Island, and Lake
Kakaban.
Next,
we will explore Maratua Island itself. More precisely we will see Jelly Fish Stingless in Haji Buang Lake and Haji Mangku Cave. We can use a motorcycle or
use a speedboat to both places. Travel overland may be a more cost-effective
option. The trip to the resort takes about thirty minutes. If you use a
speedboat, it takes only half of it, but when the tide is low, you are not
allowed to use the speedboat to get to the location the twelve-kilometer land
route was initially traversed through a smooth asphalt road. However, after
that close to the location, we have to go through a rocky dirt road. The first
location we will visit is Haji Mangku cave. The fresh blue water is ready to
welcome us here. The right time visiting this place is during the day so that
we can see the underwater scenery, because the sun can penetrate into the depth
of the water.
Next
we will visit the Haji Buang lake. This place is introduced by the resort
manager as a tourist destination starting in 2013, so this place is still not
too crowded visited by tourists. Swim with the jellyfish not sting, again, is a
tourist destination in Haji Buang lake. According to the manager, since
the locals put turtles in this lake, the population of jellyfish did not sting
to be reduced, which is because these turtles eat the jellyfish.
When doing
snorkeling here, the jellyfish here are few in number than in the Lake of Kakaban.
The water is also slightly more turbid than in Kakaban lake. However, there is
nothing wrong we try to swim with the jellyfish in this place.
Joyful
Indonesia.
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