INDONESIA - MOROTAI - D'ALOHA AND SOUTHERN ISLANDS - 12 FEBRUARY TO 14 FEBRUARY 2019

I woke and thought 'time to leave Morotai … need to surf BUT firstly I will visit the southern islands'.

I said my goodbyes and caught a share car to D'Aloha Resort near Daruba in the south of Morotai.

I settled into my room and caught up with my friend Norma. In the afternoon, I had a walk along the beach and the nearby town. It was a fun walk along the beach, chatting now and again to a few locals. The walk through the village was great. The people were friendly, ready for a small chat and wanting their photo taken. Two kids followed me for ages, I took their photo and they ran off happy.

Back at the resort, I had dinner on the beach. It was a 3/4 moon. The moonlight was quite pretty reflecting off the water.

Back in my room, I organised onward plane tickets and hotels for my next destinations.

The next day, I did the boat trip to the islands. it was 1 000 000R but worth it. I had the boat for 7 hours and the boat had three motors (always good in case of problems) and a cabin.

Norma was my guide. We had fun sitting on the cabin roof, walking around the islands, wading through the shallow water and being silly.

The first island was small and sandy with no vegetation. Small waves were breaking from all directions either depositing or withdrawing sand. We walked around the island (a couple of minutes) and I had a swim in the clear water.

At Kokoyo Island, I had a snorkel next to the pier. The water was clear and there were massive schools of fish, pretty coral and a sea snake. The fish were so numerous that I couldn't see through them but they parted for and around me as I swam through them. Very magical.

After that, Norma and I walked around part of the island along the shore and through the shallow water.

Dodolo Island was really two islands at high tide connected by a sand spit. We walked around the islands crossing over on the sand spit. The sand was blindingly white. It was so pretty.

There were a number of places to stay on the islands. We had lunch on a cabana in the shade.

The last stop was between two small rock islands in the middle of the ocean. the water was shallow between the two islands and was ideal for snorkelling. There were lots of fish and coral. the visibility was good but it parts the sand movement obscured vision.

It was a great day on the islands. I got back feeling good tired, had a shower and dinner then off to bed.

The next morning, I had my final walk along the beach. I said my goodbyes and drove off to the airport. At the airport, I had problems with the charging of my surfboards but it all sorted out in the end.

AUSTRALIA - QUEENSLAND - Great Barrier Reef - october 2003

The Great Barrier Reef  is a big place. We took a cruise out to the reef to snorkel. It was long voyage but it was worth it. The photos don't really show the colour of the reef. It was teeming with fish and brightly coloured coral. Worthwhile doing!!

Indonesia - Bali - Padangbai - 2009

 

Padangbai is a seaside village and ferry port. Traditional fishing boats line the beach and various sized motor boats are moored to the shore. At the middle part of the bay is a small jetty where boats leave for the Gilis, Senggigi and Nusa Lembongen. Further down is a boat for Nusa Penida. The south end of the bay is dominated by a large ferry terminal for ferries to Lombok. The large ferries arrive and leave frequently.

Beach

The beach at the middle and north end of Padangbai is white sand. The water is clear and reasonably clean for swimming with a sandy bottom.

Accommodation

The town has various levels of accommodation. The more up market hotels are at the north end of the beach. The road in this section is more like a small boulevard. Some hotels in this area have pools available for guests only.

Restaurants

There are a small number of nice restaurants. The food is good and varied. Whole fish with whatever you want is cheap and good. Cheaper food is available in the middle and south end of Padangbai and the more up market restaurants are at the north end.

Activities

At the north end of the bay and following the road to the right is a nice temple Pura Silayukti) with great views. If you follow the steps or walk through the small jungle on the point (lots of mosquitoes here).



The north end of the bay and to the left takes you after a ten minute walk to Blue Lagoon. There are two restaurants with reasonable food, showers, chairs and snorkeling gear. The coral reef is right up to the shore and is very pretty. Entry into the water is best at the north end as it avoids stepping on coral.



Walk past the ferry terminal on the south end of the bay and partly up the hill and you will come to sign directing you to little beach (Bias Tugal). A 15 minute walk through the bush gets you to a beautiful white sandy beach. Good for swimming though the currents can be strong. There are several restaurants to eat at but they are not very good. Drinks are okay.



If you continued over the hill and follow the road, you will eventually come to a long, black sand beach. The fishing boats come very close to the shore and with Nusa Penida as the backdrop it can be a very pretty scene, especially very early in the morning.

Pick a spot to sit and watch the local Balinese people in their daily lives. The beach, the small wharf and the ferry terminal provide a variety of daily life scenes.

Swimming and snorkeling off the beach at the northern side of bay

Surf – right - south of bay – needs to be a big swell

Bicycle ride or walk around the town

Visit the local market

Diving tours

Watch boats leaving and arriving to/from Nusa Penida, Gilis, Lombok mainland, various tours and fishing.


Activities nearby to Padangabai

Candidasa
• Puri candi dasa, lagoon
• Pura gomang, east on hill,
• snorkel off shore islands and in an behind breakwater

Pasir Putih

Balian Beach

Amlapura
• Markets
• Puri Agung Karangasem
• Puri Gede

Tengagan – Bali Aga village

Ujung
• Puri Taman Ujung - water palace
• road views east towards Amed

Tirta Gangga

Gunung Agung

Gunung Batur

Gunung Lempuyang – turn off to ngis tista – stone steps to top

Goa Lawah - bat cave