Land of Oysters

it is mid december. mister rain man has started pouring out the buckets of nippy water he has been lining up all year. nevertheless, the rain doesn’t cease the singing, and a gem is found

Too bad”, I think out loud, “to be arriving in cloudy Manado after dark.”
Spears of yellow light crack open the sky every other minute or so and are followed by a deep ominous growl. If there had been a moon, it’d have been covered with ink-stained cotton. The night is wrapped in clouds, yet the frequent flashes of fire uncover a pretty, sleeping forest with white cows guarding its secrets.
The thirty minutes it takes to get to the Kima Bajo Resort & Spa fly by on a magic carpet of stories and making-polite-conversation inquiries.

Kima Bajo literally means oyster village, so I guess you could say I have been summoned to discover its pearl. As does the sparkly gem – one of nature’s most perfect forms – Kima Bajo and the Kima Bajo Resort & Spa both symbolise innocence, purity, perfection, humility, and a retiring character. It warms my insides when I choose to believe my own fictitious tale describing that Kima Bajo, too, is thought to be the result of lightning penetrating the oyster, and therefore regarded as the union of the fecundating forces, fire and water. It so represents birth and rebirth – fertility.

Sulawesi – Indonesia’s fourth largest island – stretches out like a squashed four-legged spider between Kalimantan (Borneo) and the Maluku Islands. The island’s forested mountains and breathtaking underwater world are surpassed only by its fascinating biology. Sulawesi is the largest and most central island of Wallacea (Wallace’s Line) – a unique region that refers to the remarkable change in wildlife that exists east of a figurative line drawn between Bali and Lombok and between Kalimantan and Sulawesi. As a result of the peculiar mix of plants and animals, you’ll find Asian monkeys sharing the forests with Australian cuscus mammals; Babirusa (deer-pig) – with tusks that curl upward through the snout – roam the area; a chicken-sized bird called the Maleo incubates its large eggs in hot volcanic soil; and the tiny teddy bear-like tarsier primate conquers the hearts of many with nothing more than a wide-eyed glance.

Last night’s clouds have given way to a ballet of woolly marshmallows pirouetting around the sun. It is the perfect day for a “tarsier tracking tour” (Rp. 85,000 for a guided trek) at the Tangkoko Nature Reserve in Bitung City – a two-hour drive from the resort – where the world’s smallest primate hides from curious eyes and an extraordinary large concentration of black crested macaques stroll around the woods.

I wonder as I wander out under the silky sky, how on earth the teeny tiny tarsier monkey is to defend itself against major threats. They include habitat loss due to illegal logging and forest conversion, the detrimental use of agricultural pesticides, predation by domestic cats and dogs, and illegal trapping for the pet trade and consumption. Sadly, it is cruelly understandable that the tarsier monkey is regarded as one of the world’s twenty-five most endangered species, as the ogling monkey is just so damn cute and edible.

During your first trip to Sulawesi, you will come to understand that most things can be eaten. Unusual foods such as bats, dogs and rats are sold at the island’s many morning markets where they lay barbecued, on a stick and ready to be devoured – head and all. The mere thought of smelling the blackened animals might make your stomach squeeze into the farthest corner of your abdomen, but no one can dispute it to be incredibly interesting.

Not all Sulawesi specialties involve memories of your precious Fifi, Batman or Stuart Little, though. Bubur Manado (vegetable and rice porridge with hot chillies), Nasi Jaha (sticky rice mixed with red onion and ginger, cooked in bamboo and coconut milk), Saguer (sweet and sour brew obtained from the sugar palm tree’s liquid; low in alcohol), and yummy coconut tarts are typically North Sulawesian and definitely worth a taste.

For now, perhaps most visitors to the four-armed island are looking to discover its mesmerising sea life and coral reefs, and for good reason. Diving possibilities range from the magnificent coral gardens at the Bunaken Marine Park or the Bangka Strait to the walls of multi-coloured fish and underwater volcanoes at the Sangihe Islands to the unusual and rarely seen critters at North Sulawesi’s Lembeh Strait.

North Sulawesi is known to be one of the last frontiers of pristine diving with remote islands and reefs. Not many diving locals, the world over, can outshine the exquisiteness and beauty of Indonesia’s coral jungles. Having never dived before, I have to limit my underwater expedition around Bunaken Island to sun-soaked hours of snorkelling around the boat or cooling dips in the translucent indigo-blue water. I tag along with Eco Divers – one of Manado’s top dive centres, based on the Kima Bajo Resort & Spa’s grounds.

Back on shore – looking out over majestic Mount Manado Tua, Siladen Island, extensive Bunaken Island, Mantehage Island, and the farthest and smallest of the minute island group, Nain Island – the sky licks away the remains of a scenic pink and purple sunset and darkens to a navy blue. After less than an hour it is as if the moon has poked a hole in the melancholic colour and out spills a fountain of tears.

getting there

1. There is a regular flight service to and from Singapore – with Silk Air – as well as to and from most major cities throughout the Indonesian archipelago. AirAsia offers its direct service between Kuala Lumpur, in Malaysia, and Manado three times a week. For domestic flights, you can rely on Garuda Airlines.

when to go

1. During the rainy season (November – February/March), some areas might be harder to get to as a result of floods. Temperatures in North Sulawesi are at their best in July and August.

where to stay

1. Kima Bajo Resort & Spa
   Desa Kima Bajo Dusun I
   Kecamatan Wori
   Kab. North Minahasa
   North Sulawesi
   T: 0431 860 999
   info@kimabajo.com
   kimabajo
2. Eco Divers:
   T: 0431 824 445
   info@eco-divers.com
3. Gardenia Country Inn
   (one hour drive from Kima
   Bajo Resort & Spa)
   Kakaskasen II, Tomohon
   North Sulawesi
   T: 0431 351 282
   info@gardeniacountryinn.com
   gardeniacountryinn

travel tips

1. As it is accustomed when travelling to tropical islands, you are in need of a good mosquito repellent, anti-malaria pills, suntan and after-sun lotion, Imodium tablets, a sunhat, a mixture of tolerance and patience, and a friendly smile in order for you to blend in with the local people. Also bring with you a pocketsize Indonesian dictionary, read up on local customs so you are able to avoid embarrassing situations, and learn how to count in Indonesian. Don’t stuff your backpack with beauty products, deodorants, shampoos, toothpastes, etc, from back home! You can find everything you need in Manado, including appropriate clothing and medication.
2. Watch out where you eat. The rule is: “go where it’s crowded” and if you’re not a fan of dog meat, stay away from “sate” carts with the letters RW written on them.
3. Buy bottled water, as your stomach might not be comfortable with boiled tap water.
4. Many divers enjoy underwater photography and wish to cultivate the best possible images or video from their dives. Their enthusiasm can often lead to damaging the environment as they poke critters into a more photogenic position, bend sea fans to better see pigmy seahorses, push framers into sensitive sponges, flash strobes relentlessly at critters who cannot escape, or cause stress through other means. Do follow these simple precautions: Boats should use mooring, NOT anchors!
5. Guides must take care to avoid other groups on the same site.
6. If an animal shows signs of stress, divers should leave it alone. Do not chase any creature that is trying to get away.
7. If divers are harassing any animal, or when they are handling marine life, guides should immediately signal them to stop and lead them away, informing them after the dive that such behaviour will not be tolerated.
8. If guides are harassing any animal or causing damage, guests should report them to the management.
9. Guides often want to make guests happy, but there is no situation in which it is acceptable to cause stress or damage just for the sake of a photograph or in order to more easily view marine life.
10. Visitors should not dive with operators who do not follow these simple rules.