SeaTrek from Komodo to Maluku

We start the cruise in a big way with giants looming large in your first two days: Komodo dragons, flying foxes and manta rays, three of the biggest and most impressive animals in Indonesia. We take a privately arranged, ranger-led walk around the island of Rinca, where we will see not only the dragons, but also their preferred menu of prey – monkeys, deer, pigs, and buffaloes.

Snorkel on some of Komodo National Park’s best reefs to see sea turtles, masses of fish, and some amazingly rich coral reefs.

At sunset we will gather on the deck and be witness to a most spectacular event as thousands of flying foxes leave their mangrove forest homes en masse on their nightly fruit-foraging missions.

Bonerate archipelago is rarely visited by tourists outside of SeaTrek, and seeing this open-air boatyard is an experience to be savoured. We walk amongst the hulls and hulks of a huge unlaunched flotilla of pinisi ships being built on this remote island archipelago. We will meet the shipwrights and discover their age-old traditions of shipbuilding that they have practiced for centuries.

As we walk through the villages and along the beaches and meet the locals, you will gain a new appreciation for island life and for the kind of boat you have been cruising with for the past thirteen days.

Snorkel some fabulous reefs in the third largest atoll in the world and see a huge abundance of fish, corals and all the creatures and plants that dwell within.

Literally meaning “High Rock”, we visit the island of Batuatas, which takes its name from the high and dramatic cliffs that line its western coast. We visit a famous local blacksmith where the local craftsmen use hand-operated bellows on the furnace in the blacksmith’s shop to produce machetes and knives that are highly sought-after right across Indonesia.

If the tides and currents are in our favour, we pass by an uninhabited sea mount in the middle of the Flores Sea, where tens of thousands of seabirds call home. It’s rich in upwelling nutrients and a perfect habitat for fishing and raising their young.

Visit the Wakatobi National Park, a very hard to reach archipelago filled with fascinating culture and also one of Indonesia’s best national parks, with outstanding underwater life natural beauty. At Hoga Island, we will snorkel the island’s famous drop off, with a beautiful reef and myriad fish species of all types and sizes.

We will visit a Bajau “Sea Gypsy” settlement. Here, you’ll see how the Bajau people live in, on, and above the water and how their community thrives in harmony with the ocean. Known for their ability to read the weather, hold their breath for extended periods, and their exceptional freediving skills, and their deep connection to the sea, the Bajau depend entirely on marine life for survival. Meeting them in person is a truly unforgettable experience.

The Bokan islands are an area of unsurpassed beauty, and today will be a day of marine exploration and relaxation as we snorkel, swim, paddle around the glorious reef, beach and island with giant clams scattered around the area.

We pay a hands-on visit to some “local heroes” at an NGO doing great work with giant clam restoration on the surrounding reefs, in addition to working with local fishermen in finding sustainable solutions for overseas markets and the live aquarium fishing trade.

Crossing to the Sula Archipelago, we visit a local village, where we will meet the Kadai tribe, one of the four indigenous tribes of Taliabu Island. They speak limited Indonesian but welcome visitors with genuine warmth and friendliness. Once known as skilled hunters, they now focus more on agriculture, though traditional hunting is still practiced today.

We have the rare privilege to swim in a small marine lake filled with stingless jellyfish, one of only 20 lakes of its kind in the world. Stingless jellyfish exist as a result of evolutionary adaptation in isolated marine lakes where they have no natural predators and have developed alternative ways to obtain food.

Enjoy some relaxing time on the beach, swimming, paddle boarding, kayaking, and snorkelling on the white sand beaches and reefs of the western end of the Sula island chain.

Visit Manipa Island, a place said to have magical powers, because none of the colonial powers ever took hold here. We will visit a village to experience their food production technologies, which include sago production, nutmeg and cashew plantations, as well as a pot-distilled volatile oil called “kayu putih”, famed throughout Indonesia as a universal panacea: cosmetic, antiseptic, insecticide, decongestant, analgesic, stimulant, and tonic.

On our last day, we will arrive in Ambon where everyone will say their goodbyes to the crew, the tour leaders, and fellow guests who have been our family for the past two weeks.