These cruises are really unusual and as far as we know, we are the only people that offer them on a regular basis.
Because of the weather conditions in the south during December, January and February, we send our boats to their home port in Bira in South Sulawesi. The crew can spend time with their families, and we can carry out maintenance. But we do have time to take people on these unusual cruises. You get to Bira by flying in to Makassar and then getting a hire car to Bira, or by public buses with a change at Bulukumba. These travel expenses are not covered by the cruise cost.
We have developed three cruises in the area - 7 days/6 nights, 5 days/4 nights, and 3 days/2 nights. In addition, we are very flexible about where we visit, so if you have particular choices, talk to us about them and we will see if we can tailor a cruise for you.
Whichever cruise you choose, these are some of the places you may visit.
Bira. This is our home port and where our crews’ families live. It and the neighbouring village of Tanah Beru are famous for the construction of traditional wooden schooners, and this is where our boats (and most of the others you see in southern waters) were built. You can visit our boat builder and see the techniques used. Bira itself has a number of good dive and snorkeling sites. Slightly to the north is Maramassa, which is a small underwater bommie which has good coral growth on its sides. Tanjung Bira has big fish on certain tides. Slightly to the south of Bira is Pulau Kambing which often has many white tip and black tip reef sharks schooling in relatively shallow water. All three of these sites are good for snorkeling in the lagoons above the reef.
Selayar Island: The water falls away very deeply on the eastern side of Selayar offering great wall diving. Parts of the coast have been protected and good numbers of fish congregate there. The reef just out from the coast, so there is nice swimming and snorkeling in the lagoons.
Take Bone Rate Atoll: These white sand atolls sitting in turquoise waters are very beautiful and are home to many eagle, mobelar and manta rays. There are some areas of very good coral, but unfortunately bombing and cyanide poisoning has destroyed large areas of reef. Some of the larger atolls have permanent villages on them, and a visit from our boats causes great celebration as they only see people from other countries one or two times a year.
Kalau Island: This is a larger island surrounded by fringing coral reefs. Depending on the tides and weather, there is some good diving to be had. We can go ashore and visit the local people, who live very isolated lives as this island is about half way between Nusa Tenggara Timur in the south and South Sulawesi to the north.
Tanajampea: The passage between the two islands can produce lots of fish when the tides are running right. To the sout east of the passage are excellent coral gardens which are great to dive and to snorkel. These islands are home to traditional pearl divers who use the hookah system of air delivery. It’s a high risk occupation and many of the divers are suffering from the bends at any one time.
Not many travellers to Indonesia get to see these places, so if you have a sense of adventure and want to go to places very few others visit, please contact us and find out about our Bira Take Bone Rate Selayar Cruise plans.
info@bluewatercruises.com
