Diving On Hoga Island, Wakatobi

March 3, 2014 | admin

Hoga Island is a remote divers paradise found in the heart of the Wakatobi region of Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. This idyllic island has no roads, one small fishing village of about 30 families, and a few bungalows for visiting divers. Long white sandy beaches and spectacular pristine coral reefs make it a great place to enjoy some peace and quiet and get away from it all.

If you are planning a diving trip to Hoga Island, Wakatobi, there are a few things it is good to know before you arrive. So here are my top 10 tips for potential visitors to Hoga Island:

1. Give yourself enough time to enjoy your visit – due to the remoteness of the area you really need a minimum of 4 days to a week to really kick back, relax and make the most of your visit and the Hoga diving opportunities.
2. To get to Hoga Island you will need to get to Wanci Island first. It is possible to fly here from Jakarta or Makassar on a daily basis (except Mondays). You can then take a daily public boat from Wanci to Hoga Island.
3. The best time of year to visit Hoga is between March and November. Although diving conditions are good throughout this period the best visibility and calmest waters are in April/May or Sept/Oct.
4. Accommodation in the various bungalows available is on a per person per day basis, and prices are inclusive of 3 meals a day, drinking water and hot drinks. Expect to pay between Rp150.000 to Rp 250.000 per person per day (2010 prices)
5. There is generally no electricity on Hoga, so bring a torch and plenty of batteries. Dive Operators use generators and solar panels and will let you charge cameras and batteries.
6. There are no shops on Hoga so think about what you will need to bring with you and be prepared. For example you might need; sanitary items, toothpaste, chocolate, batteries, mozzie repellent, and sarongs/sheets to sleep under. During July/August a few little local souvenir shops open up.
7. Most Hoga Dive Operators like to be culturally sensitive and will ask guests to cover up and wear sarongs/vest tops/shorts/t-shirts when walking around the Island and in accommodation areas. Bikini’s are fine on the beach but not for walking around in, as many locals feel uncomfortable with this.
8. There are 22 dive sites around Hoga Island, all reachable within half an hour by boat. Some favourite Hoga dive sites you should make sure to visit are; North Wall, Coral Gardens, Outer Pinnacle, Inner Pinnacle, Channel, Buoy 1, Langira, Ridge 1, Pak Kasim’s, and Inner Pinnacle.
9. If you can tear yourself away from the spectacular Hoga diving, arrange a visit to the friendly Sea Nomad Village of Sampela. You can move around this village of stilt houses by canoe or on little bridges, and meet the hundreds of smiling children. It is an experience you won’t forget!
10. On land don’t forget to look out for; trees full of fire flies which light up like Christmas trees, phosphorescence in your foot prints as you walk along the splash zone at night time, large monitor lizards, the rare coconut crabs, and ‘Maleo’ a relative of the kiwi bird which is very rare and endemic to Sulawesi

Diving In The Wakatobi

February 24, 2014 | admin

The Wakatobi is a remote archipelago situated in the center of the Coral Triangle in Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. It is home to Indonesia’s second largest Marine National Park, covering 12,500 square kilometers of protected and pristine coral reefs, white sandy beaches and remote traditional villages. As such the Wakatobi is a great destination for scuba diving enthusiasts from all over the World. It is becoming increasingly popular with recreational divers, underwater photographers, marine biologists, and backpackers.

Until recently the Wakatobi has been a difficult to reach due to its remoteness, but that is now changing with the introduction of an airport on Wanci Island. There are now daily Express Air flights (except Mondays) to this airport. Wakatobi visitors can take early morning flights from Jakarta or Surabaya and transit in Makassar. From Makassar you can take a small 32 seater plane to Wanci, via Bau-Bau. Divers should be aware that the baggage allowance on these flights is only 10 kilograms, so pack lightly and consider hiring your dive equipment from your dive operator in the Wakatobi. You can pay for excess baggage, but it is often delayed if the flight is already at full capacity.

Upon arrival in Wanci you will need to embark on the next leg of your journey by boat. Most divers do not spend long on Wanci Island as the top Wakatobi diving spots can be found around Hoga Island and Tomia Island. From the airport jump in a taxi and head for ‘Pelabuhan Mola’. From here you can take one of the daily public speed boats to Hoga or Tomia. It is advised to get there as quickly as possible. Flights usually get into Wanci at about 10.30am, so head down to ‘Pelabuhan Mola’ as soon as you get off the plane to ensure you do not miss your boat. If you do though, you can easily charter a small Bajo boat to Hoga.

Hoga boats depart anytime between 9am and 12 noon so it is often possible to catch one of these. Tomia boats generally leave between 9 and 10am, so if you are planning on visiting Tomia it is often necessary to overnight in Wanci first. If you are traveling with a group of 4 or more divers you can pre-arrange a chartered pick up with your dive operator in Tomia. It is difficult to charter boats from Wanci to Tomia without making an arrangement in advance, as it is quite a long journey and needs a large boat.

For the intrepid travelers with plenty of time there are other ways to get to the Wakatobi. For example you can take a PELNI boat from Makassar to Bau-Bau, or you can fly from Makassar to Bau-Bau with Lion Air or Express Air. From Bau-Bau there is a boat which leaves for Wanci at 9pm every night. It arrives in Wanci at about 6am, so you will be in plenty of time to catch one of the public boats to Hoga or Tomia.

In summary there are many ways to reach the Wakatobi, and the gateway is through Wanci. By far the easiest way is to fly, but the overnight boat from Bau-Bau is also a good alternative, especially if you’re thinking of spending a couple of days diving in Bau-Bau beforehand. Once you arrive in Wanci you can travel by public speed boat to reach the top diving destinations of Hoga Island and Tomia Island.