Stroll through the extremely friendly village, observing how bearable life can be without television, electricity, or phones. Wander to further villages for more of the same. Duck into the jungle where you’ll see some huge butterflies, but watch out for the giant spiders who build their webs across the paths. Sit on the dock staring into the clear water and all the fish, coral, sponges, anemones, urchins, starfish, and, if you’re lucky, turtles.
Introduction Stroll through the extremely friendly village, observing how bearable life can be without television, electricity, or phones.
Wander to further villages for more of the same.
Duck into the jungle where you’ll see some huge butterflies, but watch out for the giant spiders who build their webs across the paths.
Sit on the dock staring into the clear water and all the fish, coral, sponges, anemones, urchins, starfish, and, if you’re lucky, turtles.
Jump into the water and splash around with the local children.
Borrow a mask from Pak Ali (or maybe some snorkeling equipment from one of the upscale places) for a closer look at the ocean ecosystem.
Climb back on the dock and watch kids fishing from tiny sailboats and canoes.
Rent a canoe yourself and explore the coastline.
In the evening, you can play chess with Pak Ali. He’s also got a pretty good stack of books (including the comprehensive "Birds of Wallacea" for you ornithologists).
If you’re more energetic, there are several possible excursions that can be arranged. Pak Ali has a map and information sheet in which he describes these in barely decipherable English. I paraphrase and summarize as follows:
Jungle Excursions:
Puncak Hatu Lua – a one-hour trip up a mountain for views, butterflies, birds, and orchids (in season)
Cave and Tree house – five hours of walking – see animals, spiders, and birds. If you can get up very early. The tree house (a platform 45 metres above ground) is supposed to be ideal for bird watching.
Way Utu – seven or eight hours of fairly level walking (round trip) to an impressive waterfall. The jungle and it’s trees and other plants is quite spectacular, and we saw cockatoos, hornbills, butterflies, lizards, spiders and bugs, and the prints and "fur" (actually feathers) of a cassowary. Others have seen some big pythons in this area (large enough to dine on whole pig). Expect lots of creek crossings and some mud. Our guide, Pak Ulius from Masihulan was truly at home in the jungle. He was an expert at constructing bridges in minutes using only a tiny machete, pointing out the sites we would have otherwise missed, and extracting drinking water and medicine from local plants. I felt guilty when this elderly fellow actually carried us on his back across one river. We paid Pak Ali 5,000 for a boat ride to the trailhead, and 45,000 to Pak Ulius for the full-day excursion. Note, for this and other jungle treks, watch where your going, and try to avoid getting your flesh ripped up by rattan spines. Be prepared for rain. We had quite a downpour in the afternoon, which lasted a couple of hours.
Api Lima – a two day jungle trip, requiring overnight camping. The guide(s) construct the shelter and beds at the campsite. Cave and landscape are the highlights.
Longer jungle treks are possible. You’d have to spend at least two long days (maybe three) if you wanted to visit a tribal (Alifuro) village, and local guides are necessities. In fact if you go on a longer trek, at each village you will have to change guides. It could take 8 days to cross the island from north to south (or vice versa). A Dutchman we met at Pak Ali’s spent three days trekking. He described it as extremely difficult, mainly due to the mud ("harder than Kilimanjaro" – was his description, although this is not really an apples to apples comparison). He was lucky in that it didn’t rain at all during the three days.
Sea and River Excursions: Raja and Sawai Islands – snorkeling, fruitbats, mother of pearl "farm".
Tanjung Batu Supung (Stone Cape) – beach and snorkeling, sea caveSasuari Sapalewa Island – Snorkeling, reef
Salawai River – Rainforest scenery, mangrove, nipa palms, and sago. Maybe some wildlife such as wild pig, deer bird, and crocodile "if only the good luck stay with you"
Seven Island tour – Eloisa coral reefs, beaches. Possible to stay overnight.
Cultural Notes: Basic Indonesian is almost a necessity here. Your guide will very likely not know very much English, if any. Pak Ali knows a bit. Some travellers bring English speaking guides from Ambon (e.g. Pak Oce, often found hanging around Halim’s restaurant).
Sawai village is Muslim. The village of Masihulan which is a 5 minute walk away (on the next inlet over, past the school, which the two villages share) is Christian. The Muslims seem to be the more proficient fishermen, whereas the Christians are masters of the jungle and agriculture. Chances are your jungle guides will be Christian (Protestants) from Masihulan.
Our guide for our Way Utu excursion (see above) was Pak Ulius, and aging gentleman from Masihulan. His footwear consisted of a pair of rubber boots which were ready to fall apart (and definitely not water proof). He also asked if we had any medicine for his back pain. Anybody going that way with an extra pair of boots (sorry, don’t know his size), and any non-dangerous medicine could consider making a donation. |
