Wakatobi, Indonesia

Stunning reefs, with weird beasties and luxurious corals – both hard and soft – await those divers prepared to take the long and winding road to Wakatobi. Report by Max James

So, what’s new?
It used to take two flights and a 20-hour-plus boat trip from Bali to reach this diving hideaway in Indonesia’s Banda Sea. But the Swiss owner of the resort has raised more than a million US dollars to build a runway on a neighbouring island and it now takes just over two hours in a 20-seater Fokker 50.

What’s there?
This really is some of the most isolated
diving you are ever going to find. The resort is 500 miles from anything approximating
the modern world. Owner Lorenz Mäder spent years wandering the world to find his ultimate dive island after he became fed up with working as an instructor in the Red Sea and the Maldives, and in an amazing act of near Ahab-level obsession turned his diving dream into a reality.
He decided on one of the far-flung islands of the Tukang Besi archipelago off the southeastern coast of Sulawesi, an area populated with a scattering of sea gypsies
and local subsistence fishermen. Somehow he managed to build a basic wooden longhouse which sleeps 14 guests in seven rooms with shared facilities. Four bungalows have since been added, with en suite showers.

And how’s the diving?
You will find fabulous corals – hard and soft, and more species than have probably been named. On the walls and ridges every inch of space is bursting with sponges and corals and every type of animal that can live on them and off them. On one golden sea fan I counted 18 different crinoids, I saw seven of the nine known species of anemonefish and at least two different species of pygmy seahorses. On the full moon the currents can belt along – great fun if you like underwater flying, but most of the time fairly gentle drifts are the order of the day. The house reef is a gem, with a cavern at 25m ideal for nudibranch hunting, and a smashing array of life – some professional photographers have been known to spend the whole of their two-week visits to the resort a few metres from the hotel. The night dives are particularly good with mandarinfish, cuttlefish and tonnes of different prawns and shrimps hiding in the crevices.

There are about 20 cracking dive sites – my favourites being Blade, Cornucopia and Lorenz’s Delight – and you get the feeling you could jump in nearly anywhere on the miles and miles of reefs and stand a good chance of finding another wonder.

You can, of course, guarantee that you will be the only dive boat on any dive. The resort runs a fast (two 85hp outboards) speedboat comfortable for four or five divers, a large, traditional, converted wooden fishing boat that ten to 12 people can easily dive from, and a smaller wooden boat good for four to six divers.
The dive guides are excellent – helpful when needed, but far from overbearing. They limit day dives to 75 minutes and expect you to look after your own profile. With genuine enthusiasm, they are delighted to root out the wonderful creatures such as leaf-fish and ghost pipefish you can find on the reefs. And without their magnifying glasses the pygmy seahorses would be impossible to spot.

The best time to go is March through to December, with air temperatures around 30ºC. Expect sea temperatures of 26ºC and pack a 5mm wetsuit. The resort is shut in January and February.

Downsides?
This might well be deemed a national marine park but, as with the rest of Indonesia, there is much evidence of over-fishing. On 30 dives I saw only one black-tipped reef shark and few other large fish. The big schools of fish so common in the Maldives and Red Sea are a rarity. On one dive I heard the thunderous blast of dynamite fishing and one of the best dive sites came to an abrupt halt when the dazzling multi-coloured wall turned into a dust bowl of white silt – a victim of dynamite fishing. At times the lack of free-swimming, edible-sized fish gives the reefs an eerie feeling – beautiful, but empty cathedrals.

Wakatobi has some of the best reefs in the world and is well worth the journey just to see the acres of pristine corals. A very well run operation is dedicated to serving serious divers who want to do three for four dives a day. It is ideal for macro photographers hunting for rare beasts on the house reef and would therefore benefit from adding E6 processing. The accommodation is a tad Spartan, but more than compensated for by the wonderful food conjured up by the funky Swedish chef. Watermelon gazpacho was a revelation and the fresh tuna sushi before most evening meals was addictive.

Packages include: resort accommodation, all meals, air charter from Bali, unlimited shore dives, community and conservation contribution and three boat dives a day. Prices start at £1,275 for a seven nights.