Diving
around Makassar
Makassar in Indonesia is an excellent
base for trips to the group of small islands and atolls that make up the
Spermonde Archipelago. There are several daily flights from Jakarta, Denpasar
and other major cities to Makassar.
A part of the islands are densely populated, but some are still uninhabited.
The east monsoon season (April - November) is the best period for visiting
the Spermonde Archipelago. The Marlin
Dive Centre can organize daily excursions to the best dive sites and
wrecks.
Many of the islands close to Makassar show interesting village life and
some historical sites can be found on the island of Kodengareng Lompo.
Below are descriptions of several islands belonging to the Spermonde Archipelago.
Their distance from Makassar is written in kilometers.
Samalona
(7 km)
This
island is inhabited by a few families and its oval shaped area is about
300 x 600 meters, so it takes only a short stroll to see its complete
coastline. Beautiful coral reefs are easily accessible from the shore
of Samalona. Diving is the best on west and south side, with a good mix
of hard and soft corals. An incredible bio-diversity offers excellent
opportunities for macro photographers: batfish, lionfish, scorpionfish,
stonefish, mandarinfish, bleuspotted stingrays, lobster, nudibranches,
turtle, cuttlefish, pleurobranchus, trevallies, flatworms, anemones...
The large trees on Samalona provide shelter
on sunny days. You can relax and enjoy a soft drink or basic meal in the
local restaurant.
Kodengareng
Keke (11 km)
Dolphin
Resort built some small cottages on Kodengareng Keke. There is no longer
free access to this tiny island. Though the building of Dolphin Resort
is not yet complete, it is ready to receive guests who are satisfied with
basic facilities. As the island has little vegetation, you will appreciate
the verandas of the cottages, which give good shelter on a sunny day.
Apart from the wrecks, the island offers some nice coral gardens between
15 and 28 meters.
Kodongbali
, Tambakulu and Suranti (60 Km)
These
3 island on situated in the North of the archipelago are not much visited
at all, similar to Kapoposang and Lanyukan they are situated the edge
of the shelf and drop off a few hundred meters on the sea side, especially
Kodongbali has a very nice and undamaged reef top. The edge of Spermonde
Archipelago offers plenty of good diving all the way from Suranti in the
North to Lanyukan in the East. Large pelagics and reef sharks are very
common.
Kapoposang
(70 km)
Kapoposang
is a beautiful green island of about 2 km length covered with casuarina
trees and coconut palms. This island is located at the edge of the Spermonde
shelf, pointing toward the deep sea.
It contains some small villages. The people of Kapoposang make their living
through fishing and harvesting coconuts. Dive trips to Kapoposang
are organized by the Makassar Diving Club (MDC) during weekends. You have
to book in advance through the Marlin
Dive Centre.
Lanyukan
(37 km)
The
island Lanyukan is located on the outer edge of the Spermonde
shelf with a barrier reef protecting its western shore. Around Lanyukan
are reefs with steep drop-offs. This is the place to spot big fish like
sharks and barracuda. There is a small village on the island but Lanyukan
does not offer facilities for staying overnight.
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