30th October to 9th December 2025
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| The Komodo dragons of Indonesia |
A shorter trip of just under six weeks for us this time as commitments at home mean we can't be away for the full winter so, our original 5 month plan of Indonesia, the Philippines, Tasmania and New Zealand has had to be reduced to just Indonesia. However, there is a lot to be packed into those six weeks, so we're attacking it with gusto!
Our route takes us from the Capital Jakarta on Java island firstly west to the coast at Carita and then by boat to visit the famous (or infamous) volcano of Krakatoa, scene of one of the most violent volcanic eruption in recorded history. On 26-27 August 1883 the volcano erupted in one huge explosion destroying most of the island and ejected an estimated 25 km3 of rock into the atmosphere, temporarily changing the worlds climate. We hope to visit Anak Krakatoa (Child of) a small island that emerged through the waves in 1927, which sits among the island remains of the original volcano. From there we sail south to Peucang island for safaris in the hope of spotting the last habitat of the one horned rhino amongst other birds and animals.
We fly to the island of Borneo next for two separate river cruises and treks wildlife spotting and orangutan feeding, then on to the island of Sulawesi and its capital Makassar for a bit of Dutch colonial history and the colonial buildings.
Ambon is our next destination, a small island in the arc of Banda Islands that comprise ten islands in the Banda Sea, situated roughly centrally within the Indonesian Islands. We will fly on a small airplane to Banda Neira island and, from there take a small boat to island hop most of the islands, snorkelling in the crystal clear waters (average water temperature 30 C) and trekking the islands. One island in particular, Rhun we will be staying on for two nights. Its a small rock in the middle of the ocean with only rudimentary accommodation, but it's historical significance is huge. On December 25th 1616 the British captain Nathaniel Courthope reached the island and established an English colony in the middle of what was then Dutch controlled Indonesia. Captain Courthope held the island against continual Dutch onslaught for 1540 days until his death. After much negotiation, England and the Netherlands agreed to trade ownership of the island for one owned by the Dutch. The island chosen to give to the English was Manhattan Island in New York, USA, then a fairly barren island in an unpromising country surrounded by British possessions.
From the Banda Islands we fly north east to West Papua to explore the tip of the easternmost island in Indonesia and one that is shared with another country, Papua New Guinea. We will again be travelling by small boat to explore the nearby islands, snorkelling and trekking before flying to Surabaya on east Java. Surabaya is an impressive colonial city and, further south in the volcano of Bromo where will be embark on a sunrise ascent by 4WD vehicle to watch sunrise over its smoking crater.
Our last trip will be to the islands of Komodo where we hope to see the Komodo dragon as well as other wildlife. We'll be on another boat trip for 3 nights island hopping and snorkelling.
Finally we fly back to Jakarta and head back home ready for Christmas.
The map below has place markers (in various colours to denote the month) showing the places we will stay at as we go with lines showing our route. Click on each place marker to see details with photos.
Below are links to the blog posts we will make on the way. Click on each one to read where we've been, what we saw and what we did. Happy reading!
Here's a map of our route showing places we're visiting. To see it properly you'll need to click on the little square in the top right corner which will take it to full screen. It opens a new tab and you'll be able to browse round, zoom in and click on each marker to show more details.
And here's blog posts of our journey:
30th October - None yet!
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