Menjangan Island, Bali, Indonesia, 11/28/2022, National Geographic Orion
Aboard the
National Geographic Orion
Indonesia & Papua New Guinea
Today we visited the tiny island of Menjangan on the northwest corner of Bali. This name means ‘Deer Island’ in the local language; the island is named after the rusa deer that swim across from the nearby mainland. We explored the island in small groups, and many of us got to view the rusa deer up close. We later witnessed a deer swimming on the edge of the mangroves as it sought out vegetation to graze on.
In the afternoon, the intense tropical heat continued to build. After lunch, we cooled off with some snorkeling in the channel next to the island. The clear water revealed a fantastic diversity of fish and coral species. The afternoon heat changed very quickly as a tropical storm rolled in from the mountains of Java.
Enter travel details to receive reports from a single expedition
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Send Daily Expedition Reports to friends and family
*By clicking the submit button, I authorize Lindblad Expeditions to email me; however, I am able to unsubscribe at any time. For more details, see our Privacy Policy.
Please note: All Daily Expedition Reports (DERs) are posted Monday-Friday,
during normal business hours. DERs are written onboard the ship only and do
not apply to land-based portions of expeditions.
Protected as a National Park since 2001, the islands of Karimunjawa in the Java Sea sit within the heart of the coral triangle. Teeming with fish, this marine preserve serves as a monument to coral health and resilience. Bathed in equatorial sunlight and nutrient rich currents, the reef creatures receive everything needed to sustain maximum growth rates. As is the case in a terrestrial forest ecosystem, a sun loving reef can achieve old growth status, given enough time and appropriate conditions. The Karimunjawa Park lies just below the equator in the land beneath the winds and thus avoids typhoon strength winds. Without physical disturbances, the branching, table, and basket corals grow to luxurious proportions. As each coral colony approaches its neighbor, they reach out at night with sweeper tentacles armed with stinging cells. A healthy reef is thus full of demilitarized zones between warring battalions of corals. Not satisfied with this limited warfare, the table corals extend farther afield with massive terraces to block their competitor’s sunlight. To a casual observer, the result of this luxurious growth is sheer magnificence. The coral garden becomes so lush that there is no bare space for colonization. Multilevel terraces create an underwater city, where reef fish hide between branches, boulders, and baskets. Single-celled algae living within the corals add splashes of blue, gold, green, and red to complete the reefs allure. What a treat, to float among an undisturbed old growth forest, unchanged for millennia and protected into perpetuity.
Today was an exciting day for those interested in the culture of local people. Semarang, located in central Java, was the starting point for our tour to Borobudur, the largest Buddhist temple in the world. As we got off the ship, we were treated to a cultural dance performance that is unique to the area. On the way to the buses, we each received fragrant flower garlands. Soon we were on our way, crossing the island and passing rice fields and several volcanoes on the way. Located on the southern side of Java, Borobudur takes one’s breath away. The large, square temple has seven levels to explore, and we slowly climbed up and wandered in between over 500 Buddha statues and 1400 reliefs depicting scenes of his life. The temple sits among tropical trees, and we discovered mahogany, teak, and various tropical fruit trees. For lunch, we were treated to Indonesian dishes that are often served on special occasions. To top it off, a gamelan orchestra played for us, and we saw a Wayang puppet show. Both these artforms are on the UNESCO World Heritage list as uniquely Indonesian. After this myriad of new impressions, the bus took us back through the countryside dotted with villages, and we returned to the ship.
This morning, National Geographic Orion sailed along the coast of Java to our afternoon destination. Wonderful presentations by Ron and Bergit provided education on the natural history of the Sunda Shelf and Buddhism. After lunch, we set out for the city of Cirebon. On an island of 140 million, Cirebon is a small city with only 330,000 inhabitants. The word "Cirebon" derives from the Javanese word caruban, meaning "mixed," a reference to the city's mix of Sundanese, Javanese, Chinese, and Arabic cultural elements. Above the city center and not far from sea level rose Mount Ciremai, which last erupted in 1951. In the spirit of expedition travel, our dry landing turned wet. A wonderful performance welcomed us to this community before we headed to the mayor’s residence. Taking open air buses, we had a police escort to the residence, and we were greeted by a gamelan ensemble. Two of our guests became the guests of honor and were gifted beautiful leis before being escorted to seats beside our hosts. An array of performances welcomed us before we sat down for traditional dances, such as the mask dance. After the performances, we headed for a little shop that sold the traditional batik cloth this city is known for.
