Pulau Lintang, Anambas Islands, Indonesia, 9/1/2023, National Geographic Orion
Aboard the
National Geographic Orion
Indonesia & Papua New Guinea
On the final expedition morning of our voyage from Bali to Singapore we absorbed as much sun, sand, and sea as possible at our exquisite island location in the Anambas archipelago. Pulau Lintang is a small, uninhabited island within this group between Malaysia and the island of Borneo. This group of islands consists mostly of weathered granite rocks and associated sediments; it was formed at least 60 million years ago, deep within the Sunda shelf.
The vast patch of coral reef stretching out from our beach base provided many delights for those keen to snorkel the waters and explore. We found a variety of marine life, including small blacktip reef sharks, moray eels, and curious damselfish guarding their algae gardens.
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The morning began with a mission to see one of the rarest birds on earth. After an early start, we made the short crossing to Bali Barat National Park, the last refuge of the Bali myna. From a population low of thirty-six individuals in 1993, this bird has made a slow recovery with between one and two hundred individuals in the wild today. Thankfully, we knew exactly where to go and soon were spending time with a flock of nearly a dozen of these snowy, brilliant avian wonders. Birds weren’t the only highlight here, as the park had abundant herds of Javan rusa. Among the many long-tailed macaques, we also encountered a few of the shyer Javan lutung, a handsome monkey endemic to the region. After lunch, we turned our attention below the water and went snorkelling on nearby Pulau Menjangan. As we headed into the water from a floating platform, the water was a little choppy at the surface. Just below the waves, we found crystal clear waters and some of the best reef life of the entire trip. The next few hours passed in a blur with ninety feet of visibility and swarms of brilliant marine life. Many of us stayed in the water as long as we possibly could. After an especially extravagant afternoon tea where most of us opted for cold, fresh coconuts, we continued overnight to Denpasar.
We awoke again on the tranquil Java Sea. With some distance to cover before arriving in Madura, we had a leisurely morning and some great opportunities to learn from the team. National Geographic photo expert Ricky Qi walked us through his process of taking photos under difficult circumstances. At five different stops along the trip, Ricky explained the scenario, walked us through the challenges, and then showed us how he tackled them. Afterwards, divemaster Alyssa Adler introduced us to the weird and wonderful world of nudibranchs. These tiny invertebrates range from ornate and spectacular to truly alien – and gave us all a target animal for our next snorkel or dive. Following lunch, we went ashore on the island of Madura. Escorted to the dock by a floating band, we witnessed a diverse array of costumes and dances that are endemic to the island. Only a short distance from the second largest city in Java, the town of Sumenep feels a world away. On a trip filled with warm and elaborate welcomes, this may have truly been the peak. From inside the palace, we witnessed a traditional Madurese wedding. Outside the palace halls, musicians practiced in the shade of an ancient banyan tree. Schoolchildren were eager to show off their English lessons. “Can we take a photo together?” was the most popular phrase. Further into the palace, a buffet of traditional Madurese dishes awaited us, from savory satays and fiery eggplant dishes to delicate desserts with the pale celadon coloring of pandanus. Madura is the only large-scale producer of handmade batik in Java, and artisans were actively applying wax designs for new pieces next to the completed works for sale. Ceremonial daggers called kris were also for sale – some newly forged and others quite old. While some guests shopped, others toured the palace grounds and some just relaxed in the shade of the bonsai gardens. Returning to the ship, we witnessed an otherworldly crimson sunset over the harbor to cap off the day.
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.
