Situated about 2 kilometers off the coast of East Kalimantan, Pulau Derawan (Derawan island) attracts tourists as gateaway to the Derawan Islands, a chain of 30-something islands and atoll renowned for its marine life, including four well-known island of Maratua, Derawan, Charitable, and Kakaban. Derawan is home to several endangered species like green turtles, hawksbill turtles, whales, dolphins, clams, coconut crabs and mermaids.
Diving at Derawan
The Derawan islands and its surrounding waters are famous for mantarays and endangered green turtles. Further offshore, Pulau Kakaban is home to an ecologically significant lake of salty water featuring four unique species of jellyfish that has lost its sting due to lack of predators. The four species are Cassiopeia ornate, Mastigias papua, Aurelia aurita, and Tripedalia cystophora.
Many top dive sites here are at moderate depths of 15-20 meters. Even snorkelers stand a good chance of catching rays gently batting their wings to glide like birds through the brine. Scuba divers can fly right along with the mantas. Formerly host to an international diving resort, Sangalaki now accommodates a Turtle Foundation anti-poaching monitoring station stuffed by local and international conservation groups, backed by special maritime police patrols.
The best dive time: April to December
Tranquility at Derawan Island
If you’re looking for a taste of village life before TV soaps and air con became part of the social fabric, crossing paths with turtles en route to your room and fresh food served family style amid some of best diving on the planet, then make a trip to Derawan. Pulau Nabucco and Pulau Maratua have fancy dive resorts out in the archipelago. But if you stay there, you miss the charms of Pulau Derawan and its villagers. Using Derawan as your base carries the additional bonus of fishing for dinner off the back of your boat on the way home.
Derawan’s fishing village of about 300 families transports visitors back to simpler times. The island is only lightly touched by the 21st century, or even the 20th for that matter. It’s also lightly touched by transport, so getting there poses a major challenge. But that degree of difficulty helps Derawan maintain its charm.
A teardrop-shaped island of 45 hectares that can be circled on foot in less than an hour, Derawan has electricity from dusk to dawn only (accommodations that run generators during daylight hours violate the spirit of the island). Without TV or air con to distract them, Derawan islanders spend their time on the front porches inside their wooden plank houses on stilits above the sand. They talk to their neighbors and to visitors who happen by. With just two paths, one following the coast and the other leading to the coconut plantation at the center of the island, both lined with houses, not much goes unnoticed. Kids easily find playmates and invent games. If all you’re looking for is a chill, follow the path out of town to a white sand beach.
Days are marked less by the clock or the prayer calls. In the early mornings, boats return from a night of fishing, reserve some of the catch, most likely tuna, for the island and send the rest to Berau, the closest city on the Borneo “mainland”. By mid-afternoon, the boats return, and a couple of wooden carts soon roll around the village, laden with newly arrived fruits, vegetables, and market news. The island has no cars and only a few motorcycles, which, like generators, run against the spirit of the place.
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| A quiet morning at Derawan |
Getting There
Fly to Balikpapan, and on to Berau (also known as Tanjung Redep). Once you reach Berau, you have two options. One is to take a three-hour crossing on a speedboat from Berau to Derawan. Option number two, you could take an overland travel approximately two hours from Berau to Tanjung Batu port, then continue with a 30-minute speedboat ride to reach Derawan.
Places to Stay
Derawan Dive Resort
Primarily selling multinight packages to divers, the resort also rents its rustic, air-conditioned bungalows to walk-ins, when available. The open-air dining area has spectacular sunset views. Tel: (542) 707 2615, www.divederawan.com
Losmen Danakan
Warm and welcoming family-run guesthouse built on pilings over the sea. Linger outside your austere all-wood room to drink in the salt air and scenery. Three simple. fresh meals a day are included, served at long dining table that encourage mingling and swapping tables. Tel: (868) 121 6143
Both places offer complete diving services, including excursions throughout the Derawan archipelago.