I had long heard that Wakatobi had some of the world’s best shore diving, and then talking to UW shooters who’ve gone before convinced me this was a very special marine environment, for both small cryptic creatures and wide-angle scenics of an exceptionally pristine reef complex. Combine the fabled UW photo opportunities of Wakatobi with a first-class, professionally run resort dive operation, and it seemed Wakatobi needed to be on Photo Tour hit list.

Getting to Wakatobi

Bali, Indonesia is the gateway to much of Indonesia, and Wakatobi in particular. Numerous airlines serve this international hub, including Malaysia Air, Singapore Air, China Air, Japan Air, and Continental. No doubt other airlines serve Bali through various European and Asian hubs as well. Note, however, that no air schedule we could find would get us to Bali in time to get from the International terminal to the domestic terminal by 6:00 AM without arriving a day early. Given that misconnections by bags or people are hugely inconvenient, and given that guests need to take another plane to Wakatobi, everyone is encouraged to arrive at least the day before. The flight from Bali to Wakatobi is 2.5 hours.

I’d like to say we arrived two days early because we were eager to immerse ourselves in the fascinating Balinese culture, shop, sightsee, and have a relaxing couple of days to acclimate to the time zone, and of course to assure that all baggage arrives from North America to Bali. But, those who know me well will realize that’s way too logical and civilized. This is merely my rationalization for traveling on frequent-flier tickets that only applied only to arrival a few days early. Still, if schedule permits, a few days in Bali are a great option.

Bali Return

The Bali return is scheduled for about 3:00 PM, so some airline connections will require an overnight stay in Bali on the return as well. Our itinerary on Malaysia Air required an overnight in Kuala Lumpur as well.

Bali Resorts

There are many and diverse hotel and resort options on Bali. We chose the Mercure Resort Sanure. Formerly the Raddin Hotel Sanur, this was the resort we stayed in when we chartered the
Komodo Dancer a few years ago. It was renovated in 2004 and now offers 186 guest rooms in 41 Balinese cottages under thatch roof. Located 20 minutes from the airport, the resort offers a white sand beach, tropical gardens, pool, spa, and business center. While there are many other options, including a Hyatt nearby, this is one I feel comfortable recommending.

For more Bali information click here.

The Travel Day(s)

I should have known this was going to be a rough first day when I opened e-mails just before leaving Key Largo and found several inquiries from my guests about the horrible earthquake off the Sumatran coast of Indonesia, and would we be affected?

Earthquake? This was the first I’d heard of it, but with memories of the horrendous tsunami disaster just last December in nearly the same region there was big reason for concern. Wakatobi was far from the epicenter of these two events. Imagine the earthquake happening in the Oregon and Wakatobi being located in Southern Illinois and you get a sense of how big Indonesia is and how far the resort is from these massive seismic events. Yet, had a similar tsunami occurred with this earthquake there still could be issues with the gateway airports of Kuala Lumpur and Bali, so for sure this was something we had to consider. Gratefully, no tsunami was generated, despite the significant loss of life and misery in the local region from the earthquake itself, all it meant for us was a bit of additional anxiety leaving town.

I had more anxiety of a personal nature trying to check in at the American Airline counter in Miami. They told me I did not have six months still remaining on my passport, and therefore they could not check me through to Bali. Hey "what’s a few months between friends" I asked, and the ticket agent rather haughtily informed me that if they checked me through the airline would get fined $3,000 and I would be detained and deported once I got to Bali. OK, my wife, daughter, and 15 other friends are all intending to rendezvous in Bali, and I have no current passport. This is indeed a problem!

Luckily we have an exceptional travel agent at Key Largo Travel, Kristi Petersen. I called her from the Miami airport and she suggested checking my bags to LA, and by the time I arrived she’d have it worked out. Her solution ...instead of going directly on to Bali I spent the night in LA, flew to San Francisco (where they had expedited one-day passport service, which is not available in LA). Kristi had arranged an 11:00 appointment at the passport office, and by 3:00 PM I had a new passport. I then flew out of San Francisco instead, and arrived a day later and $1,200 poorer because of hotel and additional travel expense. Bad mistake to have made, but let that be a lesson to us all. In this post 9-11 world, passports are carefully scrutinized and most countries require six months remaining on a passport to allow entry.

The flight was long of course, but you know that’s a fact of life for travel to this part of the globe. 5 hours Miami to LA, 14.5 from San Francisco to Hong Kong, 4 hours to Singapore, and another 3 hours to Bali. And that is not even counting time spent in airports waiting for planes. Figure a day and a half to get there.

Arriving a day late I missed my family’s adventure in Kuta Beach. Judging from all the bags in the room when I arrived, shopping is the Kuta imperative. Bootleg DVDs, pirated software, and knock-off designer wear seem to be the hot items there. I felt especially bad for Ralph Lauren, for there were counterfeit Polo shops everywhere, sometimes three on a single block in Kuta. But of course Bali is more traditionally known for fine furniture and clothing, and this is one place left on the planet where the US dollar is still worth something and bargains still exist.

The next morning, true to their promise, the Wakatobi crew did efficiently and expeditiously get us to the resort. We arrived to a blistering hot and sunny day, which in retrospect we should have enjoyed because it was rainy and gloomy for virtually our entire week at Wakatobi.

The rooms in the resort are located either in the longhouse or individual cabanas. The dock bisects two tiers of guest accommodations, and the central longhouse is also home to common areas like lounge, library, and dining room; as well as the guest gear storage, photo center (complete with charging stations and individual work areas), and Nitrox analysis station. The rooms are tasteful and comfortable, and the food and drink wonderful as well. But there is no mistaking this for anything but a dedicated dive resort. Scuba is the juice that runs this machine, and they do it quite well.

Diving can easily be done from the beach, but they make the boat diving so convenient it was hard for me to miss any of the scheduled departures. The boats are big and stable, and the rides to the sites 10 to 20 minutes away. There is an offshore pinnacle called "Blade" that is one of their premier wide-angle sites, and that is an hour boat ride, but most sites are very near. I guess if I needed to do five dives a day I’d be powering through the beach dives early morning and night, but 3 to 4 dives a day seemed to pretty well occupy the waking hours, so it wasn’t even until the 4th day the I gave the house reef shore dive a try. More about that later.

In the afternoon of the arrival day guests are obliged to do a checkout dive, no cameras allowed. Normally I’d be more than a little pissed at missing a photo-op, but I have to say the trip was fatiguing enough that I didn’t obsess over the situation. Plus, I’ve seen enough mistakes made with O-rings by shooters too tired to function properly to recognize this as a reasonable protocol. Truthfully, I could have done without the mask clearing and buddy breathing exercise, but it was quick and wasn’t a big issue with most of us really. And the dive to Table Coral City was uneventful enough to keep us from being too regretful. We did see a sea snake though, and it was really the best sea snake encounter of the whole week. So, that was definitely an opportunity lost. There was also a fair bit of invertebrate life ... enough to assume that if this was the throwaway dive we should be in for some great UW experiences during the course of the week.

Once at the resort, we did get hooked up to the Internet in our room and I was able to check e-mail. One of my friends told me the big really big news! Canon had just come out with an 18.2-megapixel D-SLR that captured at 8 frames a second! Called the EOS1D Mark III, this was bound to be the hot new digital camera de jour. Of course, I had just recently purchased the 16.7-megapixel version and could not believe I was trumped already. But digital technology being what it is, I was ready to accept that I no longer had the biggest/baddest camera on the block. But then I read the small type at the bottom of the page that said "April Fool!!". Guess it was April 1st somewhere in the world.

The Diving

Our normal protocol was to do a two-tank boat dive in the morning, followed by an afternoon one-tanker. Occasionally, a buddy team would slip away for a shore dive, but the combination of the convenience of the boat and the excellent critter spotting by the dive staff made the boat dives tough to beat.

We had a very unusual weather pattern during our week and it was either overcast or actually raining for all but one morning. In 25 years of destination underwater photo assignments, the only time I had so many overcast days was in Cocos Island. Surely, we did not expect it here. No doubt the gloomy weather took some of the joy out of the UW experience, and for me, certainly many of the wide-angle photo opportunities were lost. No over/unders. No snorkel shots on white sand beaches lapped by crystalline turquoise seas. But gratefully much of this diving is about small and unusual creatures, so we were happy with our housed cameras and 60mm and 105mm macro lenses.

Typically we would dive the fringing reefs of offshore islands, walls ranging from vertical to 45-degree slopes. They would commence with hard corals and leather corals along the top of the wall at maybe 6 feet, and then descend to several hundred feet and beyond. Actually, there is so much life in the shallows that I never dropped below 90 feet the entire week, and did most of the diving between 20 and 75 feet. This meant for very safe multi-level profiles and plenty of off-gas time. In that sweet 55-foot range, there was amazing biodiversity. This is not the place to go for big pelagic encounters or heart-thumping shark action, but for colorful reef denizens these nearby sites offered not only unusual creatures, but also healthy backdrops.

Some of the sites are hard to distinguish from one another without stringent dive logging. And I was too busy diving for that, so forgive me if I can’t remember what differentiated sites like Pockets, Teluk Waitii, Pinkie’s Reef, and Tanjung Lintea. Each was an excellent dive, and each offered nice critter encounters. But in general they were sloping walls with the Indo-Pacific "usual suspects" like clownfish, regal angels, coral grouper, anthias; and the occasional puffer or batfish thrown in. I don’t mean this in a dismissive way at all, for each would be standout dives at many other destinations. But they were not distinctively memorable in the way some of these others were:

The Zoo (aka Turkey Beach)

This is an extension of the 3.5-mile house reef, well to the south of the resort and a bit too far for a shore dive. But by boat it is a 5-minute ride to a mooring set amid pristine staghorn corals. Here cardinalfish swim amid the delicate coral fingers, and voracious lionfish hover motionless above, hoping to cull the pack. Scorpionfish and stonefish are really very common along the reef crest, and down a bit deeper are a couple of the pygmy seahorse that are such compelling photographic subjects here. Gratefully, the divemasters have excellent eyes and a thorough knowledge of what animals are likely to be found where, for it was up to me a fish the size of a large grain of rice would have gone undiscovered to science.

This, like all portions of the house reef, offers good access to cooperative marine life. Actually, there is a noticeable difference in terms of how the fish react to divers at the offshore sites, where there is local fishing pressure, and the house reef where they are totally protected. It is not unlike the Sanctuary Preservation Areas in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary back home. The fish are more abundant and more trusting when protected from hook-and-line fishing.

No surprise there, but very insightful by the Wakatobi staff. They have reached an accord with the local fishermen by subsidizing them with cash and electricity, and in so doing they keep the house reef free of human predation. I had seen similar arrangements made by wilderness safari camps in Botswana, and it is a win-win for the camps, the villages, and especially for the safari tourists. For us visiting divers it meant noticeably closer access to the fish, more fish, and better photos.

The Zoo is quite different at night of course, with lionfish by the dozen dotting the reef face. The butterflyfish that were a bit skittish during the day were easy prey at night for the fish photographer, and we found an extraordinarily docile turtle resting beneath a coral ledge. However, as good as this reef is at night, it is even more productive during the day.

Fan 38

They tell the story of the underwater photographer who listened to the dive briefing about the gorgeous sea fan, massively large, the size of a truck, at a certain place on the reef. That was the very fan he wanted to shoot of course! So, he loaded up his camera with a roll of 36-exposure slide film and set out to capture this wide-angle wonder. Yet, one after another wide-angle photo opportunity unfurled before his lens and before he knew it his film was spent before he swam by the fan. Yet, so taken by the potential of this particular fan he went back one again determined to capture it on film. And once again the beauty of the soft corals, black coral trees, schooling fish, and gorgonia that decorated the wall seduced him and he was out of film before he got to this part of the reef. He had only 36-exposures and to him, this was Fan 38. Of course, I had a 2 GB card, which gave me 105 shots from my Canon EOS 1DSMKII, so my dive was all about "Fan 106", but truthfully I never figured out which one he had in mind.

The wall here is quite vertical, and certainly lavishly decorated. I found cuttlefish here both times I dived the wall, and also a huge pufferfish being cleaned within a coral overhang. There were anthias, clownfish, and the usual small reef dwellers, but while there is much to occupy a macro shooter, it really is one of the better wide-angle sites. Fortunately, we had a spot of sun here both days I dived it, and while it may have only lasted an hour or so, at Fan 38 that may be all you need to return with stellar reef scenics.

Cornucopia

Well named for the variety of creatures along this wall, it is the tiny pygmy seahorses that are perhaps the most highly prized photographic subject. Located on one specific sea fan fortuitously jutting out into the blue, the photographers can hover motionless without impacting other parts of the reef while trying to coax these miniscule creatures into the terribly shallow depth of field that accompanies magnifications of 1:1 and beyond. Even life-size enlargement will not fill the 35mm frame with a pygmy, but gratefully I found two seahorses in near enough proximity that they made for a lovely composition.

Batfish Wall

As you might expect, there are likely encounters with a resident group of batfish here, as well as at other locations like Pinkie’s Wall and the House Reef North. We found a pair of turtles here, as well as a very large school of snapper. Actually, this site was quite nice no matter whether wide-angle, fish imaging, or macro photos were on the agenda.

Lorenzo’s Delight

Later in the week we were invited to choose sites we wanted to revisit, and Lorenzo’s Delight received unanimous acclaim. Here were absolutely massive crimson gorgonia, and when I placed my wife and daughter in the background they seemed even larger with the perspective distortion induced. Here were large soft coral trees of every pastel hue, and olive green tubastrea trees populated by orange anthias. All of which was in the 40 to 80 foot range, but as I looked into the greater depths the seafans seemed even larger. I was unwilling to trade bottom time for depth here, but for those needing a deep fix, there was plenty to see. And with dive limits imposed by Wakatobi a generous 70 - 75 minutes, there is still ample time to offgass in the shallows should you wish to take a quick bounce into the abyss.

House Reef (North)

As good as the boat dives were, the House Reef is really quite extraordinary. I dived the north wall one afternoon when everyone else had gone out on a boat dive by the simple expedient of having one of the small ferryboats drop me off up current. Here I could drop down to about 60-feet to explore a huge underwater cavern inhabited by a resident frogfish and some very friendly coral grouper and squirrelfish. This cavern has amazing wide-angle potential as well, but both times I dived it was with macro lenses affixed. (Not having covered that on a sunny day with a wide-angle lens is one of my few photographic regrets from our Wakatobi trip).

After spending about ten minutes in the cave, being very careful with my buoyancy so as to not damage the delicate sponge and coral formations within, I began a slow and gentle drift down the face of the wall. Most of the time I was in 20 to 30 feet of water only, and found several very productive cleaning stations. The first stop was for a group of 6 to 8 batfish, one of whom was a juvenile. Their hygienic imperative was enough to keep them stationary for some very tight fish portraits. Farther along the reef were coral grouper, regal angelfish, longsnout butterflyfish, and both common and fire lionfish. Here it was blatantly obvious these fish were used to divers and enjoying the protection from the local fishermen, making them far more brazen and indifferent to my proximity. Actually, this dive was so effortless and engaging, I did a 103-minute dive to drift from the cave to the pier at Wakatobi, by far my longest dive of the week.

Village Tour

We did not realize we would have an opportunity to tour the nearby village, but when offered most of us jumped at the chance. My wife and I are always eager to show our daughter different cultures, and this local village was at once cordial and exotic. The children in particular were very friendly, and we’d wished we’d brought some candy and school supplies for them. The older boys smoked their cigarettes and showed off, while the little girls shyly giggled among themselves when we pointed our cameras in their direction. The adults stood off to the side, but they too seemed amused at the photographic interest they aroused and considered us an entertaining diversion for a few hours. Just as they were to us I suppose.

Conclusion

In retrospect, we all suffered from Vitamin D deprivation from a week without sunshine, but that’s the luck of the draw and not the normal weather pattern here. Still, the diving is strong enough to overcome that minor disappointment, and as so much of it is fish and macro life, our strobes became our proxy sunshine and I think all had very good Wakatobi portfolios to show by the end of the week.

The dive staff was exceptional, both in terms of safely delivering the product, but also in terms of enthusiastically assisting us in our critter-quest. Other members of the staff were equally helpful, from housekeeping to the chefs. All in all, Wakatobi delivers hospitality quite well, and has come a long way in terms of delivering a quality dive adventure in an extremely remote and challenging locale.

During our visit we comprised but one half of the resort’s occupancy. The second half was made up of a dive group from Turkey. While not all shared the same language or customs, it was interesting to see the bond forged by love of the sea. By the end of the week we felt we had made some new friends, and look forward to meeting them again sometime, somewhere in the destination dive world.

Trip Prep Details

Sulawesi Map from www.wakatobi.com. Red Line shows the executive air charter route direct from Bali (DPS) to Wakatobi.

Wakatobi Resort

Wakatobi is a rather small, intimate resort located on a small island known locally as Onemobaa. Here is some of their website verbiage that might provide some general information. See my occasional comments below in bold.

Note also that the resort is now Internet enabled, so any laptops similarly equipped can enjoy satellite broadband Internet access. There is an Ethernet port in the rooms, and wireless in the longhouse. There is also an Internet enabled computer for guest use in the library. So, while not especially speedy, it is certainly possible to stay in touch at Wakatobi.

"Our intimate, eco-friendly resort is located in the Wakatobi archipelago in remote Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia where we are the only fully licensed dive tourism operator. The resort itself is situated on a small island the natives call Onemobaa. Our island is beside Tomia Island, one of four major islands covering an area of 821 sq. km. The beautiful resort Longhouse and Bungalows are built directly at the seaside, spaced along our exquisite beach.

Wakatobi Dive Resort is a destination that caters to divers and nature-lovers looking for world-class diving far from crowds and commercialism -- off the beaten path. Our most devoted guests have a pioneering spirit and a desire to experience the pristine beauty of a remote paradise.

The main Longhouse contains all the common guest facilities such as the dive center (with separate equipment and camera room that offers both 220v and 110v charging stations, fridge for film and much more). There is also a rental equipment room, dining area, kitchen, video lounge and marine life reference library as well as storage rooms, the bar and bathrooms. Guests visiting Wakatobi experience accommodations that embrace ecotourism principles. The main house was designed in the traditional architectural style of the Indonesian longhouse. It was constructed by local craftsmen with traditional (hand) tools. Additionally, we also have a range of guest bungalows also built in a traditional style and inspired by the home of the last sultan of Tomia.

We of course provide reliable electricity (24-hour, 220V/50Hz) in all rooms with additional 110 volt available in the camera room.

We found battery charges took longer than normal, and charges lasted less time than we expected. The power may not have been exactly 110 volt/60 cycles ... maybe 50 cycles? Anyway, be safe and change batteries between dives in circumstances where you might normally get 2 dives out of a charge.

You may wish to bring an 110V power strip and a power converter if most of your appliances and chargers are not 110/220 compatible. Strobe batteries can be charged in the camera room, and you can do computer tasks in your room or common lounge areas in the Longhouse.

To keep in touch with the outside world, we also provide guest’s access to the resort’s own satellite communication unit which handles voice, fax and email. There is wi-fi in the longhouse, and a LAN connection in the room, but it is delivered via satellite and is neither overly swift nor available 24/7. Still, when you consider the remote location, having Internet access at all is a welcome miracle! The toilets and showers are western standard with hot and cold running fresh water.

Our new team of chefs (recently ’snatched’ from some of the top Bali hotels) prepare ample, healthy meals using fresh produce and a touch of magic. Guests enjoy a sampling of local and international cuisine including fresh tuna sashimi, savory soups, barbequed fish, meats and fruits. We also provide complimentary coffee, tea and cookies around-the-clock in the lounge and in the bungalows’ minibars. We are usually able to accommodate special diet needs if guests give us adequate advance notice."

Health considerations

From www.wakatobi.com regarding malaria prevention: "The risk of getting Malaria in Wakatobi is very low. There have been the odd cases among the locals who’s been stung by mosquitoes imported by transiting sailors but none of our clients have - as far as we can determine - been struck while in the resort. (We have mosquito nets and coils for the odd mozzie that flies by) We normally don’t recommend that divers take medication as it often creates mood swings and drowsiness and other discomforts, (dangerous when diving) but we leave the final decision entirely up to the individual. (Old medications often contain Larium). However, if you, in combination with your Wakatobi trip travel elsewhere in Indonesia you might want consider taking a prophylaxis (such as MELARONE) with the latest strain available. (Which is not as prone to cause such side effects as does Larium derivatives)"

From www.wakatobi.com regarding general health issues: "In the event one of our guests should need a MedEvac we are equipped for it. In case of a DECO emergency our first-aid trained dive managers would immediately stabilize the diver’s condition with non-baric Medical Oxygen. If deemed necessary we would then evacuate the diver by airplane* (with sea level cabin pressure) direct back to Bali where there is a good re-compression chamber. This year we do this in 7hrs but hope to halve this sometime next year with a faster plane. *(Daytime only)

As for the resort, we have a good stock of medical gear and medication (with pretty much everything from band-aids to defibrillators). Should that not be enough there is a basic hospital on the neighboring island (sufficiently equipped for most general treatments)."

For those fearful of no-see-ums, Wakatobi states: "Remarkably, this is one of those rare resorts where you can enjoy a tropical palm fringed island without having to walk around waiving at bugs all the time or avoid sitting in the sand at night. This is mainly due to the island being in a very arid (dry climate) area with very little rain, no swamps or other still waters for mosquitoes to breed in. We also ensure to overturn any waterfilled coconuts etc so that there is no space for them to breed in."

Temperature

Air temperature is in general around 30 °C (86 degrees F) during the day and cooler in the evening. Water temperature is a reasonably warm 26-28 °C (79-82°F), but given the multiple dives we will be doing daily, including night dives, a 3/5mm or even 5mm full wetsuit is recommended. During our visit the water temperature was 84 degrees, quite a bit warmer than my expectation.

The sun can be brutal here, so bring sunscreen, a hat, and a light long-sleeved garment to block the harmful UV rays. I wish we would have had that problem! Instead, it rained almost the entire time we were at Wakatobi. Uncharacteristic perhaps, but be prepared and add a rain jacket to the list.

The Diving

Experienced and well-traveled divers - many who have visited numerous famous dive destinations all over the world - frequently tell us they have never seen such a vast, pristine and enjoyable reef area. There are literally hundreds of world-class dive sites -- many still unexplored.

We have an incredible number of dive sites and we provide greater freedom than any other operator (within the limits of safety) to explore them. We let you dive as long and as deep as your certification allows. Boat dives are extended to a full 75 min., and house reef dives are of unlimited length. Considering the incredible variety of hard and soft corals comprising our healthy reefs extend from just below the surface, it’s a pleasure making long safety stops and enjoying long, relaxed dives - at your own pace.

There is no need for long speedboat transfers to see reefs teeming with life. Dive sites are within minutes of the resort. The reefs in Wakatobi provide habitats for the tiniest to the biggest and the most beautiful to the hmm ... ugliest (cutest) marine creatures. The closer you look, the more you will see. On many dives we discover species we’ve never seen before."

While perhaps "enthusiastic" in tone, I think the words are pretty correct. The advantage to Wakatobi is that there are lots of interesting small creatures, and very experienced guides to point them out. But, this is not "muck" diving in the traditional sense because the backgrounds are very nice as well. Wide-angle photography is very productive here, and the backgrounds for marine life portraits are stunning.

"Each season has its particular highlights. The hundreds of kilometers of reef structure in the National Marine Park provide every imaginable marine animal including whales, dolphins, sharks, rays, tunas, barracudas, marlin and more. Of course, if you want to see these big beauties, you have to be fortunate enough to be at the right place at the right time! It has been scientifically documented that the area of the world where Wakatobi is located contains more marine species than any other. You will see that this is true when you come diving here!"

The biodiversity of Wakatobi is very impressive. Whether there are more species of fish here or, say, in Raja Ampat, is subject of some debate, but bottom line is that there is plenty to see here, and to take pictures of. I’ve never heard of this as being big-time pelagic country though. Don’t expect to see rare pelagics like whales or dolphins or whale sharks. It could happen, but is not likely, and will be very special if it does happen.

"Experiencing a large variety of marine creatures on your trip to Wakatobi is guaranteed simply by just visiting the beautiful house reef, only a few fin strokes away from the dive center. Visitors have frequently described this reef as the Best House Reef in the World. It features several species of clownfish in a variety of anemone hosts, turtles, rays, batfish, crocodile fish, scorpion fish, ghost pipe fish, frog fish, razorfish, sea snakes, porcelain crabs, nudibranchs, blue-ringed octopus, cuttlefish, leaf fish, 4 (four) species of pygmy seahorses and many, many more (too many to list).

On your exploration of this coral heaven you will - when entering the water by the resort - swim through three different habitats, namely: sand, sea grass and corals. Each is amazing in its own right. Frequently photographers spend frame after frame only in the seagrass, as it teems with life.

With dive light in hand, the house reef at night becomes the most colorful and vibrant show of nature’s splendor you can think of. Come visit, and we’ll show you!

Most of the dives we make are drift dives along colorful, dramatic walls of coral. We also offer partial drop-off dives, seamount dives, slopes and a 40m-long Japanese freighter."

Diving description: Tropical coral reef diving and sea-grass habitat. Steep slopes and walls. Seamounts, caverns and pristine reef tops. Drift dives and critter hunting. Fresh water caves.

The House Reef

Actually six different sites are accessible directly off the beach in front of the resort. It’s only 80 yards from the shoreline to the drop-off. Highlights include a great variety of fishes, invertebrates, macro subjects, beautiful soft corals, gorgonians, tunicates, whips, sponges, overhangs--all totaling a spectacular rainbow of color.

Onamobaa Cavern

An extension of the house reef, this is an excellent soft coral dive. Often compared with Hanging Gardens at Sipadan, it’s actually larger and more diverse. Every part of the reef is covered with color and life.

Inka’s Palette

Beginning as a gentle slope, Inka’s Palette plummets into the depths with multiple overhangs. There are very large tube sponges, huge leather corals, a giant Tridacna Clam, good fish life and a colorful palette of hard and soft corals.

Pastel Reef

Similar to Inka’s in the array of life, the colors are diverse yet subdued to pastel hues. At depth, gardens of neon yellow wire corals spiral out into surrealistic shapes. When the current is running and the corals open, it’s a vastly beautiful dive.

Mari Mabuk

This is a long ridge running from 15 feet down to 80. It features huge seafans, coral heads adorned in bright soft corals and feather stars blooming in the frequently swift current. The saddle that bridges the reef contains Blueribbon Eels, leaf fish, Crocodilefish, scorpionfish, nudibranchs and more.

Turkey Beach

This is a delightful shallow drift through an endless, brightly lit coral garden. Two large canyons contain schools of Batfish and Bronze Snappers. It’s also a good spot to encounter turtles, Eagle Rays and Bumphead Parrotfish.

Lorenz’s Delight

Begin by plunging deep, where forests of immense yellow wire corals spiral 15 feet or higher off the steeply sloping wall. Then work your way up to the 60-foot range, where an overhanging ledge harbors big seafans framed in colorful soft corals. Flush with schooling fish life, the brightly hued coral continues to within a foot or two of the surface.

Roma

Roma is as fine as any dive site in the world. Large schools of fusiliers, Pyramid Butterflyfish, Sergeant Majors, houndfish and Redtooth Triggerfish swirl around you in an endless dance. A compact pinnacle in the center of the reef, crammed with color and life, this is a complete dive in itself.

We offer three kinds of diving for ultimate flexibility and diving comfort:

1) Shore diving: step right out from the beach in front of the resort!
2) Tender boat taxi service: enjoy more remote sites on the house reef
3) Boat diving: one or two-tank dives on a variety of about 3 dozen sites away from the Resort

Dive Program

Early morning beach dive possible before breakfast. Two-tank boat dive trip before lunch. Afternoon taxi boat dives on the extended house reef. Night beach dives before and after dinner and occasional evening night boat dives when conditions allow. Note: Our 5 km / 3.5 mile house reef has multiple dive sites. Boat dives always with guide. Beach dives and taxi boat dives accompanied by guides upon availability. Maximum number of dives included in package: unlimited (some guests do 7 day).

1) Shore diving: Our "signature dish". This is what has made Wakatobi the number one choice among not only resort divers but also live aboard lovers. World’s best shore diving. Simply get your gear and step right out on the beach, get in the water, flip your fins a few times and enjoy some of the most amazing reef life you will ever see. The house reef top is so prolific that many photographers find themselves out of film before they have even reach the drop-off (located approx. 80 yards in front of the Resort proper).

Here on the house reef you can spend hour upon hour throughout your stay. Sometimes you will enter from the beach, others at the end of the jetty. Most dives will be in a slight current meaning that you will drift at various speeds along the reef while exploring it’s beauty. You can enter and exit the water right in front of the resort at high and medium tide while at low tide you will need to use the jetty or the canyon at the corner of the island. Due to our location next to this unique island corner canyon you can shore dive at any tide!

When getting in the water in front of the resort you will first gently drift over an area completely covered in lush sea grass. This is a superb "muck diving" site with tons of wondrous critters. Then, as you get about two thirds out on the reef flat you’ll start to see the corals ... and lots of them. The outer part of the house reef is completely covered with lush coral, both soft and hard. Enjoy!

2) House reef tender boat taxi service: A service that allows you to explore dive sites on the house reef normally not accessible from the Resort. Due to the house reef being so expansive this adds several sites for you to enjoy. Simply let one of our boat crew know that you and a buddy (or a group of up to 6 divers) wish to go out with a tender boat and they will help you get your gear on board. Then, as the boat glides out over the reef you fine tune your gear and get ready for the dive. Once over the site you will do a back roll to enter the water. The dive location will be chosen so that the current will bring you back to the resort. After a perfect, impression-intensive dive, you can then exit the water at the end of our jetty (or on any part of the beach) where our attentive local staff will be standing by to help you carry cameras and dive gear.

3) Boat Diving: Because of our very fortunate location there’s a wide range of superb dive sites within reach of our dive boats. We have about 40 sites that we regularly dive, all accessible by a normally short boat ride. (boat rides range from 10 minutes up to max. an hour for the most remote site)

Prior to each scheduled dive boat departure, there will be a briefing at the resort by your guide. A sketch of the dive objective is displayed, the likely conditions discussed, and a dive plan rehearsed. Known marine inhabitants and their locations are explained, along with specific advice for photographers. On arrival at the dive site, your guide will enter first. If conditions are as expected, the "pool is open". Otherwise, your guide will amend the dive plan before opening the pool.

Once underwater, buddy teams are free to do their own thing. However, due to the remoteness of Wakatobi, there are three rules: 1) decompression diving is not recommended; 2) solo diving is not allowed, except for (a) guests having prior clearance by our resort manager (b)certified instructors equipped with pony bottles; and 3) one hour minimum surface interval between dives.

Unless you are an expert critter spotter yourself, staying within visual distance of your guide will likely greatly enhance your experience. Our staff members have razor sharp eyes, and will seek to get your attention to share their finds with you. If you want to see a specific creature, let them know, and you may be in luck. As a courtesy, we ask that non-photographers get first looks.

During the average dive in Wakatobi, you will likely experience a gentle current. Like most any other dive destination, the strength and direction of current will vary with tides, moon phase, winds, etc. Current is why the marine life at Wakatobi is so prolific - the food chain would stagnate without it. Water column feeders like soft corals and siphon feeders such as tunicates deflate in the absence of current, so dives totally void of current aren’t nearly as interesting. When diving at Wakatobi, let the current do the work. After all, you are on holiday. Just drift along with it. Should the current change direction during the dive, go with it. Your dive boat will stand off the reef in deeper water, following the bubble trails. When you decide to end your dive, simply surface and swim a short distance away from the reef so that you can be safely picked up.

Snacks are served between consecutive boat dives, as well as liquid refreshments such as tea, hot chocolate, and water. For safety purposes, all divers are encouraged to remain well hydrated.

Gear Transfers

Since we want you to have the flexibility of diving the house reef at any time, when not on a boat dive, your gear is stowed in a numbered basket in one of our dive sheds. These open-air sheds are immediately adjacent to the Longhouse. When you have confirmed your intent to participate in a scheduled boat dive on our status board, resort employees will transfer your gear basket to the relevant boat for you, as well as all required tanks. Need help with cameras? No problem! When the boat returns, this process is reversed, and once again your gear is conveniently available for house reef diving at your leisure.

The Boats

The Wakatobi Empat and Lima: 24 meter (70’) long with a large camera platform, rinse tank, toilet, radio communication w/ resort. Can comfortably accommodate 14 divers (usually 10-12). Entry is by "giant stride" to port or starboard. Egress is by very sturdy ladder with easy to use handles (guests can hand tanks and belts up to our staff, if preferred). Gear is stowed in individually numbered baskets beneath the gunwale benches. This boat is used to transport dive groups to reefs outlying from the resort.

The Wakatobi Tiga: At 16 meter LOA she’s slightly smaller than the Wakatobi Empat and Lima but is equally popular with our guests. Layout is similar to that of her larger siblings with camera platform, rinse tank, toilet, radio communication w/ resort and ample space for all guests to move around. Capacity of 12 divers (usually 6-10 on board). Entry, egress, and gear stowage same as Empat and Lima.

Additional FAQs

What sizes tanks do you have? Are they aluminum or steel? > We have 50’s (7L), 80’s (11L) and 95’s (14L). All are aluminum. All our tanks have INT valves but DIN adapters are available for rent.

Do you have facilities to cater for rebreathers? > Yes. We carry sodalime (trade name: sofnolime), at the resort and have an ample supply of medical grade oxygen for rebreather divers. Of course we also have complete Nitrox facilities for open circuit divers.

What kind of electrical sockets are there in the resort? > The resort is fitted throughout with the UK standard, three-pin in-a-triangle sockets. Each room also has at least one multi plug adapter.

I will bring my own chargers and electronic equipment. What type of adaptors do I need to bring? > The power supply in the resort is 220 V / 50 Hz stable 24hrs a day. The camera room has ample sockets with both 220 and 110 though. Other voltages from 12 V- 380 V are available upon request.

Do you have E6 processing? > Yes we do. Cost is USD 10 per roll. However, Indonesian photographical chemical suppliers are currently dry, and there could be an interruption to this service due to unavailability of chemicals.

How many dive boats do you have and how big are they? > We have 6 boats. Three big wooden boats (like the Maldivian Doni’s), one glass fiber speedboat and two-glass fiber tender boats. The tender boats are used for transfers from the beach to the further sections of the house reef while the bigger boats are used on the daily boat dives. The bigger ones have space for up to 16 divers (diving in three groups) with ample space for cameras, a head and rinse tanks.

Note: Wakatobi does not accept traveler Checks, but Visa/MC are fine.