Trekking

The infamous komodo dragon..

The infamous komodo dragon..

Although the main purpose of our Komodo trip was a diving trip, it would still feel not complete if we didn’t visit the Komodo National Park, watching and observing these endangered creatures in their natural habitat. We’ve already made a long trip all the way here. It would have been a loss if we didn’t stop by, especially for some of us who were first-timers going to this Komodo region. So, on the last day of the trip we only did two dives in the morning and right after lunch MV Tarata sailed towards Loh Buaya, one of the ranger station locations on Rinca Island..

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Ihsan taking photos from the top of Gunung Api...

Ihsan taking photos from the top of Gunung Api…

The clock was just ticking past five o’clock in the morning, the sun did not even rise over the horizon yet, when the four of us – Ela, Ihsan Reza and I – got busy preparing ourselves, went out from our hotel rooms and gathered around at the pier in front of the Hotel Maulana, where we were staying. This morning the four of us, accompanied by Pak Anwar – our guide for this Banda trip – and his companion, will climb to the peak of Gunung Api, which is one of the landmarks of the Banda archipelago which consists of 11 islands. Even though it is not such a significantly tall one, the mountain still presented a big challenge for us – who rarely climb any mountain and with limited stamina – to reach its peak. But it was our intention from the beginning that we must reach the peak of Gunung Api when we visit Banda. So that was it, the spirit and passion had overcome any challenge..

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Tiwu Nuamuri Koofai, one of Kelimutu crater lakes...

Tiwu Nuamuri Koofai, one of Kelimutu crater lakes…

The Xian MA60 turbo-prop aircraft that we are in descends and makes a slightly awkward approach toward landing at Frans Seda airport, touches the runway, bumps twice, and finally rolling smoothly on the runway as it slows down and heads to the apron. All passengers breathe with relief and applaud, loosen the tension off after such landing sequence. Quite a thrilling experience 😀 But anyway, here we are, at Maumere. Ready for another trip to explore the place where we haven’t been there before. It’s still a half of the journey, as we prepare for the next 3-hours land ride to Moni where we are going to stay. Kelimutu, here we come..!

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Landed at Wayag...

Landed at Wayag…

This is the second day of our trip.

The sun was still sleeping when I went up to the upper deck of Temukira. But a ray of light from the east was enough to glare the magnificent silhouette of the towering karst islands surrounding us.

I am at Wayag!

My camera was ready at my hand. I did not want to spend any time in this place without capturing & immortalizing the beauty of the scenery. When the bright morning light gradually replaced the red light of dawn, views of the towering green hills surrounded by turquoise water immediately catching everybody’s eyes. Small karst islands here and there added the beauty of the scenery. Continue Reading

Going to the crater...

Sulfur miners walk down the Ijen crater path…

Around 30km north-west of Banyuwangi – East Java, there stood mount Ijen with its huge crater lake located at 2380 meter above the sea level, one of several tourism attractions in Banyuwangi area. Mbak Iin – a friend of my sister-in-law living at a village nearby the mountain – invited us for a visit, so there we went on this holiday season…

Mount Ijen actually can be reached from two cities in East Java. The first route is from Bondowoso via Sempol village, and the second is from Banyuwangi via Licin village – the village where our friend lives. Most of people said that the second route is the easiest one, and also the shortest one if we consider the distance of the basecamp from the nearest city. From Banyuwangi, we can also drive until around 3km from the peak before hiking to the peak of the mountain. So, lucky us, I guess…

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