Indonesian Borneo is now being explored by liveaboards, making the islands of Derawan, Sangalaki, Kakoban and Maratua accessible in one trip
Diving Kalimantan, Indonesia © Chris Mitchell
I recently dived in Kalimantan – the Indonesian part of Borneo – with Tambora, a newish liveaboard that is pursuing an ambitious yearly itinerary across Indonesia. I was writing a story for EZ Dive magazine, which you can read here.
2022 Update:
Tambora has rebranded to the Raja Ampat Aggressor II as it’s become part of the Aggressor Adventures family.
Tambora Liveaboard © Chris Mitchell
The trip was a round trip from Terakan and revolved around four islands which are all dive hotspots in their own right – Sangalaki, Derawan, Kakoban and Nabucco. We also explored a huge submerged atoll which isn’t accessible by daytrips which yielded some of the best dives of the trip (and some of the worst too ;) – I’ll be writing a full report for EZ Dive magazine and publishing a separate liveaboard review of Tambora here on Divehappy soon (as I have done previously with other Indo liveaboards like MSY Damai, Siren and MSY Seahorse). In the meantime, here’s some of the photos I took as a taster of the journey
A huge battery of barracuda hundreds strong at Big Fish Country (Maratua Channel) © Chris Mitchell
Reef at Kakoban © Chris Mitchell
Cuttlefish at Kakoban © Chris Mitchell
Kakoban Reef Scene © Chris Mitchell
Sunlight on a plate coral bommie © Chris Mitchell
Clownfish and diver © Chris Mitchell
Fan coral and diver © Chris Mitchell
So flat calm the clouds in the sky are visible through the ocean surface © Chris Mitchell
Flat calm seas on an early grey morning © Chris Mitchell
Raindrops falling on the surface above plate corals © Chris Mitchell
The reef reflected in the mirror surface of the sea © Chris Mitchell
Sunlight © Chris Mitchell
Close Manta encounter, Sangalaki © Chris Mitchell
Manta ray feeding at the surface in the sunlight at Sangalaki © Chris Mitchell
Flabellina and egg ribbon, Derawan © Chris Mitchell
Flabellina and egg ribbon, Derawan © Chris Mitchell
Crocodile Fish, Derawan © Chris Mitchell
Jawfish with eggs in its mouth – you can see the eyes of the babies if you look closely © Chris Mitchell
Jawfish releasing the eggs – they’re the squiggly bits in top right of photo © Chris Mitchell
