PAID CONTENT FOR WAKATOBI RESORT
PAID CONTENT FOR WAKATOBI RESORT
PAID CONTENT FOR WAKATOBI RESORT
Wakatobi Resort SOUTHEAST SULAWESI, INDONESIA
OFFERING FANTASTIC SNORKELLING AMID A TROPICAL PARADISE, WAKATOBI RESORT IS A GREAT CHOICE FOR FANS OF WATERSPORTS AND GUESTS WHO WANT TO RELAX
Wakatobi Resort is a boutique property where Indonesian bungalows and villas are ensconced in a palm grove facing a white sand beach. Guests enjoy attentive personal service, gourmet dining, spa therapies and all the amenities one would expect from an upscale destination. The Wakatobi house reef is one of the world’s best
snorkelling experiences. Shallow-water swims here take place in a pristine and biodiverse ecosystem that’s home to more than 700 coral species and thousands of varieties of fish and invertebrates. But it’s not just the aquatic flora and fauna that consistently earn this site top accolades. Wakatobi combines a journey of in-water discovery with a five-star, remote-island travel experience. In the early 1990s, Swiss explorer and diver
Lorenz Mäder embarked on a multi-year quest to locate the finest coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific region. This search eventually led to a small island in central Indonesia’s Sulawesi Sea. The area, then known as the Tukangbesi archipelago, was once labelled an ‘underwater nirvana’ by diving pioneer
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Jacques Cousteau. Mäder was equally fascinated by what he called the most stunning coral reefs he’d ever encountered and was inspired to create a diver’s outpost to give others access to this special place. This was the genesis for Wakatobi Resort. And
with its founding, Mäder also ushered in a new benchmark for community-based sustainable tourism. Before breaking ground on the resort, he visited local villages and met fishermen and influential elders to offer a unique proposition. In exchange for honouring specific ‘no-take’ zones within his proposed marine preserve, the resort would dedicate a portion of guest revenue to making direct payments to the community. As a result of this cooperative effort, Wakatobi’s reefs remain in pristine condition, and sustainable fish harvests outside the preserve’s no-take areas have actually increased. Mäder’s efforts also changed the map
— literally. The name for his resort, ‘Wakatobi’, is a combination of the first two letters of each
of the region’s four major islands: Wangi-Wangi, Kaledupa, Tomia, and Binongko. As Wakatobi Resort gained fame in diving and snorkelling circles, the entire region was increasingly referred to as Wakatobi. In 2002, the Indonesian government created the Wakatobi National Park and the following year, the Wakatobi Regency was officially established. In 2012, Wakatobi was named a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve. The snorkelling experience at Wakatobi begins
with concierge airport services on arrival in Bali, followed by a charter flight to the resort’s private airstrip. The resort employs five staff for every guest to ensure the highest level of individual attention. This makes Wakatobi the area’s largest employer, giving local communities further incentives to participate in reef conservation programmes.
Superlative diving The centrepiece of Wakatobi’s marine preserve is the house reef, which lies just offshore from the
resort beach. While boat excursions are available, this site has been named the world’s best shore dive by several international diving publications, and it’s equally impressive at snorkelling depths. The house reef encompasses a large expanse
of live coral formations and a diverse range of additional shallow-water ecosystems, including sand flats, grass beds, patch reefs and the outer reef, which drops precipitously from depths of 7ft to beyond 130ft. While divers typically focus on the site’s slopes and walls, snorkellers are actually better equipped to explore the vast areas between shore and slope, as they can glide over shallow formations without the encumbrances of tank and gear. At snorkelling depths, sunlight reveals the full colours of the reef, and clear waters facilitate up-close viewing of marine life. Many snorkellers begin their swims at the
resort’s jetty, which provides easy access to the water. Around the jetty, the underwater scene changes throughout the day and with the tide. Snorkellers can count on seeing a wealth of anemones filled with the attendant marine life
that finds shelter among the tentacles. Blue spotted stingrays patrol the reef, colourful schools of anthias and butterflyfish flit about, while ambush predators such as cryptic crocodilefish and frogfish lie in wait. Turtles are also frequent visitors. Snorkellers have 24-hour access to the house
reef and are free to explore it at their leisure or with the assistance of the resort’s in-water guides. For guests who are relatively new to snorkelling, Wakatobi’s private guide service not only ensures an added degree of safety and comfort, but also provides a useful extra pair of eyes, as the guides are experts at finding and pointing out the wealth of life among the grasses and corals. To reach more distant parts of the house reef,
guests can hop aboard one of the resort’s ‘taxi boats’. Wakatobi also operates a fleet of large day boats that provide access to more than 40 diving and snorkelling sites within the preserve. Many of these shallow snorkelling sites sit close to deep- water drops, which creates an opportunity for mixed diving/snorkelling couples and families to share the same underwater experience.
DON’T MISS Night-time snorkelling tours with special lighting that reveals fluorescent properties of corals and marine life
This content is brought to you by our sponsor. It does not necessarily reflect the views of National Geographic, National Geographic Traveller (UK) or their editorial staffs. 119
GET IN TOUCH
wakatobi.com T: +44 208 393 8511 E:
robert.parrington@
wakatobi.com
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