Menjangan Island, Bali, Indonesia, 11/28/2022, National Geographic Orion
Aboard the
National Geographic Orion
Indonesia & Papua New Guinea
Today we visited the tiny island of Menjangan on the northwest corner of Bali. This name means ‘Deer Island’ in the local language; the island is named after the rusa deer that swim across from the nearby mainland. We explored the island in small groups, and many of us got to view the rusa deer up close. We later witnessed a deer swimming on the edge of the mangroves as it sought out vegetation to graze on.
In the afternoon, the intense tropical heat continued to build. After lunch, we cooled off with some snorkeling in the channel next to the island. The clear water revealed a fantastic diversity of fish and coral species. The afternoon heat changed very quickly as a tropical storm rolled in from the mountains of Java.
Erin Katie is a biologist from the Northern Territory Australia. Having grown up in remote parts of the country such as the Kimberley and Central Australia where she developed a curiosity for landscapes, ecology and particularly the wildlife.
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On a calm, tropical morning, National Geographic Orion anchored off the coast of Pulau Belitung, an island in the Java Sea off the east coast of Sumatra. By Zodiac, we landed at the beautiful beach of Tanjung Kelayang to a warm welcome with a dance performance by members of the local community. The beach is very photogenic with many colorful longboats anchored beside the white sand. Under cover and protected from the hot morning sun, we were entertained by the reenactment of a traditional Indonesian marriage ceremony, complete with the requisite gift giving and financial negotiations between the families before the union could be completed! Before heading back to the ship for lunch, guests enjoyed snorkeling around the spectacular granite boulders in the area, which is formally recognized as a UNESCO geopark.
On the final expedition morning of our voyage from Bali to Singapore we absorbed as much sun, sand, and sea as possible at our exquisite island location in the Anambas archipelago. Pulau Lintang is a small, uninhabited island within this group between Malaysia and the island of Borneo. This group of islands consists mostly of weathered granite rocks and associated sediments; it was formed at least 60 million years ago, deep within the Sunda shelf. The vast patch of coral reef stretching out from our beach base provided many delights for those keen to snorkel the waters and explore. We found a variety of marine life, including small blacktip reef sharks, moray eels, and curious damselfish guarding their algae gardens.
After a hearty helping of fresh blueberry pancakes, we continued our northward journey to the Badas Islands. With a few hours at sea we had the opportunity to hear from our naturalist team about some of the creatures that make this archipelago so unique. Erin O’Brien brought the magnificent Komodo dragon to life, telling us a little more about this gargantuan King of the Lizards. Phil Chaon, one of our newest naturalists, followed this with an explanation of Wallace’s Line, a now invisible barrier that divides the faunas of Asia and Australia. In the early afternoon we arrived at Pulau Mentebung — a slice of paradise that you could skip a stone across with a strong arm. We were not the first to arrive on the beach that day, as a set of tracks revealed that a hawksbill sea turtle had recently ventured up the beach to lay eggs. Unlike many of our recent arrivals, we were not met with fanfare but with a relaxed and warm hello as we strolled into the village during the languid hours of mid-afternoon. The 100 or so residents of Mentebung showed us around the brightly colored town, under the shade of coconut palms and beach almonds. Our shipboard photo experts, Dan Westergren and Fiona Wardle, gave us some valuable photo tips and helped us capture this idyllic afternoon. On the beach we were treated to some of the finest snorkeling and most stunning reefs of our trip. We swam among neon blue corals and a kaleidoscopic array of tropical fish; time slipped away as we shared the beautiful waters with the friendly residents of the Badas Islands. After working up an appetite on shore, we enjoyed a gourmet seven-course meal back on the ship.
