Salibay - a new juwel in North Maluku

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Immeriswas

Contributor
Messages
123
Reaction score
97
Location
Germany
# of dives
200 - 499
Our second destination this autum after Kalimaya/Sumbawa was Salibay Resort on Sali Kecil, a small island between Bacan and South Halmahera.

Salibay Resort | Salibay Resort - South Halmahera - North Maluku - Indonesia

Being the first resort in a sparesly populated area , where only a few liveaboards went so far, the reefs were in a very healthy condition and the marine life is stunning.
To get there, you fly into Ternate and then with a small plane to Labuha on Bacan , where a car picks you up for a 30 min drive to the harbour. Another 45min on the resort speedboat and you reach the nicely situated resort with 10 bungalows (4 additional rooms and the pool were under construction).
As one of the first guests and only three of us, we enjoyed very individual tailored dives.
Of the 7 explorationdives ( a new and fascinating exsperience for me ) 6 spots ended up as new places on their map. That says a lot about the quality of this dive region.
From blacksand muck a la Lembeh , over slopes with Bommies to steep walls, there was a lot of variety, as well within the current situation - from zero to very strong.
The reefs were teeming with marine life , many differrent soft and hard corall , fish and a lot to see for macro enthusiasts.
The housereef is a steep, sandy slope dotted wit bommies and a healty reef top, perfect for snorkeling and the daily nightdive, which also was offered as a boatdive at places 5 to 10 min. away.
The two tank morning dive contains a 20 to 50 min boatride either direction Bacan or South-West Halmahera.
The one hour surface intervall was mostly on the boat- shade or sundeck as you prefer- , sometimes at a beach with snorkeling oppurtunities. Once we were lucky and detected three Saragossa Frogfish in a drifting seaweed-island !
The afternoon divesites are closer by - 5 to 15 min.
There is no time limitation - depending on the dept divetimes were around 65 to 80 min. Especially the night dives went quite long.
What to see ? Here a short list : reefshark, bumphead, tuna , macarel, jack, turtle, seasnakes,stingrays,flathead,batfish,napoleon,leaf- and frogfish,devil-scorpion and moore.
Some of the macrostuff- one of the main highlights here :
many nudis - some of the tiny species (less than 1cm) , a big variety of crab and shrimp ( decorator, featherstar, spong, seacucumber , hairy, skeleton,fire sea urgin, coleman, zebra etc.) different squids and octopuss, gobies and pipefishes as well as Pontohi and Bagabanti seahorse.
Here is the link to some picture

https://www.flickr.com/photos/129925047@N03/albums/72157663773225498

Rental equipment was new and nitrox will be available next year.
The bungalows are very spacious and comftable with a big veranda to enjoy the view over the sea towards South Halmahera and watching beautiful sunrises .
The tasty food with mediteranian ( italian managment !)influence is served in an open air restaurant. Breakfast was buffet and lunch/dinner as a three course menu.
I am always reluctant to compare ,because it a very subjective business. But running for my favorated place in Indonesia Salibay would come close in second place to RA, which has a still a bit more variety and big stuff, but on the other hand a lot more divers as well.
If I would go again. Yes, if there is not these long list of other places to see!!
 
Is it in the Goraici set of islands?

Nevermind, I just looked at their Google Map. I have been there before via liveaboard a few times. Interesting place for a resort.. Hopefully find some good spots as it's certainly away from the traffic
 
I've had some really great dives in that area from a liveaboard. However the currents can be insane! Surfacing among whirlpools can be quite stressful!!
 
I've had some really great dives in that area from a liveaboard. However the currents can be insane! Surfacing among whirlpools can be quite stressful!!

That is one of the two reasons why we always prefer a landbased divevacation over a liveaboard. Even assuming the guides on the liveaboard know the places as good as the local ones, who go there every week or so, the time frame to visit a certain diveplace is simply a lot bigger. Depending on moon and tide timetable there is a bigger chance to hit it right. At Salibay we went to Kusu North , a spectacular and luckily nearby place with sharks, napoleons, turtels, bumpheads en masse and big schools of other fish, almost every day to check the current. Only twice it was possible to dive there - still using the reefhook and having a very fast drift. On the other days you could see the washing mashine whirlpools already from the surface.
The same kind of exsperience we had in RA, where we stayed with Papua Explorers at the Dampier Strait. There we just changed the first to second divespot or from morning to afternoondive if it did not fit.
The other reason is ,as unfortunatly proven again in Salibay - my wife had a bad cold and missed half of the diving - that in case of illness a resort offers more possibilities ( land excursions, snorkeling at the housereef as long and often as you wish, beachlife etc).
 
Wow what a special looking little resort.
Thanks for the photo's and report. Did you take any topside pics of the resort/ surrounds?
It is on the pricier side of things... but I suppose you have to pay for the fact that you are so remote.
 
Wow what a special looking little resort.
Thanks for the photo's and report. Did you take any topside pics of the resort/ surrounds?
It is on the pricier side of things... but I suppose you have to pay for the fact that you are so remote.
Hi AlMitch ,
Sorry, I got only very few topside pics,mainly because the web page says already a lot about the accomodation - bungis , restorant etc.
Yes, it is pricier, but the quality of the bungalows and the food as well as the diving equipment and the boots - everything brandnew - is really high and the individuality of the diving and the the range of sites - no extra fuel charge for far away places eg. - makes it in my opinion worthwhile.
We were double lucky and took advantage of the 50% opening offer and at arrival got a bungalow - without paying extra - instead the booked room in the diver lodge, because not yet finished.
The rooms are a lot smaller than the spacious bungalows, but thinking about beeing - depending on your diving habits - most of the day on the boat or maybe at the pool (soon to be finished ) or the restaurant / lounge area, it is worth to think about saving a bit.(200 instead of 300 Euro)
I saw the still have opening offers, so if you are fast there might still be a good deal ahead.
Feel free to ask more questions.
 
Immeriswas thanks for the very interesting and informative report. Great photos. I particularly liked the orange and white polka dotted tunicates - will look out for them next time I'm in Indo.
 
We recently returned from a 2 week stay at SaliBay resort. Within easy reach through Singapore and Manado but also servicable through Jakarta. We arrived after dark just in time for dinner. We chose the location for comfort and time to rest , without the indonesian traffic noise and were pleasantly surprised. Very professional outfit and no cutbacks on comfort- favourite place the daybeds on the porch. Exceptional corals up to the beach, sometimes dry in low tide.
Excellent dinners and lunches ! Just missing the 4 o'clock snack when night diving. Pool is ready and a very relaxing place. Diving is done in the strait and around the islands, but depends on current conditions. The variety in dive sites make it very worthwhile . Corals are pristine in selected place and can be really abundant. Bombing damage sometimes visible. Effort is placed in establishing a marine park. Diving with 4 guests per guide ratio is very good. The double morning dives are limited to an hour with travel times up to 30 minutes . Afternoon and nightdives at 3 and 7.45 pm.
We saw many reefsharks during ourSali Bay Dive Resort, South Halmahera - North Maluku 39 dives , the juveniles patrol the housereef. There were pygmy seahorses on all dives - bargibanti and pontohi, nudibranches galore, dozens of crabs , shrimps and reeffish to see. Dive sites are mostly slopes , some mucky with exceptional finds . My favourite new friend is the hairy shrimp.
Kudos to Cepry, Jemmy, Pippo and Benny! And to Stefano the manager for keeping the guests happy with his extensive team.
Highly recommended !
Brigitte and Hans from Holland


Sali Bay Dive Resort, South Halmahera - North Maluku


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