Best Diving Season and Recommendation for Sangalaki, Maratua, Kakaban

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We visited Sangalaki 20 years ago back when Borneo Divers had a small resort on the island. The macro diving was very good (nudis we found there we didn't see anywhere else). The turtles nested on the island every night (under the huts) which also meant that the surrounding reefs had a huge number of turtles.

The "jellyfish" lake at Kakaban was also worth the visit...

We spent 8 days on Sangalaki - mantas were elusive for the first 6 days (1-2 each day), but then the day before the full moon we had ~30 of them in the channel.

Quick search of YouTube videos shows that others diving Sangalaki in the last year or two have seen a number of mantas.
 
Hi Xtra, you have not said *why* you are plannnig on going there. If you are already going to be in the area, that is one thing. But I would not recommend going there especially to dive. Many, many better places in Indonesia, even if you repeat destinations that you may have been to earlier. I was at Maratua Paradise 5-6 years ago in Feb/Mar. The diving was good, but not compared to other Indonesia quality destinations. We did not see any mantas despite trying 2-3 times. Others have said the same thing about mantas. The stingless jellyfish (Kakaban I think) were good. The channel diving was good. The resort itself was not too good, although the dive guides were good.

Hope this helps.

Hi Madacub, thanks for the advice. You are right, the price point is possibly not worth it if I consider to base in Maratua, instead of Scuba Junkie Sangalaki. I have always been fascinated by the stories (and videos) of Maratua, Sangalaki and Kakaban diving, with the whalesharks and mantas, and dolphins and of course the barracudas.

I have also considered Alor.. maybe next time..
 
Just came back from a 2 week stay at Nabucco , made 32 dives , lovely double house on stilts not the newest anymore but still comfortable.
Diving was good , but the second week resembled the first. Which is not bad if you keep looking for new creatures. Reefs are quite good to excellent with steep walls and slopes. We were lucky to encounter leopard shark, many mantas at Sangalaki - beautiful undeep reef flats there.
The only downsize would be the only place to nightdive is the jetty -and channel , not deeper than 3 meters - but still nice finds like stonefish , decorator crabs and bluering octopus. Big Fish Country is the USP as far as diving is concerned. Not for the fainthearted , with sometimes strong incoming currents - outgoing impossible to dive. The patrolling sharks and cloud of barracudas is impressive.
We might suggest to combine Nabucco with a week at Nunukan to combine the diving locations - then adventure diving to the uninhabited atoll is possible .
Overall a delightful stay with ample food and Bintang in paradise location.
I dont rate with stars or numbers !
Flying in on Saturdays from Balikpapan is very convenient
Thank You Florian and Andris and the whole crew

Hans and Brigitte from Holland

IMG_5953.JPG IMG_5280.jpg IMG_5434.jpg
 
Overall, I'd say it's a good place to visit just to see it. Very few other divers around, but it wasn't anything astounding. Just like Sipadan, you have to get really lucky for it to be truly special. At least it's pretty affordable if you dive with SJ. I wouldn't waste money on the liveaboards or very expensive resorts on Maratua. You'll have to ride the boat for 30-45min either way, regardless of where you stay, if you want to visit every island.

I was in Nabucco resort in May 2014. It only takes 5 min boat ride to the "Big Fish Country" or "The Channel" site and I have never missed the schooling barracuda like the video, below.


My next trip will be on White Manta to see the Whaleshark on the Bagan similar to the time when I was in Cendrawasih Bay, like this one:


I plan to charter the boat for August 2021 with a group rate (15% discount). PM me if anyone is interested in joining me on that trip.
 
When you are in Nabucco Resort, you definitely don't want to miss The Channel. The Google Earth map (below), shows you where it is, which is the dark blue line northeast of Nabucco Resort, right above the word "Nabucco" on the map. Like I mentioned in the previous post, it's only 5 minute boat ride from Nabucco resort.

image.png


It is a very save dive if you know when to do it. You need to go during the rising tide, when the current is going from the deep blue to the shallow towards the resort. You get your hook ready, BCD empty of air. Back roll from the boat and negative entry from the northeast mouth down to the channel. When you see the north edge of the Channel at about 100' (30m) deep, get ready with the reef hook on your hand. As soon as you are approaching the ledge, just hook on the rock edge and let go the hook, but keep a slight grip on the line to keep some tension, slowly release your grip on the line until you are freely floating in the water column to watch the parade of the thick cloud of schooling barracuda, some sharks and Napoleon wrasse chasing little fish. Once you hit the zero bottom time, release the hook and drift with the current to the shallow for safety stop, just like you see in the video I posted previously.

This is one of the best hook-in dive I have ever done in 830 dives, 15 years of diving around the world. The ones come close to this are the Peleliu Cut and the Blue Corner of Palau.
 
Another dive site that you don't want to miss is Baracuda Point in Kakaban.

 
Thanks alot Dan, I have booked to stay in Maratua Seaview Resort for a week next year end April to May!

Hope it will be good!
 
Revitalizing this post if I may... I'm considering Derawan Islands for part of a long Indo trip in June/July. It would be a new spot for me, and perhaps I'd do some touristy/adventure stuff on Borneo... There are lots of other options and it seems perhaps it's not as fishy as it once was - but still towards the top of my list.

Perhaps I'd split time b/n SJ and somewhere on/near Maratua Island. As said earlier in the thread, those resorts are not the cheapest - esp as a solo traveller - but still not outrageous. And if the Saturday flight to the island still exists, getting there isn't too bad.

Some great info on here re: SJ not going to some areas, and the boat "commuting" not being all that great, but perhaps for ~3 dive days each it would be a decent compromise.

I dove Sipadan several years ago and those schooling barracuda were indeed one of the most memorable experiences of my 500+ dive (so far) life.

I'll also be diving Komodo and Alor on this trip.
Gorontalo was also recently broght to my attention, but I think it's the wrong season.


What are the current recommendations on this region, the resorts, etc.
OR where should I look to as an alternative.

"moderate" budget (~$50-$75 lodging+meals, $50/dive) (or less of course). Luxury not needed.
Looking mostly for the big guys, big schools, and beautiful corals. Not so much macro for this trip.
 
I plan to charter the boat for August 2021 with a group rate (15% discount). PM me if anyone is interested in joining me on that trip.

Due to Covid, this trip was rescheduled to August 2022. Here are some of the trip videos:


 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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