Gorontalo ( Indonesia ) April 2018 - trip report

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paolobl65

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I was in Gorontalo ( Sulawesi - Indonesia ) for a 8 days dive trip last April 2018 with Miguel's Diving Gorontalo ( Dive Gorontalo, Sulawesi, Indonesia with Miguel's Diving )
Unfortunately I lost 4 days diving because a tracheit , so with only 4 days diving I had just an idea of what the place has to offer .

Logist is very easy : Garuda Indonesiua connect every day Jakarta to Gorontalo ( 4 hours flight with a tecnical stop in Makassar ) , resort arrange pick up in airport for a 50 min drive to the town.
Accomodation is in Gorontalo City ( Grand Q hotel : GRAND Q HOTEL GORONTALO • GRAND Q HOTEL GORONTALO ) so do not expect any idilliac resort on unspoiled beach , anyway the hotel is big and quite confortable ( air con , hot shower , great breakfast buffet ) .
Dinner at hotel is good and it is also possible to go outside in many local suggested restaurant , anyway be aware a little bahasa indonesia is needed !

Every morning Rantje Allen ( Miguel Diving owner ) pick up me 07:30 AM for a short drive to the dock . Back more or less 04:00 PM .
Dive boat is confortable , with toilet on board . Dive sites from 20 to 40 min away .
3 dives per day , lunch on board ( lunch box from a local restaurant … very good ) .

Underwater scenario was very interesting and really unspoiled : incredible big sponges ( and the famous Salvador Dalì sponges as well ) , big sea fans , dramatic sea scape with many holes , cavern and deep splits.
Fantastic visibility , warm water ( 28-29°C ) , mild to none current made the dives very relaxing . Good fish life , but nothing big .
Good macro life as well even nothing to compare to the real macro destinations like Tulamben , Lembeh , Anilao , Ambon .
Unfortunately whale shark are no more regulary seen here because the local shrimps factory closed and so no more organic waste is flushed in the sea to attract the whale sharks .
What I dislike a bit was the too much plastic garbage on the surface ….

As underwater photographer I take advantage of the skilled dive master for macro shot and the professional dive models for wide angle shots .
All in all a very interesting place , nice place to vist if you are in Sulawesi area ( Manado/ Lembeh ) and have some spare days .

Here some photos from this trip
( more photos and better quality on my flick gallery : https://www.flickr.com/photos/paolobl65/albums/72157669429671268 )



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hard coral are really impressive !!

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and finally … two macro shot

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Last edited:
Thanks for the great photos. FYI: There are several daily flights Manado to Gorotalo by Lion Air. Only a 40 minutes flight.
 
Great shots Paolo,
was Yunis your guide?
He's excellent macro spotter knows the most scenic spot for WA and

yes Wisnu , Yunis was my dive guide : a perfect dive model and a good spotter as well .
BTW he is also a good underwater photographer .
I was very happy to dive with him .
 
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