My Trip to Bunaken, Menado
I recently went to visit my relatives in Menado, North Sulawesi.
We explored the region a little bit, and took time to climb
mountains and dive into the sea.
Read on, and I'll tell you more about it!
Climbing Mount Mahawu
We stayed in a small house in the small village of Kakaskasen.
The front of the house faces Mount Lokon. It is an inactive volcano, but has errupted in the past.
Right now, there is a crater in the valley of the mountain, which is
releasing steam. The area around the crater is dried and blackened.
There is a possibility that there may be some volcanic activity from the crater.
Because it is too dangerous, the local guide suggested that we climb Mount Mahawu instead.
We made the 2 hour hike up to the Mt. Mahawu crater.
The area around the crater was blackened because of a forest fire.
Halfway to the top, we were able to see the Mt. Lokon crater more clearly.
The Mt. Mahawu crater had several fumaroles at the bottom of it.
Steam and gases were released from the fumaroles, and there was a rotting egg smell,
which indicates the presence of hydrogen sulfide.
Even from afar you could see yellow sulfur deposits directly around the fumaroles.
From the area around the crater, you could look out into the Menado Bay and see the Menado Tua (or Old Menado) volcano, and the island of Bunaken next to it.
We also went sightseeing, and drove around Lake Tondano. Unfortunately, we were not there for the Lake Tondano festival.
We were glad to see a little bit of North Sulawesi.
Into the sea at Bunaken
Bunaken is an island, that has a marine park around it.
It is a favorite spot for diving, due to the beautiful coral reefs in the area.
Some even say it's the best diving spot in the world. I certainly won't disagree with that!
We went out twice to the Bunaken National Marine Park.
The first trip we went snorkelling and looked at the reef at surface.
There were beautiful and different types of corals, anemones, tropical fishes, and someone even saw a shark!
We had lunch on the boat, a traditional dish that was wrapped in palm leaves.
Because we had just arrived, and were up in the mountains, it would not have been a good idea to go diving that day,
but going out snorkelling was definitely a fun activity!
On the second trip, we went out with a group of other divers from the US and Australia.
We went diving at two locations in the park, called Johnson Point and Celah-Celah.
Diving down, there were more different types of anemones, fishes and invertebrate animals to see.
I saw a puffer fish that puffed up almost to the size of a bowling ball,
a couple of lobsters hiding in the reef, clown fishes, barracuda, and even a sea snake!
Even before I received the book Beneath Bunaken
as a Christmas present, I have wanted to dive there.
I am glad that I was able to, and plan to be back again!
I hope that this page helps to give a good idea
It's worth a visit!
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