Banyuwangi - Osing village - Clover plantation - Coffee plantation - Rainforest - Paltuding (Hikers meeting point)
Bama beach was about 3 km away from Bekol Savannah. The beach was a bit messy, the high tide and a colony of macaques that dominated the beach made it even worse. The guard lent my girl an empty riffle to scare the macaques. It worked. They started screaming and running away when the riffle was pointed to them.
After having the experience to visit Karimun Jawa islands and beaches, we didn't feel like playing on Bama beach. We went to the nearby mangrove forest instead. I had never seen such a dense mangrove forest as the one I saw there. The entwining aerial roots were like magical curtains. It was a great visit although we couldn't explore the forest any further because of the hidh tide. I was watching a documentary about the endangered Javanese Eagle on National Geographic Channel when I thought about Baluran. I went there once when I was little but I didn't remember anything. A few days ago I decided to go there. Baluran national park is only 20 minutes drive to the North from the downtown of Banyuwangi. There were a few rangers sitting aimlessly in a small office at the entrance of the national park. I couldn't see any available information about the protected animlas and plants in the information center. Other than a sign showing the distace to Bekol savannah and Bama beach which were located in Baluran national park, we went through the narrow and bumpy road with great anticipation. Apparently, we visited the park at the wrong time of the day. (Sunrise and sunset are the best time of the day) We could only see birds and butterflies in the rainforest. Then we saw some bulls and deers grazing on the Bekol Savannah. I wanted to teach my girl about different habitats and biodiversity.....Well, it wasn't very successful. lol
Our last destination on the third day in Karimun Jawa was Tanjung Gelam. I was not very excited about it because Tanjung Gelam was located on the main island. However, as the boat approach the small peninsula, I couldn't believe my eyes. The turquoise sea, the white sand, the igneous rocks, and a row of coconut trees completely mesmerized me. It was better than any other beaches I have visited in my life. My girl slept almost all the time on the beach. Three days full of physical activities broke her down. She woke up just to eat some fried bananas and coconut (which were sold in the traditional stalls by the beach). No one should miss this beach when visiting Karimun Jawa!
It was time for lunch so we had to go to cemara kecil island. The island was covered by pine trees (cemara means pine tree in Indonesian language). It was so beautiful but unlike the other islands we visited, we found lots of trashes here....Ugh....I saw styrofoam, plastics, cans, and many more. This island needs a serious clean up. The lunch here was still the same as the day before... fish, grilled in a primitive way. :p I am glad my girl was is not a picky eater.
On the third day in Karimun Jawa, we went to the East of the main island to menjangan kecil island. We only stopped to snorkel and played with the fish. It was a fun catch and release.
We ended the second day by visiting a shark conservation near our lodge. It was smaller than I thought and I couldn't learn anything about the shark conservation. I had the feeling that it was run by the locals, not by the scientist. I couldn't even get the information about the species of the sharks in the pool.
There were other sea animals in the pool there. Visitors were allowed to take picture with the animals. (Well yes, it was mean to the animals) My girl was too tired to see the place. I have never been good in swimming but I used to be able to snorkel and free dive without much assistance in the past. So when the guide took us to snorkel again after lunch, I had to say "No, thank you." My girl, my sister, her husband, and her son decided to snorkel and dive again. I was glad that my girl could swim and dive well.
After snorkeling, we went to Tengah island by boat to have lunch. It was only a few minutes away from Kecil island where we snorkled. Tengah island was a very clean and well treated small island. There was a small Bugis style lodge over there. Other than tourists, the only people who inhibit the island is a kind, soft spoken middle age woman and her husband. Our lunch was a bit primitive. The boatmen and our guide collected some dry woods and coconut shells and made fire in a pit on the ground to grill the fish. We ate mostly parrot fish and rice. I couldn't eat very much because of my Grave's problem but luckily I could buy coconuts and some Javanese fries there (Rp 1.000 or 10 cents each). On the second day in Karimun Jawa, we woke up very early to go to Kecil and Tengah Islands. Both islands were 1 hour boat ride away from our lodge. There were many other islands in this Eastern part of the main Karimun Jawa island but we only had the chance to visit these two islands. Kecil island was small but very clean. We could even see the corals and other sea creatures without snorkeling. After playing on the beach, our guide suggested us to snorkle before heading to Tengah island. Our guide was very helpful. He was a great free diver too. He took all of the underwater pictures. Kecil island coral reef: |
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