#365Indonesia Day 16. the shy Nemo Derawan , Derawan, East Kalimantan

Hello guys!

365Indonesia today is about this cute little clown fish who is famous for his role in Finding Nemo, a Disneys movie. i found this famous actor when i was in Derawan, East Kalimantan.

The Derawan islands must be everyones dream of the perfect tropical paradise: warm, isolated islands with soft white sand beaches fringed with waving palm trees, pristine seas that change color from green to deep blue, and an amazing underwater life of giant turtles, dolphins, manta rays, dugongs and barracudas, stingless jellyfish and sometimes, whales. Derawan is indeed one of worlds richest areas in bio-diversity. Small wonder that the Derawan Islands are considered the third best dive destination in the world.

Located just away from the mainland of East Kalimantan in the district of Berau, the Derawan archipelago comprises 31 islands, most well known among these are the islands of Derawan, Maratua, Sangalaki and Kakaban. Here is Indonesias largest nesting site of the rare and endangered giant green turtles and hawksbill turtles, where one can daily watch turtles lay their eggs in the sand or swim to sea with the turtles. The entire marine conservancy region covers a total area of no less than 1.27 million hectares.

Here, you can find 460 different species of corals, ranking this area second only to the Raja Ampat Islands in West Papua. The Nature Conservancy and a team of international experts also found more than 870 species of fish here, ranging from tiny pygmy seahorses to giant manta rays. On some days, groups of up to 50 manta rays have been seen feeding together in Derawans waters, says the Conservancy.

While on Kakaban, you can find the worlds largest and most diverse jellyfish lake, including four unique species of stingless jellyfish one of which can swim upside down. It is for this reason that Kakaban is considered for UNESCO nomination as a World Heritage Site.

To reach Derawan, SilkAir flies from Singapore to Balikpapan in East Kalimantan.

Or you can ! take a f light from Jakarta, Surabaya or Denpasar to Balikpapan or Tarakan by Garuda Indonesia or Mandala Air. Then take a connecting flight by either KALStar, Deraya airlines or DAS to Tanjung Redeb in Berau. From here, boats will take you to the islands.

Regards,
Mad

Check out my travel blog Mad Alkatiri for more cool places and follow me @madalkatiri.

story taken from indonesia.travel
photo by Ahmad Alkatiri, in madalkatiri.com