The Wonders of North Maluku - A Snorkelling, Wildlife & Cultural Adventure

After settling into your cabins, we will set course north for about 90 minutes and enjoy our first snorkel of many on a lovely coral reef.

Explore a remote and forested set of islets renowned for its limestone outcrops and a large and dramatic waterfall, which cascades directly into the sea in a beautiful bay.

We will pay a visit to Dodinga Village, a seminal place in the history of science, where Victorian explorer and naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace first formulated the Theory of Evolution through Natural Selection, which was later published together with Charles Darwin.

Go ashore to the village of Bastiong on Halmahera, where we will be welcomed by the friendly residents and guided through their fruit plantations and forests to a giant waterfall, where we can bathe in its cool, clear waters. On our way back, the villagers will likely get their musical instruments out and invite us all to sing and dance together.

Snorkel, paddle board, kayak, and explore the beaches, reefs, and mangroves of two beautiful small island groups. If we are lucky, we will see white-tipped reef sharks as we swim among the rich beautiful coral gardens.

Beautiful, rare, and endemic wildlife is what awaits us on our visit to Bacan Island as we go see the Golden-birdwing butterfly, one of nature’s biggest and most beautiful specimens. We also hope to see the stylishly quaffed black-crested macaques, mohawk-sporting monkeys that live in the forests.

Visit a copra processing plant and learn how the villagers make their living from their coconut plantations, and visit a local hot spring to bathe in the thermal waters.

Visit a large settlement of the famed Bajau ‘Sea Gypsy” people, who spend their entire lives living on, above, and near the water. We will be welcomed into the community by the village head and shown around to see their way of life and how they make their living from the ocean. Expect lots of wonderful smiling and excited kids to accompany us as we move around the village – always a huge treat.

There will be an early wake-up and a quick breakfast as we go ashore in search of one of the highlights of the trip, the Wallace Standardwing Bird of Paradise, which inhabits the deep forests in the interior. We will also have a second chance to see the Black-crested macaques as we return to the boat later in the morning.

Go ashore to the town of Labuha, the capital of Bacan, a large and vibrant fishing and trading port, which offers a great insight into the economy of eastern Indonesia’s islands.

Cruise the fascinating, tight passage north through the narrow, island-filled channels that separate the heavily forested islands of Bacan and Kasuruta. At the head of the channel, we will stop at an uninhabited island to snorkel, paddle, kayak, swim, and play.

Another pristine island group awaits with white sandy beaches, crystal clear turquoise water, which is ideal for snorkelling, swimming, and exploring with its limestone formations and very picturesque setting.

We get to explore the beautiful Guraici Archipelago, another chain of islands with white sandy beaches, vibrant coral reefs, and some lovely local villages. We will spend a full day here snorkelling, swimming, and beachcombing. The islands are part of a government-controlled conservation area, designed to protect the reefs and the many beautiful marine species that live there. We will also have the chance to see manta rays, which are often found in these waters.

We will cross the Equator in the daytime and partake in a centuries-old seafaring ritual for novices to celebrate their first crossing. The crew dress up in gaudy costumes, and we will count down to ‘zero’ on the GPS as we approach the Equator, and then all take a swim in the sea with one leg in each hemisphere to celebrate.

Go ashore to visit the Equator monument, explore the island surrounds and reefs, and experience the glorious SeaTrek tradition of a beach BBQ and party under the stars with our crew.

Visit Tidore, an island dominated by a massive volcanic cone, and once a rival sultanate to Ternate just across the bay, for its highly valued cloves. Highlights include a visit to a local blacksmith and an old Spanish fort as we circle the island by car.

Today marks the end of our cruise adventure, but not before we take you on a short tour of the town of Ternate, the provincial capital. This and the neighbouring islands were once the world’s only source of cloves and were highly contested by European powers. We will visit the Sultan’s palace, the market, and an 17th Century Dutch fort, a remnant of Indonesia’s colonial past.

We will say farewell to our crew before taking you to your hotel or the airport for the next leg of your journey.

Our mission is to provide the best experience possible for our guests given the current conditions and when unexpected opportunities for adventure may present themselves along our cruise routes. Sometimes weather conditions, tides or other local factors dictate that we need to vary from the published route, and at times there are special opportunities to explore and discover new locations, events and activities. These explorations will always be a definite enhancement to the published itinerary and will be undertaken after discussion and agreement among guests. Ultimately, the boat captains and your tour leader will make decisions to maximize trip safety and your overall enjoyment, so please come prepared to be flexible!