The Wonders of Maluku

After you settle into your cabin, you set course north for approximately 90 minutes to enjoy your first snorkel on a beautiful coral reef. You explore a remote, forested set of islets known for limestone outcrops and a dramatic waterfall that cascades directly into the sea within a picturesque bay.

You visit Dodinga Village, a significant site in scientific history. It is here that Victorian naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace first formulated the Theory of Evolution through Natural Selection. This groundbreaking work was later published alongside Charles Darwin.

Go ashore to the village of Bastiong on Halmahera, where you will be welcomed by the friendly residents and guided through their fruit plantations and forests to a giant waterfall, where you can bathe in its cool clear waters. On your way back, the villagers will likely get their musical instruments out and invite all to sing and dance together. Snorkel, paddle board, kayak, and explore the beaches and reefs and mangroves of two beautiful small island groups. If you are lucky, you will see white- tipped reef sharks as you swim among the rich beautiful coral gardens.

Beautiful rare and endemic wildlife if what awaits you on your visit to Bacan Island as you go see the Golden-birdwing butterfly, one of nature’s biggest and most beautiful specimens. You 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. You 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 you as you move around the village – always a huge treat.

There will be an early wake up and a quick breakfast as you 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. You will also have a second chance to see the Black-crested macaques as you 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 separates the heavily forested islands of Bacan and Kasuruta. At the head of the channel, you 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 and swimming and exploring with its
limestone formations and very picturesque setting. You get to explore the beautiful Guraici Archipelago, another chain of islands with white sandy beaches, vibrant coral reefs, and some lovely local villages. You 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. You will also have the chance to see manta rays which are often found in these waters.

You 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 you will countdown to ‘zero’ on the GPS as you 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 and explore the island surrounds and reefs and experience the glorious SeaTrek tradition of a beach BBQ and party under the stars with the 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 forts as you circle the island by car.

Today marks the end of your cruise adventure, but not before you take on a short tour of the town of Ternate, the provincial capital. This and the neighboring
islands were once the world’s only source of cloves and highly contested by European powers. You will visit the Sultan’s palace, the market, and an 17th Century
Dutch fort, a remnant of Indonesia’s colonial past You will say farewell to the crew before taking you to your hotel or the airport for the next leg of your journey.