MAP: Ujung Pandang
MAP: Southern Sulawesi
SANGALAKI
Mantas, Turtles, and a Strange Jellyfish Lake
MAP: Sangalaki
FEATURE:
Kakaban: A Biological Paradise
Gerald R. Allen
INTRODUCTION
MAP: Maluku
AMBON AND LEASE
Fine Diving in the Central Moluccas
MAP: Lease Islands
MAP: Ameth
BANDA ISLANDS
Pristine Reefs and Many Pelagic Fish
MAP: Banda Islands
MAP: Sjahrir Island
MAP: Ai, Hatta & Run
PINDITO
Luxury Diving in the Wilds of the Banda Sea
MAP: Banda Sea
INTRODUCTION
MAP: Irian Jaya
IRIAN DIVING
World-Class Wrecks and Pioneer Diving
MAP: Sorong
Map: Waigeo-Batanta
MAP: Manokwari-Doré
INDONESIA AT A GLANCE
TRAVEL ADVISORY
TRANSPORTATION
LANGUAGE PRIMER
AREA PRACTICALITIES
JAVA
SUMATRA
BALI
NUSA TENGGARA
SULAWESI
MALUKU
IRIAN JAYA
UNDERWATER HAZARDS
INDONESIAN REEF FISHES
INDONESIAN DIVE TERMS
FURTHER READING
A porcelain crab, Neopetrolisthes ohshimai, in Merten's carpet anemone, Stichodactyla mertensii. The porcelain crab is a shy filter-feeder that uses the stinging tentacles of the anemone for protection. Photograph by Mike Severns.
Author's Dedication
To my editor, David Pickell
He missed out on the fun part of this effort — the diving — and instead struggled behind his computer to whip the book into shape from the mess of my manuscripts.
Essential to this book were the many dive operators, guides and dive buddies who contributed their time and knowledge, and who made certain I stayed out of trouble underwater (and sometimes above). Very special thanks to Easy Ed Donohue, who kept a close watch over me in my PC (Pre-Computer) days. Also to Cody Shwaiko, a close friend and my most frequent dive buddy, who traveled across Indonesia from his home in Bali several times to join me during the research for this book. And to Wally Siagian, who stands head and shoulders above all dive guides, who took me to all the right sites in Bali, and found me a cold beer whenever I could not live without one. And to Loky Herlambang, pioneer dive operator, founder of Nusantara Diving Centre, and conservation prize-winner, who did the same in Manado. And to Edi Frommenwieler, operator of the Pindito and Peter, the dive master, for the best dive series of my life. And to Graeme and Donovan Whitford for their sense of humor and never ending enthusiasm, along with truly world-class diving on Alor. And to Larry Smith, the most professional of instructors/guides, over 11,000 dives under his weight belt, the best of buddies if anything should go wrong. And to my most recent dive buddy, my son Kalman, in the hopes that his interest in marine biology may quickly surpass my own.
Editor's Acknowledgements
Any book of this scope represents the sweat and talent of many people, and an awful lot of both have gone into this one.
The fieldwork for this volume—hundreds of dives, thousands of kilometers of airplane and boat travel, sometimes weeks at a time without a cold beer—was conducted by Kal Muller, a Hungarian-born photographer and writer who has spent some 20 years tromping around the archipelago with his cameras and notebook. Kal is an old friend and probably the most tireless and good-humored person I know. Others who have contributed to this volume:
Dr. Charles Anderson, a marine biologist with the Marine Research Section of the Ministry of Fisheries of the Republic of the Maldives, coauthored the marine life section and updated the practical section for Sumatra.
Cody Shwaiko, an experienced diver living in Bali, provided the Kangean Islands section, parts of the Banda dive narrative, and the sections on Sumba and Sangihe-Talaud. Cody has also provided several interesting photographs.
Dive guide Wally Siagian not only kept Kal out of trouble while he was researching the Bali section of this book, but also provided detailed sketch maps of the Bali and Banda Islands sites, and to this edition, several photographs. Wally, who has an instinct for finding underwater life that is second to none, also pioneered all the best sites around Komodo Island.
Helmut Debelius, founder of the IKAN agency, provided us with his own photographs, as well as those of agency photographers Ed Robinson, Jan Post and Lionel Pozzoli. Helmut also provided a nice anecdote about discovering
