Bokan Kepulauan Sea Diving

Bokan Kepulauan, Central Sulawesi, 2023

The Expedition Team:

Immanuel Raynaldo

Gabriel Genigno Pranoto

Tio Patrick Wicaksono

Esyela Fransisca Artarumiris

“Bokan Kaleng-Kaleng”

The Long Journey East

Bokan Kepulauan is a remote regency in Central Sulawesi, an archipelago scattered across multiple villages and located far from the Sulawesi mainland. Getting there was an expedition in itself: we traveled from Bandung by Hiace to Jakarta, then caught a flight to Luwuk.

We were welcomed at the Luwuk port by the sight of the endemic Banggai Cardinalfish. However, our travel luck quickly ran out when we missed our ferry, which had departed earlier than scheduled. We made the most of the delay by stocking up on food supplies, exploring the mainland, and spending the night at a PLN (state electricity) service house. The next morning, our ticket-buying mission was interrupted by a massive labor protest over the relocation of container loading activities, a move threatening hundreds of local jobs.

Wooden Boats and Bureaucracy

The next leg of our journey—from Luwuk to Banggai Laut—was a seven-hour trek on a traditional wooden boat. Onboard, we struck up a conversation with Pak Rahmat from the Environmental Service, who generously agreed to lend us diving tanks and a compressor.

Upon arriving in Banggai Laut, we were warmly received by several PLN officers and Pak Erdi, the Head of the Banggai Laut Basarnas (Search and Rescue) Post. We spent two nights at the Basarnas Office securing permits and borrowing necessary gear. From there, it was another grueling eight-hour trip to Bungin Village. Once we hit land, we immediately sought out the Village Head and the District Secretary—who also happened to be the owner of our accommodation—to request permission for our stay.

Off the Grid in the Coral Triangle

Geographically sandwiched between the Banda Sea and the Maluku Sea, Bokan Kepulauan serves as a major eastern migration route for massive marine mammals like sperm whales and dolphins. The area is famous for destinations like Mbuang-Mbuang Island, known for its jellyfish lake and the sweeping views from Popinsi Hill.

However, rough seas whipped up by eastern winds (typical from July to September) forced us to keep our diving activities centered around our basecamp in Bungin. Even then, the farthest dive spot was a two-hour boat ride away. Life in Bungin was truly off the grid: electricity only ran every other day from 5:00 PM to 1:00 AM, and cell service was a game of chance, relying on a single, highly inconsistent tower.

20 Dives and the Murky Blue Hole

Despite the logistical hurdles, we successfully logged 20 dive sites over six days. Underwater visibility was generally spectacular, frequently exceeding 20 meters horizontally.

There was only one spooky exception: a blue hole dive at a depth of 11 meters. Completely surrounded by dense mangroves, the water here was murky and tinged an eerie green, making for a tense and anxiety-inducing dive.

Being in the Coral Triangle guarantees an extraordinary underwater experience, and Bokan Kepulauan delivered with its incredibly dense, vibrant reefs. While we sadly noticed some areas damaged by historical fish bombing, the majority of the coral was in pristine condition.

We frequently battled strong currents—at one point drifting for an entire kilometer—but massive pelagic encounters were surprisingly rare. Instead, our dives were dominated by breathtaking, swirling schools of fish in staggering numbers.

Papeda, Fizzy Coconuts, and the “Fake” Regent

Mid-expedition, we had to vacate the District Secretary’s service house because the Regent was arriving to inaugurate a new ferry port. We relocated to the home of a local named Fajar, whose family took us in as their own.

During our rest day, we bonded with Fajar’s family. We tried our hands at manual night freediving to catch fish, celebrated Efas’s birthday, cooked traditional papeda together, and visited a plantation owned by Fajar’s grandfather. The young coconuts there were unlike anything we’d ever tasted—naturally sweet and slightly carbonated, like coconut water mixed with Sprite.

We even had a brush with local politics. Before our final dives, we had a lengthy chat and took photos with the Regent. It wasn’t until the session ended that someone casually mentioned we had actually been talking to his aide, who had been happily pretending to be the Regent the entire time!

Sunday Mass in Keak Village

On our final day, we traveled to Keak Village to attend Sunday mass. The cultural contrast was immediate: unlike the entirely Muslim population of Bungin, Keak is a Christian and Catholic community. You could even see the shift in the village streets, where roaming dogs replaced the cats we were used to seeing in Bungin.

Though the Church of Divine Mercy lacked a permanent resident priest, the mass was beautifully led by a deacon. The absence of a priest didn’t dampen the congregation’s spirit in the slightest, echoing through the church in their heartfelt hymns and praises.

Saying Goodbye

Before we knew it, 12 days had slipped by. The bonds we forged with the people of Banggai Laut will remain some of our most treasured memories. We left with immense gratitude for the local knowledge shared with us, and a special thank you to Fajar’s family—Pak Fajar, Bu Fajar, and Fajar himself—for becoming our home away from home in the middle of the sea.