Dive Wakatobi #1: The Service

by our Outdoor Travel Adventures Consultant and Dive Guru

I surfaced from a fantastic night dive on the Wakatobi Dive Resort house reef to a cloudy sky and occasional bolts of lightning cutting through the darkness. As I swam to the exit point and began climbing the stairs to the jetty I heard peals of laughter from the bar a mere 30 feet away. Staff waited for me at the top of the stairs, helped me shrug out of my gear, and then carried my gear to the dive center for me.  It was my fourth dive of the day and if I hadn’t been starving I would have done a fifth dive. 

The name “Wakatobi” is an acronym taken from the first two letters of four nearby islands (Wangiwangi, Kaledupe, Tomia, and Binongko).  Wakatobi, a luxury dive resort, is located just southeast of Sulawesi, Indonesia.  

My trip has been smooth sailing thanks to the amazing Wakatobi staff located in Bali, Tomia, and at the resort itself. Upon arrival at the Bali airport I was met by staff (as are all guests) who proceeded to escort me effortlessly through immigration and customs. Check-in for the chartered domestic flight from Bali to Tomia also went smoothly.

Upon arrival at the small airport on Tomia I was greeted by more smiling and helpful staff who shuttled all the guests to a nearby dock for a 15-minute boat ride to the resort. It was during this boat ride and subsequent landing at the dock that I noticed much flotsam in the water consisting of plastic bottles, cereal boxes, flip-flops overgrown with algae, and other trash. Disappointed and concerned about the state of the ocean that I was soon to be diving in I asked about the trash in the water. Apparently, a storm had recently come through bringing trash from other islands and towns. Much to my relief, there were about 10 staff members busily picking up trash and seaweed that had blown onto the white sandy beach. Although the beach was kept clean throughout my stay, I did continue to see some trash in the water, but I also continued to see staff picking it up. They are keenly aware that this is an issue.

Upon disembarkation from the shuttle boat more staff greeted the guests by name and all guests were individually escorted to their bungalows.  For the duration of the trip each staff person greeted us by name and made each of us feel at home!

Ayo menyelam! Bahasa (the local language) for “let’s go diving!” 

The Wakatobi system for diving is a well-oiled machine. For the 10 divers on my boat there are three dive guides: two groups of four divers and one group of two divers. The boat drops each group off at 5-minute intervals along the wall so that we all feel that we are the only ones at that dive site.  In addition, there are always three to four crew members to help with gear.

Suited up we take a giant stride into the 82-degree water.  I drop down and begin searching for macro animals while huge schools of pyramid angel fish, black snappers, giant trevally, and other fish swim around me. At the Wakatobi dive sites the visibility typically ranges between 75-150 feet with the best diving no deeper than 60 feet or so.  Five minutes into my dive at around 55 feet deep I spot a pygmy sea horse - on my own and without a magnifying glass! Yes, people were using magnifying glasses. I was so excited that I missed seeing another pygmy sea horse just inches away. That dive was particularly amazing in that our guide found three additional pygmy sea horses along with a minuscule sea spider, two leaf fish, a tiger flat worm, and so much more. The reefs are healthy with large schools of fish circling about. The soft coral is spectacular in various shades of red, purple, and orange. Turtles, sea snakes, eagle rays, black-tipped reef sharks, and tuna occasionally made an appearance during my dives.

As I climb up the ladder after another fantastic the dive crew is always there to help me out of my gear.  Out of the gear I am immediately handed a dry towel and a warm wash cloth. As our boat motors back to the resort we all share the highlights of the dive with the other divers and a sense of camaraderie pervades the air.

If you would like more information on Wakatobi Dive Resort please contact Outdoor Travel Adventures at 800-554-9059 / info@otadventures.com.