From tropical island fantasies to grim reality in Indonesia’s Togian Islands, magnet for divers: dynamited coral, marauding crocs, surly staff, and meals fit for dogs
- Sun-kissed islands, dugong, endangered turtles – Central Sulawesi’s Togian Islands seemed to have a lot going for them. The reality proved very different
- Reef fish were scarce, crocodiles made kayaking a no-no, resorts offered dire food and scant sleep, and tourists who abort their trip wait hours for a boat out
Difficult to get to but a magnet for divers, Central Sulawesi’s Togian Islands National Marine Park is the largest in Indonesia.
It ostensibly protects 56 sun-kissed islands and 132,000 hectares (510 square miles) of coral reef – an area nearly twice the size of Singapore – and is a breeding ground for dugong and critically endangered hawksbill turtles.
The park is also home to unique species of jellyfish that live in a lake. Isolated from predators, they lost the ability and necessity to sting through evolution. Swimming among them is said to be an otherworldly experience.
With so much going for them, the Togian Islands were long near the top of my travel bucket list. But they turn out to be a huge disappointment.
My trip begins with a flight from Bali to the bustling port city of Makassar, in South Sulawesi. There I catch a second flight to Ampana, a smaller port city, on the south coast of the Gulf of Tomini, in Central Sulawesi, where I stay the night.
The following morning I catch a motor rickshaw taxi to the harbour for a ferry to Wakai, the largest village on the Togian Islands. The local passengers are friendly, and share their coffee and conversation.
