Ambon

Ambon Island, or Pulau Ambon in Bahasa Indonesia, is the capital of Maluku Province and it’s main town, Kota Ambon, is the largest and most developed in the area.

In the 17th century when the spice trade was at it’s peak and the Dutch monopoly on cloves it’s strongest, Kota Ambon was their base in the Mollucas and known as the “Queen of the East”

Although it's still possible to find the odd legacy of those days, most of the Dutch era colonial buildings were destroyed by the intensive aerial bombardment of Ambon during WWII.

The buildings that replaced the Dutch colonial ones lack their charm & charisma and today’s Kota Ambon resembles many other Indonesian cities. It’s beautiful natural harbor does however make a huge difference and the backdrop of heavily forested mountains creates a very pleasant vista particularly in the early morning or late afternoon.

The Ambonese are predominantly Christian, due principally to their Dutch colonial history.

But there is also a significant Muslim population and, although long a model of peaceful co-existence tensions in 1999 between the two communities, related to the desperate economic & political problems of Indonesia at that time, erupted into severe violence.  The whole area basically became a tourism no-go zone and it was not until early 2002 that tempers cooled and the area started to return to normal.

Today, there are still clear signs of how bad the “troubles” were with the charred remains of burned out buildings but it’s now very much business as usual and the economy is growing strongly due to the influx of reconstruction funds.

Before the troubles Ambon had established a strong reputation as a remote but first rate dive location and the Ambon Dive Center, run by Carol Palmer & Sonny Tjandra, had built up a loyal following. Located about 30 minutes southeast of Ambon City at a pleasant beach side location near the village of Latuhalat on the Letimar Peninsular, the dive centre provided meals & accommodation and a base from which to explore the 30+ dive sites that Carol & Sonny had identified.

Unfortunately the troubles brought all that to a sad end and the dive centre was forced to close down in early 2000, which meant that the only way to really experience Ambon diving after the troubles had subsided, and the military restrictions on the area relaxed, were on the various liveaboards that work the area on their way to Raja Ampat.

Then in July 2005 the Indonesian owned company Unexplored Adventures took over the lease on the Ambon Dive Centre and reopened the operation as Maluku Divers. Unexplored Adventures have two land based operations in Ambon, Maluku Divers & Spice Island Explorers which provides non-diving “soft adventure” 8-10 exploration trips around Ambon and the surrounding islands.

They also operate the large & luxurious Archipelago liveaboards.

My first visit to the Ambon area was in September 2006, onboard the SMY Ondina and at the end of a very rough crossing of the Banda Sea - one of those trips where you have made completely sure that you know where the lifejacket is stored.... The trip had started out from Maumere on the island of Flores, in the Lesser Sunda Islands at the southern end of the Banda Sea and after making our way to Alor we headed north-east to the Banda Islands themselves.

Unfortunately bad weather prevented us getting there, so we ended up heading north to Ambon and after two days of pounding through big seas we entered the sheltered waters of it's superb natural harbor.

We made the most of the unexpected detour by diving various sites in the harbor and along the south coast of Ambon. Although greatly disappointed not to have made it to the fabled Bandas, I was very pleased with the quality of the diving around Ambon.

In April 2007 I went back to Ambon to board the Ondina again to make another trip to the Banda Islands and my persistence was rewarded with perfect weather! Beginning & ending the trip in Ambon allowed us to revisit the favorite sites from the year before, such as the Twilight Zone and some new ones on the north coast of the island & the nearby Lease Islands.

On the way back from the Bandas we dived more sites on the south coast and combined with a couple of days spent with Maluku Divers at the end of the trip allowed me to complete over 30 dives at various locations around Ambon & the Lease Islands.

Overall I was very impressed with the diving as it offers a great combination of muck, blue water pelagic & reef diving and I have created dedicated pages for my three favorite dive sites:

The Twilight Zone: This is a special place - the site is located near the village of Laha roughly half way up the northern shore of the large bay that separates the Letimar Peninsular from the main island and forms the natural harbor.

Close to the airport, the main jetty which is the epicentre of the Twilight Zone is formally known as the “aviation jetty” because this is where the aviation fuel for the airport is brought in by tanker and unloaded.

The local dive guides call the Twilight Zone Laha 1, but I prefer the more dramatic name because it accurately reflects the atmosphere under the jetty and the fishing boats. There is also Laha 2 & Laha 3, which is west from the Twilight Zone around the headland that protects it, and there is a great assortment of critters in the sea grass in these areas.

Nusa Laut: This small island is the most easterly of the Lease group and about 80 km from Ambon, so in reality it’s probably only possible to dive the sites there from a live aboard, but if you get the chance to – do it!

I was quite stunned by just how good these reefs were, the profusion of fish life and the health & vibrancy of the coral. Ameth’s house reef in particular was stunning and I surfaced thinking that this was what it must have been like 20 odd years ago!

Shipwreck: Located further up into Ambon’s natural harbor than the Twilight zone the “shipwreck”, as it is universally referred to, is the wreck of what is commonly believed to be a Dutch cargo ship. The history of the wreck is very vague; some people tell you that it was sunk by the Dutch during WWII to prevent it falling into Japanese hands. Others tell a story about it being bombed & sunk by a single bomb dropped down its funnel by a (very good…) mercenary pilot during civil strife in the 1950’s.

Getting There: The Indonesian archipelago is a vast area and Ambon is near it’s eastern edge. However, despite it’s isolation it’s actually not too bad to get there as Ambon is well served by the domestic Indonesian airlines.

I usually either fly into Jakarta or Bali when I travel to Indonesia. If it's Jakarta I spend the night at the Airport Hotel, which is in the actual terminal and very handy, then catch the early morning Garuda flight to Makassar in southern Sulawesi and then the Lion Air flight to Ambon, arriving just after lunch and in time for a dive at the Twilight Zone!

There is also a red-eye flight from Jakarta which arrives at 07.00 in Ambon, but overnight travel is not my favorite pastime….

I had no problems with excess baggage either way despite all the gear I was carrying and I understand Lion Air allow 30kg of check in for divers!

Visas: A visa is required to enter Indonesia and I always used to get mine from the Indonesian consulate in Maroubra, Sydney. However it takes four days minimum and therefore two journeys….so the last few times I have been to Indonesia I have gone for one on arrival, which I was pleasantly surprised was a fairly painless experience apart from the US$25 charge.

Just try and get off the plane first so you are at the front of the inevitable queue!

Money: Yes, you will need some and it’s easy to think you are rich in Indonesia as you get about 7000 Rupiah to the A$ and 9000 to the US$, so you can quickly become a millionaire….

It’s best to change a few hundred dollars at the airport on arrival as credit cards are not generally accepted except in the major hotels.

Safety: I have traveled fairly extensively in Indonesia both on diving trips and on business over the past nine years and I personally have never had a serious problem. I am always careful and think ahead, but I have no hesitation in going there – infact my wife & I recently bought a place in Bali as a base for future travel & exploration in Indonesia.

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