Sailing through Indonesia east of the Wallace Line - In search of Wallace and his living treasures
This Sailing Adventure Tour from the Moluccas to Raja Ampat came as a surprise and at short notice for us. We've never been on a cruise before and didn't plan it for ourselves. But sometimes things turn out differently and you have the choice to access it or not. We “grabbed it” and haven’t regretted it.
What was laying ahead of us was an enchanting sea voyage through one of the most remote regions on earth, a tour by sailing yacht through the island world of Indonesia east of the Wallace Line and in the footsteps of Alfred Russel Wallace, who gave corresponding 'directions' in his book 'The Malay Archipelago'. left behind. This extraordinary tour found its appropriate scientific framework not least through the accompaniment of George Beccaloni, the head of the 'Wallace Correspondence Project', who was an integral part of the evening program with entertaining lectures.
‘Hello again’ Ternate, the gateway to the world of the Northern Spice Islands
A trip to the eastern part of Indonesia takes time. We already know this and submit to the noticeably increasing calmness with every step we get closer to our target area. When you arrive in Ternate you initially feel a certain amount of activity. But first appearances are deceptive. Integrated into initial local interactions, you usually get your final 'fine tuning' in slowing down right at the airport and are thus calibrated to the required level of leisure, which is simply essential for a trip through eastern Indonesia. Always a good exercise ;-) In our experience, it is not least the tour guide who can be extremely helpful for this type of transfer service.
The Ombak Putih: Our floading home for 2 incredible weeks
Having already slowed down appropriately, we reach one of Ternate's small harbors by car, from which we go out to sea for a short distance by dinghi to the anchorage of our floating hotel, the Ombak Putih - an interesting experience, as it is a new way for us to develop a domicile. Greeted with warm cheers from the crew, we climb the retractable side stairs that lead us up to the deck. We were the first guests on board and had the Ombak Putih, our home for the next two weeks, all to ourselves for a few minutes. The Ombak Putih, in German: White Wave, is a stately Pinisi sailing ship with a lower, main and upper deck that offers space for 24 passengers with enough space to get out of each other's way.
Overall, the cabins are sufficiently large, but given the conditions of a ship's hull, they do take a bit of getting used to, certainly as do the engine noises in the adjacent engine room. However, the travel concept is also such that - if you are not on land or in the water - you can actually take in the extremely impressive landscape from the main or upper deck. We really enjoyed, for example, enjoying the view of the island world in front of us at breakfast or with a sundowner and marveling at remote villages, tiny wooden boats or jungle-covered islands... and the truly incredible sunsets!!! On our sailing adventure tour Moluccas - Raja Ampat we were accompanied by 17 other passengers as well as Dr. George Beccaloni and William Russel Wallace, Alfred's great-grandson.
Traveling aboard a Pinisi sailing ship
Life on board follows a certain rhythm of activities, for which each passenger decides for himself which of them he wants to accept or leave out. In addition to fixed times for breakfast, lunch and dinner, a travel day typically also consists of shore excursions or snorkeling tours, during which you can get to know extraordinary animals, especially birds, foreign cultures and the often wonderfully bizarre creatures of a fascinating underwater world. If you would rather spend time with yourself, you can paddle a kayak, take a walk on the beach or simply relax on board in one of the comfortable deck chairs and let the day go by. And last but not least, a scientifically framed evening program ensures a good balance between daydreaming and intellectual stress.
We found this trip to be a wonderfully balanced mix of activities that made it really easy to talk to your fellow travelers or actually have time for yourself. And since everything happens at a leisurely pace, you're somehow always busy and time flies. And if you haven't really managed to start a conversation with your fellow travelers during the day, there will certainly be an opportunity to gradually end the day with interesting conversations during dinner and afterwards. It is the time of night when the ship travels the longer distances to destinations that need to be explored the following day, to which there is usually a scientifically framed introduction the day before before dinner. We loved that J
On tour and with scientific accompany
Those traveling with the Ombak Putih have the opportunity to experience science first-hand on various tours and be in direct contact with the expert traveling with them. Our tour, which was dedicated to the discoveries of Alfred Russel Wallace, was accompanied by George Beccaloni. George Beccaloni initially worked on butterflies (and cockroaches) and in this way came across Alfred Russel Wallace's remarkable discoveries, which have since formed the center of his academic work and gave rise to the Wallace Correspondence Project, which he led.
It was with great excitement that we gathered on deck in the common room every evening to listen to his interesting insights, packed into entertaining lectures. It is thanks to him that Alfred Russel Wallace, a modest naturalist and world explorer and co-founder of the theory of evolution, gradually received the place in the history of science that corresponds to his true merit. And it is also thanks to him that Wallace has now been honored on the large but unknown Moluccan island of Halmahera, in the small village of Dodinga, on the edge of the jungle, with a memorial plaque being erected there in a solemn ceremony on October 5, 2024 was built to commemorate Wallace's outstanding scientific achievements. The invited speakers included George Beccaloni, William Russel Wallace, the Governor and the Tourism Commissioner of the North Moluccas and, last but not least, the British Ambassador to Indonesia. As passengers on the Ombak Putih, we had the unique opportunity to be part of this big event. The residents of Dodinga were extremely proud that their village was now receiving so much attention, combined with the hope that their village would have a place on the tourist map of their region in the future.
From the Spice Islands to the Kingdom of the Birds of Paradise
Not every sailing tour is under scientific supervision. However, that doesn't make it any less impressive. The Moluccas and Raja Ampat are still virtually new territory for tourism. While Raja Ampat has already earned a reputation as an underwater paradise, at least among divers, the Moluccas are still waiting to be awakened from their 500-year-long slumber. Before this time, they became known as the Spice Islands due to trade that took place over several centuries, as only there grew the then incredibly valuable spices nutmeg and clove.
Even today, this remote island region does not miss its magic. And nutmeg and clove plantations can still be found here. However, the framing of a modern visit to the region is likely to be different today. The Spice Islands also consist of extensive jungle areas with numerous endemic species. It was here where Alfred Russel Wallace discovered, among others, the Wallace Standardwing aka Halmahera Bird of Paradise and the Wallace Giant Birdwing, a beautiful yellow-black butterfly, both living treasures that we encountered on our trip. And anyway: if you can't get enough of birds of paradise, this tour is perfect, because that's exactly what the area has to offer.
In addition, Indonesia east of the Wallace Line is also the area with an incredible variety of colorful and bizarre marine life and an incredible number of different fish species, whose names are sometimes reminiscent of their “fluttering land friends”, and in the specialist literature, for example, as batfish, butterflyfish or parrotfish can be found again. The enormous diversity of species is probably also the result of extensive, intact coral reefs. And it is probably thanks to this fact that this remote island region is also nicknamed the 'Coral Triangle'.
Sailing tour conclusion with homage to Alfred Russel Wallace
This trip really impressed us in a number of ways. On the one hand, we were very impressed by the beautiful island world that our boat sailed past. This tour also gave us a new, interesting perspective on a foreign culture and its habitat that is so fascinating and different from ours. And even if one always speaks of Indonesia as one (1) country, one should keep in mind that it consists of a real multitude of cultures that are very different from one another. We were also fascinated by how this remote part of the world became the starting point for groundbreaking scientific research more than 150 years ago. If you imagine how comparatively difficult it is to get to this remote region even today, you can perhaps imagine the effort that Alfred Russel Wallace must have had to travel in this archipelago.
Would you like to follow in the footsteps of Alfred Russel Wallace?
