Year 2- 14 August 2025 – Tifu Village -Island Buru -Indonesia
We woke about 6.30am as our tour was starting at about 7.30am. It had rained all night and I seemed to be awake for hours listening to the pitter patter of the rain on the deck and windows. We had some tea and breakfast and prepared to go ashore. We took the dinghy and went to the quay and tied up. It was still raining. There were few people about but Danny our guide came to say hello. We were then waiting for some more of our group to come. The villagers were beginning to wake and go about their daily business. I think here it will be mostly subsistence and being able to live from day to day here.
Our fellow tourers arrived 15 minutes later namely Wayne and Jenny from a boat called Ali Cat. They were very friendly and pleasant and were from Adelaide Australia. Wayne was a helicopter pilot and they were taking a few years off to sail. We all got into a very long narrow boat with two 40 hp outboards on the back. It must have been about 40 feet long with high sides and only about 4.5 feet wide. We had 7 join us and off we went. Beyond the natural harbour we could see the sea outside with waves crashing on to the rocks and I wondered how our boat would fare in these conditions.
We exited the bay and we rose up and down over the waves. The roughest bit was at the entrance and they had both engines going. To start with they would slow down over the waves so we did not crash on to them but then once we were out of the entrance they sped up and judged the swell very well. We were soon zooming along swaying a little from side to side about 30-50 meters off the island shore. There was sheer rocks coming down to the sea mostly covered in tropical jungle with a variety of trees clinging to the rocks. The sea had carved a ledge at their base and the sea was smashing on to these rocks throwing spray up on to the rocks.
We scooted along this coast for some 20 minutes or so going I would suggest going about 15 kts and they kept quite close to the shore. I wondered if the engines failed that we would not have much leeway and would soon be crashing on to the rocks. I changed my thoughts and admired the raw beauty of this island. We passed a few inlets which were flatter but the waves rolled in and the peaks above were shrouded in mist and cloud which is why there is so much fresh water. We saw a waterfall falling into the sea at one point and then a small village on a flat bit of land at the end of an inlet bay. We carried on and then eventually came to a largish bay with a fine sandy beach at the end of it. There were lots of waves rolling in and the boat picked its way through bits of surf and then it went sideways to the waves and a little bit of water came in and then we headed straight for the beach.
The beach was about a quarter of a mile long with some sand banks which were caused by a large waterfall area behind the beach amongst the jungle and mangroves at the back of the beach. It was a lovely scene and there was no-none there. We had the place to ourselves. They had switched off the outboards and were now poling us in the last section to the beach. We got off in the water and waded ashore to the lovely beach with deep golden sand. We walked up the beach and put our bags/backpacks outside an old shack in the shelter. The beach had a bit of old leaves/palm tree detritus but also unfortunately a bit of plastic here which had been washed up by the sea. That is what is happening throughout the world.
Our guide took us behind the beach where there was a freshwater stream/river flowing at quite a pace being fed by the large swathe of fresh water with waterfalls flowing through the jungle and mangroves. It was very beautiful and nature in its raw beauty and it felt like we were like man discovering it for the first time. We walked into the water which was fresh water cold and much colder than the warm sea. We began to walk up some of the waterfalls which were caused by rocks and the water beautifully clear washed over them at a pace. We came to a deeper pool and had a swim in this cold water and tried to stick our heads under the water flowing down. It was magical.
We then continued to climb up various parts of these waterfalls and I wondered how sensible this was bearing in mind we were carrying phones and our cameras. However, we continued for a while and the locals went up like mountain goats. The noise of the water was loud but like a nice background noise. We took photos and admired the scenery. It was a special place. You could see the water and jungle going up the hill and the water must have started a long way up.
After some time exploring the rapids we descended back to the beach and the crew set out some food for us. Rice, fried chicken, fried and boiled banana, bread and watermelon which was nice. We enjoyed sitting there and being able to share this lovely place. After we had eaten we explored the rest of the beach and the fresh water flowing out at quite a rate into the sea with the waves rolling in.
Once we were done we got back on board and returned to Tifu Village using the same route. We arrived and the tide had gone out somewhat and we had get out at the back of the boat. We returned to Stormbird feeling we had had an amazing excursion. We had a snack, rested and did various jobs. We decided we will move on tomorrow to an island called Hoga, which is just below Wakatobi and where a number of the fleet are based. It is a small lagoon in a reef and about 189 nm away.
The rain finally stopped and we sat out on the aft deck admiring the beauty and remoteness of this place. We saw a number of large fish jump some 6 feet or so out of the water – great. We had hoped to see the resident crocodile but he did not make an appearance. We had a lovely supper of tuna, orzo rice and a broccoli bake courtesy of Jon and Tony listening to some sailing music.
It had been a great day in a great location and we are ready to move on to what seems to be another spectacular location some 24 plus hours away. The picture of the day is us with our guide in the waterfall.
Need/Opportunity Year Three
In year three I will be going from Thailand to Sri Lanka, India, Maldives and then on to Chagos, Mauritius, Reunion, Cape Town, St Helena, Azores and back to the UK. I am looking for crew from Mauritius/ Reunion Island to Cape Town and from Cape Town to the UK. If of any interest do email me.
The blog will continue as we continue the journey. If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog then do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com