Year 2- 19 August 2025 – Wangi Wangi Island -Wakatobi

I woke about 4.30-5.00am due to the Adhan- this is the name of the call to the prayer. It consists of specific phrases that call Muslims to prayer. The core message is about the greatness of God and the testimony of faith in God and his messenger Muhammad and the invitation to prayer and success. It includes a phrase about prayer being better than sleep (in other words getup!!). Whilst being respectful it rather wails on and keeps us awake. I got up at 5.45am as Yaghan (the other HR62) was leaving at 6.00am. I helped them slip their lines and off they went.

We had some tea and then I made a smoothie for breakfast (bananas, frozen red berries, mascarpone and milk) which was delicious. I put on the generator and did some washing which was good.  After breakfast we wondered up to the marina area as we wanted to see what we could of the town and the sights we should see. We met a man called Aris who said he could take us to the local caves where we could swim and then later we could go by car to a good snorkelling point. On the way back he agreed to take us to the supermarket and to where we could buy some more Bintang- local beer.

We agreed to meet about 9.30am and Aris then led us through the market area and we headed a little North and walked through the town. We came across a school where the children wanted to say hello and shake our hands and we took some pictures. We walked on and came to a cave area sunk into the ground and the women were using it to wash clothes in. We then continued and walked past some good houses with some nice gardens. We then came to an area where we walked into some trees and down to another large cave area with lots of clear blue water. Jon, a Geologist, said that this had once been part of the reef and it must have sunk at some point hence the cave system. Apparently there are many caves in the town like this. We changed and went into the clear fresh water which was colder than the sea- see the picture and it was a lovely environment where we looked at the cliffs around us as we swam.    

Once we had swum we had agreed to meet our car at 2.00pm to go snorkelling. Adam and I wondered along the main street and we both decided to have a good haircut which was enjoyable. Jon and Tony walked on to go to another barber. We tried to get in contact with each other after but we could not connect so Adam and I had a Soto Ayam (a noodle chicken soup dish) for lunch. We had it with some rice and a bottle of water each and it was delicious and the total cost for the two of us was £6. Opposite unusually was an ice cream shop called Momokoyo. We had one of their ice creams which was like a Mr Softie with chocolate sauce on top. We wondered back to the boat and I bought a local cake and then 24 eggs on a tray.

We got back to Stormbird and relaxed and waited for the guys to come back and we all had tea and the cake and shared it with a couple of boats. We then joined Aris and the car then took us about 20 minutes North to an area where we were to snorkel. This took us right through Wangi town where we saw many houses and shops by the road and it seemed to go on forever. We came to one area where there was very loud music and it was literally a large board of massive speakers and even as we drove past we could feel the vibrations on our bodies.

After 20 minutes or so we came to a conference centre type place which looked empty and we pulled in and parked. We then walked down a ramp to a boardwalk and pier over the sea and wandered down to the end. The pier was lined with statues and we wondered what this place was and what it was supposed to be. We got into the water which was not deep as the tide was out but we managed to just get over the shallow bits until we got into deeper water. We snorkelled along the reef which dropped away into the depths. The coral was not as good as Hoga as some had died and was a bit bleached. However, the fish life was amazing and there was a load of different fish of many sizes, shapes and colours. It was an enjoyable snorkel although near the surface there clearly was a warm spring as you could feel the heat in the water and its mixing with the seawater gave it a sort of blurred look.

Once we had snorkelled we then went back to the main town and to the supermarket. It had very little in it and we just bought some long-life milk. We then went to the freezer shop and managed to get some frozen chicken. We then got some Bintang (beer) and went back to the boat. There was little to buy in the shops here. Jon and Tony went off to the market and bought some cooked smoked Tuna for supper, together with some more bananas, beans, aubergines, carrots, tomatoes and melon.

We had invited Brice & Nuria from Sabre 11 for drinks. Brice is American and Nuria is Spanish. Sabre 11 is a large catamaran and we had a good chat with them having bumped into them a few times on the rally so far. They are planning to more or less do my route back to Europe over the next two years. This was good fun and it was good to get to know them a little.         

We had a light supper after and then we cleared up and headed for bed. We plan to leave at 5.00am tomorrow for South Buton where Adam will leave the boat to return to NZ. It had been an interesting day and over the last two days had got a good sense of the town.  

The picture of the day is our swim in the cave.  

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