ken_soepangkatAround 3.5 hours with direct flight from Jakarta, Ternate and Tidore Islands is one of the diving destination in Indonesia. Less popular than Bali, Raja Ampat or Labuan Bajo, Ternate offers an exotic diving experience with its unspoiled deep sea.
One of the unique experience that Ternate offers is the varieties of the dive entries. You can take a boat rides to many dive sites around Ternate and Tidore Islands for a more exciting and deep dive experience. But for newbies or open water diver that only want an easy dive, beach entry dive sites are widely spread around the town.
There are several good dive operators at Ternate, such as Dodoku and Nasijaha Dive Center. On this trip, I chose Nasijaha Dive Center (NDC), with Adit as our DM (dive master). Very experience DM, Adit guides me and one group of 11 Malaysian divers for one day diving trip.
The trip is included transfer from and to hotel at Ternate (everywhere in Ternate feels like 5 minutes drive, cause the city is small), dive tanks, snacks, free flow water and lunch. If you don’t bring your diving gear, NDC will provide you with rented gear.
It was a lovely Saturday morning, and the town is busy with families and children enjoying their weekend. The port is full of children having a swim, I can’t help smiling looking at their happy faces and the carelessness.
Slowly leaving the port was another beautiful breathtaking sight. Clean, clear, deep blue sea water, blue sky, long white clouds. Away from all the pollutions, hustle and bustle from any cities.
Pinnacles at Santo Pedro Point, Tidore
Diving to the deep sea of Santo Pedro Point is an unforgettable experience. It was supposed to be my check dive, but it was just so effortless diving. Endless streams of tiny schooling fish, colorful healthy corals, and warm water would make you not realizing how deep you’re going.
Before we know it, we were already 35 meters deep, and see the highlights of the dive which are the pinnacles and schooling of bumphead.
Honestly, I was a bit hesitated to dive because of a cold, but after taking medicine and jumped for the first dive, I knew i would regret it if i didn’t dive that day. It was just priceless!
Adit and I stayed at the end of the group, with the Malaysian divers group in front of us. Most of them are dive masters and rescue divers, and have been going to dive trip with NDC for a few days. Given their experience, it was easier for Adit to be their guide, and was concentrating to guide me on my first dive in Tidore.
Cobo Point, Tidore
I thought there was nothing that could top what i felt at Santo Pedro Point. But I kid you not, I was wrong.
Cobo Point was another breathtaking experience.
There are no big pelagic fish at both Santo Pedro and Cobo Point, but the experience of healthy marine lives with abundance of smaller schooling fish would not disappoint you. The sight of blue water from the surface is just tempting, you need to remind yourself that the water would be so much deeper than you imagine.
I was just there for that day, but the Malaysian divers group have been diving around Morotai with sharks, and exploring Ternate and Tidore dive sites. They’ve been exploring Indonesia dive sites for years, and envy Indonesia’s rich archipelago of iconic dive sites. I was a bit embarrassed to find that my dive logs and knowledge about dive sites in Indonesia are no match with them.
Taman Nukila Beach Entry, Ternate
The last dive site for that day was Taman Nukila dive site, which can be reached by beach entry or by boat. Cause we were already on the boat, we decided to make boat entry.
Taman Nukila is one of the most famous dive site at Ternate, an eye feast for beginners who like to take selfies while snorkeling or diving. The famous highlights for this dive site are shipwreck, bus and motorcycle which were sunk between 2016 to 2017 to attract divers.
It was fun to dive along the wrecks. After taking several pictures around the shipwreck, we went to explore the bus wreck. The bus is still in one piece and has all its rows and rows of seats still complete. Schooling tiny fish inhabit the bus. Adit gives me a sign to watch what he does. He dives inside the bus from the window at the back, dives along the bus and shows up again at the front side of the bus.
He gives me a sign to follow his lead, and he will take pictures when i show up at the front window. Too bad my mask was fogging at that time.
It was a fun dive site to explore for divers who like to explore wreck and artificial structure, but not as exciting for those who like more adventure and unspoiled water.
