Lembeh Strait

The Lembeh Strait in North Sulawesi, Indonesia is renowned as being the planet's epicentre of marine bio diversity, with a welter of rare and unusual underwater creatures on its black sand dive sites.

Lembeh Strait is a really quite beautiful, with tall, verdant mountains rising either side of the water giving a protected feel with their cloud catching peaks. Surrounded on all sides by the dense green foliage of the hills and the blue of the sun and sky, it's an idyllic spot complete with white sand beaches.

The Strait's 12 km length provides nearly 50 dive sites, and while black volcanic sand is certainly what you'll see on the majority of dives in the area, there are plenty of white and grey sand sites too, some with big pinnacles covered in soft and hard corals, rather than just the black sand slopes which have become an icon of Lembeh. These coral sites have plenty of the usual tropical fish suspects, from sweetlips to angelfish to the omipresent clownfish.  By crisscrossing back and forth from dive sites along the Sulawesi mainland and those scattered  along Lembeh island itself, there is a good variety of dive environments which helps keep the black sand monotony at bay. To be sure, there are quintessential muck diving sites, trash-strewn with flat black sand, but they only make up a small part of Lembeh's big choice of dives.  [source : Lembeh Strait]

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Bangka–Belitung Islands

Bangka–Belitung Islands is a province of Indonesia. The province includes two main islands, Bangka and Belitung, and several smaller ones that lie east of the Sumatran mainland and northeast of South Sumatra province. The Bangka Strait separates Sumatra and Bangka, and the Gaspar Strait separates Bangka and Belitung. The South China Sea is to the north, the Java Sea is to the south, and the province is separated from Borneo in the east by the Karimata Strait.

The province was formerly part of South Sumatra, but became a separate province along with Banten and Gorontalo in 2000. In 2004 its population was 1,012,655. The capital is Pangkal Pinang.

These islands are the largest producer of tin in Indonesia. They also produce white pepper.

Bangka Belitung has many beaches and smaller islands which have attracted tourists from around the world. The most well known beaches are Matras, Parai, Tanjung Pesona, Batu Bedaun, Remodong, Pasir Padi, Tanjung Kelian, Rebo, and Telok Uber Beach. [source : Wikipedia]

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Wakatobi Marine National Park

Wakatobi National Park is a marine national park, south-east of Sulawesi island of Indonesia. The name of Wakatobi is an acronym of the four main Tukangbesi Islands: Wangi-wangi, Kaledupa, Tomia, and Binongko. Since 2005 the park is listed as a tentative World Heritage Site.

It consists of four larger islands: Wangi-Wangi, Kaledupa, Tomia and Binongko, as well as many small islands such as Tokobao, North Lintea, South Lintea, Kampenaune, Hoga and Tolandono. The highest elevation is 274 metres (899 ft) on Wangi-Wangi, followed by Lagole Hill (271m) on Tomia, Terpadu Hill (222 m) on Binongko and Mount Sampuagiwolo (203 m) on Kadelupa. The water depth varies, with the deepest parts reaching 1,044 metres (3,425 ft).

The types of vegetation found in the national park are mangrove forest, coastal forest, lowland swamp forest, riverbank vegetation, lowland rainforest, mountain rainforest and coral reefs. The Wakatobi Archipelago has 25 groups of coral reefs including fringing reefs, barrier reefs and atolls. A survey conducted in 2003 identified 396 species of coral belonging to 68 genera and 15 families. These include Acropora formosa, Acropora hyacinthus, Psammocora profundasafla, Pavona cactus, Leptoseris yabei, Fungia molucensis, Lobophyllia robusta, Merulina ampliata, Platygyra versifora, Euphyllia glabrescens, Tubastraea frondes, Stylophora pistillata, Sarcophyton throchelliophorum, and Sinularia species.

Among the recorded species of seabird are the Brown Booby, Common Kingfisher and Malaysian Plover. Turtles in the park include the Hawksbill turtle, Loggerhead sea turtle, and Olive Ridley. 

The park is one of the best diving destinations in the world with excellent opportunities for drift diving, coral reef exploration and marine life encounters. [source : Wakatobi]

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Lake Maninjau

Lake Maninjau (Indonesian: Danau Maninjau, meaning overlook or observation in Minangkabau) is a caldera lake in West Sumatra, Indonesia.

 

Lake Maninjau has an area of 99.5 km², being approximately 16 km long and 7 km wide. The average depth is 105 m, with a maximum depth of 165 m. The natural outlet for excess water is the Antokan river, located on the west side of the lake. It is the only lake in Sumatra which has a natural outlet to the west coast. Since 1983 this water has been used to generate hydroelectric power for West Sumatra.

Most of the people who live around Lake Maninjau are ethnically Minangkabau. Villages on the shores of the lake include Maninjau and Bayur.

Maninjau is a notable tourist destination in the region due to its scenic beauty and mild climate. It is also used as a site for paragliding. [source : Maninjau]

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