Borneo: Indonesia + Malaysia - July 2013
Dear English-speaking readers, this page is an automatic translation made from a post originally written in French. My apologies for any strange sentences and funny mistakes that may have been generated during the process. If you are reading French, click on the French flag below to access the original and correct text:
Français Borneo is an adventure! I went back to the Indonesian island of Kakaban and its mysterious jellyfish lake. I even went back to swim there. The proof in video...
Return to Kakaban, four years later
2009-2013. Yes, this is the second time I've been to the island of kakabanin the archipelago of Derawanon the southeast coast of Borneoon the Indonesian side.
Four years separate the two photos below...
In the game of seven differences, we notice that a wooden guardhouse, painted in blue, was built at the back, but especially that my Tribord lycra and my jersey are unwearable... 😂
I invite you to reread the article I wrote at the time on Kakaban:
→ Kakaban, the island of jellyfish [July 2009]
Four years later, the place has become very popular. Groups of Asian vacationers arrive every day, strapped into beautiful orange life jackets - because many can't swim.
It is now necessary to pay a small entrance fee of 10,000 IDR (less than one euro) and sign a register to access the lake. It is also now forbidden to swim with flippers, to avoid the risk of cutting in two the famous jellyfish.
Jellyfish that do not sting
It seems incredible, but in fact, these jellyfish do not sting! Even though we know it, it's always a bit strange, when swimming, to be in the middle of these gelatinous creatures, which we have learned to be wary of...
The explanation would be as follows: about 10,000 years ago, a geological phenomenon raised the island, trapping marine animals inside a crater, including jellyfish. These, being without predators, have lost their stinging power over the millennia.
The proof in pictures, with the video below!
You will note, at the 15e secondly, the kindness and good mood of one of our Indonesian diving guides, who did not want to let me carry my heavy waterproof case, containing my 7D, on the wooden walkway, slippery in places (see page Equipment my equipment for underwater photography).
In any case, I had a lot of fun making a little film almost similar to the one I made, Four years ago.
UPDATE. It is better not to touch the jellyfish as we did during our swim... Of course, they do not sting. The danger is not for us, but for them. Because we are the ones who risk to harm them by force, if all the visitors who come in number from now on have fun to do the same... The lake of Kakaban is a fragile ecosystem and the exponential number of tourists who come to bathe in its waters risks to weaken it even more. In short, I should not have done this gesture nor filmed it. Belated realization. Mea culpa. Please, don't imitate us.
Kakaban lake side and sea side
There are other jellyfish lakes around the world. Those of Kakaban (Borneo, Indonesia) and Palau (Micronesia) are the best known.
In Indonesia, there are in particular Raja Ampat (West Papua) and also to the Togian Islands (Sulawesi).
My new Indonesian friends, who came to spend a few days, like me, in the Derawan archipelago to dive. (Borneo, Indonesia, July 2013)
The pontoon of the jellyfish lake in Kakaban. (Borneo, Indonesia, July 2013)
As for the jellyfish, I will have the opportunity to splash around with them several times, between two dives on the sea side, during this stay of 2013because the resort Derawan Dive Lodge takes us regularly to make bubbles around the island, along the coral reef, splendid (I will show you that in a future post).
It is fascinating to observe them. They throb by the hundreds, by the thousands, in the green waters of the lake, like so many beating hearts.
Between dives, our small group lunch on the pontoon, before or after the jellyfish tour.
And then we take advantage of the view on the sea side... Magnificent!
😎
👌
