At the end of our summer holidays we returned to Indonesia a couple of weeks early and Angie’s sister and family joined us for a Javanese adventure! We had an amazing time exploring West and Central Java. It was fun introducing them to some of our old favorite things to do, and all of us got some new experiences as well. We started by checking out some of what Jakarta has to offer by visiting the old Kota Tua section of town.
When Angie was in the old town with her cousin Elizabeth last February, they found a puppet shop that does short wayang puppet performances in Engilsh for tourists. The shop was going to do a show on the day we were touring up there, so we stopped in. It was great! The puppeteer really made the puppets come alive, and he even incorporated some of the places audience members were from into the show! We felt fortunate to experience a 10 minute performance in English instead of sitting for a 9 hour performance in Javanese.
The family was still getting over their jet lag, so we also just hung around the neighborhood and did a few things nearby, like going to the spa and getting coconut water. After a couple of days in Jakarta, we headed out for our first destination: Krakatau volcano.
A van picked us up at the house and drove us to Carita beach, where we got a small boat out to Krakatau. The 1883 eruption of the volcano produced the loudest sound ever recorded, and blew up a large section of the mountain. In 1927, a smaller caldera called Anak Krakatau (child of Krakatau) pushed above the ocean’s surface. When you visit Krakatau, your boat drives between the islands on ocean that is in the position the mountain was before 1883. We weren’t able to walk on Anak Krakatau, the newest and most active part of the volcano, so we just looked at the steaming vents from the boat. On what people call “Mama Krakatau”, the largest portion of the pre-1883 volcano pieces remaining above water, you can also see the lava tubes. Here, lava rose up to fill a chamber before the hot gases exploded the top of the mountain. It was so cool to be in the center of this amazing volcano!
After motoring around Anak Krakatau, the boat took us to a beach on the side of Mama Krakatau so that we could relax and have lunch. Some of us were a bit sea sick, so it was a nice break to be back on land after what had been a somewhat rough trip between Carita and Krakatau. The beach was beautiful, surrounded by blue ocean, and we were the only ones there for the most part.
After lunch we did a little snorkeling near the beach. It was the kids’ first time snorkeling, and they did great! It was fun to look at the little colorful fish and corals in the fairly calm water. We then headed back to Carita to stay overnight at Mutiara Carita Cottages. We rented a big three-bedroom, three bath cottage, which was perfect for our crew. The hotel has a restaurant that offers a wide range of Indonesian dishes to try, so it was a nice introduction to a variety of local foods. It also has a lovely big beachfront area. After a relaxed overnight, we set out again in the boat for Ujung Kulon National Park.
The boat ride was a bit smoother than the day before, and we broke up the very long trip to Ujung Kulon by stopping to snorkel along the way. The guide had told us we’d stop at a “little island” – was it ever little! It barely had any land above water! The snorkeling was a bit better than the day before, and we were able to see more corals and fish. Then, it was off to Peucang Island and Nikki Resort, located within Ujung Kulon National Park. Along the way, we entertained ourselves by looking out at the beautiful water. There were also many fishing structures set up at various points. These bamboo frames are built around a boat. At night, lamps are lit across the structure to attract fish, then nets are dropped from the frame to trap them. We had seen these frames around Jakarta, but not in such large quantities. In addition, there is a large coal-fired power plant along the shore, and we saw huge boats bringing in the coal. It was pretty amazing to see the massive coal consumption up close.
Our arrival at Peucang Island brought us beautiful white beach sand, blue water, exotic animals, and barely any people. It was paradise! The island is part of Ujung Kulon National Park, and has housing for the rangers in addition to the small tourist resort. There were only 6 small beach cabanas, and we and a French family were the only tourists staying the night.
Immediately we were treated to the sight of rusa deer foraging along the beach, and soon the local band of macaque monkeys showed up to welcome us. Angie is not a fan of macaques, but these seemed pretty chill as long as we remembered to keep our accommodations locked up at all times. Also found in the resort area was a rather large monitor lizard making its slow way by the ranger housing. One animal we did not see in the park was the Javan rhino, the rarest large animal on Earth. The rhino is so protected now that visitors to Ujung Kulon are no longer allowed into the area of the park where they are found.
After lunch we hung out on the beach and relaxed a while. Then, in the late afternoon a ranger led us on a hike across Peucang Island to view the sunset from the Indian Ocean side. We came across a large rusa buck almost as soon as we started the hike, and were in awe of the giant trees all around us. Hornbills flew over a few times while we walked, filling the air with their calls.
It felt like a magical evening, especially when we arrived at the beach for sunset. Waves crashed on shore, and the beach was filled with beautiful large shells. We had a great time taking photos, looking for shell treasures, and just enjoying the spectacular view.
The next morning after breakfast we headed with the ranger across the short strait between Peucang Island and Java to see part of the park that is on the mainland. We jumped out of the boat at a small beach and then headed onto a very flooded path to get to the banteng bulls’ grazing area. The 100 meter walk was an adventure!
Once we reached the grazing area, sure enough – a group of banteng were hanging out on the other side of the field. The bull clearly knew we were there, but we were able to get a little bit closer so we could see them pretty well. It was a beautiful morning, and we enjoyed being able to see more of the special wildlife of this area.
After some more beach time back at Nikki Resort and then lunch, it was time to pack up and head back to Carita and Jakarta. The boat ride seemed LONG when we did it all in one go, and we got held up a bit by traffic on the road back to the city, so it was evening when we finally made it into our house in Cipete. Luckily, Jakarta does great delivery food, so we ate in and quickly repacked for Desa Laguna, our destination for early the next morning.
Desa Laguna is favorite of ours, and we were glad to be able to show it to Christi and Tristan and the kids. After being on the go for the past 3 days, it was nice to just kick back and relax. We did a little snorkeling at the house reef, a little ping pong, some mangrove planting, and lots of hanging out and eating tasty food. It was a great break after the rush of the start of the visit.
We loved our chill days and nights with clear skies on Desa Laguna. It was soon time to head back to Jakarta and on to the Central Java part of the trip. Next up is Bandung and Yogyakarta, which will be the next post in this series.
