No Shoes Required
“We’re a no-shoes resort” says Crispin, Operations Director at Wakatobi, as we step barefoot onto the octopus mosaic decorating the jetty.
To the left is the Long House; its white sand beach lined with seats and sun umbrellas giving way to the calm turquoise waters of Wakatobi’s world-famous house reef. It’s peaceful, picturesque and warm.
We just arrived by private charter plane from Bali, taking in spectacular views of Lombok’s Mount Rinjani, before descending onto the resort’s private airstrip.
For the next week we’ll be guests at one of the most remote and, therefore, exclusive resorts in the world.
The Taste Of Luxury
Wakatobi Resort originally opened as a scuba diver’s outpost known for pristine coral reefs. It has since evolved into a boutique luxury destination that sets a global standard for sustainable tourism.
We came as an eclectic group of travellers curious about Wakatobi’s reputation for hospitality and nature.
As bags were delivered to our rooms, lunch was served in the high-ceilinged and airy dining hall overlooking the ocean. This would be the first of three over-indulgent daily meals.
Wakatobi’s cuisine is exceptional, especially considering it may be one of the remotest resorts in the world. Every diet is catered for. Every dish is an artwork, painstakingly created by outstanding chefs of international repute.
Private Boat Tours
Our group included a mix of people who had hardly ever snorkelled, non-divers and divers. We decided to hire a private boat, allowing us flexibility to visit the outer islands together.
Our boat ‘Waka I’ provided a spacious covered deck, warm towels, homemade ginger tea and an abundance of smiles and laughter. For every four guests in the water, Wakatobi provides a guide.
The first morning we visited ‘The Zoo’, an aptly named site flush with soft corals and brimming with sea life. We saw cuttlefish, clownfish, lionfish and giant pufferfish, and some of the snorkelers were lucky enough to see spinner dolphins!
Over the coming days, we explored our guides’ favourite reefs, seeking calm locations and returning just in time for lunch.
A Flexible Schedule
Guests who are avid underwater enthusiasts can spend entire days – and nights – exploring the surrounding reefs.
If you prefer a less submerged schedule, there’s plenty of time to try standup paddleboarding or kitesurfing, relax on the white sand beach, wander a network of nature trails, birdwatch or enjoy a Balinese massage.
The House Reef
Some of our best snorkelling was on the house reef itself. This vast expanse of shallow coral gardens and seagrass meadows is available day and night and monitored by lookouts from 8am to 10pm every day, with water taxis available for pick-ups and drop-offs.
Sometimes we would explore the reef top and admire the plasticine shapes of soft corals. Other times we would follow the edge, as though flying above the dramatic drop-off, to an invisible seafloor over 60m below.
The reef top was patrolled by sea turtles and teeming with fish. Cool currents from the Banda Sea keep the coral healthy. There was no coral disease, no crown-of-thorn starfish outbreaks and no signs of bleaching.
The Little Things
No coral reef could be the marvel it is, without its tiny jewels: the orange clownfish hiding in anemones, neon damsels in the seagrass or Pontohoi pygmy seahorses in the halimeda.
Wakatobi’s magic is also in the little things, the tiny details that add up to a place that has been described as one of the best resorts in the world; a moniker you will come to realise isn’t an understatement.
Wakatobi’s mantra is to provide everything to ensure you have the perfect stay. Four hundred staff combine individual skills to create an incredible level of service for about 45 guests.
From the very moment staff met us on arrival, to the second we disembarked back in Bali, every second was meticulously planned.
The Wakatobi staff knew all our names before arrival and personally greeted us every morning with a smile. The attention to detail was awesome. There was literally nothing we needed to ask for.
Preserving Paradise
The resort’s long-term protection of the area’s pristine coral reef is assured through a community-based conservation initiative that provides direct economic and social benefits to surrounding villages.
“Wakatobi is only 10 per cent a dive resort,” owner Lorenz Mäder explains, “for the rest we run a conservation business.”
On our penultimate day, one of the staff proudly took us for a guided walk around his village of Lamanggau. He described a history of ecological degradation in the years before Wakatobi was founded.
Now, thanks to the co-commitment of his villagers, the coral reefs are thriving and local fishermen operating outside the protected areas are enjoying bountiful harvests created by reef replenishment.
This is why Wakatobi is such a rare place. Wakatobi Resort isn’t there because of the reef, the reef is there because of Wakatobi Resort.
Where else, and how else, can visitors see a perfectly intact and naturally stocked coral plateau of this magnificence?
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DeluxeLife are Travel specialists in exclusive luxury and nature tours. DeluxeLife’s Wakatobi Winter Break will be available each year in July, offering the chance to escape the cold and discover the magic of Wakatobi for themselves. Enquire by emailing [email protected]
