We have 850 miles of sailing to go and need fresh food to get us there, so finding boat supplies in the main town of Wakai in the Togean archipelago, is a priority. Although “town” is a probably a loose description of the few dusty roads we found in the Togean capital!

Remote islands of Indonesia

But first, situated slap bang in the center of the Coral Triangle, the spectacular Togean Islands are a diving paradise, and we wanted to take the opportunity to see what was down there.

Like the Anambas Islands, which we first sailed to in 2017, the Togean Archipelago is another paradise. It’s one of those remarkable parts of Indonesia that have remained obscured from much of the world’s travel community. And like the Anambas, this is because they are so difficult to get to. A combination of planes, ferries and cars means it takes determination and plenty of time to come here.

Diving at Kadidiri Paradise Resort & Dive Center

Did you know it’s the law that you must go naked on your 100th dive? Neither did we until Jamie was told this by Iril, our young, knowledgeable local dive master. What do you reckon, did Jamie do it?!!

Diving and provisioning in the The Togean Archipelago

Liz enjoying the great visibility and stunning coral of this wall dive

It was a complete unexpected pleasure to discover the local family-run Kadidiri Paradise Resort & Dive Center which we can happily recommend to anyone looking to leave the hurly-burly behind.

Alice, owner of the Kadadiri Paradise Resort

In the end we managed three long dives totalling nearly four and a half hours! The visibility was incredible and we saw plenty of critters. The place is so full of marine life, that even just standing on the jetty you can see sharks and dolphins.

Conservation

This little bit of paradise on Earth is magnificent and it was a privilege to see it, but perhaps we should leave the last word to the Togean Conservation Foundation:

“Loss of habitat due to clearing native forests for agriculture, clearing mangroves for village expansion and firewood, illegal logging, coral mining, and loss of turtle breeding grounds due to resort expansion and sand mining are among some of the challenges currently faced.

“Many of these issues are driven by poverty, and by a lack of awareness, education, service provision and suitable alternative livelihoods. Climate change poses significant threats for local populations and their future food and water security.”

Click for the Foundation’s website.