Travel Destination

Maluku

Maluku lies across a transition zone between Asian and Australian fauna and flora, and also between the Malay-based cultures of western Indonesia and those of Melanesia. there are over 1,000 islands in the Province most of which are uninhabited. 85% of Maluku is water and it sits astride one of the world's most actively volatile volcanic belts. The region has known more than 70 eruptions over the last 400years. Tremors and volcanic explosions are by no means rare events and, in fact, many of the islands form classic scenes of volcanic cones rising out of the sea.

Maluku is blessed with incredible sea gardens, idyllic, tropical beaches and wonderful landscapes rich with a great variety of endemic plant and animal species. The rugged, forest-coated and mountainous hinterlands of the islands are home to the Racker tailed king fisher, the Red-crested Moluccan cockatoo, and other brilliantly-colored lorikeets and parrots.

Formerly known as the Moluccas, these are the famed Spice Islands, which Indian, Arab, Chinese and later European traders spoke of. These islands felt the force of 16th and 17th attempts by major European sea faring nations to establish their influence and power. In the year 1511, the Portuguese built their first fort in the area on the island of Ternate and established a monopoly of the clove trade. The Spanish also came, but posed little threat to the Portuguese.

It was the Dutch, who arrived in 1599, that proved to be a strong adversary in the quest for, and control of, Maluku's tree surest Armed conflicts broke out, taking a heavy toll from the island populations as well as the rival European powers an' when the Dutch finally emerged as victors they enforced the trade monopoly with an iron fist. Whole villages were razed to the ground and thousands of islanders died, especially on the island of Banda, in the so called Hongi Expeditions.

The British briefly occupied Maluku during the Napoleonic Wars, but Dutch rule was restored in 1814 and it wasn't until 1863 that the compulsory cultivation of spices was abolished in the province. Now it is fish and other sea products that are Maluku's major sources of revenue, but nickel, oil, manganese and various kinds of timber also contribute to the province's wealth.

The main gateway into Maluku is through the provincial capital of Ambon, which is served by regular flights to most parts of the archipelago. Air and sea transportation connect the islands themselves together very well. The province has 79 seaports and 25 airports, but only about 4 km of roads. However, good roads on many of the islands provide easy access to the more remote places of interest.

^ PLACE OF INTEREST

Ambon
Ambon, the provincial capital of Maluku which is built on a hillside overlooking the bay, has a number of interesting sites of historical and cultural interests. Among them are the remnants of some old forts built by the Dutch East Indies Company during the heydays of the spice trade and the Museum Siwa Lima with its collection of local arts and crafts. More ruins of forts are found such as the Dutch one at Lima and those of the Portuguese at Hila, which are almost entirely hidden underneath the contorted roots of a giant Banyan tree. The ANZAC War Cemetery near Ambon town is the site of services held every year on April 25, to commemorate the Allied soldiers who died in the region during World War II. Ambon is at the Maluku end of the annual yacht race between Darwin, Australia and Ambon. The race usually takes place at the end of July and the beginning of August.

Coral Sea Gardens
Good beaches with coral reefs just off the shore are found around Pombo island Namalatu beach and at Hunimoa Beach on Ambon. A popular recreation beach on the same island is Natsepa, Honimua and Namalatu.

Banda
The Banda group, about 132 kilometers southeast of Ambon, consists of three larger islands and seven smaller ones, perched on the rim of Indonesia's deepest sea, the Banda Sea. Near the island Manuk, the water reaches a depth of more than 6,500 meters. Of the three biggest islands Banda, Banda-Neira and Gunung Api, the first two are covered with nutmeg trees and other vegetation. The third however, is entirely bare and highly volcanic. The last eruption of Mt. Api occurred only a few years ago.

The seas around Banda are the site of the famous Maluku sea gardens with their bright corals and colorful fish darting through the crystal- clear waters. Facilities for sightseeing, snorkeling and skin diving are available, as well as clean, comfortable cottages. Banda saw some of the bloodiest episodes of Maluku's past history during the 17th century. In 1609, the Dutch East Indies Company (VOC) dispatched Verhoeff to the islands to obtain the contested spice trade monopoly at any cost. Confronted by a superior power, the people of Banda were forced to allow the company to establish a fort, but in that same year Verhoeff was killed together with 45 of his men. The Company retaliated, but peace was not restored.

In 1619, VO.C. Governor-General Jan Pieterszoon Coen arrived at the head of a penal expedition and exterminated the entire population of Banda. The land was divided into lots, called "perken", and given to former company employees, the "perkiniers", who were obliged to grow nutmeg and sell them at predetermined prices to the company. Slaves did the actual work in the fields. The old "perkenier houses", or what is left of them, and old churches still retain a peculiar colonial character to the port town of Bandaneira today. Two old forts Belgica and Nassau, are inside the town limits. Others are found elsewhere on the islands. See also the former Dutch Governor's mansion, the Museum of History in Neira, and the huge nutmeg plantation nearby.

Ceram Island
One of the biggest island in Maluku. The beaches in Ceram are generally beautiful and suitable for swimming, fishing etc. Sea gardens, Sago woods, Maiden forests. Naulu race, who still keep their habits and traditional way of life. Exotic nature, flora and fauna, Manusela National Park, Kasa islet and Babi islet surrounded by white sandy beaches, beautiful spots for swimming and fishing and gorgeous sea gardens. Wonderful waterfall and beautiful surrounding panorama in the village of Rumakai Antiques.

Halmahera
Ternate, an island off the west coast of Halmahera in northern Maluku, was once the seat of an important kingdom which prospered from the spice trade. The Portuguese, the Spanish and the Dutch vied with each other for influence on this island. A stronghold of Islam in the otherwise predominantly Christian province of Maluku, Ternate nevertheless carries the clear imprints of both its pre Islamic past and its period of contact with the West, especially the Portuguese.

The old sultan's palace in Ternate town is now a museum. In the vicinity are the ruins of old Portuguese, Spanish and Dutch forts. The remnants of the Dutch Fort Orange are right in town. About five kilometers west of the town, on the slope of a 1,715 meter tall volcano in the middle of the island, is Afo, with its giant clove tree, said to be more than 360 years old to be the ancestor of all clove trees in the world. Morotai Island, just off Halmahera's northern arm, was an important airbase during World War II, first for the Allies and later for ~the Japanese until its recapture near the end of the war. The ghosts of war still linger in this area, where many wrecks of aircraft and rusting guns lie abandoned in the bushes.

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