For fans of the explorer Simon Reeve, his new BBC2 Sunday night series ‘Wilderness’ which takes viewers on his toughest journeys yet, is a feast for fellow adventurers keen to see some of the earth’s last great wild areas.
In episode three he voyages across the vast Coral Triangle of Indonesia, a huge wilderness of tropical seas and jungle clad islands in the southwest corner of the Pacific. The Coral Triangle is one of the most beautiful and biodiverse areas of our oceans, and crucial to the health of the wider marine environment. Viewers can follow in his footsteps to visit the same places Reeve explores in the programme through a choice of voyages aboard a traditional pinisi vessel with the Indonesian expedition cruise operator SeaTrek Sailing Adventures.
For example on SeaTrek’s 14-day Rare Species, Remote Cultures & Remarkable Corals itinerary guests travel from Ternate to Bitung and spend time with the Bajau sea gypsies going ashore to Kabalutan Village, off the coast of Togean Island north of central Sulawesi, to meet them, see their very unique way of life, living in harmony with the water, and snorkel in the same pristine coral reefs, and as part of the journey will also have the chance to swim with Whale Sharks.
Or on the 10-day Papua’s Whale Sharks & Birds of Paradise cruise the journey takes guests to sail in the southernmost islands of the Raja Ampat National Park with its picturesque chain of jungle-covered limestone islets and spectacular corals reefs before heading east to the spectacular Triton Bay to swim with Whale Sharks. Alongside opportunities for fantastic snorkelling guests will be able to visit the ReShark Star Project, seen in the programme, and witness this ambitious initiative which aims to repopulate Raja Ampat with Zebra sharks through conservation translocation.
On some departures in Raja Ampat SeaTrek guests are joined by experts such as the French marine biologist Vincent Chalias who is able to enrich the trip with his knowledge of the complexities of the myriad coral species of the Coral Triangle and their interconnected relationships in these marine rich underwater habitats.
The final part of the programme takes Reeve to see and swim with magnificent Whale Sharks. These incredibly gentle giants of the sea have been estimated to live to over 100 years of age, reaching maturity at around 30 years old. They feed on plankton and small fish, which are abundant in the ocean, and are in turn preyed upon by larger fish and sharks. By regulating the population of smaller fish, whale sharks help to ensure that other marine species have enough food to survive.
Whilst SeaTrek does not go to Cendrawasi Bay, which is seen in the programme, they do take guests south of there to Triton Bay on the 10-day Papua’s Whale Sharks and Birds of Paradise cruise. There guests can, like Reeve, swim with the Whale Sharks on the Bagan (fisherman’s platforms) and witness the symbiotic relationship that exists between these magnificent giants of the sea and fishermen who fish from the platforms.
Michael Travers, Head of Guest Relations for SeaTrek, commented, “It’s great to see that ‘Wilderness’ has highlighted the fragile Coral Triangle and shown viewers the rich and diverse marine life and the people who live so intricately connected to the sea. At SeaTrek, we are constantly looking for ways to share with our guests the symbiotic relationship between humans and wildlife, and we hope that by bringing people to meet the Bajau people and showing them Whale Sharks, we can help to raise awareness of the urgent need to sustain these cultures and species for future generations”.
