Makassar (Ujung Pandang)
There are several islands east of Makassar with interesting dive sites and wrecks. The city of Makassar is a good base for trips to this group of small islands and atolls. The east monsoon season (April - November) is the best period for visiting these islands.

The Diving
There is a lot of wreck diving on the following islands: Samalona (Maru wreck) / Kodengareng Keke (gunboat wreck) / Tin-Tingan Atoll (cargo vessel wreck) / Takabakan Atoll (submarine ) / Samalona Island ( wreck of a Michell-Lanchaster bomber) / Tanakeke (cargo vessel and the Nikko Maru) / Labutung Atoll (cargo vessel) / Lai Lai Island (Hakko Maru) and dives on Kodongbali , Tambakulu and Suranti Kapoposang Lanyukan. Travelog in German (Wracks) and in English (Michael Bode) also about the wrecks and the Forum Makassar straits.

Pulau Selayar and Bira
The Cape of Bira is both known for the sharks, rays and other pelagics and its strong and dangerous currents (Want to know more about how to assess accurately the rate of current?. There used to be a German dive operator but he was chased out of the country and only a few months later a tragic accident happened, when 5 Japanese divers were swept out and away from Cape Bira (this story was told me twice by different people, somebody else said it happened at Pulau Kambing). Please heed your dive guide's advise about currents and the best time of the day for certain dive sites! Visibility is good but I read, that the water can be quite cold (23-24° in August). We had very warm (29-30°) in April.

Takabonerate (southwest of Pulau Selayar)
Takabonerate (Telaga Bone Rate) lies southwest of Selayar island and is the third largest coral atoll in the world (the largest is Kwajalein in the Marshall islands and the second largest Suvadiva in the Maldives). Spread over 2,220 square kilometers (21 small islands) in the Flores Sea, there are coral reef and seagrass ecosystems. The area is an Indonesian National Marine Park and as such there should be no fishing. I researched in the internet and found a lot of game fishing pages about Takabonaerate. There seem to be a lot of fish such as the Wahoo, Barracuda, Giant Trevally, Marlin, Sailfish, Yellowfins, Dogtooth tuna and Mackerels. There are some nesting areas for sea turtles on the islands.

THE DIVING,The atoll offers some very good wall diving. Visibility is normally about 30 meters. The atoll rises sharply from the side of a submerged ridge 2,000 meters below the surface. It is said to have been a huge volcano, that has since subsided, leaving a wide ring of coral.

Bunaken, Siladen, Manado Tua, Montehage, Nain
The bay of Manado is located at the north of the island of Sulawesi. The Bunaken National Park lies about 30 minutes by boat from Manado. Bunaken island is the centerpiece of the national park but there is good diving also at Manado Tua (the volcanic island), Siladen, Montehage and Nain. There are accommodations on Bunaken and Siladen as well as several dive operators. You can snorkel at many places around the island or just enjoy the beach.

There is no continental shelf in the northern part of Sulawesi Reefs drop directely down to 1840 meters! Depths between the islands are around 200m, between Manado Tua and Montehage 1360m! A rare fish has been found here, the coelacanth who lives in caves at about 100 to 200m depth on these steep underwater slopes. Coelacanths can reach a length of about 2 meters and are so called living fossils. Living fossils are organisms that have not changed in millions of years. The Coelacanth was also found in South Africa and the Komodo islands, Indonesia.