KAKABAN ISLAND

Kakaban island is part of the Derawan Islands, East Kalimantan, Indonesia.

The island has an area of 774.2 hectares (1,913 acres) and is quite steep. Its limestone cliffs are covered with dense jungle right down to the water edge. The wall drops to 180 metres (590 ft), and currents can be strong with upwelling, downcurrent and reversing directions.

Jellyfish Lake

In the middle of this island is a mangrove-fringed lake, slightly above sea level, where thousands of jellyfish live,There is four different species which do not have the ability to harm humans with their stinging cells as Aurelia aurita with a transparent body, Tripedalia cystophora which is fingertip size, Mastigias papua is like a green-brown bulb, and Cassiopea ornata which is an upside-down jellyfish with upright tentacles.

The lake is at most 17 metres (56 ft) deep with poor visibility and is 10 minutes walk from the beach. Kakaban was probably uplifted during the Holocene era and seawater was trapped, forming a landlocked marine lake. The water is now a mixture of saltwater and fresh water from rain.

DIVING IN KAKABAN

Diving around Kakaban Island is one of the best spot dive for the diver. With untouched coral structures in the shallows and steep walls dropping down hundreds of metres, crazy macro-critters and a high chance of pelagic encounters Spending time with the residential schools of barracuda and jackfish are a highlight, as are the many species of sharks we see here on a regular basis!

From white-tips, black-tips and grey reef sharks – to thresher sharks, leopard sharks, whale sharks and hammerheads, we’ve had some jaw-dropping encounters here! Of course, sharks are not the only pelagics to inhabit the crystal clear waters of Kakaban, larger rays often make appearances too! Eagle rays, devil rays and even manta rays are known to fly by in the current.

dive site in kakaban

1.  barracuda point

Barracuda Point

This is a steep wall, where the current brings large pelagics like whitetip sharks, leopard sharks, jack, tuna, snapper and barracuda. Drift diving can be done with the help of a grab line permanently secured 24 metres (79 ft) across a relatively flat area on the upcurrent side of the point. Currents can be fierce with down currents.

 2. Sea wall garden.