Banda Nov 24

Please make sure you are in Bali by at least today or preferably a few days before - because we fly out to Kupang early tomorrow morning.

Feel free to stay at your favourite resort or villa - our recommendation for those who have not been to Bali before is to stay in and around the Seminyak area as it is good for restaurants, cafes, spas and shopping etc.

Accomodation tonight is at your expense.

So let's talk about the meetup.

MEET UP:

Today we meet up at the Samaya Hotel Seminyak for drinks at 5pm and a chance to go over the plan and get to know each other. We will cover a round of drinks or two and snacks.

After the meet-up head off to one of Seminyak's great restaurants or return to your villa and we will meet tomorrow at the airport for our flight to Kupang in Timor.

Includes:

• Drinks and snacks at meet-up

Not Included:

• Accomodation
• Transport
• Dinner

This morning we board our flight to Ambon from the domestic terminal.

The flights to Ambon are a bit messy and involve a stop-over in Jakarta for 1 hour 40 mins.

Once we arrive in Ambon we check in to our hotel and relax. Ambon is not a tourist destination for foreigners although it does have some tricks up its sleeve that we will get a chance to explore once we get back from Banda.

Dinner will be a bbq in the hotel grounds.

This morning we board the Prana for our 20 hour sail to the Banda Islands.

The journey is around 200kms but we will be cocooned in luxury as we sail through the afternoon and night to arrive at Run island the next morning.

We have picked early November because this time of year the sea is between the Monsoon season and the seas are traditionally smooth and calm. As mentioned before, there is a very narrow weather window to visit the Banda islands.

The Dutch and Portuguese sailors would time their visit to the Banda islands with the monsoon season having to wait months for the winds to change so they could sail back west to the trading ports of Malacca and Batavia (present day Jakarta).

We are looking for dead calm seas which happen in March and October/November - perfect for us but not so good for ancient mariners.

Today we wake in front of the islands of Ai and Run.

These are the centre stage for Nathaniel's Nutmeg and are picture postcard tropical islands with an amazing history which we will reveal to you on the island as we explore nutmeg plantations, old forts and ruined Dutch mansions plus have lunch with the locals.

A great day with some great swimming and snorkelling plus the opportunity to visit two of the most valuable islands in the world - including the island that was swapped by the English for Manhattan.

We have timed this trip to take advantage of the best season to cross the Banda sea - and as you can see from the image above, last year the sea crossing was as smooth as glass.

Feeling like more nutmeg? 

We visit Banda Besar - this island is home to ancient nutmeg plantations which were split in to lots called pennikens.

The pennikers are descendants of the Dutch traders and we will have lunch with one of the last remaining penniker and see a different process for processing nutmeg. 

The orignal house still stands but the owner suffered a horrific tragedy during the violence in 1999 when his home was torched.

An interesting and very moving day that really brings history alive as it is still being lived today.

After lunch we head to Banana island for a swim and snorkle on a great coral reef.

There is also the option to do a cooking class with the hotel owners wife in the afternoon too.

Today we explore the old buildings and forts on Banda. The Banda islands are a living museum and with little interest in maintaining the buildings it won't be long before they are just a forgotten part of history.

Back to the boat for lunch and then let's cool off with a snorkel or dive on a newly formed reef that has formed on the black lava flow of the volcano in the harbour.

The volcano and lava flow make a stunning backdrop for our swim.

After Breakfast we depart the harbour and take you to a spectacular snorkelling spot near Pisang Island.

A stunning coral wall awaits and if the tide is right then you simply drift over the coral watching all the sea life below.

Once back on board we set sail to Nailakka Island (another key location in Nathaniel's Nutmeg story). We pass by Ai island where it is possible to do some watersports or just chill on deck watching the world pass you by.

Arriving at Nailakka, the crew will set up for our Beach BBQ tonight and can ferry you to shore if you want to have a swim or do some beach-combing.

Around sunset we found ourselves lounging in gin-clear tropical water with drinks in hand while chef creates a stunning bbq dinner. 

After dinner we return to Prana and set sail through the night back to civilisation.

We arrive in Ambon around lunchtime today where we transfer to our hotel.

Just down the road from the hotel are some famous "rujak" stalls - rujak is basically a sweet and spiced fruit dip and a specialty of the area.

Dinner down by the pool.

After breakfast it's time to pack your bags then we board our bus and explore some highlights of Ambon.

This is dependant on flights but we hope to take you to the local market which is quite fascinating and Simon will happily guide you through the stalls and reveal the mysteries of Indonesian ingredients and local food. We knew his 15 years cooking and living in Bali would come in handy.

Then we are off to the very moving ANZAC war cemetery. 

The Japanese set up a POW camp in Ambon that turned out to be more horrific than the more well-known and infamous POW camps on the Thai Burma railway.

The Anzac Portal has a shot but powerful summary of the conditions the ANZACS endured. In short, nearly 2,000 Australians were imprisoned here along with Dutch and British POWs.

We take the one hour flight from Ambon to Makassar which is historically fascinating and has a bustling local harbour where traditional boats come in from surrounding islands to unload local produce and supplies.

From the harbour we're off to a beef rib restaurant - which is a specialty for this island.

After a late breakfast we walk down to Gold Street to take in the local atmosphere of this bustling street. 

The local fort is steeped in history and gives a good insight on the trading empire that were the Makassans. These mighty seafarers were not only responsible for the nutmeg and clove trade but had been visiting Australia for hundreds of years as they processed sea cucumber or "trepang" which they exported to China.

Just recently a 150 year old photograph was discovered in an Italian Library of Aboriginal people living in Makassar - they must have sailed with the Makassan trepangers and gives a fascinating insight into a cultural exchange that we are just rediscovering.

Lunch will be at a local restaurant with the afternoon free to relax at the hotel pool or spa.

We have the option of more sight seeing in the afternoon but will play this by ear.

Dinner at another local restaurant.

After breakfast we make our way to the airport for our flight down to Bali.

It is a short 1.5 hour flight and we should be in Bali early afternoon.

You will need to book accomodation in Bali tonight as flights can be delayed so don't plan on flying home etc. today.

Dinner and Accomodation are at your expense today.

Surrounded by luxury, this is the world's largest Phinisi - a Traditional Indonesian Boat. Featuring 9 luxury cabins with ensuites, aircon and mod cons. Plus a day spa, dive shop - and 1,000 sq m of deck space - we are doing this trip in style

Here are the specs for this incredible Boat: