IO – South Sulawesi has dozens of marine tourism that is equally beautiful as the Island of Bali, for example in the Selayar Islands. Selayar Islands is the only district in South Sulawesi which is located outside the island of Sulawesi.
From Makassar to Selayar Islands, you can travel by flight for approximately 30 minutes or nine hours if you choose a road trip from Makassar. Selayar Islands is a group of islands with a total of 130 islands.
This time, we will take a look at one of the marine tourism destinations in the Selayar Islands, namely Pinang Beach. To get to this white sandy beach, takes relatively a longer time.
Departing from Kota Benteng, Selayar town center, heading to Pattumbukang Port takes an hour or less by car.
After that the journey continues by using a traditional jolloro or katinting boat with a distance of about 30-40 minutes journey.
During the trip, the traveler will be presented with clear sea views, plus splashing water waves colliding with the hull of the ship. Not to mention the view from the east with natural topography slightly different from the west coast.
On the east coast, most of the area is hilly, its height can reach 300 to 400 meters above sea level. “Here there are a lot of stunning cliff-walled beaches,” said Muh Fadli, a traveler who participated in the group of tourists.
For 35 minutes along the sea, finally you arrive at Pinang Beach, a location with a stretch of white sand that stretches to two kilometers. Behind the beach is a hilly area filled with lush trees.
“It is said that at the foot of the hill in Pinang Beach, there is a family of tarsiers or smallest monkeys in the world, butterflies, and some other fauna,” said AKBP Eddy Suryantha Tarigan who led the tour group.
The moment they set foot on the beach with the texture of fine sand, the group of tourists were ceaselessly amazed to enjoy the view of this east coast. Gradations of green and blue under the sea, making the curiosity increase to immediately dive.
“Before starting diving or snorkeling, you should eat first, to make the water activities more comfortable, here there are resorts available that offer places to stay and eat, if the tourists would like to try to stay here,” added Selayar Kapolres this.
Diving sensation with Blue Turtle
After having lunch, the group finally splashed into the clear sea water. They chose snorkeling activities, some chose diving and down under the Pinang Beach which is equally stunning as Takabonerate National Park.
In addition to fish species, tourists can also find a type of blue turtle at a depth of several meters from the coast. Blue turtle itself is rarely found in Indonesia because of illegal fishing activities.
Uniquely, the blue turtle is somehow not afraid of the existence of a group of divers who tried to take pictures with turtles. Once satisfied with a photo taken with blue turtles, the divers group go back down to the sea and look for other diving spots.
Spot diving suggested on the east coast, among others are, Magic Wall, Bulo-Buloang, Cave Lobster and Seafan Corner. Here there are also schooling of many fish, unique benthic biota such as starfish and sea cucumbers.
Schooling fish such as Fusilier species eg Pterocaesio tile species or Bluestreak Fusilier, Wrases and Butterflyfish species such as Pyramid Butterflyfish and Longnose Butterflyfish. Besides Seafan various sizes and various Sponge can also be found on the east coast.
Together with other attractions, in this Pinang Beach, you must maintain the cleanliness of the environment. In order to not pollute the environment, tourists should bring plastic bags to store food wastes and throw in the trash that has been provided. (IO)