Segara Anakan
So apparently i just got back from Sempu Island that located on Java, Indonesia. This place is one of many Conservation area that protected by the goverment, this place is located 800 meters from the southern coast of the province of East Java in Indonesia, about 70 km south of the city of Malang. The island is 3.9 km long and 3.6 km wide. Its topography is largely rolling hills whose altitude ranges from 50 to 100 meters above sea level. The coastline consists mainly of limestone cliffs characteristics of the façade of the island of Java in the Indian Ocean.
Sempu Island is accessed from the village of Sendang Biru, the most important fishing port on the south coast of Java. To get to Sempu Island you have to drive from Malang to Sendang Biru for 2-3 hours, then 5 minutes boating to inlet of Sempu Island and then 2 hours trekking (4 to 7 hours in rainy season) with no path at all through cliffs and jungle to the breathtaking beach who’s beauty eclipsed that of anything Thailand or the Philippines had to offer.
The trip was started on Thursday 9 May, i took a train to Malang, it should be departure by 1.40 pm but there was a electrical problem with the train so its was delayed for 2,5 hours. At Friday (10/5) i just arrive at Malang around 11 am, get some rest then continue our trip for 3 hours by car to get to Sendang Biru Beach, here’s a picture of the beach.
Sendang Biru Beach
And then we took a boat inlet to Gulf of Semut, the boat just take 5-10 minute, so close to Sempu Island. And then here comes the trouble, because our train was delayed, so was the schedule. So we have a ranger to guide us through the forest, because it’s 5 pm when we start trekking, it’s so dark in the forest and full of mud, slippery rock, etc. At last we arrive at Segara Anakan, the place where we make our tent and stay for another 2 nights. After we arrive, we decided to take a rest for tomorrow activity. It’s so dark in Segara Anakan, no electricity in here, people just depends on their flashlight. But the sky is so clear that you could see so many stars, it’s started to look like a Milky Way.
The next day we spend our day by look around this place, the beach, the cliff and the cracks. The view from the cliff was absolutely beautiful, check out this picture.
We’re spending the day by enjoying this place, we’re swimming, fishing. Apparently there are no fish in this lagoon, just some little fish as a size of your palm. On the afternoon we can see an eagle that fly over the beach, just flying around in a circle for 5-6 times, sometimes it’s flying so low, sometimes it’s fly so high that it cover the sun. We’re lucky that we get a picture of the eagle.
The Eagle
Times goes by, we just hanging around, meet some new people, meet a guy from Poland named Andy, and some Germans that i forget his name. Everyone is so friendly in this place, it’s like we’ve been friend for a long time. By the afternoon many people just layin on the shore, sun bathing or just chatting with friends.
After spending two nights on this place, on Sunday (12/5) we’re heading back to Sendang Biru Beach, at 5.30 am we decided to go trekking, and it doesn’t take so much times like the first trekking when the day was dark. The trekking just take an hour to get to the Gulf of Semut, and the 5-10 minutes again by boat. We decided to take a rest on Sendang Biru, take a bath, have a meal, prepare some stuff to get back to Jakarta. We take the bus to get home, the bus will leave on 2 pm, so we need to get back to Malang as soon as possible. Currently, we made it to get back to Malang on 1 pm and get an hours left to get a lunch, and spend another nights on the bus. And that’s how the trip was end.
As described above, Sempu Island is a hub for those adventure lovers. All sorts of travel arrangements need to be done when you are in Sempu. Camp fire arrangements, food, clothes, tents, drinking water, first aid kits are all necessary items in such a journey. Swimming in the lagoon, experiencing spectacular views of the Indian Ocean, starry nights outside your tents, relaxed atmosphere in isolated beaches etc are some aspects that makes Sempu highly valuable for many.
Sempu Island is A True Isolation from the External World
I Need Summer 