20 Jun 2025

Wonderful Welcome to Indonesia

What a welcome to Indonesia with wildlife galore. Our arrival in Bitung generated excitement on board Heritage Adventurer for the huge diversity of wildlife we were about to look for, starting with our early morning visit to Tangkoko Nature Reserve. We were excited to see the unique Sulawesi Crested Black Macaque, made famous by the viral selfie taken by of one of the Macaques in 2012. We were also able to see Gursky’s Spectral Tarsier with a young animal, and Bear Cuscus high in the forest.

Plenty of bird sightings including large Green-backed Kingfisher and some were lucky to see a pair of Knobbed Hornbills courting. Our early morning time in the forest at sunrise was just so special with cobwebs glowing in the light.

Kayakers went for a great paddle by villages with the communities coming out to wave hello, excited by their visitors in multicoloured kayaks. They also checked in with a friendly dive team researching the local fish species.  

After lunch we enjoyed a snorkel over the remarkable soft and hard corals on black sand where the star of the show was an anemone garden full of anemones and anemone fish.

Images © C. Finch, Heritage Expeditions