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We travelled up to the Togeans with Tamil & Marusha via Poso & Ampana on the way. This was the second time we were to travel though an area that has seen sectarian violence in recent years so we were a little concerned but there was nothing to worry about, and we were greeted with the usual hello's and waves as we walked around the towns. What we hadn't anticipated was how long it would take to get up there from Tana Toraja.. it doesn't look that far on the map but it took a full 2 days travelling to get there and we were glad to be boarding the ferry across to the islands after a restful night in Ampana town (again where there is nothing to do!)

The ferry ride was an uneventful one despite the boat looking like it was on it's last legs, the highlight was spotting a huge pod of dolphins who joined us for a little while all showing off doing somersaults in the air as we went. While on board we were approached by a guy who worked for Kadidiri Paradise Resort to try and get us to stay in his resort. After having the same thing done with the Black Marlin resort rep while on land and Dale also having the phone put down on him we brushed him off thinking we could get over there and take our pick of the accommodation.. wrong! What we didn't realise that on Kadidiri, the main island on the Togeans, you only have the choice of 3 places all along the same stretch of beach. All rooms are fully inclusive with rates between 75,000 and 150,000Rp per person per day. We had planned to go with the cheapest option but when we found they were full we went back to the Kadadiri agent with our tail between our legs and said we'd like to get on his free boat to the island and as soon as we'd arrived we were so glad we did!

Without wanting to sound like we are now in their fanclub, Kadidiri Paradise Resort is beautiful.. at the front is a lovely beach, they have nice gardens, we were amazed with our hut which looked like it really should cost more, and at the back of the resort is a huge crystal clear lagoon perfect for snorkelling. Sadly for us we'd picked a really bad time to visit the island as it was close to the Idul Fitri holiday, whilst things were obviously still open it meant the ferry times were turned upside down and we had the option of staying 2 days or nearly 2 weeks in order to go where we wanted. Even worse we had only brought enough money for 1 week and they don't take credit cards so our ideas of a relaxing break from the hard weeks travelling went up in smoke the day we arrived... we were gutted but were determind to make the most of our 2 days here anyway!

Our 2 days basically consisted of making the most of the underwater activities here on the island.. we both snokelled to our hearts content and Dale did his first proper dive since passing his PADI course.

Snorkelling here was really good with the only thing letting it down being the amount of dead coral around, what made it most obvious was that where it was alive it was so colourful and beautiful it only went to highlight what was missing. We went out to the lagoon at the back of our resort first and here spotted our first seahorses and even a sea snake which was the spot of the day! At one point we looked up to see a big black figure swimming across the lagoon and wondered what it was until we realised it was a random dog going for a swim to another island! When we were getting out of the sea we spotted a tiny spotted stingray rigth up by the beach which was pretty cool too!

Over the other side of the island is another beach called Baraccuda Point, it's a bit of a walk here though the jungle and we kept taking the wrong path so saw a lot of the island in the process but none of the huge coconut crabs which we were desperate to see. This beach was lovely and had a real deserted island feel to it becuase it had the remains of what we think was once another resort that was now in ruins.. again snorkelling here was good and we spent a good few hours heading out to sea until it dropped too deep to have good visability.

Dale's first dive went well and he was joined by a nice US/Danish couple who were kind enough to take the underwater snaps of him. He was a little disappointed that his air only lasted 40 minutes but put this down to first time nerves so hopes that he will be able to stay under longer on his next one. He did manage to spot lots of beautiful coral and nudibranches though.

The rest of our days were spent relaxing on the beach and enjoying the beautiful sunsets over a Bintang or two. Food was included in our package and was excellent and plentiful so we thoroughly enjoyed our time here just wishing we could stay longer so we could also visit some of the other islands around the area. We were even more gutted on the day we got our ferry back to land again because we had to rush to leave the resort at 9am for the ferry at 10am and then sat on the ferry for 6 hours in the dock because it was broken! That was 6 hours we could have spent on the beach playing in the sea!

We were still with Tamil & Marusha at this point after a quick change of heart from us deciding not to go North to Bunaken for an extra week in Sulawesi, but to move on to Kalimantan and spend a good few weeks there instead of a few days. We'd arranged for a private minibus to take us from Ampana to Pualu which worked out good value with 4 of us and meant we travelled overnight instead of wasting another day. We'd read about the beach resort of Dongggala and the Coral Peninsular so wanted to visit that to squeeze in another day of beach time before the jungles that lay ahead and it was so worth it because this area is a real gem!

At first we thought we'd struggle for accommodation after finding 2 places bolted up and closed, the 3rd place was a German run dive resort which charged the earth so a no go too and then Dale found us Sandy Cottages.. run by a lovely lady who was prepared to take us all in for a bargain price and feed us too.. better still she had supercheap cold Bintang in the fridge so we booked in immediately!

This part of Sulawesi was probably our favourite.. even topping Kadidiri! The reason being is that it was deserted apart from the locals (we didn't see anyone from the resort down the road).. the beach is beautiful and the snorkelling is great with a tiny amount of coral but lots of wildlife. If we could come back to one place in Sulawesi, it would undoubtedly be here because we loved it that much and wished the Pelni ships ran more regularly so we could stay a little while longer. It was really basic, certainly no paradise resort with cocktails on the beach, but for us it really was perfect and we enjoyed our 1 1/2 days there to the max.. swimming in the crystal water, spotting huge eels and lion fish just off shore, enjoying ice cold Bintangs and fish & rice lunches & dinners (told you we ate a lot of fish!) but best of all Sophie was in heaven when she found a litter of 6 puppies next door! Bliss! The evenings had no electricity so we sat by candlelight taking in our last evening here in Sulawesi having had a great few weeks here and wishing Indonesia gave out visa extensions.

The following day the prospect of another Pelni ship dawned and we made our way there dreading what lay ahead. Another huge ship pulled into the dock but we could immediately tell that things were going to be different because we could see paintwork and empty spaces, getting on was a lot more organised too when people queued, tickets were checked and seats were obtained in the orderly fashion we Brits are used to! We even got a whole bench in the cafe and settled down to the 12 hour journey ahead to the legend that is... Borneo...

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