For The Love of Travel

The canoe trip back to our car in the early morning was rather lovely, with vegetation and karst reflections in the waterway. 

The afternoon’s adventure took us 65km south of Makassar to Sipinga Rock, via a major road works site that delayed us significantly, with us arriving just as the sun reached the horizon.  Located in Garassikang village, Sipinga has heaps of stone formations, some resembling animal shapes. And caves, in the middle of the rock cluster, were once a hiding place for independence fighters in the war with the Dutch.

It was a great location – facing eastwards, we capture the colour of the rocks – more blue and indigo hues than the equally gorgeous orange/red hues that were disappearing quickly west.

My guide Rul, picked me up for lunch at Coto Nusantara – small bowls of brown soup/gravy arrived with cooked offal and grisly bits served with rice. Mental note to self: must tell my guide, that I only eat seafood!!

Off to hunt a beautiful sunset at Kuri Cadi beach, one hour’s drive from Makassar, with an outlook to the Pabbiring Islands, the last half hour of which was along a potholed rocky road making for a jolty ride! And the rickety bridges. Oh my. Anyway, the sunset was worth it. 

Seafood dinner back in Makassar before we head that night to do some astral photography in Berua village, in Rammang Rammang.

Did Rul mention to me that we would access the village by motorised canoe and held flashlight, that we would be staying the night, sleeping on the floor of the canoe drivers tin hut? No, he bloody did not! Imagine my surprise??? A hard night – literally! Mental note to self: must get Rul to give me precise minute details of next parts of journey!

We were able to get a passable Milky Way shot. 

Also known as Ujung Padang, Makassar is a port city on eastern Indonesia’s Sulawesi Island.

A statue of Sultan Hasanuddin (nickname, the “Fighting cock of the east”) looms large at the airport entrance. He was the 16th ruler of the Sultanate of Gowa from 1653 to 1669, with a reputation for great aggression in battle, seeking independence from the Dutch and attempting to end their monopoly on spice exports.

Loved this chattering family group with major luggage overload, taking up a substantial area of the ‘exit’ pathway 

I haven’t been to an Asian city for a while, but the ‘old familiar’ surrounds you quickly – the traffic chaos including meandering animals and motor bike kamikaze; the constant ‘ bip bip’ of car horns to warn or thank others; plastic waste polluting waterways, roadsides and gardens; the smell of exotic spices in food being cooked at street stalls; and in Makassar, the regular chants of mullahs throughout a day.

When I got to my hotel, discovered my guide had not booked a room for me despite a text between us a fortnight ago. “0h oh”, I thought!

A few hours of zzzz and then a stroll along the Losari promenade to see the floating Amirul Mukminin Mosque at sunset.

Dinner at RM Nelayan, seafood restaurant with great reviews in TripAdvisor….delicious bbq prawns, rice, mango slices, Indonesian lemon myrtle looking herb and chilli. Discovered a new dish, Otak Otak – a grilled fish cake made of ground fish meat, spices, leek wrapped in a banana leaf and bbq’d – yumbo!

Heard from my guide that night . “Yes, very sorry…I had trouble with my phone that took all day to fix. Got your messages”. Leisurely start to the day tomorrow – at lunch.