Adventuring Sempu Island, Malang, Indonesia

My adventure this time takes me to Sempu island, a small conservation island in the south of Malang, east Java. It is a located in 8 26'51" S - 112 41'50.61 E, about 60 KM from the City of Malang. About 12 acres of Low wetland and swamps ecosystem. contains about 80 species of birds and thousands of species of insects.
 Our  journey starts from malang train station at mid day to Sendang Biru village in the south of malang... our team consists of 7 people ; Me, Anthony, Hary, Donald, Benk, Lukas, Indra and the only woman, Santi who is proven the toughest team member.
To save time we decided to rent a minibus from the train station... indeed the decision is a very good one because our journey trully a magnificent experience.
The road is very much filled with the sighting of small villages along the way.... going up and down the hill of malang, we laugh and tell stories.. while suddenly...BOO OM !!! the cars exhaust pipe broke down with a big bang and a shock expression of my friends, the driver fix it in a rush, as he only tie it with a thin wire... we ask him " is it gonna be alright sir?" "yup, our destination is close" he said. we look at each other and just sits in silence.
After a while we finally arrive at Sendang biru. a small fishing village in the south of malang.  after a visit to the conservation rangers office and a quick lunch, at approximately 16.00 we aboard the boat that will take us to Sempu Island, Sempu Island here we come !!! . after a short ten minute ride we finally arrive in Teluk Semut, the only way to Segara Anak lagoon.
The track to the lagoon was not as easy as we thought, because of the rainy season, the trail was muddy all the way. Indra and Lukas was really-really shock by the terrain of mud along the track. its only a short 2 KM walk but because of the mud it felt like 10 KM.. hahahaha....
Finally after a longtime felt-short walk, at 19.00 we finally arrive at the Segara anakan lagoon, even in darkness, the beauty of it cannot hide. magnificent, charming, exotic... and all those praises.. ... enough said... just look at the picture...
Me and Benk was the first to arrive... we sit at that beach and wait for the others... in ten minutes they finally arrive and we started to deploy our tents and supplies....o yeaa I forgot to mention  the Segara anakan lagoon doesn't have fresh water source so we have to bring extra water for our water and meal, approximately 40 liters of fresh water to feed us for 2 nights, and of course we have to ration the water.
After freshin' up and set up the camp we started to cook dinner, the menu for tonight is rice, randang(beef curry), and empal sambal. mm mm.... yummy... while eating we talk about our plans for tomorrow.
Me and Anthony decided to explore the surrounding area including the rocky hills that divided the Lagoon and the Ocean. At 22.00 some of us decided to call it a day and head for tents. Anthony sleeps outside the tents even though hundreds of thousands of insects lurks the lagoon.(be sure to pack lots of insects repellent)
I woke up the next day finding myself in beautiful hidden paradise. My mouth are speechless by the the first thing i saw. A perfect beach in the middle of nowhere.... while the Indian ocean spills it water through a small hole in a rocky hills that divided us the sounds of the impact echo the lagoon. Boom.....Boom....the  ground are shaking everything it hits the rocky wall....
first thing I do after awake are prepare for breakfast, our menu for breakfast consists bread with chocolate cream, rice, Chicken in sweet soy sauce and shrimp crackers... the sweet chicken tasted twice as sweet because the beauty of our surrounding... the echoed of the sea are feels  like a symphony to our ears. what a beautiful Paradise.
we finish enjoying our breakfast in a quiet gesture,after that next step is swiiimmminggg...... the water are so inviting, although its a very hot and sunny, the temptation of the water defeat our -afraid-getting-sunburn-attitude- , me and the dudes are actually swim every time without a fresh water wash for 3 days... we only swipe wet tissues to make us smell better...lol...
at noon Me and Anthony lurks the cliffs in the west side of lagoon, from there we can see the great Indian ocean lies trough out horizon... but the most beautiful sight is when we climb the vertical cliff at the south of the lagoon... you cannot compare the beauty of it... Amazing !!!




Although there's a trail going to the south cliff, the terrain are very steep, so anyone wants to climb it must wear proper shoes and accompanied by team mates.
The only thing that count as a minus in Sempu are the amount of left over by humans, the waste is very annoying, considering that the garbage cant leave the lagoon.
Its not the Rangers vault they cant patrol everyday, but the lack of awareness of the garbage disposal by visitors must be  raised in order to prevent further damages of the eco system. the wildlife here not just facing the threat of global warming but because of human waste they must suffer too. I don't think a warning sign and "keep Sempu clean" is enough to stop visitors from littering the natural reserve. there's must be a solution. If mankind keep this up than there will be no more hidden paradise left for our grandsons to enjoy.
At the third day, at about 12.00 its time to head back to Sendang biru... not forgetting our garbage, we started to walk back. on the way back, we met a group a students of Malang international school that going to a field trip at Segara anakan lagoon. there is a slight concern about the garbage that scattered across the lagoon, I'm afraid they might think the garbage left there are ours. maybe the next time I go there, I can take all the garbage that's left by other visitors... and make a better sempu for the wildlife.