Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 7
An effi gy of the deceased leads the coffi n of its owner to its fi nal resting place in
Tana Toraja, Sulawesi.
The island is almost as large as Great Britain, but its biology is far richer.
On land its ecosystems range from rainforest to grassland, encompassing a
wide variety of animal and plant life. We will meet some of these remarkable
terrestrial organisms later.
It was this exotic but still easily accessible world that I left behind when I
took a diver's giant stride and splashed into the waters of the Lembeh Strait,
which separates the tiny island of Lembeh from the main island's northeast
coast. Above the surface the strait is a rather undistinguished narrow chan-
nel of water, fl anked on each side by forested hills. The waters of the passage
are deep and sheltered enough to make it safe for coastal shipping, though it
can be dangerous for ocean-going vessels. The strait's shores are blemished
by undistinguished lumbering and fi shing towns, but beneath the surface its
biological diversity has made it a mecca for scientists and scuba divers from
around the world.
