Bira Harbour

We made landfall on SW Sulawesi at Bira Harbour after the longest night passage ever. Simon caught me napping on watch numerous times and I thought I was going to snap my head off I was nodding off so much. We anchored and tied stern to within the safety of the harbour – ahh bliss!


The next day we headed to town looking for some excitement and found it in the form of motorbike hire. When the guy arrived who’s bike we were loaning, he mentioned there are no helmets so just wear your hat. No licence, name, money, “go and fix us up when you get back, take it slow as the roads are bumpy”. They forgot to tell us to look out for the monkeys on the road.

We rode around to coast to Tanaberu, the center of traditional Prahu boat building. There were hundreds of boats lining the beach in various stages of production. Rudimentary timber mills were alongside, chainsaws and hammering – it was a hive of activity, with a make it happen outlook.

From Bira we headed around to a small island for a lunch stop. We were surprised to find the best snorkeling we’ve seen so far in Indonesia – really clear water, no rubbish, great colours and varieties of both corals and fish. We also enjoyed a cold beer ashore and the best cooking in Indo – fresh fish cooked on coals. Here’s Laurie and Bruce from Aria enjoying lunch.

A few hops and we arrived in Makassar and we learned the hard way where not tie your dinghy up when the afternoon storm hits!