Author’s Note
The publication of my book Spice Islands in 2011 prompted a lot of interest in Eastern
Indonesia and I was asked by many readers: ‘Exactly where are the Spice Islands?’
‘How do you get there?’ ‘How difficult is it to travel around the Spice Islands?’ ‘Do I
need to travel backpacker style to get there?’ ‘Are they dangerous?’ ‘Are there pirates?’
In response to these questions I decided to lead annual sailing voyages around the
Spice Islands on a Bugis pinisi called the Ombak Putih (White Wave) which is in part
a copy of a western schooner of the mid-nineteenth century which traded around the
archipelago during that period.
We sail from Ambon and the highlight of our voyage is the visit to the Banda
Islands. These islands are the only place in the world where commercial nutmegs
originally grew and it is still a mystery to me exactly how the nutmeg tree came to
these remote islands. As the Ombak Putih sails into the beautiful natural harbour of
Banda Neira an exotic scent wafts on the breeze coming from the forests of nutmeg
trees that cover the islands. As we anchor opposite the town, I carefully observe the
variety of tropical trees, the shapes of their leaves, and all the different shades of green
covering the slopes of Gunung Api (Fire Mountain), which looms over the town.
After the Banda Massacre in 1621 and the elimination of almost the entire population
of Banda, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) gained complete control of the
islands and divided them into allotments. These were leased to Dutch planters who
were obliged to sell their nutmegs to the VOC at a fixed cost. Overlooking the town is
Fort Belgica, built by the VOC to protect its nutmeg monopoly, and the massive stone
pentagon with circular towers is still largely intact.
From Banda we sail around the north coast of Ambon Island and then through the
Haruku Strait to the island of Manipa. Here we make a muddy landing and trek a few
kilometres up into the hills. Rising above the coastal swamps and streams the hills
are covered with coarse grass and short melaleuca trees which are regularly cropped
to produce a dense foliage. Nearby is a traditional ‘factory’ where the crushed leaves
are soaked overnight then boiled in a large vat over an open fire, where a simple
still captures the vapour which condenses into eucalyptus oil, tea-tree oil, or minyak
kayu putih as it is known in Indonesia. Every household in Indonesia has a small
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