Australian_Geographic_-_October_2015_

September–October 2015 101

FIND more images of Timor-Leste online at

http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/issue128

AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC and Dean

Miller thank Wayne Lovel, Costa Cristian De

Jesusu, Airnorth, RentLo and the Beachside

Hotel for assistance with this story.

Having experienced the most idyllic

beach along the coastline, it’s time to

discover what’s further below the

surface. Timor is in the ‘coral triangle’

• a region of marine ecosystems that
  also span the waters of Indonesia,
  Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the
  Philippines and the Solomon Islands.
  Within it are found an immense
  variety of hard and soft corals, fish,
  marine mammals and molluscs.

O

NE PLACE TO experience these

riches is Atauro Island, 27km

north of Dili. The water

between Timor and Atauro is more than

3300m deep and passing currents bring

clear, nutrient-rich waters to the surface,

which results in fantastic visibility for

divers. They also bring life: this channel

is frequented by large pods of cetaceans,

including Fraser’s and spinner dolphins

and humpback and sperm whales.

After a two-hour boat ride from

Dili, I arrive at the small village of

Adara on Atauro’s west coast and

meet up with Tony Crean, an Aussie

expat living here. He runs a humble

diving operation and ‘eco-camp’ that

offers accommodation in 12 small

tents under basic thatched structures

on the beach. Together with the

villagers, he has created a unique

diving and snorkelling experience.

“This is an off-the-beaten-track

adventure, with a touch of style

and comfort in the form of the

camp,” Tony says, as we look across

the fringing reef just metres from the

tents. “We work directly with the

local community and this provides

them with a steady income. Over the

five years we have been working

together they have managed to send

six of their children to university. In

return we are privileged to stay in

their community and this gives our

visitors a unique and authentic

Timorese experience.”

On top of this, the diving is incredi-

ble. Kitted out with a scuba tank, mask

and fins, I slip beneath the waves and

I’m greeted by thousands of colourful

reef fish, sticking close to the hard

corals. Predatory mackerel patrol the

reef edges for an easy meal and schools

of parrotfish and surgeonfish mow

down patches of algae. The shells of

beautifully ornamented cowries glide

over the substrate, shining in dappled

sunlight. Small squid dart backwards

and stare at me, while a green turtle

hovers in the background.

The experience is spectacular, with

corals of a kind I have never seen

before anywhere. The water is warm

and clear and, as I follow Tony along

the fringing reef, the water’s blue

colour deepens and I peer over a

drop-off that rapidly falls away to an

ocean floor 600m below.

As a marine scientist and nature

lover I am awed by the spectacle of the

diversity and abundance of life on this

reef. And although it is here that I find

my strongest connection with magnifi-

cent Timor-Leste, it is the people and

their warm hearts that will bring me

back again and again.AG

DESTINATION

The experience is spectacular, with corals of a

kind that I have never seen before anywhere.

Water views. Thatch huts on

Atauro Island provide a base

for visitors seeking a unique

scuba-diving experience.

© AGE FOTOSTOCK/ALAMY