Halmahera · Indonesia · Reef · Coral garden · Sand slope
Tanjung Bakau 1
Sheltered coral garden sloping to sand at 20 m
A marginal reef ten minutes south-west of the Nabucco Spice Island Resort on Kusu, where a coral garden slopes down to a sandy bottom at 20 m. The operator lists it as a sheltered site, and with the sand at 20 m it is a straightforward coral dive within Open Water limits, unlike most of the current-swept dives around Kusu.
Where it is and how deep
0.4755° S, 127.6846° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The run out is ten minutes south-west of the resort. You descend onto a marginal reef and follow the coral garden as it slopes away from the island; the gradient carries you down to a sandy bottom at 20 m, which is the base of the reef and the deepest point of the dive, with the coral thinning out onto sand rather than dropping away.
Because the site is sheltered, the dive can be planned as an easy circuit rather than a drift: down to the sand at 20 m, along the foot of the reef, then back up through the coral garden at a slower pace. The shallow part of the garden takes most of the bottom time, and the safety stop is done over the reef before the boat collects you.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good |
Season follows Halmahera: Open all year; the resort calls sea conditions much the same month to month. Rain falls year-round, heaviest Dec–Mar and lightest Sep–Oct in the Labuha climate record.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Tanjung Bakau 1?+
The coral garden slopes down to a sandy bottom at 20 m, so the whole dive sits within Open Water limits.
Is Tanjung Bakau 1 a calm dive?+
The operator lists it as a sheltered site, and with a gentle coral slope ending on sand at 20 m it is one of the easier dives around Kusu.
Sources
- Tanjung Bakau 1 — Scubago (SSI)
More dive sites in Halmahera
Reef
Coral slope to 25 m, five minutes from the Kusu jetty
Reef
Gentle reef slope to a sand plateau at about 20 m, good for all levels
Reef
Coral garden slope reaching sand at 25 m, five minutes from Kusu
Similar dives elsewhere
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Reef from two metres down to sand at twenty
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