I heard the name of this island the first time was two years ago from a friend of mine who has been there and how he told me that it's a really great place to go. Finally, I made it there 3 weeks ago, impulsively with 13 other people (yes, it was a big impulsive group of runaway college students hahaha).
Sempu Island is a small island in the south of Malang, East Java. It was just another small and infamous island untill about 2010 when it became a Nature Reservation. It has a lot of type of ecosystems and also you still can find wild monkeys, snakes, swines and other wild animals in there. The most beautiful spot to visit in the Island is the Segara Anakan lagoon, it is a hidden sea fed lake with clear water and white sand beach. I would say nothing but a place to find peace in Mother nature's beauty and solitude.
To get to Sempu Island, first you have to go to Malang. From Jakarta, I took an economy train, Tawang Jaya, to Semarang that only cost IDR 35.000. I went to Semarang first because my original plan was to go hiking to Semeru Mountain when it got abruptly canceled once I landed my feet in Semarang. My friend, Ocan, and I then decided at that very moment to go to Sempu Island since he is the one who always telling me the story how he fell in love with the magical view of that Island. We then took a 7 hours bus ride to Surabaya to pick up two of my high school friends, Dimas and Yusufa before continuing another couple of hours bus ride to Malang from Surabaya.
Arriving in Malang, we then gathered with the rest of the group and started our journey to Sendang Biru by motorbikes. The distance from Malang to Sendang Biru is approximately 69 kilometers. You can either take a motorbike, a car or a public transportation. If you have no idea with the area, I suggest you to just rent a car because the place was kinda in the middle of nowhere. After 3 hours of tiring motorbike riding, we finally arrived in Sendang Biru. In order to get to the island, you have to rent a boat that can accommodate for about 20 people at once, it's really cheap. You only need to pay IDR 120.000 and the boat will take you to the island and pick you up later in the set time and date to get back to the mainland. Before though, you have to get the permit to enter the Reservation area which required the names of group members and IDR 30.000 of entrance fee (for the whole group). The boat riding was very quick, because the island is not too distant from the mainland, in less then 20 minutes you'll arrive at the starting point and the real bad ass trekking is just about to start.
Arriving in Malang, we then gathered with the rest of the group and started our journey to Sendang Biru by motorbikes. The distance from Malang to Sendang Biru is approximately 69 kilometers. You can either take a motorbike, a car or a public transportation. If you have no idea with the area, I suggest you to just rent a car because the place was kinda in the middle of nowhere. After 3 hours of tiring motorbike riding, we finally arrived in Sendang Biru. In order to get to the island, you have to rent a boat that can accommodate for about 20 people at once, it's really cheap. You only need to pay IDR 120.000 and the boat will take you to the island and pick you up later in the set time and date to get back to the mainland. Before though, you have to get the permit to enter the Reservation area which required the names of group members and IDR 30.000 of entrance fee (for the whole group). The boat riding was very quick, because the island is not too distant from the mainland, in less then 20 minutes you'll arrive at the starting point and the real bad ass trekking is just about to start.
The track to go the Segara Anakan, the hidden lagoon, is muddy, sharp corals along the way and let alone the gazilions of trees and other wilderness vegetation, you also have to conquer 3 hills before finally get to the paradise. During the dry season (May to October) the trekking will not be as challenging as it is in the rainy season. When I was there, it was raining and I could barely walk straight because the track was so slippery and the mud was just terrible. I ended up trekking bare-feet, I found it way easier that way. So, I suggest you to better go there during the dry season in case you're not ready to get dirty and hurt yourself in the way. After 2 and a half hour of exhausting trekking, I and 8 of my friends finally got to the lagoon where we set our camp. the other 5 of us came 6 hours later. We were very worried because it was already dark when we got the camping site by the beach and two of us, Ocan and Titto, decided to went back to the track to find them. Later on, we knew that they got lost and circling around the island and ended up only some meters away from the starting point.
After the group was complete and everyone was so starving, we spent the night having dinner while having a great conversation, telling jokes, singing to reggae music, reminiscing the good old times we had in Bramastya (an organization of nature lover that I belonged to in high school) and just contemplating and admiring to the starry sky that night. The mixed of those little things and the togetherness, is priceless.
In the morning, we suddenly turned into kids again, playing in the clear water, playing to catch fish (lots of them and they mostly swim in school of fish) and also took some short hike to see the Hindian Ocean in the other side of the island, I saw a group of DOLPHINS swimming happily in the ocean!!! :DThe lagoon is so beautiful, words lost its meaning describing it. The cool breeze, the calm wave, the soft white sand, the crystal clear water are the reason why they call this place a hidden paradise. Everyone should have the privilege to go here, in case we never really make it to the real heaven, the eternal one :)
God always amazes me with its creation, He is definitely a great architect. I never have a doubt about that!
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