The cloud clusters are too thick to make the blue reflections fall into the ocean. The morning was dark. But not for us bloggers, journalists, and instagrammers and friends from Jababeka who are on vacation together in the West End of Java Island. The sound of the camera shutter constantly does not want to be outdone by the roar of the ship.
Two old motorized fishing boats took us slowly down the Sunda Strait. We slowly left the island of Java for Liwungan Island — an uninhabited island that is said to belong to the former Banten governor who is now in the custody of the KPK. Reportedly, this island was shot in the past for a horror film. So it feels a bit creepy.
“We’d better leave early this morning so we can see lots of seagulls,” said Sinyo, one of the staff from Tanjung Lesung Hotel. Along the way to Liwungan, we passed a lot of cages and of course seagulls looking for prey. These gulls perched on top of the cages as if waiting for the fishermen and we threw the small fish. After one of the fishermen threw a small fish from our boat, some seagulls immediately flew low following our boat. We screamed with joy as we tried to follow the movement of the seagull through the camera’s autofocus.
After about half an hour on the boat, we finally arrived at Liwungan. I thought the island was uninhabited, but it turns out there is a family living here as island guards. They were assigned by the Pandeglang Regional Government to preserve the island.
Liwungan Island has a white sandy side, but a rocky side more. Unfortunately, the white sandy side view is decorated with a coal mine shelter. Two people were seen using snorkeling equipment, I don’t know what they saw. We started walking into the forest to get around the island.
Liwungan forest is still very beautiful. Birds chirping and the smell of wet soil from the rain accompanied us. Actually there is a path, but it is already covered with tree branches. After 10 minutes of walking, we arrived at the end of the island which has Batu Pemsolving beach.
I was able to circle the whole island from the forest to the sides. The corals are large, sharp but have a unique shape. There are tree roots that penetrate the rocks on the beach, making a nice indentation for the foreground in landscape photos. Several fallen trees with large branches along with broken and hanging tree branches accompanied me along the Liwungan beach. It’s a mess, indeed, but this is the sensation of exploring an unspoiled island in the Tanjung Lesung area.
“It’s high tide, when it’s low you can see unique coral forms,” said one of our guides.
There’s not much to do in Liwungan other than beach trekking and taking photos. The damaged coral reefs are still in the process of being transplanted, so maybe in the next few years they can only be used for snorkeling or diving. Hopefully, the Banten Regional Government and Jababeka can collaborate to make Liwungan Island an attractive destination like its neighbors, Ujung Kulon and Krakatau.
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