The first time I went to Indonesia was in 1975. I spent a year volunteering in Manado at an English conversation school. On weekends, my friend and I would to snorkeling at one of the many nearby beaches. Upon returning to visit in 1987, I found that some of the coral reefs had been destroyed. Fortunately there was a National Marine Park that was formed about this time on several of the islands near Manado. Upon returning again in 1997, the mainland reefs were totally gone, leaving only the islands available for snorkeling and diving.
The Bunaken National Marine Park is one of the few conservational successes in Indonesia. About 5 main islands are covered. Even though there are people living on the islands, they are now helping to protect the marine environment due to the ecodollars they have received.
One major factor in the success of protecting this area is that much of it is a coral reef leading to steep walls. It is about 4,000 feet deep between the mainland and the islands (located about 9 miles from Manado city). This is much deeper than the land between Java, Sumatera, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore.
The diving here is world-class. There have been several books produced on this area and new species are still being found here.
This cache is hidden with this background in mind. I wanted to celebrate the area, and the facilities there. The terrain level is moderately high since you need to get out there by boat. It is watched by the froggies staff, so if you have problems, ask someone. Nothing harder to climb than a few steps.
The cache might be a stretch up for some, is not camouflaged, and would be a normal accessory at most diving spots in the world.
Small note on cache maintenance: There is a local cache guardian. Name and contact info on file with geocaching.com