Nunukan Island Resort – Maratua

On the east coast of Borneo – located in the Celebes Sea –the island “Bakungan kecil” was built in 2008. The island is about four acres and has 22 bungalows which are built in traditional style. Nunukan Island Resort is located at the southern end of the Maratua atoll, directly on the outer reef.

The spacious bungalows are built on the west side of the island on a white sandy beach overlooking the lagoon. The restaurant and dive center are located on the northeast side of the island with a view to the long jetty leading directly to the outer reef. The heart of the island consists of native vegetation and fascinating coral stone sculptures. The wooden jetty connects the bungalows on the island with the restaurant & diving center. Ecological considerations influenced the construction considerably.

Bungalows
The stylish bungalows are located directly on the white sand beach. All bungalows are equipped with a four-poster bed with mosquito net, air conditioning, minibar, safety box and veranda with a large bed for relaxing, toilet and shower with hot & cold water.  There are beach chairs waiting in front of the bungalows.

Restaurant
The restaurant built on three levels connected together by small wooden bridges is located on the northeast side of the island. The restaurant has wonderful views out over the sea. Breakfast and lunch are served “a la carte”. In the evening the stars in the sky over the Celebes Sea enchants the perfect atmosphere to the freshly prepared 4-course meal.

Jungle Bar

The jungle bar partly surrounded by trees was built next to the restaurant. It is a meeting point in the evening for a tropical cocktail or a cool beer and of course to chatting about the dives of the day.

Dive Center
The dive center is located directly on the jetty, on the east side of the island, and is equipped with equipment from Aqua Lung.
They offer outer reef / house reef diving from 7:30 am until 5:00 pm. The dive sites on the house reef (outer reef) are reached with short TukTuk boat rides, partly because of the strong currents. The TukTuk remains on site and brings the divers back again to the jetty.

Excursions

The legendary dive sites at Sangalaki and Kakaban Island are offered as day trips. Half-day trips to South Maratua and the famous dive site “Big Fish Country” is also highly recommended to visit.

Kakaban: About 70% of Kakaban consist of a brackish lake, surrounded by a thin strip of dense jungle. During the surface interval you have the unusual opportunity to snorkel with various types of non-stinging jellyfishes. At the “Barracuda Point” regularly reef sharks, leopard sharks and school of barracudas are seen.

Sangalaki: Known worldwide for its manta encounters. Mantas can be seen almost throughout the whole year and an encounter with the “eagle of the sea” is an unforgettable event. The island offers intact coral reefs and their are countless encounters with turtles which come to lay their eggs on the island – these dive sites make it an absolute highlight.

Big Fish Country: One highlight “the Channel”, also known as “Big Fish Country”, is certainly one of the best dive sites in Borneo. Due to strong currents you can expect almost at every dive large fishes like sharks and big schools of barracudas. During early morning dives also hammerhead sharks are seen from time to time.

Boats

The dive spots around the house reef are approached with wooden local boats, our tuk tuk´s. The rides take about 1-10 minutes. The day trips are conducted with a modern dive boat built of fiber glass with 115 horse power 4 stroke engines. On the boats are oxygen and first aid equipment.