Bunaken 2025 Daily Summaries

Day 5: Coming Home!

Day 4: April 24th

Our last full day in Bunaken! Unfortunately, we had to cancel our boat trip to Nain and Mantehage Islands as the wind was too strong. Instead we spent the morning in teams playing beach Olympics. Some of the games included - a relay race, beach football, pool volleyball, tennis target throw, building a comfortable chair for Mr Ratcliffe to sit in only using items found on the beach, billiards and Uno. What a morning of fun, laughter, friendly competition, collaboration and sandy bodies! After lunch we checked the forecast again - and we were in luck! We were able to go out on the boats for our final snorkelling trip in Bunaken. Some snorkeled, while others enjoyed jumping from the boat into the cool ocean. Luckily the waves were much calmer than in the morning, so no-one got seasick and everyone had a good time! We spent the afternoon lazying around, playing cards, chatting and reading books. A much needed rest. Now, we are just about to have our final farewell dinner with a BBQ by the beach!

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Beach Olympics

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Last Night Festivities

Day 3: April 23rd

Our 5am wake up was a little postponed due to poor weather conditions. Students (and teachers) were happy to sleep in, and after a big breakfast, we headed out on the boats to search for dolphins. And we found them! We saw a school of dolphins playfully jump, dive, and swim alongside our boats. After watching them for a while, we also wanted to play in the water, so we found our snorkeling spot and jumped in. We were impressed, observing the colourful coral wall and the deep drop off into the ocean. In the afternoon, we had a presentation from Reeformers to learn about their coral restoration projects in and around Manado. We each got to attach a coral to an artificial reef structure that will then be planted in the ocean to grow. We went for a short walk to the village to see how locals live. For a very small village it had a lot of churches! Tomorrow we are excited about a full day boat ride to Nain and Mantehage Islands.

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Day 2: April 22

After a healthy buffet breakfast, we started our morning with a presentation from marine biologist Barney about how corals in Bunaken were made and how they are vulnerable as water temperatures increase. After a snorkelling briefing, we went on our first snorkelling trip, where we saw many turtles, fish, starfish, and beautiful corals. Two snorkelling sites, and we were tired and ready to head back to the resort for lunch. After lunch, we had another presentation, this time by No Trash Triangle Initiative, an NGO that works to clean up rivers and beaches to protect the ocean from plastic pollution. We spent over an hour cleaning up the beach, filling bag after bag with plastic trash. It was both rewarding and disheartening at the same time. Hot, dirty and tired, we returned for showers and free time. Before dinner, a game of trivia got us working together. It’s an early night to bed for us, as we have a 5.30am boat ride to go searching for dolphins!

Day 1: April 21

We started with an early morning at the airport where students were happily chatting with other ESP groups, excited about their upcoming trips. Our plane left a little late but was smooth flying to Manado airport. Once there, we changed into our shorts and flip flops and boarded our buses to the harbour. The boat ride to Bunaken Island was exciting as we finally were on the water with the wind in our hair. We spent the afternoon getting to know the resort, having dinner and hearing about our snorkelling tomorrow. Everyone is very tired and in bed, ready for the real fun to begin tomorrow!

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