HOW TO: SWIM WITH THE STINGLESS JELLYFISH (MISOOL)

Danau Lenmakana adalah salah satu spot favorit saya di Misool, Raja Ampat. Mengapa? Well, simply this place will make you feels like you’re in an outer space, a surreal feeling of being in the middle of..

Lenmakana lake is one of my favorite spots in the Misool, Raja Ampat. Why? Well, simply this place will make you feels like you're in an outer space, a surreal feeling of being in the middle of ..

MILLIONS JELLYFISH!

Surreal feeling

Yes, Danau Lenmakana mungkin tidak sepopuler Danau Kakaban di Kalimantan Timur, namun Misool menawarkan sensasi berenang bersama ubur-ubur tidak menyengat dalam kondisi yang lebih “pristine”

Yes, Lenmakana Lake maybe not as popular as  Kakaban Lake in East Kalimantan, but Misool offers the sensation of swimming with stingless jellyfish in conditions that are more "pristine"

Saya sudah pernah membahas mengenai danau ubur-ubur ini di postingan saya sebelumnya (see here, and here), kali ini saya akan berbagi beberapa tips untuk menikmati berenang bersama jutaan ubur-ubur tidak menyengat ini (and get good photos of course)

I've told stories about this jellyfish lake in my previous post (see here, and here), this time I will share some tips to enjoy a swim with millions of stingless jellyfish (and get good photos of course)

COMFORT

Saat pertama kali sampai di danau (dengan usaha ekstra untuk sampai ke danau karena kita mesti trekking melewati jalur karang yang cukup terjal), kita akan langsung melihat begitu banyak ubur-ubur di Danau Lenmakana. ATURAN NOMOR SATU di sini adalah jangan menggunakan fin, mengapa? Karena ubur-ubur ini sangat fragile, hempasan fin kita dapat mengoyak tubuh ubur-ubur yang sangat lembut dan rapuh.

When I first arrived at the lake (with a little extra effort to get to the lake because we have to do trekking passes through the quite steep reefp), we will immediately see so many jellyfish in the Lenmakana Lake. RULE NUMBER ONE here is not to use fins, why? Because jellyfish is very fragile, by using fins we can rip jellyfish body which is very soft and fragile.

“No fins? How I can swim well?,” jika anda #teamfins seperti saya yang sering malas berenang tanpa fin, don’t worry, ini adalah danau, tidak ada arus (seperti di laut), untuk turun (duck dive) juga lebih mudah karena berat jenis air di danau ini tidak seperti di laut, sehingga kita dapat lebih mudah turun dan melihat ke dalam meski tidak menggunakan fins. Just calm down, enjoy the view and you’ll get comfortable in the water.

"No fins? How I can swim well ?" if you #teamfins like me who often swim lazily without fins, do not worry, this is a lake, there is no current (as at sea), to go down (duck dive) is also easier because the weight in this type of water lake is not like in the sea, so that we can more easily to go down and look into the deep despite of not using fins. Just calm down, enjoy the view and you'll get comfortable in the water

CANNOT SWIM?

So many jellyfish, even at the surface

Don’t worry, gunakan life vest dan nikmati melihat sekeliling. Ubur-ubur ini akan naik ke permukaan untuk membantu proses fotosintesis algae yang menempel di tubuh mereka, sehingga saat matahari bersinar, ubur-ubur ini akan memenuhi permukaan sehingga tanpa berenang turun pun, kita sudah dapat menikmati sensasi yang surreal ini.

Do not worry, use a life vest and enjoy looking around. These jellyfish will rise to the surface to help the photosynthesis process of algae attached to their bodies, so that when the sun shines, the jellyfish will meet swim down the surface so that no matter, we can enjoy this surreal sensation.

CALM DOWN

Tidak perlu terlalu banyak menggerakkan kaki, yang akibatnya cepat lelah dan kurang dapat menikmati berenang di danau ini. Jangan takut, hilangkan perasaan parno akan tenggelam, jika lelah dan ingin beristirahat sejenak di tengah danau dan anda tidak menggunakan live vest, “mengambang” lah sebentar dengan posisi telentang, otomatis badan akan mengambang.

Do not need to move your feet too much, which consequently is tiring and make you less able to enjoy swimming in this lake. Do not be afraid, get rid of the paranoid feeling that you will sink, if you are tired and wanted to rest for a moment in the middle of the lake and you do not use a live vest, "floating" briefly with the supine position, the body will automatically float.  

GOING DOWN

Such an amazing feeling to let myself "sink" and see these millions of jellyfish around me

Ingin melihat ke bawah? Karena danau, lebih mudah untuk turun, jika sulit untuk duck dive, cukup buang napas sebagian dan badan akan otomatis turun perlahan.

Want to take a look into the deep? Because this is a lake , it is easier to go down, if it is difficult to duck dive, simply exhale partially  and the body will automatically go down slowly.

What’s down below?

It’s interesting karena tahun 2016 ini kali pertama saya dapat melihat apa yang ada di dekat dasar Danau Lenmakana. Di area tengah danau, kedalaman sekitar 5-7 meter, dan di kedalaman 3-4 meter, warna air dan suhu sangat berbeda, seakan ada “lapisan pekat” saat saya makin turun ke dalam, yang membuat jarak pandang langsung berkurang drastis sejalan dengan suhu yang tiba-tiba meningkat. Air sangat panas di bagian bawah, dan dengan jarak pandang hampir 0 meter, it surely an eery feeling (but also interesting) down there.

It's interesting because 2016 is the first time I could see what was near the bottom of Lake Lenmakana. In the middle of the lake area, a depth of about 5-7 meters, and at a depth of 3-4 meters, water color and temperature are very different, as if there is a "dense layer" when I was getting down to the inside, which makes direct visibility drastically reduced in line with the temperature which suddenly increased. The water was very hot at the bottom, and with visibility almost 0 meter, it is surely an eery feeling (but also interesting) down there.

Jangan lupa untuk selalu memastikan ada yang menemani (dan menjaga) saat hendak turun ke arah dasar danau, for safety reasons.

Do not forget to always make sure there are companies (and those who keeps an eye on) when going down toward the bottom of the lake, for safety reasons  

BASIC RULES

Meski tidak tertulis, ada aturan dasar yang perlu kita ketahui: Jangan berenang menggunakan fins, kenakan live vest jika tidak dapat berenang, selalu pastikan ada yang menemani (don’t go too far by yourself in this lake, stay in the safe distance with the group), jangan mengangkat ubur-ubur ke atas permukaan, jangan menggenggam ubur-ubur dengan erat (this can kill them), cukup sentuh gently dan diarahkan saja jika ingin berfoto bersama ubur-ubur.

Although it is unwritten, there are basic rules we need to know: Do not use fins to swim, wear a live vest if you cannot swim, always make sure there companies (do not go too far by yourself in this lake, stay in the safe distance with the group), do not lift the jellyfish to the surface, do not grip tightly jellyfish (this can kill them), just touch gently and direct them only if you want to take pictures with jellyfish.

Too many rules?

Well, this world doesn’t belong to yourself darling, make your own if you don’t wanna live with all of it. Remember, respect the nature, and it will be kind to us..

Last but not least

ENJOY!

@marischkaprue – she doesn’t sting, but you don’t wanna have any problem with her

Photos by Ferry Rusli & Mikhael Dominico

Went to Misool with Tukang Jalan

See here for more about Misool