How To Make Fun Photos at Kakaban Lake

Saya ingat beberapa tahun yang lalu teman saya yang baru pulang dari Derawan memperlihatkan foto ia berada di tengah tengah danau penuh ubur ubur. Danau di Kakaban adalah tempat dimana anda dapat bercengkerama dengan binatang ini tanpa takut tersengat karena ubur ubur di Kakaban telah berevolusi menjadi jenis yang tidak menyengat. 

I remember a few years ago a friend of mine who had just returned from Derawan showed some photos of him in the middle of jellyfish in Kakaban. Kakaban lake is a place where you can mingle with these animals without being afraid of getting some scars because of the sting as the jellyfish in Kakaban have evolved into a "friendly" species.
 

 

Sejak melihat foto teman saya itu, Kakaban adalah salah satu destinasi impian saya dan saat mengunjungi Derawan bulan Agustus 2013, mimpi saya terwujud dan saya bisa merasa seperti Spongebob yang bermain bersama ubur ubur.

Since I  saw those photos, Kakaban is one of my dream destinations and when I visited Derawan on August 2013, my dream came true and I could feel like Spongebob playing with jellyfish.

Rupanya Tuhan terlalu baik dan hanya selisih dua bulan saya kembali ada di Kakaban, kembali melihat ubur ubur lucu ini. Selain bermain main dengan ubur ubur unik yang tidak menyengat ini, saya juga senang berfoto foto dengan mereka, karena kapan lagi anda bisa berinteraksi begitu dekat dengan ubur ubur? :)

Apparently God being too kind. Two months after I visited Kakaban again. Seeing this cute jellyfishes again. Beside playing with these unique jellyfish, I also get a lot of fun photos with the jellyfish, since where else would you get to interact so close with the jellyfish ? :)

So here's some tips for fun photos with the jellies!

Jellyfish are everywhere, super fun!

• Coba jangan menggunakan masker, muka akan terlihat jelas (masker berwarna gelap cenderung menutupi sebagian besar muka kita) dan foto akan jauh lebih menyenangkan.
• Try not using a google or mask, the face will be more visible (dark colored mask tends to cover most of our face), the photos will be much more fun 

Took this photo just beside the pier

• Untuk yang belum terbiasa membuka mata di air, coba dengan duduk di tangga dermaga, celupkan muka ke dalam air sambil menutup mata dan buka saat di dalam, tidak perih kok :)
• For those not used to open eyes underwater, try to sit on the steps of the pier, dip down into the water while closing your eyes, when inside the water try open your eyes. Don't worry it's not painfull at all :) 

Direct them gently

• Setelah terbiasa membuka mata cari ubur ubur yang ukurannya cukup besar, ambil dengan cara diarahkan pelan pelan, jangan ditarik dengan kasar. Coba dengan dua tangan membentuk mangkuk untuk mengarahkan ubur ubur ini ke dekat anda.
• After you get used open your eyes underwater, look for the jellyfish which large enough. Take them gently, don't pull the jellyfish roughly. Try it with two hands forming a bowl to direct the jellyfish close to you .
• Agar badan berada di dalam air, buang napas sehingga badan otomatis turun dan foto jauh lebih seru. Jika sulit untuk menenggelamkan diri, berpegangan di tangga dermaga sambil menurunkan badan ke air.
• In order to get your body down in the water try exhaling so the body will automatically descend. If it's hard to drown, hold the stairs in the dock while lowering your body into the water 
• Jika tidak bisa berenang, gunakan pelampung tapi coba tanpa masker.
• If you can't swim , use a life vest but try without the mask.

• Saat berada di dalam air mulut tidak perlu dipaksa menutup karena akan terlihat menahan napas, mulut terbuka pun jika kita tidak menghirup maka air tidak akan tertelan.
• Once inside the water, you don't have to forced your mouth to close tight because it will make your expression shows that you're holding breath. Even when mouth open, if we don't inhale, you won't swallow the water.

• Jangan terlalu banyak menggerakkan kaki jika mengambil foto di area dekat dermaga karena akan menyebabkan partikel lumpur di bawah terangkat ke atas dan membuat air danau keruh.
• Do not move your legs too much when taking photos in the area near the dock because it will lift up the mud particles below and make the it became turbid.
•  Jangan lupa bawa kamera tahan air, pilihannya beragam, mulai dari kamera yang dapat dibawa ke dalam air tanpa housing, kamera dengan housing, Go Pro, atau bahkan smartphone dengan case plastik tahan air yang banyak dijual.
• Do not forget to bring a waterproof camera, there are a lot of choices, ranging from cameras that can be brought into the water without housing, camera with housing, Go Pro, or even a smartphone with waterproof plastic case.

Have fun taking photos with the jellyfish!

You can kiss them too <3

 @marischkaprue - Love kissing the jellyfish

NOTES:

• Danau Kakaban terletak di Kepulauan Derawan, Kalimantan Timur. 
• Kakaban Lake located in Derawan Islands, East Borneo.
• Untuk pilihan penginapan lihat disini di bagian "NOTES"
• For hotels or homestay options, see here on the "NOTES" part. 

MORE DETAILS ABOUT KAKABAN LAKE, SEE HERE

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• Maratua Paradise Resort
• Gua Sembat, Cave With Human Face
• How To Survive Barracuda Point
• Melihat Penyu Bertelur di Pulau Sangalaki
• Payung Payung Village 
• Diving in Maratua Reef

ALSO ABOUT JELLYFISH:

• Bermain Bersama Ubur Ubur di Pulau Seribu 

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Feeling Spongebob at Kakaban Stingless Jellyfish Lake

"Ubur ubur itu lucu buat diliat aja," statement ini sangat benar kalau anda sering berenang atau menyelam di laut. Saya ingat beberapa kali menghindar dari rombongan ubur ubur, terutama yang berukuran kecil karena sulit dihindari. Saat kena, akhirnya pasrah tersengat dan pulang dengan "oleh oleh" luka luka memerah di badan.

 
"Jellyfish is only cute to see," this statement is totally true if you spend lots of time swimming in the sea or diving. I remember avoiding jellyfishes few times, especially the small ones since it is hard to see. When you got stung, we just gotta accept the fact to go home with a bit red wounds in our body.

Ubur ubur memiliki tubuh yang sangat halus, 96% komposisi tubuh ubur ubur adalah air dan makhluk ini tidak memiliki bagian keras di tubuh untuk melindungi diri sehingga untuk bertahan dari ancaman predator, ubur ubur memiliki sistem pertahanan berupa sengatan.

 
Jellyfish have a very smooth body, their body is 96% water and this creature has no hard shells to protect them self from predators. To survive, then jellyfish built a defense system, sting and toxic.

Hampir semua jenis ubur ubur memiliki sengatan dengan nematocyst (semacam kapsul dengan racun yang saat bersentuhan akan memicu injeksi racun). Akibat sengatan inipun beragam, dari hanya sekedar gatal dan kemerahan, hingga kematian. Inilah sebabnya ubur ubur selalu dihindari saat bertemu dengan mereka di laut.

Almost all kinds of jellyfish sting with nematocyst (sort of capsule which will inject the venom which triggered when touched). The sting are vary, from just itching and redness, until death. This is why we always avoid jellyfish when we saw them in the sea. 

Kakaban Island

The beach in Kakaban

Namun ada lokasi di Kepulauan Derawan dimana anda dapat merasakan menjadi Spongebob yang dengan riang gembira tertawa meski dikelilingi ratusan ubur ubur.

But there are places in Derawan Islands where you can feel being Spongebob who happily laugh when surrounded by hundreds of jellyfishes.

Danau Kakaban adalah rumah bagi empat jenis ubur ubur yang tidak menyengat. Yap, danau ini terbentuk dari pergerakan lempeng bumi yang membuat bagian laut terangkat menjadi pulau atol (Pulau Kakaban) lengkap dengan danau dimana spesies ubur ubur terperangkap di dalamnya. Karena "terkurung" di dalam danau tanpa predator, ubur ubur ini kehilangan daya sengat. Secara fisik ubur ubur di Danau Kakaban persis seperti ubur ubur lainnya, hanya saja tidak menyengat.

 
Kakaban lake is home to four species of stingless jellyfish. This lake was formed from the movement of tectonic plates that make part of the sea became uplifted (Kakaban Island). This island is complete with lake where some species of jellyfish caught in. Since those jellyfishes "stuck" in the lake without predators, they lose their defense mechanism, the sting. In a glance, this jellyfish in Kakaban Lake are just like other jellyfishes, but they don't sting.

That's the lake!

Saya tidak sabar saat berjalan menyusuri tangga kayu menuju Danau Kakaban. Bayangan berenang di antara ubur ubur tidak menyengat adalah salah satu impian saya. Tiba di dermaga kita sudah dapat melihat ubur ubur berwarna krem merah muda berseliweran, semakin mengundang untuk masuk dan bermain dengan mereka.

I can't wait as I walked down the wooden staircase leading to Lake Kakaban. Swimming in the middle of stingless jellyfish is one of my dreams.  At the dock we can already see creamy pink colors jellyfishes milling about, inviting us to jump and play with them. 

Usually avoid them in the sea but in this lake, they're our friendly fellas!

Dive a bit and see the jellyfish with trees as background, beautiful!

Empat spesies yang ada disini adalah Aurelia Aurita yang berwarna bening dan bulat pipih, Tripedalia Cystophora yang berukuran kecil, Cassiopeia Ornata yang merupakan spesies khas di Kakaban karena selalu dalam posisi terbalik, serta Mastigias Papua yang jadi favorit saya karena bentuknya seperti ubur ubur di Bikini Bottom :)

Four jellyfish species here are Aurelia Aurita the round flat clear colored jellyfish, Tripedalia Cystophora which is small size, Cassiopeia Ornata which is a typical species in Kakaban because they are always in an inverted position, and the last is the Papua Mastigias which is my favorite because it looks like a jellyfish in Bikini Bottom :)

Danau Kakaban ini cukup besar, di area sekitar 20 meter dari dermaga, dasar danau sudah cukup dalam, lebih dari 25 meter. Namun di area tengah inilah anda bisa melihat ubur ubur berkumpul banyak sekali. Jika matahari sedang cerah, ubur ubur ini akan naik ke permukaan untuk berfotosintesa, namun sayangnya saat saya datang cuaca sedang mendung sehingga cukup sulit mendapatkan foto ubur ubur berkumpul di permukaan.

Kakaban lake is quite large, in the area about 20 meters from the pier, the depth is more than 25 meters. But in the middle of this area you can see a lot of jellyfish congregates. When the sun is bright, those jellyfish will rise to the surface to do the photosynthesis. Unfortunately when I arrived the weather was a bit gloomy so it is difficult to get a photo of  jellyfish congregate at the surface.

A bit turbit down the lake, but we can still see jellyfishes everywhere

Curious fishes on the lake, they don't eat the Jellies though

Di area danau pengunjung tidak boleh memakai fin karena kibasan fin dapat melukai ubur ubur. Selain itu, jika ingin menyentuh ubur ubur ini lakukan dengan lembut, rasanya seperti memegang agar agar yang hidup, membuat saya tersenyum kesenangan.

In this lake area you cannot use fin since it can harm the jellyfish. Also, if you wanna touch those jellyfish, do it in a gentle way. It feels like holding a living pudding, makes me smile immediately.

Di dunia ini hanya ada beberapa lokasi yang memiliki danau dengan ubur ubur tidak menyengat, yaitu Palau di Mikronesia, Danau Kakaban dan Danau Haji Buang di Pulau Maratua, Kepulauan Derawan, serta salah satu danau di Raja Ampat yang belum didata secara resmi.

 
There are only a few locations that have lakes with stingless jellyfish in the world, the Palau in Micronesia, Kakaban Lake and Haji Buang Lake in Maratua Island, Derawan Islands, also the lake in Raja Ampat which is not stated officially.

Too bad Jellies in Kakaban isn't big enough to ride ha! Source image: interiormall

Dari empat lokasi itu rupanya Indonesia punya tiga danau dengan ubur ubur tidak menyengat. Tidak perlu paspor untuk sedikit merasakan menjadi Spongebob di Bikini Botton, do you agree Patrick?

Of the four sites apparently Indonesia has three lakes with stingless jellyfish. You don't need a passport to feel a bit of being Spongebob in Bikini Botton, do you agree Patrick?

@marischkaprue - sometimes traveling with Patrick

NOTES:

• Danau Kakaban terletak di Pulau Kakaban, hanya sekitar 20 menit naik kapal dari Pulau Maratua di Kepulauan Derawan, Kalimantan Timur.
• Kakaban Lake located in Kakaban Island, only about 20 minutes boat ride from Maratua Island in the Islands of Derawan, East Borneo.
• Waktu terbaik mengunjungi Maratua antara lain di bulan Maret hingga Mei, setelah bulan Agustus, awal bulan Oktober. Sementara di Akhir Oktober biasanya sudah memasuki masa sering turun hujan.
• The best time to visit Maratua: March to May, after August, the beginning of October. While in Late October is usually already in the period of frequent rain.
• Untuk pilihan penginapan lihat disini di bagian "NOTES"
• For hotels or homestay options, see here on the "NOTES" part. 

 RELATED STORIES:

• Maratua Paradise Resort
• Gua Sembat, Cave With Human Face
• How To Survive Barracuda Point
• Melihat Penyu Bertelur di Pulau Sangalaki
• Payung Payung Village 
• Diving in Maratua reef 

ALSO ABOUT JELLYFISH:

• Bermain Bersama Ubur Ubur di Pulau Seribu

I visit this place with team from Keana, thanks guys! we had fun!

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