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The story of Wakatobi Dive Resort starts back in the sixties
when Resort founder Lorenz Mäder's father brought him
from the mountains of Switzerland to the Mediterranean and
taught him to snorkel. That was the start of a life-long passion
for Lorenz. Two decades later after years of working in the
Red Sea and Maldives as a dive instructor and Dive Liveaboard
Cruise Director Lorenz set out to create his dream. A Dive
Resort far away from the tourism hot spots, where he could
establish a new way of running an ecotourism operation. A
Resort combining diving with care for the environment. A place
where a quality experience goes over the number of people
served in a day. A community based business concept to manage
the natural resources.
Lorenz was in Singapore establishing a base for his exploration
of Eastern Indonesia. (Having studied Navy Charts and dived
the Wallacea area, which marks the region with the highest
marine biodiversity, he knew that the envisioned dream location
must be there). Months of trekking through the islands and
exploring the reefs on local fishermen's boats finally brought
him to the blissful corner of an island the locals called
Onemobaa (Local language for long white sandy beach).
Knowing that this was indeed the place to build his resort,
Lorenz approached the locals to find out who owned the land.
He then met Haji Baharruddin, the son of the last Sultan
of the area and made friends with him. Till this day the
two are, as they say, inseparable. In his role as keeper
of traditions, serving the community by thinking long-term,
Haji Baharuddin is one of the very few Indonesians truly
understanding the necessity of conservation.
Reinforced by Lorenz's personal objective to make a contribution
to marine conservation, the challenging project was started
in a region where locals have not seen a white man since
the Dutch left the country and electricity and running water
are still a rarity.
Searching for the right location to setup his dream resort,
Lorenz spent many days being "Manta-towed" behind
local boats researching the reef conditions in the area.
Lorenz' objective - to find a place with a combination of
a World-class reef in front, a beautiful topside (read:
beach), ground water availability and a friendly local community.
Overcoming the infrastructure and logistic challenges in
this remote area with his pioneer spirit and multiple skills
he developed a resort that is now by many ranked the No.
1 Land-Based Coral Reef Diving Resort in the world.
1995
The arduous task of building the resort could then begin.
The first building was erected (the Longhouse), which laid
the grounds for what years later would be called the premier
coral reef diving destination.
1996
rt of Diving and Hotel Operations. In the beginning the resort
had a capacity of only 12 guests, all housed in the Resort's
Longhouse. An ingenious building that was a bit like a live-aboard
on the beach. This largest traditionally built house on these
islands contained guest rooms, kitchen, dining area, staff
quarters, dive center, bathrooms and storage. The concept
was developed so that if the resort wasn't a success the building
could be folded up and be moved elsewhere!
Back in those days it was very hard to get to the Resort.
The journey involved international flights, two or more
domestic flights, an overnight in a transit town, several
boat and van transfers. This brought the total traveling
time from gateway towns like Singapore to somewhere around
30 hours! Yet somehow determination managed to attract a
hard-core bunch of diving enthusiasts, and the resort was
on its way.
1997
An 'Undercurrent' article published in the USA opened the
Wakatobi Destination to avid American Divers.
Locally hired boats were used for dive operations.
1998
In September 1998 the first custom built transfer boat 'WAKATOBI
SATU' brought the guests directly from the nearest airport
(Kendari, capitol of Southeast Sulawesi) to the Wakatobi
Resort, 250 km away.
WAKATOBI DUA speed boat enters service
1999
The decision was made to build an own runway out on the islands
to enable direct flights from Bali to the Resort. This way
the transfer time would be brought down to a mere fraction
of what it used to be! (2.5 hrs vs. 30 hrs).
WAKATOBI TIGA provides a convenient dive platform with an
always cheerful crew.
2000
A larger vessel, the CISKA got chartered to transfer the
maximum 18 guests until the airstrip opened.
Works started at the airfield, Wakatobi Resort managing
a team of up to 1000 people during the runway construction.
2001
Wakatobi Resort inaugurates the 1506 m long Wakatobi Maranggo
Runway, probably the largest hotel owned airstrip in Asia.
Planes with 18 - 44 seats bring visitors in style from all
over the world to the extremely remote Wakatobi Resort.
2002
The company gets restructured, moves office to the current
location in Kuta Bali.
2003
WAKATOBI EMPAT, custom built locally, proves to be extremely
convenient for diving and is the first of 4 new dive vessels
to enter service over the next 3 years.
Divers are a hungry bunch and the newly introduced Kitchen
Team from a Bali 5* Hotel creates a new level of F &
B services.
2004
Over the years capacity has gradually been brought up from
the initial 12 to 34 guests.
WAKATOBI LIMA is added to the dive fleet
2005
The resort housed 44 guests in all Bungalow-style accommodations
and one villa, with the original Longhouse having been converted
entirely to house the dive center and other common guests
facilities such as library and bar, souvenir shop and Multimedia
room.
A Jetty Bar is added, offering drinks and snacks with
spectacular sunset views.
With WAKATOBI ENAM the resort has 4 large, convenient,
safe dive platforms to reach as well farther away dive spots
such as Ndaa island and Binongko.
2006
Due to the increased capacity of 48 guests in 22 Bungalows
and 2 Cliff Villas, the new restaurant in the beach corner
takes over from the longhouse.
Our first wooden dive vessel WAKATOBI TIGA is replaced
by a new vessel with the same name.
2007
The trend toward barefoot luxury brings more improvements
on all accommodation levels: 2 more villas are added, 4 Bungalows
converted and enlarged into Select Bungalows. All Garden and
Beach Bungalows receive upgraded bathrooms and new furnishings.
Traditional massages and simple SPA services provide a welcome
option to relax after diving. Our Jetty Bar receives a modern
look and is more popular than ever.
2008
Rebreather and technical diving support is completed and
overall guest services further enhanced. A new look for
our web site was implemented with emphasis on better navigation
and incorporation of more multimedia features. By now we
are 12 years in operation and came a long way from
our humble beginnings.
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