Kakaban Island is just 20 minutes boat ride from Sangalaki Island and offers some superb wall diving as well as a landlocked jellyfish lake dive. The island is uninhabited and has been declared a national park.
The Jellyfish Lake is full of four species of jellyfish that have no sting and are therefore harmless to divers. The lake was once a lagoon surrounded by a coral atoll and open to the ocean but over time the coral atoll surrounding the lagoon has been raised up by geological forces, landlocking the lake and it's inhabitants. Although once stingers, the jellyfish have lost there sting due the the absence of natural predators such as turtles. The jellyfish are Mastigias Papua, Aurelia Aurelia, Tripedalia Crystophora and the upside down Cassiopeia Ornate. The 5 square kilometre lake is fed ocean water from underground fissures and is slightly tidal. It's maximum depth is 18m in the middle, the shore line is lined with mangrove. Visibility is 10-15 metres. Other marine life in the lake includes flatworms, sea cucumbers, small fish and a file snake which is also non poisonous.
On the outside of the island are some deep wall dives where the islands limestone cliffs drop vertically into the abyss. Barracuda Point on the southeastern tip of the island is a great places to see swirling schools of chevron barracuda as well as jacks, tuna and sharks. Currents are usually strong at the point. Divers can approach by drifting along either the east or the west wall.
The Blue Light Cave dive starts on the top of the wall at 2m with a descent down a narrow funnel to 20m where it opens up into a large cavern with a bottom at 30m. Divers exit the cave on the wall at 45 metres or deeper at 65m. This is a dive only suitable for experienced divers. |
