Dobo

One of the friendliest and most laid-back regional capitals in Maluku, Dobo is a good place to while away the days that you will almost invariably need to spend here waiting for transport connections to the rest of Aru, onwards to Papua, or back to the Keis. The center of the town consists of the usual Chinese-run shops, markets and places to eat, but on the seaside there is more character in the form of the stilt neighbourhoods and the busy ports.

The Great Mosque

It is something of a surprise to find what may just be Maluku's most beautiful modern mosque in such a remote town, but then the locals made sure they get the details right! The impressive new mosque in the town center is actually an unashamed copy of the Italian-designed, colonial-era mosque that is the pride of Banda Aceh, at the far western end of Indonesia.

The Bird of Paradise Monument

Heading out of town along Wamar's longest road towards the two villages, you will pass a junction with a colorful statue of Aru's famous bird of paradise.

The Tourist Office

Taking a left turn at the bird monument and then another at the airstrip will take you uphill to Dobo's new government offices. Among these is a new tourism office. As is often the case in such remote islands, it is of limited usefulness. While very friendly, the staff had absolutely no printed material to hand out, though I could get them to print out a useful map of the Arus from their computer eventually. In the past they had also produced a useful enough Indonesian-language brochure about Aru's low-key tourist attractions, but this was out of stock during my visit.

The Villages

Returning to the coastal road leading out of town, you will soon reach Wamar's two original villages, Wangel and Durjela. They are much more "civilized" villages than those in the rest of Aru, with neat homes and beautiful, colonial-era churches in each.

Offerings

That the typical native culture of Aru is still alive and well here as well is shown by the substantial site where offerings are made right along the road. Like in the rest of Aru, this contains lots of plates piled up around some rocks, but here the site is protected under a pavilon-like roof and is surrounded by a fence.

Pantai Wangel

The first village you come to, Wangel is home to thew closest beach to Dobo. It has fine sands and coconut palms, a sacred little islet, some shacks for weekenders and, like the other 2 beaches,  maybe an entrance fee collected on Saturdays and Sundays.

Pantai Durjela

The beach in front of the 2nd village Durjela is a bit longer and quieter than the one at Wangel. For much of the year it should be very pretty indeed, but duriing the western winds' season quite a lot of seaweed gets washed up here, reducing its beauty somewhat.

Pantai Belakan Wamar

Descriptively named (Beach at the back of Wamar), the island's most remote beach can only be reached by chartered transport, but is worth the trip. facing east towards the larger islands of Aru, this beach is sheltered from rough seas most of the time, and its white sands remain clean. It is also a popular weekend getaway though, so you still have to be prepared to find the usual trash left behind by visitors from Dobo.

By Sea

Quite apart from the large harbour where Pelni and Perintis ships pull up, Dobo is also teeming with smaller wooden boats coming from all over Aru. They moor at verious places on either side of the town, depending on which direction the winds are blowing from. Be prepared that with the exception of speedboats making the short hop to neighbouring Wokam and "ketinting" vessels to Benjina, Aru's main (and pretty much only) "industrial" settlement, there are no passenger services within the Arus whatsoever. Most of what you see here are fishing boats, with transport to villages usually provided by local Chinese traders' supply boats that local villagers ride for free. If you wish to do the same, keep asking around, and do ask the ownert's ppermission once you've found a boat headed your way.

By Road

Considering that Wamar has only 2 roads and 2 villages, there are an impressive number of angkot minibuses cruising Dobo's streets looking for passangers. There is no terminal, so just flag one down anywwhere, and then ask if they are going they way you want to.