Thursday, June 11, 2009

Oirata, Favorite Tourist Village In Maluku

Oiratavillage on Kisar Island in Maluku Barat Daya (MBD) district, Maluku Province,has in the past several years been a favorite and idyllic destination forforeign tourists.

In its spice island adventure voyage of discovery from Darwin, Australia, MVOrion cruise ship, with hundreds of Australian, New Zealand, and even Dutchtourists, was again fortunate to come alongside the wharf of Nama beach port onthe west coast of Kisar island on Saturday, July 16, 2011.

MV Orion from Australia with tourists from various countries has during thepast four years made Nama beach part of its regular ports of call to visit thevillage of Oirata.

After berthing at Nama beach and completing formalities on Saturday, thetourists eventually got off the ship and made their way to a convoy of localcars, waiting to take them to Wonreli town for a welcome ceremony.

In small groups with local guides the tourists were invited to explore Kisar`shistory including the remnant architecture from the Dutch period over 400years, and then ushered to Oirata village.

As part of Maluku`s southwestern islands, Kamanasa said Kisar was in the pastone of the remotest and least accessible in all Indonesia, but now it was nolonger isolated.

To date it has basically a few facilities such as accommodations andrestaurants for visitors, but some fine beaches and snorkeling spots of coursecan still be found there.

It might be the reason why Kisar has since the past four years been a regularport of call for the Australian cruise ship.

Geographically, Kisar is closer to Australian continent and culturally nearerto Timor Leste and has a real Timorese feel to it, with villages scattered inthe dry, scrubby interior rather than along the coast.

Sights are limited to a very few colonial buildings such as a ruined old churchat Leklor village, Fort Vollenhove at Nama beach, and Fort Delftshaven atKaisama village which are the most impressive for foreign visitors.

Some of the finest "Ikat Weavings" are found in Kisar, and the bestof these are made by the people of Oirata village with some of uniquetraditional-style houses left.

Previously known as "the Moluccas", the Maluku region is truly acollection of forgotten islands located just north of Australia.

Sitting between New Guinea and Timor Leste, it is part of Wallacea, thelegendary deep water area that separates the Australian and Asian continentplates.

The southwest corner of Maluku is virtually inaccessible but is home tonumerous stunning islands with fringing reefs and ancient culture.

Very few outsiders have ever set foot on these islands and a unique experienceis guaranteed as the MV Orion`s crew members and guests discover the"Forgotten Islands" of Maluku.

Their visit in July this year was the tiny island of Kisar which serves astheir official entry point into the archipelago.

Kisar has over 400 years of European history and despite being only a fewhundred miles off the coast of Australia, its European history is virtuallyunknown.

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