CYCLE CENTRAL SULAWESI

INDONESIA

6 – 20 March 2011
9 CYCLE DAYS
774 km

This trip is for adventure cyclists seeking tropical mountain scenery, the fun of learning a new culture, the peace of isolated coral atolls, pristine lakes and traditional village life way off the tourist track. All this in (Central) Sulawesi, Indonesia, formerly ‘the Celebes’ that crab shaped island north of Bali and east of Borneo.

Trip leader, bi-lingual bi-cultural Australian Colin Freestone has led 4 group trips around Sulawesi and has been riding in Indonesia since 1990 and on the island of Sulawesi since 2000.

Trip starts in Palu, capital of Central Sulawesi province and located on the western coast of the island. First day, a ‘warm-up one day excursion’, we’ll cycle along the shores of scenic Palu Bay to white sand beaches at Coral Point (Tanjung Karang) where we’ll enjoy the serenity of Prince John Dive Resort (http://www.princejohndiveresort.com/). The clear blue waters here will surely tempt any lover of the underwater world.

Over the next few days we’ll cross the central mountain range at Coffee Garden and head towards and circumnavigate pristine Lake Poso (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Poso). These will be days of mountain cycling, swimming, Yoga and enjoying the natural beauty of this isolated province.

Participants will experience Indonesian life and culture as it really is. Food will be Sulawesi style grilled fish or chicken, rice and vegetables.

There’ll be a variety of accommodation: international hotels at start and finish, wooden beach side and lake side cottages, and some commercial travellers’ guesthouses.

With an average of 85+ km a day we’ll start riding early. But the pace will be relaxed with frequent stops for re-grouping, photos, fresh fruit, village cakes, stretching, talking with the locals and group camaraderie. There’ll be no emphasis on speed per se or ‘finishing first’.

The cycling will finish at the port of Ampana where we’ll take a jet-boat to the exotic Togian islands to enjoy several days of swimming, snorkelling and diving in warm crystal clear waters.

There’ll be many opportunities for spontaneous stops. We’ll drop into schools, health centres, mosques and markets. After we’ve reached our destination and before dinner there’ll be Yoga. Swimming will be available 11/15 days.

The trip finishes in the neat little city of Gorontalo overlooked by a multi turreted Portugese fort that controlled the spice trade in the 15^th century.