Gebe Islands - Central Halmahera Attractions

Gebe Islands is one of the attractions in Central Halmahera, North Maluku province. Gebe Islands have an extraordinary beauty. The enchanting landscape, white sandy beach, and underwater panorama around the beach, cave, and waterfall, that is not inferior to Raja Ampat, make Gebe Islands is worth to visit. According to the research, the location of Gebe has a variety of fish species, reaching 300 types or more, compared to Raja Ampat which only has about 290 types. Gebe Island are adjacent to Raja Ampat  Islands, West Papua province.

Gebe Islands Sub-district has 5 islands, namely Wailon Island, Gebe Island, Yoi Island, Uta Island and Fau Island. Only 2 (two) of those islands are inhabited, which are Gebe Island and Yoi Island.

Gebe Island has a history that is closely related to the presence of one kingdom in North Maluku, the Sultanate of Tidore. Gebe Island was first recognized by the Sultan of Tidore entourage while they were traveling around 700 AD towards Raja Ampat Islands in order to expand their territory, covering the central of Halmahera to the south.

In mid-journey from Tidore to Raja Ampat Islands, the Sultan entourage felt tired and needed to rest, between Halmahera and Raja Ampat Islands. One of the group saw an island in the north. The conversation when they saw the island became the history of Gebe name. A member of the group shouted in the local language "Kie ...!" which means "an island". Then the shout is replied by the other "Bei ...?" which means "where". This question is answered by the first person "Ge ...!" which means "that". Thus, the meaning of Gebe is "that is the island".

Followings are some attractions in Gebe Island you must visit:

Umera Beach

Umerabeach is located on the south of Umera Village. This beach has a stretch of white sandy beach, with estimated length about 3 km. With a width of the beach varies between 30-45 meters. Being on this beach will give you a peace of mind. Umera is the most popular beach in Gebe Island. The other beaches can be visited in Kapeleo Village, in the north.

Source: Blog Nakgebe & Setyanisa

Cape Umera

You will be enchanted by the beauty of the landscape in Cape Umera, located in Gebe Island. 

Yoi Island

Yoi Island is a very famous island for its crabs. On this island, there is a hollow resembling a lake (also called Telaga Yoi or Telaga Pulau Yoi) which is used as fish and crab breeding (terrestrial hermit crab) by local people. The distance from Umyal Village to the lake is approximately 4 km. To reach the island, you can use sea transport (long boat) for about 30 minutes from Gebe Island.

Fau Island

Fau Island is a small island near Gebe Island. The island is an attractive fishing locations. Panorama of coral reefs and mangrove trees that still maintained can be enjoyed by visitors while fishing there.

Uta Island

Uta Island is one of the fascinating place, located on the border of Central Halmahera and Raja Ampat. Its very fine sand are often used by sea turtles to lay eggs by on the full moon. The island is small and uninhabited, and also a habitat of ketam kenari (Birgus latro /terrestrial hermit crab), which usually hide in holes in the ground and in the roots of large trees. In addition, they also make holes in rotten tree trunks. From Yoi Island, you can see Uta Island.

Source: Blog Catatan Pikan 

Snorkeling & Diving

The characteristics of the sea in Gebe are quite calm, clear and blue, with the underwater topography of slope and steep, rich of fish and beautiful coral reefs, so it is perfect for snorkeling and diving.

The Diversity of Fauna

The diversity of of bird species in the mainland of Gebe Island, Fao Island, Yoi Island are easy to be found every morning and late afternoon. Here you can find parrots, water birds, and honey birds that fly and perched on the coast, and also protected forest areas in Gebe Island.

Besides, Gebe Island also has an endemic mammal, which can only be found in Gebe Island, like Gebe Cuscus (Phalanger alexandrae). Gebe cuscus live in Protected Forest in Gebe Island, especially in Umera Village. The population of Gebe cuscus is estimated to be very little that is particularly affected by diminishing habitat due to forest clearing for plantations, hunting and mining by PT. Antam in Gebe Island. Currently, the mining is no longer active.

Besides land mammals, there are also aquatic mammals in Gebe Island, such as dolphins and whales which periodically crosses Gebe Island sea. This group of aquatic mammals can be found in the sea of the east to the south sea of Gebe Island because the fauna were migrated from the Pacific Ocean toward Moluccas Sea. Dolphins can be easily found from the beach of Umera Village.

Cave Tour

There are several caves in Gebe Island, such as:

Wetef Cave

Wetef cave is located in the northern part of Gebe Island, precisely on Cape Gebe Island. This cave has a high historical value because it is the house of the first descendants of the ancestors of Gebe Island Native People, from clan Wetefwagya, named Wetef. The cave lies only about 200 m from the beach. Wetef cave has a horizontal shape and the mouth of the cave that resembles a large gate. The size of the cave mouth are a height of about 7 m and a width of 10 m. Wetef cave has beautiful stalactites and stalagmites with some rooms in it. There can be found some animals like bats and swiftlets live in the cave. In this cave, there is also a hole in the form of a hall with a length of 4 km. 

Cave in Umera Village

This cave is located about 250 m from the beach on the way to Umera Village. The cave is smaller than Wetef cave. Umera cave has a width of about 5 m, a height of about 2 m and a depth of about 25 m. Inside this cave, you can found some animals like bats, swiftlets, and sometimes ketam kenari (crabs). There are also two ponds in the cave. Umera cave is now only used as a ritual place by the elders of Umera who beg to assist their traditional treatment and for blessings and safety to the villagers. 

Cave in Kapaleo Village

One of the cave that can be easily found is the cave near the center of Kapaleo Village. It is only 2 m from vehicle road in Kapaleo Village and located on Gebe Island Soccer Field. This cave is not big with the height of the mouth of about 1.5 m and a width of 4 m. Inside the cave, there are stalactites and stalagmites and also a small hall. The cave is occasionally used by the people for the ritual.

Watong Waterfall

The name "Watong" comes from Gebe language which has two words: “wa” means water and “tong” means reservoir. Watong Waterfall has a height of only 2 m, but the uniqueness of this waterfall is natural atmosphere of the middle of a protected forest in hills. To reach this waterfall, you need to go by bike trail from the center village of Umera with a distance of 3 km, then continued by foot through the hills, nutmeg plantations and Watong river. Watong waterfall is never subsided and being freshwater source with very good quality.

Culture
Gebe Island  culture derived from a native tribes, named Gebe Tribe, influenced by the culture of the Sultanate of Tidore. The tribe is the basis of the culture in Gebe Island because it is the origin of Gebe in ancient times.

The people embrace Islam which became the basis of the ancestral beliefs of Tidore Sultanate. The language used by the people is Gebe language. The arts which still exist in Gebe are Dana-Dana dance, Soya-Soya dance, Cakalele dance, Lalayon dance, and Coka Iba (Mask of Satan). Wedding party in Gebe also uses the culture of Tidore. Moreover, the livelihoods of Gebe people are mostly fishermen, which still using traditional tools and local knowledge.

Culinary 

People of Gebe Island is skilled in cooking a variety of traditional foods in North Maluku consisting of three food categories, namely seafood, vegetable, and cakes.

Route to Gebe

Gebe Island can be reached by air, land and sea with a wide variety of track options. If you are from outside North Maluku province, then you have to go to Ternate first. There is a direct flight to Ternate, from Jakarta, Makassar, Ambon and Manado. After that, you can continue the journey to Gebe Island with several options as follows:

• Flights from Ternate to Gebe Island. Currently, it is only available 3 times a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) by using a small plane (usually Susi Air) with only 12 passengers. 
• Due to limited flights and transport capacity makes people from Ternate who want to visit Gebe Island have to use sea transport, such as ferry from Weda City (the capital of Central Halmahera). From Ternate to Weda, you have to go via Sofifi City (the capital of North Maluku Province) by ferry (3 hours) or speedboat (45 minutes) and then continue by land transport to Weda for about 3 hours. The trip by ferry to the Weda to Gebe Island and vice versa is only once a week: Friday (12 hours).

For more info about Gebe Islands tourism, you can access to: www.wisatapulaugebe.com.