New national park is a two-island paradise on Australia’s doorstep

New national parks tend to open with much fanfare in Australia. Not so much in Indonesia.

When the island nation’s latest national park was gazetted in 2022 it went largely under the radar; in terms of tourism it hardly blipped. But it should have.

Moyo Satonda, Indonesia’s 55th national park, is a two-island paradise just north of the main island of Sumbawa, in West Nusa Tenggara province.

Sumbawa is situated two islands east of Bali (via Lombok) or an easy 60-minute plane ride. As Aussie travellers start to look beyond Bali to Indonesia’s stunning archipelago, this is the kind of destination they might like to see.

The park, covering 31,200 hectares, makes up the bulk of Moyo Island and, to the north-east, neighbouring Satonda Island. Across both islands, there is a breathtaking diversity of ecosystems, from rainforest and marine reserve to an alkaline lake in an enormous volcano caldera.

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I’m visiting as a guest of Amanwana, a luxury resort considered South-East Asia’s first tented resort when it opened in 1993, and preceding the glamping trend by near-on two decades.

Sitting on Moyo’s west coast, Amanwana’s 17 white canvas tents – more like stylish suites with tented rooftops – are neatly staggered along a shoreline where black-tipped reef sharks can be seen playing in the shallows and peachy-coloured crabs are buffeted by tranquil lapping waves.

Behind the camp, a lush temperate rainforest is home to the protected rusa deer and cheeky macaques, and serves as shady camouflage for various forest trails to meditative sunset viewpoints.

Beyond the resort, the national park’s wild beauty rears its head. The island is a jigsaw puzzle of savannah country, agricultural plots and villages with jags of dense rainforest. It is known for its pristine waterfalls, the most photographed of which is Mata Jitu.

To get to Mata Jitu from the resort, my boat docks at the pier in Labuhan Aji, the biggest of Moyo’s eight villages and home to about 1000 out of the island’s 4200 or so residents. According to my guide, the island was traditionally used as a stop on sea voyages to Mecca. The residents here today are new, he says, “just three generations”.

From Labuhan Aji, we take an open-top jeep along a rutted dirt road about four kilometres to the falls. Tourism here is evidently still grassroots: there are no handrails or walking paths, just a sign noting the IDR150,000 ($12) entry fee for foreign tourists.

I’d pay a lot more. Mata Jitu cascades seven metres over four dreamy tiers into seven tranquil pools with natural infinity edges. White freshwater limestone, known as travertine, lends the pools an emerald green hue, a magical spectacle enhanced by flitting dragonflies and towering trees with vines that dangle from the branches.

After a serene swim in cool, clear water, I take a meditative walk back to the jeep, noting skittish macaques in the trees, squelching leaf litter underfoot, the familiar call of small yellow-crested cockatoos.

The marine reserve skirting the island is equally immersive, with intact coral reefs and impressive marine life. Simple but comfortable beachfront guesthouses offer tours to snorkel and dive sites that promise sightings of bottlenose dolphins, hawksbill and green sea turtles, manta rays and, beyond in Saleh Bay, whale sharks and mangrove-dwelling dugongs.

A tour to the national park’s volcanic Satonda Island takes 75 minutes by boat. From the island’s jetty it’s a 20-minute hike through thick rainforest to a lookout where heart(ish)-shaped Satonda Lake fills a central caldera.

The heavily alkaline water, navigable by kayaks and paddleboards, is so salty that only one fish species, a clear-bodied anchovy-like critter, can survive in it.

Depending on the time of day, Satonda’s other natural wonder, a million-strong bat colony boasting 21 different species, forms a black cloud overhead.

Back at Amanwana, the skies are blue, and my hammock is angled so that I can see the setting sun kissing Sumbawa’s distant hilltops. No fanfare needed.

STAY In Labuhan Aji, beachfront Maleo Moyo Hotel and Dive Resort has bungalows from IDR280,000 ($22) a night. Amanwana has double tents from $2991 a night all-inclusive, with a three-night minimum. See maleomoyo.com; aman.com

FLY Wings Air operates daily flights from Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport to Sumbawa Besar Airport. See lionair.co.id

MORE A 45-minute public boat transfer departs from Sumbawa’s Pantai Goa harbour to Moyo Island daily at 1pm and from Moyo to Pantai Goa at 7am. The cost is IDR100,000 ($8). Departures rely on a full boat, so organising transfers through accommodation is recommended.

Penny Watson travelled as a guest of Aman Resorts.

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