The Anambas Islands are a group of over 40 islands that stretch 55 miles north to south and 40 miles east to west. Pulau Bawah is the most southerly of the Anambas group. Anambas archipelago (Indonesian: Kepulauan Anambas) is a small archipelago of Indonesia, located in the South China Sea between the Malaysian mainland to the west and the island of Borneo to the east. Geographically part of the Tudjuh Archipelago, it is administratively a regency and part of the Riau Islands Province.
Anambas have a large reserve of natural gas that is exported to countries such as Singapore and Malaysia. The island of Matak is the main base for oil exploration. Other islands are Siantan (Tarempa), Mubur, Jemaja, and Kiabu (Airabu).
We were fortunate throughout the day that the clouds had given us welcome natural shade. We had the opportunity to swim out over the shallow coral reef. We also had the opportunity to get a lift in the Zodiac to get dropped off at the edge of the reef. We also had the chance to go on the glass-bottom boat and learn all about the fish and coral diversity of this wonderful group of islands. We all enjoyed our last chance to go snorkeling, the corals and fish were like a kaleidoscope of color & movement. We finally had to tear ourselves off the beach and our private island paradise to return by Zodiac to National Geographic Orion.
