Spice Islands: Playing with the Ring of Fire
Words and images by Charles Hunter
Adventure in the Spice Islands
The imposing cone volcano shoots straight out of the Pacific Ocean. It’s still active, last erupting in October 2018 just days after I left the island. Down below I can see black sand beaches made up of tiny fragments of basalt, a common site on the volcanic islands across the Pacific. I’m in the heart of the Ring of Fire, a name given due to the frequent earthquakes and active volcanoes.
Flying over a crater lake called Lake Tolire Besar that is apparently crocodile infested, I’m about to land on one of Indonesia’s most active volcanos. The Island of Ternate, an island steeped in incredible history.
Flying into Ternate over Lake Tolire Besar.
The volcano, one of 127 active volcanoes in Indonesia is called Gamalama and is a near-conical stratovolcano that comprises the entire Ternate Island in Indonesia, home to 200,000 residents and part of the Maluku Islands in the Indonesian Archipelago, an area still known by many as the Spice Islands.
I’m on my way to Morotai which is taking me 5 flights and almost 3 days traveling to get to and I need to stay overnight on Ternate. I’ve just flown from Singapore via Manado in northern Sulawesi. Although I was just passing through Manado for a few hours before my next flight, it happens to be on the same day there was a major earthquake and tsunami 600km south-west of Manado in Palu which ends up killing 4,500 people.
Few people visit this distant part of Indonesia apart from naturalists and anthropologists. Tourist infrastructure is improving though and I spend the night in a gorgeous hotel called Villa Ma'Rasai which is surrounded by clove (Syzygium aromaticum) forests.
Villa Ma'Rasai, Ternate Island, North Maluku
The History of Ternate
Indonesia's ‘Spice Islands’ once produced more nutmeg, mace and cloves than anywhere else in the world and on the island of Ternate, one particular tree has an extraordinary history.
Ternate and its neighbour Tidore were once the world's single major producer of cloves. They are endemic to this region and still grow naturally in abundance all over the islands.
Between the clove trees looking towards Tidore.
In fact, over 2,000 years ago cloves were traded by Arab and Chinese seafarers.
History records cloves being used by Chinese emperors in the 3rd Century BC and they could only have come from Ternate or Tidore. Cloves have also been found in Europe since Roman times.
Today many of us use them to flavour dishes just as they have been used for centuries across Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
In Indonesia cloves are still mixed with tobacco and smoked. Cloves and also commonly used around the world in aromatherapy to help with circulation, reducing pain and to stimulate the brain. They are full of antioxidants and may help with bone health and reduce stomach ulcers. To make clove tea simmer whole organic cloves for several minutes. You can also sprinkle ground cloves on many dishes to add a distinct sweetness.
Clove flowers. Ternate and its neighbour Tidore were once the world's single major producer of cloves.
I’m woken before midnight and then again just before dawn by the calling for prayers, also known in Islam as the Adhan.
It is believed Islam came to Indonesia in the 12th and 13th centuries and the ruling tribes of Ternate and Tidore converted sometime in the mid-1400s.
Listen here to a recording of prayers in Ternate.
The Spice Wars
The Portuguese were the first colonists to arrive in Indonesia in the early 1500s with a strong ambition to dominate the spice trade. There are still several forts built by the Portuguese on Ternate including the impressive Fort Tolluko built in 1512.
Fort Tolluko 1512 by the Portuguese as they attempted to monopolise the spice trade.
Looking out from the Fort Tolluko, with its commanding views over Ternate city and the Pacific Ocean one can image Portuguese carrack and galleon navy ships in the harbour with their wooden masts shooting almost 50 metres into the azure sky.
The Portuguese were clever seafarers and there is a belief held by some that the Portuguese were the first Europeans to site Australia sometime between 1521 and 1524, many years before the Dutch and English.
The next Europeans that attempted to conquer the Spice Islands were the Spanish but they couldn’t compete with the Portuguese naval power so their presence was relatively short and they were perhaps content with their colonisation of the Philippines.
Then came the Dutch who took control of the Spice Islands in the early 1600s and began a dominance, with a few interruptions by the British, for the next 350 years until Indonesia was granted independence in December 1949.
Nutmeg
It wasn’t just about cloves, Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans) could be worth more than its weight in gold and only grew on a few remote tiny islands called the Banda Islands, so it was worth fighting for.
During times of Black Death plague across Europe, prices for nutmeg skyrocketed even further due to the belief it warded off the plague. During plague, the upper class ladies would breathe in nutmeg via small bags tied around their necks and men would add it to their snuff to consume.
More than just a spice, the Arabs believed nutmeg was an aphrodisiac and a medicine. In fact, they still do. When I was in Morocco a few years ago with severe food poising, the local doctor “prescribed” me a large bag of powered nutmeg.
Due to their monopoly on nutmeg, the Dutch became incredibly wealthy. But during the 1600s brutal wars continued between the Dutch and the British over nutmeg and the Banda Islands. Then in 1667 something strange happened. The Dutch proposed swapping a tiny Banda Island called Run just 3km long and 1km wide that the British had gained control of in 1616, for a distant swampy island called Manhattan. The British agreed and New Amsterdam became New York (as it still is today) and so nutmeg once again changed the course of history.
The French and British successfully smuggled out nutmeg plants in the late 18th century and today nutmeg is grown in tropical locations all over the world, however 50% of all nutmeg still comes from Indonesia.
Nutmeg and mace
Today we use nutmeg or mace to flavor our food or we drink as tea (it’s great mixed with ginger). Mace is the red seed covering of the nutmeg seed and has a more subtle flavour of nutmeg and can also be used to colour dishes bright orange.
The health benefits of nutmeg include pain relief, boosting skin health, detoxifying the body, improving circulation and it is used for treatment of stomach upsets and even insomnia.
A nutmeg seed with mace covering on Morotai.
Alfred Russell Wallace and Wallacea
The Spice Islands and surrounds are a biodiversity hotspot and between 1854 and 1862 the naturalist Alfred Wallace sailed around the Malay Archipelago including the Spice Islands and collected a staggering 126,000 specimen’s. Many thousands of which were new to science.
Wallace was based for some time on the island of Ternate and this is where he wrote the infamous “Ternate Letter” that he sent to Charles Darwin in 1858.
Just as Darwin had thought up the theory of evolution after visiting the Galapagos Islands, Wallace came up with the same theory by visiting the Malay Archipelago. The creator of the theory of evolution is granted to Darwin however one must ask if Wallace also deserves credit as it appears he reached the same conclusion as Darwin (whilst having no prior knowledge of Darwin’s now famous theory).
The geographical area containing the Spice Islands is now often referred to as Wallacea which includes Wallace’s Line which separates the ecozones of Asia and Australiasia. Where marsupials and monotremes are on the east of the line and tigers and monkeys are on the west of the line. If you’ve been to Bali, Wallace’s Line runs down between Bali and Lombok.
Wallace's Standardwing Bird of Paradise (Semioptera wallacii).
Morotai
After almost 3 days of travelling I finally arrive on Morotai, landing on a runway used by Allied forces in the Second World War.
There are a few reasons why I am visiting Morotai including discovery and adventure. Morotai and the islands across the region are isolated and are incredibly rich in endemic flora and fauna. They also have very few tourists.
My grandfather spent several months on Morotai after the end of WWII looking after Japanese prisoners of war and I promised him I would visit one day. Lead by the American General MacArthur, after the Battle of Morotai the Allies took control of the island from the Japanese and over 60,000 thousand Allied troops landed.
The Japanese formerly surrendered on Morotai on 9th September 1945 however one Japanese soldier, Private Teruo Nakamura hid in the jungles of the islands interior until he surrendered in December 1974. Today a statue in the islands capital Daruba honours him.
With a population of just 50,000, Morotai is a sleepy island paradise with fishing villages spread out along the coastline, segregated into Muslim and Christian communities. Morotai is what Bali was 50 years ago.
Over 80% of the original tropical forest remains on the island which creates an opportunity. To put this into perspective, the nearby Philippines has cleared 80% of their original forest. So the opportunity on Morotai is about conservation and protection.
I am up at 4am on my first full day to explore the forest and to bird watch with a local ex-bird trapper called Ratman and my host Yunizar who is originally from Jakarta.
We walk several kilometers up a spring fed river teaming with fish and winding its way through the jungle. I am lucky enough to see several new birds including the Morotai Drongo and the Morotai Friarbird which was first collected by Charles Allen, Alfred Wallace's assistant in 1862.
Its isolation does not mean Morotai can escape the major global issue of illegal logging and wildlife poaching. After all, I am being guided by a trained ex-bird trapper. Owning an exotic bird in many parts of Asia including Morotai is a sign of status.
As I am birdwatching I can hear chainsaws deep in the forest. Yunizar tells me this is not allowed but locals continue to cut down valuable old growth trees. A little further upstream we come across a cleared path through the impenetrable forest. I hear a tractor coming in the distance. We stop to speak with the drivers and they tell us they are creating a tourist path to a remote waterfall. Really? I ask.
They soon disclose they are actually creating a path to access a now very rare Bornean ironwood (Eusideroxylon zwageri) which is found across the region. This tree can fetch 1000s of US dollars on illegal markets and this appears to be the justification for ploughing a 2km path into the virgin jungle. Just to cut down a single tree. I am deeply saddened however this is not the time nor the place to hold a save the forest protest.
Here it comes. Bulldozing the forest on Morotai.
On Morotai, most businesses and families own a pet bird that has been captured from the forest. The most popular is the Chattering Lory (Lorius garrulus morotaianus). This beautiful bird is now threatened from poaching and it’s sad to see them chained to a perch where in most cases they will spend decades with the ability to move just centimeters, never to fly again.
A beautiful Chattering Lory at the Daruba markets.
That evening I meet the local Police Chief, Michael. Originally from Sumatra, I am pleased to hear about his efforts to stop bird poaching as he tells me about a few dozen endangered birds his police force seized earlier in the week that were destined for the illegal wildlife trade markets in Jakarta.
A (Liquid) Future
It’s been an emotional journey for me on many levels. The excitement of discovery and meeting new people but also the lows of seeing deforestation and wildlife poaching first hand.
I see no other “foreigners” whilst I am on Morotai, except one. I meet Lizzie Murray just hours before I am due to depart for my 3-day journey home. Lizzie apologises for not saying hello earlier in the week but she has fair justification and tells me how she has been recovering at the hotel (D' Aloha Resort) from a tropical boil and has hardly left her room.
Originally from England, Lizzie lives with a local fisherman’s family. There is no running or hot water and electricity runs for only several hours each day. It’s a tough existence but an extremely rewarding one.
Lizzie is the founder of A Liquid Future, an Indonesian (and now also Australian) based not-for-profit that is trying to drive conservation by empowering isolated coastal communities in Indonesia about to undergo rapid tourism development, with a particular focus on youth.
A new approach to conservation. Lizzie Murray from A Liquid Future with the youth of Morotai.
Through learning programs such as surfing, photography, swimming and technology, A Liquid Future is skilling and training locals to enable them to benefit from responsible eco-tourism. The ultimate aim is the protection of marine and terrestrial eco-systems and to ensure locals not only play a big part in their protection but also directly benefit.
Currently working closely with local, regional and federal Indonesian governments, Lizzie’s model of community education and the protection of island eco-systems will hopefully one day be rolled out across the Spice Islands and beyond.
So there is a hope for the future after all.
Charles Hunter is an avid bird watcher, conservationist and freelance writer. He travels extensively across Australia and South-East Asia in his pursuit of watching birds. His most recent focus is on the Indonesian Spice Islands where he is working with a group of global conservationists developing a model for flora and fauna conservation for islands. When he’s not bird watching, Charles works as a consultant in the e-commerce industry. Charles is based in Bronte, Australia, and can be contacted at charles@tribeconcepts.com.au.