Take Us to the Beach

They say the harder you work, the harder you play.

The scholars traded the city life to find beauty in the wild at one of the many hidden beaches in Clungup, Indonesia.

By Nurul Farahin

AQUA BABIES: Participants get to spend their day snorkeling at Pantai Tiga Warna as part of their project for Clungup Mangrove Conservation. (PHOTO: Nur Hanisah Sidek)

Crashing waves and feet planted in wet sand, the 19 scholars of Team Clungup truly had the best times of their lives at the hidden Pantai Tiga Warna (Three-Coloured Beach).

The 40 scholars were split into two groups - Team Clungup and Team Batu - before their arrival in Indonesia as preparation for the projects and social issues they will have to tackle while on the 14 days outbound programme.

The beach, only accessible after a four-hour drive from Kota Malang and a 30-minute boat ride from Clungup village, is one of the most conserved beaches by Clungup Mangrove Conservation (CMC) Bhakti Alam Sendang Biru.

Said Republic Polytechnic student, Norman Chia, 19, “This beach is so much cleaner and bluer than the ones we have back in Singapore.”

The trip is part of School of Infocomm (SOI)’s project to enhance ecotourism at Clungup, East Java. The team, made up of 10 RP students and 9 students from the State Polytechnic of Malang (Polinema) spent 24 hours there to experience the true meaning of being with nature.

“It’s a great experience to be here and do beach-hopping. It’s a refreshing take from our busy lives in Singapore and the town in Malang. The air here is fresh and the plants and organisms here are undisturbed. It’s peaceful here,” Norman added.

It’s definitely peaceful - the beach is only open to 100 visitors a day. Visitors are also required to go for a bag check to ensure they do not litter during their visit. All visitors are expected to leave the place the same way they arrive.

“If caught littering, the visitors have to pay Rp. 100.000 (S$10) for each item and go back into the area to pick their litter and dispose it properly,” said Miss Ria, founder of CMC. “This is to instil a sense of ownership and responsibility in them. Here, we emphasize on living harmoniously with nature. Having respect for it is the only way we get to achieve that,” she added.

While wrecking their brains to build a website, design a brochure and marketing banners and film an ecotourism video to market CMC, the scholars get to squeeze in some time to experience the authentic environment away from the four walls of their classrooms. Apart from getting to interact with the wildlife, the students also get a chance to snorkel in the three-coloured sea for only Rp. 200.000 (S$2.00) for two hours.

“The snorkel was worth it. I don’t even need to go to another country to experience clear waters with views of corals and fishes,” shared Polinema undergrad Otneil Victory Febe Anuar, 21.

In their short 24 hours visit to Clungup, the team also learned to fly drones to take aerial shots of the landscapes of Pantai Tiga Warna and Pantai Gatra for their video. The final project was presented at the closing ceremony of TFI SCALE IV at Polinema on Mar 23.

“With proper planning and such opportunities to experience the waters, it’s really hard to feel stressed when trying to complete the whole project in less than a week,” said Otneil.

Amidst the laughter and sun tans, Republic Polytechnic facilitator Julia Lee joked: “We better don’t let the other team know how much fun we’re having!”

EMBRACING NATURE: The well-conserved beaches in Cungup are habitats to diverse organisms that scholars get to interact with and learn about during their visit (PHOTO: Nurul Farahin)