Nabucco Island Resort

Nabucco Island was named after Verdi's Gefangenenchor aus Nabucco as performed by the Hebrew slaves. The island proper is doesn’t take up more than an area of 20,000 m2 at the most. It lies like a small dot below the eastern end of the Maratua atoll some 90 km from the mainland of Borneo.

We were warmly greeted by co-owner and manager Walther with freshly cut coconuts and he told us of the islands many splendours. It was Walther himself who found the spot for the dive resort. A couple of years before Walter did some diving on the surrounding coral reefs but was taken by the current. He more or less washed ashore on this small island, took a quick look and thought to himself: This is perfect for a dive resort.

And it was a perfect dive resort. Quality materials and design, hot water from solar energy, nice and spacious twin cabins – all with own porch facing the sea, big bathrooms and a big hall with plenty of room for a diver's luggage. Not a single palm tree had been chopped down to give space for any construction on the island. The distance from the farthest of the twelve cabins to the jetty and the restaurant was some 100 m. Nowadays it seems that six twin cabins have been added – all with air conditioning.
 

The quality of resort was underlined by the Nabucco chef, who seemed to produce wonders in his kitchen. Most of what we were served had a western flavour with local touches but it was very varied and tasteful. At breakfast we dug into omelettes, pancakes, toast, fruit and freshly baked bread. Each night – except on barbeque nights – dinner consisted of four delicious courses: A soup, a salad, the main course and finally dessert. And, of course, freshly baked bread again.

No matter how hard, how long and how often we dove, we didn't loose any weight. For lunch we usually ordered a tasty sandwich and some fruit to bring along on the dive trip, though temperatures at some 40 degrees around noon usually did away with any immediate hunger.

Some of the guests at Nabucco were expats who simply came for a few days to relax and reload before returning to the timber and oil industries on the mainland. They didn't even dive!!! But the atmosphere on the resort and among the staff was inviting indeed and did warrant such silly behaviour.