Biak
Where The Japanese Defended A Pacific Island From Inside Its Coral Caves Rather Than On Its Beaches, And Where A Proposed Equatorial Spaceport Has Been Discussed For Decades And Never Built · Biak, Papua
THE BATTLE OF BIAK IN 1944 WAS NOT FOUGHT ON THE BEACHES. The Japanese commander let the Americans land and then fought from INSIDE THE ISLAND'S CORAL CAVES, which took weeks to clear and cost far more than anyone had planned for - a tactic that would be used again at Peleliu and Iwo Jima. GOA JEPANG, the main cave, is now a memorial and a small museum, AND IT IS A GRIM PLACE: a very large number of Japanese soldiers died inside it, and Japanese families still come. THE REST OF BIAK IS QUIETER. The PADAIDO ISLANDS offshore have reef and wrecks and almost no divers. THE ISLAND HAS BIRDS FOUND NOWHERE ELSE, including its own paradise kingfisher. AND BECAUSE IT SITS ALMOST ON THE EQUATOR, AN INDONESIAN SPACEPORT HERE HAS BEEN PROPOSED, discussed and shelved for decades, and people on the island will still tell you about it as though it might yet happen, which after this long is its own kind of local landmark.
Biak Island, Cenderawasih Bay, Papua, Biak, Papua, Indonesia
BIAK HAS FLIGHTS from Jayapura, Makassar and Jakarta and is a regional hub - it is one of the easier places in Papua to reach. GOA JEPANG keeps daytime hours with a small entry fee and a guide; THE CAVE IS A WAR GRAVE IN EVERYTHING BUT NAME and should be treated as one. THE MUSEUM beside it is small. BOATS TO THE PADAIDO ISLANDS are chartered at Biak town and arranged on the day, weather permitting. DIVE OPERATORS ARE VERY FEW - arrange in advance rather than expecting to walk in. THE BIRDING SITES are reached by road with local guides and are best at dawn. PAPUA'S PERMIT AND SECURITY SITUATION CHANGES; check current advice. It is hot and humid year-round and there is little shade.