The first stop: Bantimurung

Our first adventure was the last on Claire Holt’s route. It was a little off the direct road, but I couldn't resist.  It is called Bantimurung. Claire Holt described it as “a narrow roaring cataract that descends vertically from enormous height.” 

Strange, she didn’t mention the butterflies. The falls are home to at least 350 species. The darted around like falling leaves and soared like tiny birds and were hard to capture with the camera.

This tourist attraction had remnants from Dutch days and I wonder what it was like when Claire Holt visited.

We saw an Indonesian tourist attraction, fairly nice, but with still too much litter on the ground for it to be as lovely as it could be. And all the preserved butterflies being sold at the entrance explain why tourism has led to the decline of the butterflies.

The capture of the pretty things should be prohibited so that their numbers again increase. It would make the amazing butterfly habitat a true sanctuary.