I arrived in Papuma and was greeted with monkeys lounging on the beach and swinging from the branches above me. It is rich in exotic animals such as macaques, monitor lizards, birds, anteaters, porcupines and abundance of bats to name a few. Seeing nature intertwined with this small community of Indonesians was amazing to see as there was mostly local huts with a few villas. It had a beautiful natural feel tucked away in the forest.

Before I arrived a few nights earlier, I climbed the active volcano Mt Bromo and explored the surrounds hoping to capture the Milky Way with the landscapes; however, it was cloudy every night. I left without Milky Way Landscapes but I know I will be back again.

Continuing with my trip, I arrived to Papuma to photograph this 50 metre unique rock formation surrounded by a reef. It was cloudy when I arrived but as night fell the clouds disappeared. My luck had changed after the previous cloudy nights at Mt Bromo.

I began the sequence capturing 5 hours of star trails securing my tripod with rope on the cliff edge to align the south celestial pole with one of 7 rocks of the atoll. It is a lone rock separate from the others rising in solidarity. A big highlight of my trip in Java.

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