April 2006 - Lembeh Straits Sulawesi Dive Trip

In early April 2006 Bill and a couple of friends (Sacha and Thila) went to Lembeh Straits, North Sulawesi  for a few days of scuba diving.  Despite having previously been to Manado Sulawesi several times for diving this was the first dive trip that I have made to dive this weird and wonderful place which boasts the world's best muck diving. Lembeh Straits Resort How we got there I flew Batavia Air non-stop from Jakarta to Manado.  Batavia Air is a fairly recent addition to the local budget airlines operating in Indonesia.  This was the first time I had flown Batavia Air but I was quite pleased with the experience.  The plane was relatively new, service was good and no mishaps were encountered.  The resort was about a 1 1/2 hour drive from the Manado airport and then another 10 minute boat ride to the resort. Where we stayed We stayed at the Lembeh Resort which is located on Lembeh Island.  The resort includes 14 spacious bungalows spread across lush green hills overlooking the Lembeh Straits.  Most dive sites are only minutes away.  I had previously met the Resort Manager (Linda) and Dive Shop Manager (Karl) when I went on the Sea Safari III live aboard to Komodo and Raja Ampat.  Both Linda and Karl recently joined the resort and are implementing many improvements.  Overall we were all pleased with the resort.  The bungalows were spacious and well maintained, the food was good and the dive operations were well run.  I can whole heartedly recommend this resort and hope to return in the future. The Diving During our 5 day/4 night stay we were able to do 10 dives.  Lembeh Straits is know as the world's best muck diving, meaning you will encounter all sorts of strange and weird creatures.  We were not disappointed during this trip as we encountered many creatures that can not be seen anywhere else in the world.  The downside is that because this is muck diving the visibility tends to be poor so it is critical to have a good dive guide to point out the creatures that otherwise you would not see.  Our guides during this trip were exceptionally good. During this trip I dived the following sites.  I added commentary on those sites which I have distinct memories. Day #1 - 7 April 2006 Lembeh Resort House Reef - overall not an exceptional dive.  We did see a frog fish but the visibility was very poor and we didn't see much of anything else.  Supposedly the Lembeh Resort housereef is good for seeing the mating Mandarin fish but we didn't make a dusk dive during this trip to see the mating Mandarin. Day #2 - 8 April 2006 Nudi Retreat - visibility was better than our first dive.  Saw banggai cardinalfish, wasp fish, stay tuned until I view my video and can more accurately identify the species of fish that I saw. Hairball Retak Larry Jahir Day #3 - 9 April 2006 Makawide Nudi Falls TK #1 Day #4 - 10 April 2006 TK #3 Hairball Dive Video Stay tuned until I've had an opportunity to edit the underwater video that I took during this trip. Photo Slideshow Below you can view a slideshow of the photos taken on this trip or view the photo album here.