Lembeh

Date: 26 Apr 08 - 03 May 08 [8D/7N]
Location: Lembeh Strait, Sulawesi, Indonesia
No. of dives: 15
Accessibility to dive sites: 8.5
Marine Animal Density: 8.8
Dive site terrain Quality: 8.8
Marine Animal Diversity: 9.5
Visibility: 7.0
Overall Score: 8.5
Entry: Boat
Difficulty: OW
Dive Sites: Muck/Rubble bottoms

Camera: Canon Powershot A80
Underwater casing: Canon Waterproof Case WP-DC900 for Powershot A80 by Canon
Strobe: NIL
Oraganizer: Dan
Members: Lilian, Sam, KL Tan, Choon Wai, Kok Leong, CS Law, Doreen, Lucy and Kiki

There are over 30 dive sites around the Lembeh strait, most of them are either sandy areas or small reefs. Don't expect spectacular walls or huge reefs, here you are doing so called muck diving - searching for the rare and the unusual.
We did 15 dives in Lembeh Strait. Almost all my dive bottom time were >80 mins, a few even went way over 90mins hehehe … well as long we don’t go too deep, do multi level, maintain long de-com period at the shallow end, it will be just fine.
I have so many favorite dive sites I cannot remember them all, to name a few;

Nudi Retreat - is very nice coz it has lots of nudibranch, an electric scallop, frogfish, coral reef, pygmy seahorses and sandy muck bottom where flying gurnards and seamoths move around freely.

Hairball I & II – coz I saw the black hairy frog fish, coconut octopus, Mimic octopus, wonderpus, stargazer, etc. It is gentle slope covered with black sand and algae. Since most of the dive is sand you need a bit of patience, you might dive for a couple minutes and not find anything and then you get surprised by truely rare animals. There are occasional patch of sponges - those are the places to look for hidden animals.

Police pier I & II – coz I got lost and found a shipwreck together with Swiss – Mischa, This dive site is a real muck dive! There is a lot of garbage lying around, but among this garbage are real treasures.

Jahir I & II - A dive site with a large sandy area and coral blocks, calm and protected. I like this dive site coz I never know what I’m going to find here…. It is just a huge area with black sandy bottom.

Teluk Kembahu TK I & II – same as Jahir, same impression…lots to see.

Air Perang – I think this site is superb for night dives, lots of coral blocks.

Tanduk Rusa – This is another garbage dive site, there is a lot of garbage lying around, plastic bags, tin cans, tires, dead fish parts from the market. But among this garbage are little little surprises …. Such as the snake eels, stargazers, pipefish, sea horses…

Magic rock – can be done together with Nudi retreat when the current flow south, lots of healthy nice corals here..

I have so many good picture from this trip I had to split them into several albums...

SLIDESHOW - Critters

 

 

SLIDESHOW - Fishes

 

 

SLIDESHOW - Nudibranch

 

 

SLIDESHOW - Shipwreck