Lembeh, polluted water and illness?

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

Bacterial pneumonia can kill you fast. Please do not rely on Amoxicillin. Any fever which last longer than 24 hours should be a reason to have a proper examination. And if you suspect having a pneumonia, do not wait so long.
 
I was also pleasantly surprised that Lembeh had a lot less garbage in and out of the water than I feared. I also had no health issues and liked almost everybody else loved the place.
 
The water or the town or both?
Indonesian rubbish.jpg
I was in Lembeh in February and this was the scene as we left the mainland for our resort. We stayed for 4 days and did 15 dives before the end of it all. It had rained right before we got there, which undoubtedly contributed to the mess, but friends who had also visited recently referred to it as diaper diving. We saw lots of great animals, but to add to the list, we also saw a literal diaper and a woman's pad underwater. We stayed healthy the entire trip as lots of people do, but the water is pretty rough in spots.
 
After talking to the guy who's group got sick he could not necessarily pin it on the diving. Getting sick can certainly color your experience.
So, $$ have been put down on Lembeh 2018.
 
View attachment 420840
I was in Lembeh in February and this was the scene as we left the mainland for our resort. We stayed for 4 days and did 15 dives before the end of it all. It had rained right before we got there, which undoubtedly contributed to the mess, but friends who had also visited recently referred to it as diaper diving. We saw lots of great animals, but to add to the list, we also saw a literal diaper and a woman's pad underwater. We stayed healthy the entire trip as lots of people do, but the water is pretty rough in spots.

I found some critters can be creative with the trash in the water. I saw a moving cigarette case in Lembeh black sand bottom. It turned out a crap-carrying crab using it as its protector from its predator.

 
Oh sure. These gobies got it on inside a candy wrapper, too. The animals will do whatever they can with whatever is there, I just wish people were a little less wasteful.
What fish and eggs watermark.jpg
 
This mommy blue-ring octopus is guarding its babies inside the beer bottle.
pM0024219.JPG
 
There's always a few...I mean sure, they make for cute photos, but it's also kind of disturbing.

img_9719.jpg

Fish in discarded Bintang bottles...

img_4067.jpg

Mantis shrimp in tin cans...

img_4308.jpg

Puffers in paint cans...
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

Back
Top Bottom