stphnmartin
Contributor
Back in September I concluded a liveaboard tip to the Banda Sea with a stop over in Ambon before flying home. I got in 12 dives in 3 days with Critterjunkies by divebluemotion. The dive shop is pretty basic and located on the shores of Laha. And, like most parts of Indonesia, sanitation is not at levels we experience in the west. So, the rocky beach was covered in plastic as well areas beneath the water. However, many magical creatures make this area home.
The water was warm enough for comfort in a 5mm wetsuit for long muck dives and viz varied from 30-50 feet, although on the last day, after a harsh rain, viz deteriorated to 2-3 feet! The top of the critter list was the psychedelic frogfish (PFF) and I didn't expect to actually see one. But, our guide had found one several days earlier and we got to see one on the second dive! There is competition amongst the dive guides and operators to find PFFs so when went to look for the PFF, our guide had one diver visit with the PFF while the others were off at a distance so other guides or boats couldn't figure out the location. It was like a secret mission. However, the PFF was in shallow water and the surge and particulate made for really difficult shooting conditions.
Here's a video of what I encountered in 12 dives. Comments and critiques welcome.
The water was warm enough for comfort in a 5mm wetsuit for long muck dives and viz varied from 30-50 feet, although on the last day, after a harsh rain, viz deteriorated to 2-3 feet! The top of the critter list was the psychedelic frogfish (PFF) and I didn't expect to actually see one. But, our guide had found one several days earlier and we got to see one on the second dive! There is competition amongst the dive guides and operators to find PFFs so when went to look for the PFF, our guide had one diver visit with the PFF while the others were off at a distance so other guides or boats couldn't figure out the location. It was like a secret mission. However, the PFF was in shallow water and the surge and particulate made for really difficult shooting conditions.
Here's a video of what I encountered in 12 dives. Comments and critiques welcome.
