MichaelBKK
Registered
Thought I was post my first (I think) trip report, albeit a short one.
This was my first trip to North Sulawesi. I split my short time between Lembeh and Bunaken. Stayed with Two Fish in both places, which was convenient, as they transferred my wet gear in their own day bags. I thought Two Fish was a very nice 'budget' operation. Both resorts were comfortable, if not fancy, and the guides were very good as well. It was also obvious in both locations that they were continuing to invest in keeping up and expanding the properties.
Lembeh was fantastic. I'll definitely be back. I also feel I finally have my camera rig 'perfected' and got some fantastic shots. The Lembeh highlights are on my blog, so you can judge for yourself. The max. with Two Fish is four divers to one guide, but there were never more than three at either place during my trip (Odo is still there, but he wasn't my guide). Diving at Lembeh is very easy, and contrary to what I had feared when "muck" diving was first described, it's not at all tedious. If anything, sometimes there was too much going on - ooo! pink frogfish! wait! there's a spiny devilfish! quick! over there, a mimic octopus! Good thing the dives are pretty shallow, or else a big guy like me just wouldn't have enough air.
Bunaken was also good diving - lots of fish, turtles, sharks, and even some good small stuff (my best shot of an ornate ghost pipefish was from Bunaken, although I saw three or four of them in Lembeh). But, I have to say, having dived Maldives, Similans * 2, Tioman, Komodo and even Bali, Bunaken was pretty much "same same but different" as we say here in Thailand. It's great diving, but not that different than other places I've been. While I definitely want to go back to Lembeh some day, I'll probably spend all my time there and not bother with Bunaken.
Two Fish at Bunaken is mostly a larger version of Lembeh, with similar cottages and setup. It was a bit more lively than Lembeh, with the guides entertaining everyone one night in the 'bar'. The low tide long walk back to the resort if you do an afternoon dive gets a bit old, and probably explains why so few people did the afternoon or evening dives.
This was my first trip to North Sulawesi. I split my short time between Lembeh and Bunaken. Stayed with Two Fish in both places, which was convenient, as they transferred my wet gear in their own day bags. I thought Two Fish was a very nice 'budget' operation. Both resorts were comfortable, if not fancy, and the guides were very good as well. It was also obvious in both locations that they were continuing to invest in keeping up and expanding the properties.
Lembeh was fantastic. I'll definitely be back. I also feel I finally have my camera rig 'perfected' and got some fantastic shots. The Lembeh highlights are on my blog, so you can judge for yourself. The max. with Two Fish is four divers to one guide, but there were never more than three at either place during my trip (Odo is still there, but he wasn't my guide). Diving at Lembeh is very easy, and contrary to what I had feared when "muck" diving was first described, it's not at all tedious. If anything, sometimes there was too much going on - ooo! pink frogfish! wait! there's a spiny devilfish! quick! over there, a mimic octopus! Good thing the dives are pretty shallow, or else a big guy like me just wouldn't have enough air.
Bunaken was also good diving - lots of fish, turtles, sharks, and even some good small stuff (my best shot of an ornate ghost pipefish was from Bunaken, although I saw three or four of them in Lembeh). But, I have to say, having dived Maldives, Similans * 2, Tioman, Komodo and even Bali, Bunaken was pretty much "same same but different" as we say here in Thailand. It's great diving, but not that different than other places I've been. While I definitely want to go back to Lembeh some day, I'll probably spend all my time there and not bother with Bunaken.
Two Fish at Bunaken is mostly a larger version of Lembeh, with similar cottages and setup. It was a bit more lively than Lembeh, with the guides entertaining everyone one night in the 'bar'. The low tide long walk back to the resort if you do an afternoon dive gets a bit old, and probably explains why so few people did the afternoon or evening dives.
