AlanWald
Contributor
Dive Trip Report Part One of Three
Bunaken Island, Manado, North Sulawesi September 14, 2004- October 11, 2004
Terrific place, don't read this just go.
As point of comparison the fish diversity and quantity and ease of access to dive sites is better than Fiji. It lacks the splendors of Fiji soft corals, but there is plenty of small and unusual stuff to see.
I dove with Nigel and Tina at Two Fish Divers ( http://twofishdivers.com/ ) which is based on Bunaken Island.
The local people were charming and always singing and laughing. Manado area is safe. To quote Danny one of the resort management staff "I know there are big problems in other parts of Indonesia but life is good here in Manado and I am happy."
But like anywhere, ultimately all that matters is your guide, your skills and knowledge and the luck of the draw as to what you see. But Bunaken is so rich in sea life you can't go wrong.
Two Fish Divers web site describes accurately how things are run. The guides were consistently enthusiastic and helpful. Always finding things for one to see. I look forward to returning next year. Nigel and Tina were superb hosts and run a good dive operation with a terrific friendly staff. An excellent value.
I was seeing new or rare stuff on almost every dive. The usual suspects where there in great quantity and variety, red tooth trigger fish (the little blue ones), other trigger fish, butterfly fish, pipefish, trumpet fish, angel fish, anemone fish, cleaner wrasses, huge Napoleon wrasses, oysters, coral clams, five huge (a meter across) giant clams in a row, Mandarin fish (seen by others), sea dragons, peacock flounders, frog fish, parrot fish, batfish, ornate ghost pipe fish, all kinds of lion fish, leaf scorpion and other scorpion fish and stone fish, mantis shrimp, spiny lobsters, cleaner shrimp, a big sponge crab the size of basketball (but flattened out) on a night dive, pygmy seahorses (the classic pink knobby ones as well as the recently described yellow/orange ones), those little yellow and blue scrawled file fish, turtles, white tip and black tip reef sharks, blue spotted rays, dolphins, whales (I didn't see any but someone else did) dog tooth tuna, an occasional spotted eagle ray. Even caught a glimpse of a dugong. They are seen at high tide when they come in to eat the sea grass. The diving is mostly wall diving except at Popo and Bangka and spots off the mainland shore.
A species of coelacanth was discovered in the fish market of Manado in 1998. It is believed to live at about 100 meters (330 feet) in volcanic caves at the base of Manado Tua island (you can spot this volcanic island while landing, it is near the long flat Bunaken island).
Most dive operations use similar local wooden boats, some fancier than others. Mainland based operations like Eco-Divers have larger modern boats. You will need to purchase for 150,000 rupiah (about US$16) a special dive tag that you need to have with you when diving in the National Park. It is good for the calendar year. You will get this from the dive operator. This funds the patrol boats that protect the park.
The dive boats will come pick you up wherever you surface. There is a lot of boat traffic (dive boats and locals), so pay attention when you surface. I recommend that you carry the standard surface signaling devices (safety sausage, air horn, whistle).
When you stay on one of the islands like Bunaken, you generally do a dive and come back for siesta and lunch then do another dive. Most of the dive sites are only ten to twenty minutes away if you are staying on the island. If you stay on the mainland, it is a day trip(about 45 minutes to hour travel time each way) and you do all your dives and have lunch on the boat before returning.
With Two Fish Divers my total cost for 51 dives was US$1160 of which $60 were fuel surcharges of $25 for each of two trips to Bangka Island (an hour and half from Bunaken)and a $10 surcharge for Popo, a muck diving site south of Manado just off the mainland which was an hour from Bunaken. I recommend the trips to Bangka and Popo. You can skip Popo if you are doing a side trip to the nearby Lembeh Straits. There is also a shipwreck just north of Manado City. Maximum depth is about 120 feet (36 meters)
My budget room (a two minute walk from Two Fish Divers) including meals was very basic at US$8 per night. Local style toilet (squat toilet), no fan (though night temps were perfect, neither cold nor warm) and rice, vegetables and fish for lunch and diner. Locally grown tropical fruit for breakfast with an occasional piece of pound cake or donuts or bread.
They are better accommodations with western style toilets, fan, etc for US$15 and up for room and food available from Two Fish Divers. Two Fish Divers are in the process of building new deluxe rooms.
I don't know the policies of the other dive operations, but at Two Fish divers (located on the Bunaken Island) there is a guide for every three people, occasionally you have one guide for one or two persons. If you have a group of six people in may be possible to get your own boat and set your own schedule.
At Two Fish Divers dive departure times and locations are flexible. There is a white board in the dining area near the reception desk that lists the boat schedules and who is on what boat. They try to keep you with the same guide as much as possible and match you up with other divers of similar abilities and interests. If you have a question or want to switch boats for any reason or not dive let the staff know.
There is equipment available for rental (US$5 per day) and all dive gear goes into a big "milk crate" type plastic box and is stored on the boat that way and taken off at the end of the day to be washed (weight belts stay on the boat). Hold on to your booties between dives so you can use them to walk out to the boat during low tide. I suggest marking your gear so that it makes easier for the dives to make sure that the right gear gets on the correct boat.
PADI dive instruction from Open water to rescue and divemaster (long stay required) is available. Current instructors are Nigel and Tina and Bruno.
You can do as few or as many dives as you want. Guides will stay with you as long as you wish to dive. I did a 95 minute dive one day and the next day the guide wanted to know if I wanted to do 100. Some people did three 80 minute dives in a day.
Two Fish divers has three full size wooden local style dive boats plus the "speed boat, which is a tiny open skiff used mostly for students to take them to a nearby shallow area for training. Tanks are standard aluminum 80s with yoke (A-clamp) pumped to 3000 psi (200bar).
At night at Two Fish there is a television so people can show their digital photos or videos of the day's dive and a bar by the beach and the dive staff who live at the resort generally sing and play guitar all night.
End of Part One of Three
Bunaken Island, Manado, North Sulawesi September 14, 2004- October 11, 2004
Terrific place, don't read this just go.
As point of comparison the fish diversity and quantity and ease of access to dive sites is better than Fiji. It lacks the splendors of Fiji soft corals, but there is plenty of small and unusual stuff to see.
I dove with Nigel and Tina at Two Fish Divers ( http://twofishdivers.com/ ) which is based on Bunaken Island.
The local people were charming and always singing and laughing. Manado area is safe. To quote Danny one of the resort management staff "I know there are big problems in other parts of Indonesia but life is good here in Manado and I am happy."
But like anywhere, ultimately all that matters is your guide, your skills and knowledge and the luck of the draw as to what you see. But Bunaken is so rich in sea life you can't go wrong.
Two Fish Divers web site describes accurately how things are run. The guides were consistently enthusiastic and helpful. Always finding things for one to see. I look forward to returning next year. Nigel and Tina were superb hosts and run a good dive operation with a terrific friendly staff. An excellent value.
I was seeing new or rare stuff on almost every dive. The usual suspects where there in great quantity and variety, red tooth trigger fish (the little blue ones), other trigger fish, butterfly fish, pipefish, trumpet fish, angel fish, anemone fish, cleaner wrasses, huge Napoleon wrasses, oysters, coral clams, five huge (a meter across) giant clams in a row, Mandarin fish (seen by others), sea dragons, peacock flounders, frog fish, parrot fish, batfish, ornate ghost pipe fish, all kinds of lion fish, leaf scorpion and other scorpion fish and stone fish, mantis shrimp, spiny lobsters, cleaner shrimp, a big sponge crab the size of basketball (but flattened out) on a night dive, pygmy seahorses (the classic pink knobby ones as well as the recently described yellow/orange ones), those little yellow and blue scrawled file fish, turtles, white tip and black tip reef sharks, blue spotted rays, dolphins, whales (I didn't see any but someone else did) dog tooth tuna, an occasional spotted eagle ray. Even caught a glimpse of a dugong. They are seen at high tide when they come in to eat the sea grass. The diving is mostly wall diving except at Popo and Bangka and spots off the mainland shore.
A species of coelacanth was discovered in the fish market of Manado in 1998. It is believed to live at about 100 meters (330 feet) in volcanic caves at the base of Manado Tua island (you can spot this volcanic island while landing, it is near the long flat Bunaken island).
Most dive operations use similar local wooden boats, some fancier than others. Mainland based operations like Eco-Divers have larger modern boats. You will need to purchase for 150,000 rupiah (about US$16) a special dive tag that you need to have with you when diving in the National Park. It is good for the calendar year. You will get this from the dive operator. This funds the patrol boats that protect the park.
The dive boats will come pick you up wherever you surface. There is a lot of boat traffic (dive boats and locals), so pay attention when you surface. I recommend that you carry the standard surface signaling devices (safety sausage, air horn, whistle).
When you stay on one of the islands like Bunaken, you generally do a dive and come back for siesta and lunch then do another dive. Most of the dive sites are only ten to twenty minutes away if you are staying on the island. If you stay on the mainland, it is a day trip(about 45 minutes to hour travel time each way) and you do all your dives and have lunch on the boat before returning.
With Two Fish Divers my total cost for 51 dives was US$1160 of which $60 were fuel surcharges of $25 for each of two trips to Bangka Island (an hour and half from Bunaken)and a $10 surcharge for Popo, a muck diving site south of Manado just off the mainland which was an hour from Bunaken. I recommend the trips to Bangka and Popo. You can skip Popo if you are doing a side trip to the nearby Lembeh Straits. There is also a shipwreck just north of Manado City. Maximum depth is about 120 feet (36 meters)
My budget room (a two minute walk from Two Fish Divers) including meals was very basic at US$8 per night. Local style toilet (squat toilet), no fan (though night temps were perfect, neither cold nor warm) and rice, vegetables and fish for lunch and diner. Locally grown tropical fruit for breakfast with an occasional piece of pound cake or donuts or bread.
They are better accommodations with western style toilets, fan, etc for US$15 and up for room and food available from Two Fish Divers. Two Fish Divers are in the process of building new deluxe rooms.
I don't know the policies of the other dive operations, but at Two Fish divers (located on the Bunaken Island) there is a guide for every three people, occasionally you have one guide for one or two persons. If you have a group of six people in may be possible to get your own boat and set your own schedule.
At Two Fish Divers dive departure times and locations are flexible. There is a white board in the dining area near the reception desk that lists the boat schedules and who is on what boat. They try to keep you with the same guide as much as possible and match you up with other divers of similar abilities and interests. If you have a question or want to switch boats for any reason or not dive let the staff know.
There is equipment available for rental (US$5 per day) and all dive gear goes into a big "milk crate" type plastic box and is stored on the boat that way and taken off at the end of the day to be washed (weight belts stay on the boat). Hold on to your booties between dives so you can use them to walk out to the boat during low tide. I suggest marking your gear so that it makes easier for the dives to make sure that the right gear gets on the correct boat.
PADI dive instruction from Open water to rescue and divemaster (long stay required) is available. Current instructors are Nigel and Tina and Bruno.
You can do as few or as many dives as you want. Guides will stay with you as long as you wish to dive. I did a 95 minute dive one day and the next day the guide wanted to know if I wanted to do 100. Some people did three 80 minute dives in a day.
Two Fish divers has three full size wooden local style dive boats plus the "speed boat, which is a tiny open skiff used mostly for students to take them to a nearby shallow area for training. Tanks are standard aluminum 80s with yoke (A-clamp) pumped to 3000 psi (200bar).
At night at Two Fish there is a television so people can show their digital photos or videos of the day's dive and a bar by the beach and the dive staff who live at the resort generally sing and play guitar all night.
End of Part One of Three
