Lembeh trip report, March 2019

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Erwin Poliakoff

Contributor
Messages
83
Reaction score
142
Location
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
# of dives
1000 - 2499
My wife and I just completed a trip to Indonesia. The main purpose of the trip was to go to Raja Ampat on the Gaia liveaboard (I already submitted a trip report on that part of the journey). But we figured that as long as we were going all the way to Indonesia, we would also fit in a side trip to Lembeh. So we started out the trip with 4 days diving at the NAD Lembeh resort, which was a really good idea. The diving was excellent, and the resort was very nice. The dives are all muck dives, although there were some very nice reef-y sections of several of the dives. The main point of the diving at Lembeh is the selection of critters, and there was an incredible assortment, including octopus, shrimp. nudis, unusual fish. While I have a slight preference for the muck diving in Ambon, I enjoyed going to Lembeh for a change of pace. Our dive guide was Paulus, and he was amazing. In fact, all of the guides got rave reviews from the divers. The camera facilities were well set up and convenient to use. I noticed that the off-duty dive guides were editing their photos, and I learned that the owners are training many of the guides to do photography. I think that this is a great idea, as they really know how to advise you on how to set up the shots. The food at the resort was quite good; about the only (minor) complaint that I have is that the breakfasts tended by be pretty monotonous. With that said, the quality was still very good. The dive boats are also very nicely laid out and comfortable. I understand that they are building some new dive boats, too. The guest room we stayed in was comfortable and close to the restaurant, dive dock, and bar.

Here are some examples of the critters that we saw.

Jawfish with eggs
46686339175_1deab5622c_c.jpg
01_DSC_1077 jawfish with eggs by Erwin Poliakoff, on Flickr

Blue ring octopus
47553001582_36d29b10ea_c.jpg
02_DSC_0913 blue ring octopus by Erwin Poliakoff, on Flickr

Cardinalfish
47610661941_f86b4ab889_c.jpg
04_DSC_0886 cardinal fish by Erwin Poliakoff, on Flickr

Tiger shrimp
33735936338_316e36aa1f_c.jpg
05_DSC_1221 tiger shrimp by Erwin Poliakoff, on Flickr

Whip coral goby
32678359387_73597d30c7_c.jpg
11_DSC_0782 whip coral goby by Erwin Poliakoff, on Flickr

Sharpnose puffer
32681145097_4a697c24bd_c.jpg
14_DSC_1268 sharpnose puffer by Erwin Poliakoff, on Flickr

Leafy filefish
33748478578_2fec123b33_c.jpg
21_DSC_0689 leafy filefish by Erwin Poliakoff, on Flickr

The whole set of photos from the Lembeh leg of the trip can be found here: Lembeh photo album

-Erwin
 
NAD is a great little resort and you really do get bang for you buck there.
Interested to hear why you prefer (if only slightly) Ambon over Lembeh?
I love the leafy filefish...such an interesting critter. Great shots.

Just to put it into context, I plan to return to Lembeh, and specifically, to stay at NAD Lembeh. So I am not complaining about Lembeh, as it was great. I have a slight preference for Ambon mainly because I think that the density of critters is even higher, and there are many fewer divers in Ambon. My preferred resort in Ambon, Maluku Dive Resort, has shut down, and Lembeh has many excellent options, including NAD Lembeh. I agree about the leafy filefish. I have never seen one before, and they are definitely on my "favorites" list.
-Erwin
 
Wow, never seen a leafy file fish like that! Nice picture!

My wife and I just completed a trip to Indonesia. The main purpose of the trip was to go to Raja Ampat on the Gaia liveaboard (I already submitted a trip report on that part of the journey). But we figured that as long as we were going all the way to Indonesia, we would also fit in a side trip to Lembeh. So we started out the trip with 4 days diving at the NAD Lembeh resort, which was a really good idea. The diving was excellent, and the resort was very nice. The dives are all muck dives, although there were some very nice reef-y sections of several of the dives. The main point of the diving at Lembeh is the selection of critters, and there was an incredible assortment, including octopus, shrimp. nudis, unusual fish. While I have a slight preference for the muck diving in Ambon, I enjoyed going to Lembeh for a change of pace. Our dive guide was Paulus, and he was amazing. In fact, all of the guides got rave reviews from the divers. The camera facilities were well set up and convenient to use. I noticed that the off-duty dive guides were editing their photos, and I learned that the owners are training many of the guides to do photography. I think that this is a great idea, as they really know how to advise you on how to set up the shots. The food at the resort was quite good; about the only (minor) complaint that I have is that the breakfasts tended by be pretty monotonous. With that said, the quality was still very good. The dive boats are also very nicely laid out and comfortable. I understand that they are building some new dive boats, too. The guest room we stayed in was comfortable and close to the restaurant, dive dock, and bar.

Here are some examples of the critters that we saw.

Jawfish with eggs
View attachment 51633901_DSC_1077 jawfish with eggs by Erwin Poliakoff, on Flickr

Blue ring octopus
View attachment 51634002_DSC_0913 blue ring octopus by Erwin Poliakoff, on Flickr

Cardinalfish
View attachment 51634104_DSC_0886 cardinal fish by Erwin Poliakoff, on Flickr

Tiger shrimp
View attachment 51634205_DSC_1221 tiger shrimp by Erwin Poliakoff, on Flickr

Whip coral goby
View attachment 51634311_DSC_0782 whip coral goby by Erwin Poliakoff, on Flickr

Sharpnose puffer
View attachment 51634414_DSC_1268 sharpnose puffer by Erwin Poliakoff, on Flickr

Leafy filefish
View attachment 51634521_DSC_0689 leafy filefish by Erwin Poliakoff, on Flickr

The whole set of photos from the Lembeh leg of the trip can be found here: Lembeh photo album

-Erwin
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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