Manado, N Sulawesi, creatures large and small

[TSandM]

I am having a ton of fun reading this thread, since my husband and I just signed up for a trip to Sulawesi for next fall. It sounds like we will have an incredible experience!

 

[The Hamburger]

I seem to remember that boats dock at Police Pier rather than anchoring.

 

[ssra30]

I seem to remember that boats dock at Police Pier rather than anchoring.

That was true last year. This year, at least up until last month, the boat has been mooring just off the pier as there was some problem with the pier (probably financially rather than technical). I hope it is all sort out by the time I am there next month

 

[Santa]

I am having a ton of fun reading this thread, since my husband and I just signed up for a trip to Sulawesi for next fall. It sounds like we will have an incredible experience!

Believe me you will. Ghaaarh wish it was me! Enjoy it thoroughly!

Regards santa.

 

[gabyne]

Also more than 15 divers at once at a site as Nudi Falls is really far too much. Lembeh has about 40 good sites. Lets spread! Go to an other site if you see there are already people diving.

I thought spreading is one of the resorts' principles in Lembeh? Every resort promotes one guide for two divers maximum and if there's already a boat on a certain dive site, they go to another site...???

For me this is very important because I just had lots and lots of divers at Brother Islands/Red Sea on every dive... Before, everybody tells you the area is very secluded, there are only a few boats having a license to go there, and they coordinate their schedules... almost all sharks were scared away, unfortunately... :dontgetit

 

[Deano2]

Point here - the critters are on the Manado side.

I've dived Lembeh and just come back from Manado this time. On the Manado side (see above - warmer and brighter than Lembeh) they are starting to locate many critters. Until recently diving focussed on Bunaken, now they are looking to their own shore and finding they can rival Lembeh. I dived Lembeh and Manado both about 2 years ago and already they were defining dive locations with critters. They've always been there - it's just that diving was focussed on the bigger stuff/walls.

Blue ring, mimic octs, frogfish plain or hairy, seahorses all types, ditto ghost pipe fish, leaf fish, sea moths, shrimps of all sorts, crabs inc orang utan, flamboyant and other cuttlefish, snake eels, flathead crocodile fish, stone and scorpion fish, mandarin fish etc etc. And then there is a proliferation of corals and sponges which is not present in Lembeh. You would expect to see all of these (except maybe the blue-ring and mimic) in only two dives - one shore dive at the jetty and one 20 minute distant boat dive at Poo Pooh. Another couple of dives would get you the blue ring and maybe the mimic. Chuck in a night dive and you'd be high on critters.

Oh - and did I say pilot whales!

What I didn't see there were flying gurnards which are abundant at Lembeh. Also - there are a fair few nudis, but if you're a nudi-freak - then Lembeh still has the edge. (And if you are a nudi-freak - check out Nha Trang in Vietnam. They've eaten most of the fish, but the nudis are great and Rainbow Divers divevietnam.com even have a nudi speciality.)

If there is anything you are particularly interested in - ask and I will tell you if or where and when we saw it. Have also some photos that we are still processing - so can provide a portrait as well!

Cheers mate. I've been there a number of times myself and love it. Who did you dive with?

I'd go again in a second. They have it all, current, no current, vis, walls...aahhh...

My last trip was May 2005 and despite what people say it is a good place for pelagics...depending on when you go and if blessings of Ms. Mother Nature shine upon thee. We had Black tips and white tips in good numbers on almost every dive... as well as pilot whales, yellow fin tuna, great barracuda and hoards of tuna and mackeral. It's all in the luck of the draw.

I dived with Thalassa and they are great about flexibility. I'll send my reports if you like.

Deano2

 

[pelan-pelan]

Hi Deano2

We dived with lumbalumba (www.lumbalumbadiving.com). They are at Mokupa, about 5 - 10 minutes nearer Manado than Tasik Ria. They have new cottages and a jetty. It is run by Roel and Juud Dikkers who have been there for years. They are long standing colleagues of Simone. Ran the dive centre at the Tasik Ria til 2001. Some of their dive guides have been with them for over 8 years.

Critter diving at PooPooh and Long Beach is very close - just minutes on the boat. The dive from the jetty - giant stride and look down - 2 large strands of weed - err no, 2 very large robust ghost pipe fish - and you're still letting air our of your bc.

They were excellent at finding critters - 6 fin strokes from the jetty and there's 3 orangutan crabs in a fan together with a very strange shrimp. 4 more fin strokes and there's a mandarin fish. The ethos is to give you the dive you would like. The staff are very helpful. At PooPooh, for example we were diving with two of us to one guide, but also one of the non-diving boat staff was snorkelling above, finding more critters and directing us to them. Or you can ask them not to point anything out and they'll let you search for yourself.

And they're still at the stage of discovering more and more critters and locations close by. And they get lots of return guests - 4th time for me and will be back as soon as I can. Glad to see so many people are now aware of the place.

 

[tboxcar]

Just got back from my 3rd trip to Bunaken Island in 12 years, this time we stayed with www.bunakendivers.com at Seabreeze resort, simple but nice. Terry the Australian owner/manager and his wife Diana a lovely Indonesian lady will take care of you well. They have a range of accommadation for all price ranges. They are located on Bunaken not far from Living colors and Two Fish. Tell them Tom from California said hello. I was on Sipadan last year and would have to say 'dive for dive' Manado is better than Sipadan, especially when it comes to price. Better yet, it's not as crowded and a bit more laid back.

 

[Santa]

They are located on Bunaken not far from Living colors and Two Fish.

For the two seasons I was there (i was with two fish and lorenzo I and II, as vacancy would have it) living color was quite new and seemed to be struggling a bit. Their houses were a step up from the other resorts and the food supposed to be more european (read: not just fish, eggs and rice).

I'm sure the op is fine but the place itself at times seemed oddly deserted and lacking local flavour, like it wasn't really part of the island yet.

Anybody stay with them? What was your impression?

Regards

 

[stevensally]

Great info, is there also large shoals of fish and colourful soft corals in Bunaken. We read John Banatins report and were put off Manado by it because it suggested you had to really be into macro stuff.