Trip Report North Sulawesi Trip Report Part 1

[jjmochi]

Ehh everyone who I've spoken to from SG who's dived Hantu has said it's not worth it - my local dive shop said they're rarely running weekend trips there anymore as the owner is now mostly in Bali lol. It's like $160 for 2 dives too

 

[Searcaigh]

Love the Fire Gobi photo. I've only been able to get a couple of photos of them over the years.

I was surprised to get so close, perhaps it's because there's not been many divers over the past two years.

I only had my 60mm lens with me + patience, normally I would have preferred the 105 to get a decent shot.

 

[Dan]

Back in January 2020 Indonesia was starting to open up and it looked like Bali was going to be ahead of elsewhere so some plans started to evolve with some of my friends in the US and Australia to meet up in Bali and dive at Tulumben.

Obviously you meant January 2022.

 

[Searcaigh]

Obviously you meant January 2022.

Thanks for the correction @Dan

I should have proof read this more than once I guess

 

[Searcaigh]

Ehh everyone who I've spoken to from SG who's dived Hantu has said it's not worth it - my local dive shop said they're rarely running weekend trips there anymore as the owner is now mostly in Bali lol. It's like $160 for 2 dives too

I dived P. Hantu back in 1996 and thought that it was bad, but hey during the lockdown I'm sure many divers were grateful to have something to dive when no travel was possible.

P. Hantu is comparable or better than the diving off Dubai, which is why we drive two hours to dive on the east coast of UAE.

 

[Blackcrusader]

I was surprised to get so close, perhaps it's because there's not been many divers over the past two years.

I only had my 60mm lens with me + patience, normally I would have preferred the 105 to get a decent shot.

Yeah I was really lucky to get a pair of them as they scatter so quickly. This was with Go Pro Hero 4 I screen shot this from a video. Just a second later they were gone. So your shot so clear I really love that. This was in Moalboal Ceby and I only saw them twice in hundreds of dives there over the years. No one else on the same dive saw them and when we were back on the boat I was excitedly telling people I saw a pair a local DM said he had never seen them in years of diving there.

Very skittish fish.

 

[Searcaigh]

heard there's a magical device that zaps it using a similar principal and it disappears in a day but I've yet to find it.

@outofofficebrb has one of these

 

[jjmochi]

@outofofficebrb has one of these

omg @outofofficebrb can you pls give me the amazon link

 

[Dan]

When seasoned divers of a region compare and contrast different destination options there, it gets interesting. Lembeh I've read of for the muck diving; Bali for good diving for those who also want topside cultural experiences. But Tulumben is one of those places I've heard mentioned once in awhile, yet I don't recall what it's known for. Coral reef or wrecks, big animals or macro, drift diving or not, etc...?

Please tell me a bit about Tulumben, and what led you to choose it.

Just to add to what @Luko says about diving in Tulamben, the scuba gear porter system is unique to this area. When you dive there, you’ll see most Balinese DM (guide) are men. Balinese women work as the porters, who would carry the diving gears for you. The fee is small, but it makes a big difference to the economy of this village. Below is a picture of one of the porters, Nyoman Kartini and her child in 1999, taken by Mike Severns and posted in page 93 of “diving Bali” ISBN 978-0-7946-0600-8 by David Pickell and Wally Siagian, a good reference book for diving in Bali.

 

[Searcaigh]

A group of three Americans who were on the boat with us initially at Bangka were using this device in between dives.

When I started to have an issue with my right ear they let me try it, and it seems like I need to add another tool (besides drugs and chemicals) to take with me on dive trips.

» Ear Dryer

www.macksearplugs.com

Thanks Tom, Jeanne and Finis