brownmola
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First of all, thank you to everyone on this board for providing such great information and advice. I couldn't planned this trip without you.
Blue Bay Divers - Sahaung Island
After 37 hours of traveling, we finally arrived at the airport in Manado and were picked up by a very nice driver who would take us to the coast (1.5 hour ride) to meet the Blue Bay speedboat. It was a short ride to Sahaung Island and our first sight was amazingly beautiful white sand and calm blue water. It is a very small island and Blue Bay is the only resort on the island. It is set in a well protected bay that is extremely calm. It was absolutely stunning. We were greeted by what seemed to be the entire staff when we got off of the boat. Everyone was very welcoming and friendly. Anke and Salmon (the owners) were wonderful in all of the communication prior to the trip and were just as nice in person.
Food and Accommodations
The food was very good. There was always plenty of it as well. Meals are served buffet style and there is one large table where all the guests eat together. It is a great way of getting to know the other divers. There was always a vegetarian option and a mix of local food and European style cuisine. There was always soda, water, tea, and coffee available was well at any time in the day. It is a very small resort so there are only a handful of bungalows, all made in the traditional Indonesia style. The bungalows had a large porch, hammock, and drying racks. There were many windows and a fan in the room. It did get warm but there was a nice ocean breeze to help. A mosquito net and coils are provided but I only saw 2 or 3 mosquitoes during our entire stay. I usually get bit by everything so I was really surprised at the lack of bugs. The bathroom does not have a shower but a mandi instead. It is a large container of water that you ladle over yourself. It is something I had never used before but I really liked it. The staff provided hot water as well after night dives. One of the highlights was watching the Germany vs. Argentina World Cup match. It was a very elaborate setup. One of the boats went out into the bay to find the best reception and then later, a second boat transported the people who wanted to watch. Most of the guests at the time were German so it was a really great experience (especially since Germany won: ) I don't know what it is about white sand and blue water but it definitely is a big plus. It was great spending our non-diving time sitting on the white sand with our feet in the water.
The Diving
The diving was great. The water was consistently 80-81F degrees. The diving was a mix between sand and coral with some pinnacles as well.. We had an amazing sand dive where we saw 4 juvenile frogfish no larger than 3 or 4 millimeters. There was very little current on all of our dives. The dive boats are very large and we had between 2-6 divers on our boats. The dive sites are all withing 5-10 minutes so you return to the resort after each dive. The whole dive setup is first class. For the majority of our dives, it was just my wife and I and our dive guide. We were unbelievably fortunate to have Anke and Salmon (the owners) guide for us for the majority of our dives. They were expert at finding all the critters. The other dive guides were very good as well (we had 2 other dive guides throughout our stay there). The highlight of our dives there though were the Pygmy Seahorses. We had at least 10 sightings and on one seafan, there were 3 pygmy seahorses. Salmon found one of the largest pygmy seahorses I have ever seen and it made for some great photos. On that same dive, a dugong was spotted in the distance by some of the other divers. There seemed to be something new on every single dive.
We all know that the people at the resort usually can make a trip unforgettable and that was definitely the case with Blue Bay. We felt as if we were part of their family from the very beginning and we were very sad to leave. Instead of a great trip, Anke, Salmon, and the rest of the staff made it an unforgettable trip.
Here is a link to some pictures from the trip:
N. Sulawesi Dive Photos
Part 2 Trip Report: Black Sand Dive Retreat coming soon...
Blue Bay Divers - Sahaung Island
After 37 hours of traveling, we finally arrived at the airport in Manado and were picked up by a very nice driver who would take us to the coast (1.5 hour ride) to meet the Blue Bay speedboat. It was a short ride to Sahaung Island and our first sight was amazingly beautiful white sand and calm blue water. It is a very small island and Blue Bay is the only resort on the island. It is set in a well protected bay that is extremely calm. It was absolutely stunning. We were greeted by what seemed to be the entire staff when we got off of the boat. Everyone was very welcoming and friendly. Anke and Salmon (the owners) were wonderful in all of the communication prior to the trip and were just as nice in person.
Food and Accommodations
The food was very good. There was always plenty of it as well. Meals are served buffet style and there is one large table where all the guests eat together. It is a great way of getting to know the other divers. There was always a vegetarian option and a mix of local food and European style cuisine. There was always soda, water, tea, and coffee available was well at any time in the day. It is a very small resort so there are only a handful of bungalows, all made in the traditional Indonesia style. The bungalows had a large porch, hammock, and drying racks. There were many windows and a fan in the room. It did get warm but there was a nice ocean breeze to help. A mosquito net and coils are provided but I only saw 2 or 3 mosquitoes during our entire stay. I usually get bit by everything so I was really surprised at the lack of bugs. The bathroom does not have a shower but a mandi instead. It is a large container of water that you ladle over yourself. It is something I had never used before but I really liked it. The staff provided hot water as well after night dives. One of the highlights was watching the Germany vs. Argentina World Cup match. It was a very elaborate setup. One of the boats went out into the bay to find the best reception and then later, a second boat transported the people who wanted to watch. Most of the guests at the time were German so it was a really great experience (especially since Germany won: ) I don't know what it is about white sand and blue water but it definitely is a big plus. It was great spending our non-diving time sitting on the white sand with our feet in the water.
The Diving
The diving was great. The water was consistently 80-81F degrees. The diving was a mix between sand and coral with some pinnacles as well.. We had an amazing sand dive where we saw 4 juvenile frogfish no larger than 3 or 4 millimeters. There was very little current on all of our dives. The dive boats are very large and we had between 2-6 divers on our boats. The dive sites are all withing 5-10 minutes so you return to the resort after each dive. The whole dive setup is first class. For the majority of our dives, it was just my wife and I and our dive guide. We were unbelievably fortunate to have Anke and Salmon (the owners) guide for us for the majority of our dives. They were expert at finding all the critters. The other dive guides were very good as well (we had 2 other dive guides throughout our stay there). The highlight of our dives there though were the Pygmy Seahorses. We had at least 10 sightings and on one seafan, there were 3 pygmy seahorses. Salmon found one of the largest pygmy seahorses I have ever seen and it made for some great photos. On that same dive, a dugong was spotted in the distance by some of the other divers. There seemed to be something new on every single dive.
We all know that the people at the resort usually can make a trip unforgettable and that was definitely the case with Blue Bay. We felt as if we were part of their family from the very beginning and we were very sad to leave. Instead of a great trip, Anke, Salmon, and the rest of the staff made it an unforgettable trip.
Here is a link to some pictures from the trip:
N. Sulawesi Dive Photos
Part 2 Trip Report: Black Sand Dive Retreat coming soon...
