Pelagics in Indo?

[Travelnsj]

Thanks guys for the input....I am going from Dec 23 thru January 8th...planning on Lembeh 5 days then Sorido for a week.....my concern is going all this distance for just OK diving...thus my considering cancellation.

World/ Galapagos-out of 15 dives...only 3 were worthwhile....water is cold...washing machine currents....and did not see much....Sipadan-10 days 30 dives vis was never over 30' saw much of nothing....long way to go a lot of money for just maybe OK diving.....when Comparing to places like Christmas Island (kiribati), Palau, Rangiora/Fakarava, Bali/East Timor.....thus if the diving in Raja and Lembeh up not at those levels....no reason to spend the money and time.

Thanks for all the info.

Scott

 

[swisstrav]

hi scott

go for it. if you like critters, then lembeh is the place to go anyway. since you are in manado it is a short hop to sorong. look it up from this side. then you get your own experience. might be a good thing to let me know - thinking about going back in one of these days.

your sure welcome
swisstrav

 

[Bali Diver]

Scott really hope you do enjoy it and look forward later on for your thoughts as for Lembeh loads of macro stuff there for you to enjoy.

As for Galapagos/Sipadan wow you really had some bad luck there.


Happy Diving !

 

[Live_in_Sin]

from my experiences diving around S-E Asia water, it is very difficult to get 30m+ viz in most dive sites except during March - May.

 

[pakman]

I don't have first hand experience but I've heard similiar from people who have been to Raja Ampat. Great macro and wonderful coral, but don't expect a lot of big stuff...

For me, not sure its worth all the traveling to get there vs the other Asian sites.

 

[Travelnsj]

Well I am going to get my fill of Indonesian diving in the next 7 months....I am going forward and do Raja....Pakman....it will take me as long to get to Layang Layang as Raja....but that is because of the connections.

 

[silent running]

Hello all, as far as I can tell, any place that has deep water/open ocean nearby, will have regular visits from pelagics. That's how I would go about making sure there was a good chance to see pelagics. I'm no marine biologist, but this is my understanding, makes sense, right? If you're really interested in pelagics, then the ultimate spot would likely be some rock in the middle of very deep water, like Cocos/Malapello.

Conversely, it doesn't look like there's a lot of deep water around the Raja Empats, which would explain both the lack of good viz and pelagics.

I've been to Komodo on LOB twice and Ambon land based most recently. I thought the overall diving was excellent in both places. I saw more macro in Ambon, but then again, my boat/dive buddies in Komodo were not into macro stuff and the guides in Ambon were. Both had what I consider to be a good amount of everything-sharks, pelagics, macro, healthy coral, excellent viz in most places. And it's no surprise to me that there's very deep water around both places...

 

[Wayan]

At a few sites in Raja you may see some Pelagic's, but do not expect it. Raja is for bio diversity and great corals and lost of fish.

Komodo and Bali and a resort at the southern end of Lombok has a great hammerhead site (not always accessible and no guarantees ) has some at a few of the dive sites but it really depends on the season, if you want to see lots of sharks then INDO is not the place. Some really great Mola Mola off Nusa Pendia (seasonal - a short one at that) and a few great manata sites around bali and komodo

So it really depends on your definition of Pelagic's and the sort of interaction you want.

 

[silent running]

Komodo and Bali and a resort at the southern end of Lombok has a great hammerhead site (not always accessible and no guarantees ) has some at a few of the dive sites but it really depends on the season, if you want to see lots of sharks then INDO is not the place.

Hello Wayan, I think that sharks and bigger stuff like giant trevally are almost always there, you may not see them, but they're there. I saw sharks on almost every dive in Ambon and at least once a day in Komodo-at Crystal Bommie there were 6 or more grey reefs and blacktips around for all of both late afternoon dives I did.

The only place I didn't see any sharks was in Bohol Philippines and I hve never seen so many people fishing in all my life, what a surprise.

I even saw grey reefs on most of my dives in Ambergrise Caye Belize, a way over dived place where nobody had seen one in a long time.

Diving with a rebreather certainly helps me blend in with the scenery, but I would suggest that one reason why many divers don't see much big stuff in Indo is most diveboats put too many people in the water at the same time. Word of advice for those of you who want to see more big stuff: do that last daylight dive that no one else wants to do and make sure you go with the most experienced DM who will know how to keep a low profile on the reef...

 

[leeaf]

I would be surprised if you are disappointed with Raja Ampat. Like Swisstrav, I did a live aboard trip on Temukira there last year and it was up with the best I have ever done. As others have said, the most stunning coral you are likely to see, massive fish life (but not a lot of really big stuff other than Mantas) and heaps of unusual stuff. Checking out Lembeh while you are in the area is an absolute must for something completely different.

I have also done Layang Layang twice and it is one of my favourite places.

If you want to get an idea of what you can see at RA, Lembeh & Layang, check out my photos at lfindlay001's photos and albums on webshots

I haven't done Palau as yet but I know it is fantastic. Still it's always good to see other places. I did an article on the RA trip so if you would like a copy just PM me with your email address & I'll send it to you.

Go for it.

Lee