Where to go for big fish? Papua or Sulawesi? Nov-Dec

[Rusty Tank]

I'm planning to go diving in the last week of November and first week of December, I'm flying out of Singapore.

I know the Similans are great this time of year but I've been there last year. I will be diving in Bali (Tulamben) next week, and I will be diving in Sipadan once my wife can get free from work....

Now I've read some great stories about Papua (Kri Eco Resort), but it is a pain to get there. I also read some good stories about Manado, but I'm not sure if this is the best season to go there.

I would like to see some big fish, does anybody have some good suggestions?
I will be traveling alone.

Thanks for the suggestions!!!!

 

[TSandM]

We just spent two weeks in Sulawesi, five days diving the Bunaken side, and five days in the Lembeh Straits. I would not recommend either if you are particularly interested in big fish, or large numbers of fish, although the Bunaken reefs in the shallows were spectacular for small, colorful reef fish.

The Bunaken walls were amazing for color, invertebrates, and tiny crustaceans, and there were some schools of fish (pyramid butterflyfish, jacks and tuna) in the blue water. Lembeh was a silty bottom of grey, colorless sand, full of fascinating and amazing and grotesque rarities. But neither was a great source for large or abundant fish.

On the other hand, if somebody bought my ticket, I'd be back there tomorrow, so there is more to the diving than big fish!

 

[Tassie_Rohan]

Manado isn't too good for big stuff: Palau is exceptional (but a long way out of your way), ditto coral sea/outer GBR. Closer to home, and in the manado region, is Sipadan which can be good when the baracuda are running and would be a better choice for big stuff than bunaken.

Another option is to do burma banks as part of a similians - they use to have big stuff but I seem to remember some recent negative reports about it.. Anyone been there recently?

Cheers,
Rohan.

 

[Bowmouth]

The Burma Banks offer in general GREAT visibility but have a distinct lack of big animals nowadays. There are still some tawny nurse sharks to be seen and the odd white tip reef shark.

 

[Bora_Horza]

Diving from Labuanbajo, Flores into the Komodo National Park is a good place for bigger stuff, as well as great corals, etc. But Nov - Dec is around the rainy season... I went with http://www.reefseekers.net/ when I was there, at easter time.