So it was on from Bali and heading up to one of Indonesia’s most Northern island which is Sulawesi and we were heading to Manado by plane to then get an onwards bus and boat to Lembeh Straits – the home of muck diving. This might not sound as a thrilling prospect but due to Sulawesi’s geographical location, ocean currents and the bottom composition of the surrounding area the diversity of marine life is unsurpassed and there are few places in this world where you can experience some of the best critter diving that is easily accessible.
Here the world of the weird and the wonderful really comes to life along with critters that you never thought existed. here is is mostly about the small and odd and an experience that is hard to beat. Many of the sites are diving around black silty sand that often has much rubbish floating around. It is here that the critters really come to life. Either by blending in the with the background (camouflage) or become so brightly coloured (Aposematism) that they stand out perfectly against the background.
We had booked a weeks diving with a company that was recommended to us called 2 Fish. We were picked up from the airport by them and then given to the resort and arrived fresh and eager to get in the water. Over the next week we planned to dive mostly muck sites but also some reef sites and also a night dive. All diving is done in small groups and you usually have 2 or 3 guides per 4 divers in order to maximise your time and what you can see on each dive. It was like a tag team under the water as the guides would shoot off in every direction to find critters for you so we were lead from one subject to another with no gaps or waiting in between. Luckily for us there were few people at the resort and we were team up with a professional underwater photographer, Bent Christensen. Bonus!