Lembeh Strait Dive Report

First, some statistics:  (Sorry, I'm kind of a data junky, so I like statistics of this sort.  Fast forward to the narrative if this isn't your interest.)

Introduction

As for the narrative of my dive report, I’m not even sure where to start, as I have so much information running around in my brain.  So let me offer a few caveats/warnings/biases up front.  First of all, this dive report will be quite long.  I like to write, so it'll be relatively detailed in some areas.  I won't be offended if you skip over sections that don't relate to what you're interested in reading about.  Therefore, I will try to provide organizational structure that allows for that.  Second, I've got friends coming to Lembeh next year on a trip, so I want to give them as much information as possible.  Therefore, I'll be spending quite a bit of time talking about my daily dive routine and the resort itself.  If you aren't ever going to Lembeh, this section might be quite boring.  And if you are curious about ever going here, I'd be happy to chat.  Just send me an e-mail or find me on NWDiveClub.com.  I'd be happy to share information about my experiences.  Let me know.

Travel Day – Saturday 6^th June, 2009

This was a looooooooooooooong day coming (I started planning the trip in December, booked tickets in January), and it ended up being a looooooooooooooooooooong day of travel.  Considering I'm only one time zone away from Lembeh, you'd think my trip would be shorter.  Well, I decided to fly AirAsia (cheap rates) and they made a lot of changes to my itinerary in the months preceding my trip.  It resulted in many changes, including cancelling a hotel on the way to Lembeh and adding a night in a hotel on the way home.  It also added two days of diving that I hadn't scheduled originally.  Yeah, it really bummed me out...two extra days of diving...how was I ever going to manage.  So here's how the day went:

The Resort - Divers Lodge Lembeh

First of all, the resort I chose is Divers Lodge Lembeh.  It was recommended by a friend of mine.  He has been there once or twice with his wife and plans to go back next year.  He also recommended two specific dive guides, Man and Andris.  I ended up with Man as my guide for most of my trip, and I’m glad I did.  Man was a fantastic guide. He knew the dive sites like the back of his hand, and was willing to humor my “I want to count all the different fish and critters I see” addiction/affliction.  (Not quite like REEF surveying, as there is too much to see.  Rather, I wanted to count how many different species I could identify on my trip  And not just fish.  More on that later.)  Anyway, Divers Lodge Lembeh is run by a friendly couple, Rob and Linda, and a staff of maybe 40 or so others.  They cater to people that want to dive, not people that want luxury.  Therefore, you get unlimited diving on your own dive boat with your own guide.  The evening question after dinner is always, “Excuse me.  Lowell, when do you want to dive tomorrow?”  You get a comfortable, clean room.  And good food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  And afternoon snack delivered to your bungalow if you’re not out diving.  (Only happened to me once, on the day before I left, since I cut my dives short that day to prepare for flying the next day.)  I had three crew on my dive boat.  (Man, my dive guide; Ian, the deck hand; and Asan, the captain.)  The boats are meant for small groups so they aren’t very large, but are quite comfortable.  Below are some pictures of different areas to give some perspective:  (All of the pictures are thumbnails.  Click on any image you want to see full size.)

 The steps leading up to the main lodge area and my bungalow a bit higher up.

The solar panels that provide power part of the day.  The resort is on its own power grid, with solar and generators.  Therefore, the power rarely goes out, but that also means no air-con.  (And for me, I thought it would be a big deal.  It wasn't.  There is often a breeze that rolls through to cool things off.)  The power is 220, so when you come, make sure your power cords can handle that voltage.  Most computers are fine with it.  But for example, the recharger for my UK C8 torch is 110 only.  So I brought a converter to drop the voltage down for that.  You also need to bring adapters, because the shape of the plug in Indonesia is different.  (My whole set of converter with adapters came from REI and is Eagle Creek.  It doesn't matter which brand...just make sure you have what you need.)

View of the main lodge area.  The upper area is where we eat breakfast and dinner (lunch is always on the boat if you're diving).  The lower area is the lounge.  There is free wireless here, so most evenings people are checking e-mail on their laptops and going through pictures from the day.  It's a nice place to relax.  Just bring your mosquito repellent.

Here's my bungalow.  As a single, I probably didn't get one of the bigger bungalows, but it would have been comfortable for a couple.  The bungalows are nothing special, but they are clean and have good storage, along with a desk to use for going through pictures, etc.  Since there is no air-con, the bungalows have lots of screened windows to provide circulation.  There's also a fan to circulate the air and keep things cool.  The resort also has some extra fans to loan folks like me that prefer even cooler.

One of the cool things about this resort is the laundry service.  On the website, they advertise this.  I assumed it meant there was a common washing machine I could use.  Boy was I wrong.  You put your dirty laundry in the basket...

and the laundry shows up on your bed two days later ready to go back in your closet.  Very cool!

This was the view from the patio of my bungalow.  The bay behind the resort looks very cool, but it is apparently the home to lethal box jellies.  No swimming allowed.  But the view is fantastic.  The bungalows are all relatively private, so you can't really see your neighbors.  I don't recall hearing much noise from other bungalows at any point during my stay.

This was the view the other direction across Lembeh Strait as I walked down in the morning.  I forget the name of the volcano here.  In fact, there are four or five volcanoes in the area that you spot at different times in the day depending on where you are going for your diving.  Some of the diving is on black sand, due to the volcanoes nearby.

The "corner" of Lembeh Island that you can see in the picture in the front left is where the House Reef is located. 

The resort is in a beautiful setting.  Other than the diving, the idea that sticks in my mind about the resort is service.  Every person working at the resort has one job:  To help the guests feel comfortable and taken care of.  Food and beverages are included (soft drinks, water, etc.)  Beer is available at a cost for those that want to have a cold one at the end of a dive day. 

Daily Dive Routine

Before coming here, I figured I'd want to maximize my dive time.  I planned four to five dives per day.  My first day was four dives and it didn't seem like enough, so I did five dives the second day.  (Let me enter a side note here about Nitrox.  After the first day, I had a discussion with Rob.  He suggested diving Nitrox on an air computer as a safety precaution.  Yes, he admitted, Nitrox costs money.  But he sells it to us at cost.  He also provided Nitrox for all of his dive guides.  So I was convinced.  After the first day, I dove Nitrox the rest of the trip.  Even though it cost me extra, it was well worth it.)  The five-dive day seemed like a bit much, starting pretty early, but I enjoyed having the extra dive.  So my plan was to alternate five-dive days with four-dive days to avoid burnout.  Well, as I found out, I ended up preferring some extra time to process pictures.  I ultimately settled on four dives every day and created a nice schedule.

I'd wake up around 6:00 - 6:30 AM.  I'm used to waking up at 5:00 AM, so this was sleeping in.  I'd wander down to the lodge area and check my e-mail, check my normal websites, then spend a few minutes working on pictures.  Then around 8:00 AM I'd have breakfast.  They have made-to-order items like eggs any style, but I preferred having fried rice and some toast for a small breakfast.  I'd head back to my bungalow and get my camera and torch together and head down to the boat.  The first morning, I put my dive gear out on the patio and it was delivered to the dive boat and set up for me.  Then it stays on the boat until you are finished.  All I would take home each day were my dive log, camera and any torch that needed recharging.  (And remember, the pictures are thumbnails.  Click on any image to see a larger version.)
 

The boat would be waiting for me.  It had three crew.  My dive guide, Man (or Iwan for three of the days); the deck hand, Ian and the Captain, Asan.  They all worked hard to make my diving comfortable and easy, setting up gear, helping get kitted up for each dive, etc.  And yes, as a "self-sufficient" PNW diver, it was a bit of a shift in my mindset to allow somebody else to put my gear together.  I'd watch them every time, and do a full system check before getting in the water.  In the end, I was very comfortable with their handling of my gear.

The dive boats are equipped with a solar panel and power strip so you can charge batteries during the day.  It's in the dry area of the boat, so it's relatively protected from the elements.  Just remember your adapters and converters (if necessary).  The output here is 220 V, just as in the resort.  One day I forgot the adaptor and had to have them turn the boat back around to get one from the lodge.  No way I was going to dive without my camera!  But as usual, the guys on the boat were more than happy to accommodate me and quickly turned around.

The boat would motor out and we'd head to the first dive site.  Typically Man and I spent some time deciding on the day's dive sites.  Often, we'd planned a few things the previous evening.  The boat pulls up and hooks up to a mooring buoy (a nice touch organized by the dive resorts in the area, to avoid damage from anchors).  We'd put on our gear and drop in.

The dive site here is Nudi Retreat.

We'd drop for our dive, then return to the boat where I would find a snack waiting for me.  Most days the snack was pineapple, occasionally papaya.  We'd take off our gear and rinse with some fresh water, dry off and have some snack.  Then I'd work on filling in my dive log sheets and trying to identify any critters we saw on the dive.

After the snack and logbook updating, we'd typically head to the next dive site, or just stay where we were for a bit of a snooze.  What a great way to spend the surface interval.  Here's Man and Ian snoozing on day 8 between two of our dives.

After the second dive of the day, lunch would be served.  There was always more than enough food, so I'd always share my food with the rest of the crew.  Rice and noodles were included every day, but the main portion of the meal varied each day.  Chicken curry, tempura tofu, and fish were the most common main dishes.  The food was always pretty good.  Water, Coke and Sprite are provided on the boat also.

In terms of water temperatures, my computer (I rented a Gekko, as dive computers are mandatory for multiple-day diving here.) registered a low temperature of 27 Celsius and a high of 30 Celsius.  For me, I was comfortable in a 1 mm dive skin.  My guides always had on thicker suits.  Man even wore a thin hood.  I never wore gloves except on the two wreck dives I did; on these dives I wore thin "warm-water" gloves.

The last dive of the day typically starts at 6:00 PM with a maximum dive time of 60 minutes.  So we'd get out of the water around 7:00 PM, wash up and head back to the resort. I would often return to the dive resort about 7:45 PM.  I'd grab my key and head up to my room to shower and get cleaned up. 

Then I'd head down to the lodge for dinner.  By the time I got down there, most everybody was finished (except for the occasional other divers that completed a night dive).  Warm food was always still available, and there was always plenty of it!  There was typically always white rice or fried rice, a soup of some sort, some vegetables and a main dish or two.  The main dishes included satay, curry, pizza, spaghetti and fish.  There was always enough variety that even a picky eater like me found plenty to eat.  Dessert was always fresh fruit.  (And the lounge area had some cookies for snack also.)

After dinner I'd check e-mail, work on my dive log entries and work through my pictures.  Often, time would be spent talking to other divers about their days, getting pointers on dive sites, or sharing pictures and the "oooohs and aaaahs" that go with that.  It was lots of fun, and I met some very cool people.

Each evening after dinner, one of the staff would ask the question of the day:  "Excuse me, Lowell, when do you want to dive tomorrow?"  I can't even begin to tell you how cool it was to set my own dive schedule.  This is unlike any other dive vacation I've ever been on, where you get two dives per day on the schedule of the boat.  I organized a trip to Phuket once and got three dives per day most days, with a special trip that included a night dive.  But here, I got NINE DAYS of diving on my own schedule!  If I wanted to start early, I could.  If I wanted to start later, I could.  I set my schedule.  And I got a lot more diving than I would have on a typical dive vacation.  Divers Lodge Lembeh may not be a luxury resort, but they sure treat you like it is.  The two "luxuries" I enjoyed the most were the diving and the service the staff provide.  It was second-to-none.

Photo Gallery From The Dives

My original plan for the photo gallery was to post one picture from each dive.  Well, this plan didn't last long. As I went on, my photography got a bit better, and I realized I wanted to try to give a feel for the kinds of critters I saw on my trip.  Therefore, my pictures below aren't always great quality.  Some of them are included because they are some of my better pictures.  Others are included simply to show the diversity of life I observed.  All of the pictures were shot on my Casio Exilm EX-Z1000, with Casio housing and internal flash.  In high light areas in the shallows, I often wouldn't use the flash, and would instead use Manual White Balance to try to get good colors.  None of the pictures included here are "Photoshopped" in any way to change the quality of the picture.  I didn't remove any backscatter, change contrast, or lighten/darken any of the pictures.)  The only image manipulation I used is cropping some images to show a small subject better.  In general, I'll try to let you know if I did that.  The number of cropped images below is likely to be 5-8 images total, although I didn't keep track specifically.  In terms of critter identification, I have attempted to identify everything in my pictures.  (More on critter ID later.)  Suffice to say that I'm not an expert and might have made mistakes.  (If you see a mistake, please e-mail and let me know.)  That said, I make a good effort to be correct.  If I can't make a solid statement, I then leave the critter as unidentified.

In terms of the dive sites, I ended up seeing 22 sites over 35 dives.  So for the first dive at each site, I'll include a small commentary about the dive site.  Later pictures from the same dive sites will include only pictures.

And a reminder that each picture is a thumbnail.  Click on the image to see a larger version.

Day 1 - Dive 1 - Police Pier 2

Police Pier is a classic "muck dive" from Lembeh Strait.  There are small areas of coral here and there  (By small, I mean 55-gallon drum sized or smaller.) but most of the site is sand and muck.  There is some garbage in places, but you just learn to overlook it.  Similar, in some ways, to diving Redondo or Three Tree back home.  You just ignore the human structures and look for the critters. 

First dive in Lembeh and we find a painted frogfish, Antennarius pictus.  Woohoo!  Not the greatest of pictures, but it signifies the start of some very cool critter-hunting.

I don't think this is a high quality picture either, but the fish here - Banggai Cardinalfish, Pterapogon kaudemi - proved to be elusive for good pictures.  That said, it is one really cool looking fish.  Here it seems to be perched above some urchins for protection.  I often observed these fish over anemones and urchins.

Day 1 - Dive 2 - Air Bajo - 2

For my dive notes after this dive, I wrote the following:  "Wow!  This is Redondo/TTN on steroids...or on warm water, anyway."  For those of you familiar with those sites, you spend a fair amount of time cruising around not seeing much. Then Bam! There's something cool.  Well, that happened a lot on this dive.  I kept turning around and seeing something else really cool.  As a site, it's mostly sand, with small patches of coral here and there.

I managed to catch this nudibranch, Mexichromis multituberculata, laying an egg ribbon.  Being a Husky fan and all, I liked the colors here also.

This octopus came out of the bottle a little bit, but I thought this picture was cool.  I love catching octos in small spaces.  As far as identification, I think this is a coconut octopus, Octopus marginatus.
 

Day 1 - Dive 3 - Pantai Parigi

As a dive site, this is one of my favorite in Lembeh.  We dropped in and headed downslope, spotting quite a few cool critters.  (blue-spotted stingray, ambon scorpionfish, flamboyant cuttlefish, two frogfish, a flying gurnard or two and a wonderpus octopus)  What Man failed to mention in our pre-dive briefing (I think he did it on purpose) was that after we reached our turn pressure and came up slope, we'd hit a fairly sizeable coral reef with both soft and hard corals and many of the common reef fish.  Boy, was I surprised.  I ended up visiting this dive site four more times on this trip, each time finding something cool down below, then spending time shallow in the reef. 

Somewhere along the bottom this Giant Mantis Shrimp, Lysiosquilla sp., was hanging out in its den.  I couldn't coax it out, but it made for a decent picture anyway.  Every time I got just a bit closer, it'd disappear.

Look carefully at the urchin.  It's riding on the back of a crab.  Yes, really.  The crab was moving around with this urchin on its back.  Quite a site to see.  (Unidentified crab species.  The urchin is Mespilia globulus.)

This wonderpus octopus, Wonderpus photogenicus, was very active and swam around a good bit before retreating to its den.

And I never got a great shot of this critter (Flamboyant Cuttlefish, Metasepia pfefferi), but it's a beautiful animal none-the-less.

Day 1 - Dive 4 - House Reef at Divers Lodge Lembeh - Dusk/Night Dive

At first glance, the house reef seems a bit unspectacular.  There are huge fields of broken staghorn coral.  But if you go right about 5:30 PM, something cool starts to happen and unspectacular becomes spectacular.  The Mandarinfish, Synchirops splendidus, starts to become active.  The males are searching for mates.  When a male and female decide to mate, they swim joined together up above the coral to a height of about a meter, when the egg and sperm are released together.  It's quite a site to see.  These elusive fish are very beautifully patterned as well.  So for the first night dive of my trip, we actually did a "dusk-dive" that finished as a night dive when we wandered around the rest of the reef. 

Since I've got better pictures of mandarinfish from a later dive, the picture I chose for this dive is a Saron shrimp, Saron marmoratus.  The picture has been cropped to focus on the shrimp.  It was hiding in the staghorn coral and I found it while waiting for the mandarinfish.

Day 2 - Dive 1 - Jahir

The dive site here is mostly a sandy bottom.  In my dive notes, I didn't write very much about the dive site itself, I was so focused on the critters I saw.  I came back to this dive site two more times, so it must have been good...

One of the cool critters we found included a common seahorse, Hippocampus taeniopterus.

And this very cool looking seastar that I haven't identified yet.  I think it might be in the genus Protoreaster.

Day 2 - Dive 2 - Teluk Kambahu I  (Known as TK1)

This site seems to be another classic muck dive.  Muck doesn't always mean mushy, mucky, dirty trashy stuff.  It just means there isn't a giant coral reef.  The critters are a bit more spaced out.  But what you find is always cool.  In my notes, I said the following:  "Giant Frogfish!  Lots of stuff...too many to things to remember...one cool thing was seeing a cleaning station in action." 

Here's a view of the Giant Frogfish, Antennarius commersoni, from way above, looking down at the sponge where it was hanging out.

And here's a close-up on the fish.  Check out how closely it matches the color the sponge!  Amazing camouflage.

Day 2 - Dive 3 - Kuda Laut

My memory is that Kuda Laut means seahorse.  Sadly, we didn't see any seahorses on this dive.  It's another typical muck dive. 

The puffer in the background is a Star Puffer, Arothron stellatus.  I like this picture because it shows the sandy bottom in the very back, and a mini-reef in the front where a lot of fish hangout.  At the sites that are labeled "muck dives" there are often small patches of reef.  Sometimes it's just small structure on the bottom.  Other times it is around a mooring line and some blocks or cans on the bottom.  Anything that creates habitat will be fully occupied.

This crab was hanging out in an anemone, very easy to overlook.  The picture has been cropped to show the crab up close.  I recall IDing this as a Porcelain Crab, Neopetrolisthes maculatus.  However, I also vaguely remember looking at it later and thinking it was something else...  Regardless of the species, I thought it was cool looking.

Day 2 - Dive 4 - Pantai Parigi

This dive site ended up being one of my favorite, and the dive site I dove the most (with five dives here).  The dives here at Pantai Parigi typically start with a blue-water descent to about 8-10 msw onto a sandy bottom.  Then we head deeper and use a search pattern to cover a fair amount of ground.  Here the bottom is mostly sandy, with anemones here and there, small patches of reef/structure and some really cool life.  Then when turnaround pressure is reached, we ascend up to the shallows to a fairly large coral reef with both soft and hard corals and lots of the typical reef fish you would associate with a lively and productive reef.  I really enjoyed the variety at this site, starting with a sandy "muck" dive and finishing with coral.

Not sure of the cuttlefish species, but it didn't want to stick around for a picture.

This Longhorn Cowfish, Lactoria conuta, didn't want to sit still for my pictures either...

And in the shallow reef area, this Snowflake Moray, Echidna nebulosa.

Day 2 - Dive 5 - Nudi Falls - Night Dive

This is an interesting dive site, as it has some wall covered in sponges and corals, and a sandy slope with small patches of reef here and there.  My first dive here was a night dive, so it was a bit difficult to get a feel for the topography.  I did another dive later as a day dive, and remember the wall and some sandy slope.  Heck, I think visiting 22 dive sites in nine days is clouding my memory...

This orange cup coral species is common on wall dives I've done in Thailand, and I was happy to see it here also.  On night dives, the feeding polyps are fully extended, making for a beautiful display.  Unidentified species, likely in the genus Tubastraea.

And I can't have a dive at Nudi Falls without showing you at least one nudibranch, genus Chromodoris (There are a few within that genus that look very similar).  This picture has been cropped.

Day 3 - Dive 1 - Wreck of the Mawali

I don't consider myself a fan of wreck dives.  First of all, I'm not trained for any wreck penetration, and unless I feel totally comfortable with the situation I won't put myself in places I don't want to be.  Another reason I don't like wrecks (in Thailand mostly) is they tend to be deep dives.  I'm a big guy and use more air than most people, so the wreck dives near where I live now tend to be really short dives.  I'd prefer a leisurely 60 minute shallow coral dive to a "check your gauges every 2 minutes" 20 minute wreck dive.  But Iwan, my dive guide for Days 2, 3 and 4 scored me two bigger tanks for the first two dives of each day.  So I was using what was probably a Steel 120 or something similar.  Needless to say, my bottom time went up significantly for this dive so I could enjoy it much more.  That said, it's a beautiful wreck.  As far as I know, it's a freighter that was sunk during WWII.  Mawali isn't even the name of the boat, but the village nearby.  The ship lies on its side and is mostly intact, with some debris strewn about.  The maximum depth is roughly 30 msw.  (On this dive, I maxed out at 29.3 msw.)  The "top" of the wreck, which is actually the side, is covered in corals and there were nudibranchs everywhere.  We went around a bit, dropped around the side after checking out the HUGE screw, came back to the top, then followed the anchor line to the surface.

Nudibranchs were the highlight of the dive (looking through my pictures I counted eight different species of nudi), so I'm including one of the better pictures of Phyllidia babai.

Day 3 - Dive 2 - Magic Rock

With a name like Magic Rock, this dive site has to be good, right?  Well, the dive site lives up to its name.  It really is magical.  It's a sloping reef with some sandy slope on one side that has some interesting critters.  In my three dives at this site, I saw so many critters it was hard to keep track.  I liked this site enough that I chose to dive here on my last dive day to get one more dive here.  In the end, maybe three dives wasn't enough...  This site has quite a few of the "holy grail" of Lembeh critters.  The Pygmy Seahorse, Denise's Pygmy Seahorse, Pontohi Pygmy Seahorse, Ornate Ghost Pipefish, and many other cool critters.

They Pygmy Seahorse, Hippocampus bargibanti, is an amazing little critter.  It hides well on coral.  From my memory, there are at least four different spots at this dive site where we found these, but I'm sure there are more.

This nudibranch, Phyllidia ocellata, is one of my all-time favorite nudibranchs.

And we spotted this banded sea snake, Laticauda colubrina.  It was quite a surprise to see out and about. It was peeking into holes looking for food.  My first thought was snake eel (although admittedly banded sea snake did cross my mind).  Once we got back on the boat, Iwan said it was a sea snake.  I never fully believed him until I checked out the pictures and could see scales on this critter.  One of my guide books says specifically that scales are a great way to tell sea snakes from snake eels.  So there you have it...I saw a sea snake.  Woohoo!  (And it's not the greatest picture...  I did take some video also, but it didn't seem good enough to share.)

Day 3 - Dive 3 - Nudi Retreat

Nudi Retreat has a wall that starts quite shallow and extends down to a maximum of 10-12 meters.  It has a lot of interesting life, including one of the most amazing "displays" from an animal I think I've ever seen.

This Orbicular Burrfish, Cyclichthys orbicularis, was hanging out in the bottom of a big barrel sponge.

Here are two pictures of the Striped Catfish, Plotosus lineatus.  The odd thing about this fish is that I remember seeing it in the Reef Fish Identification book previously while browsing through pages.  I was intrigued by the schooling nature.  Of course, I never thought I'd see them and here they were right before my eyes!  Very cool.  Here's a video of the feeding frenzy.  (About 18 MB to download.)

The other really cool critter on this dive is the Electric Clam (aka Flame Shell), Lima sp.  The picture really don't do it justice, so here's a video clip.  This is from two dives here at Nudi Retreat.  I asked to come back just so I could see it again.  It's kind of tucked back in a crack with a bit of a ceiling up above, so my pictures and video really aren't that great.  But you've got to see it to believe it.

Day 3 - Dive 4 - Jahir - Night Dive

Jahir is a black sand dive.  There are small patches of structure here and there, but for the most part, it is all sandy bottom.

This Spiny Devilfish, Inimicus didactylus, has a crazy way of "walking" around on it pelvic fins.  In the REEF Fish ID book, there are pictures of this species with its fins all fanned out and colorful.  It never did that for me, but it was still a really cool looking critter.

At first glance, you might wonder why I included this picture.  It looks like a small patch of debris on the seafloor.  Well, it's a crab.  Trust me.  I saw it move around.  If I hadn't seen it myself, I might not have believed it.  Unfortunately, I don't know the species.

When I saw this cluster of tunicates (genus Rhopalaea), I knew I had to get a picture.  I laughed through my regulator as it reminded me of the neon lights of Vegas.

And this cool Starry Night Octopus, Octopus luteus, was out and about hunting when we came across it.  I saw it on another night dive later in the trip and was mesmerized both times with its cool coloration.  It's a fairly good sized critter and didn't seem shy at all.

Day 4 - Dive 1 - Kelapa Dua

I saw this nudibranch, Chromodoris kunei, over and over.  I never got tired of seeing the brilliant colors.

Day 4 - Dive 2 - Aw Shucks

This is a sloping sandy area with small patches of reef.  I'd say that seems like a fairly typical description of many of the sites in Lembeh.

Another picture of the Spiny Devilfish, Inimicus didactylus.  I feel like I never got a great picture of this critter, but this one shows the face a bit better.  I'd argue that's a face only a mother could love...

This is an Emporor Shrimp, Periclimenes imperator, spending time on a very long sea cucumber.  (Not sure of the species of sea cuke.)

Day 4 - Dive 3 - Rogoos

And yet another dive site that is predominantly a sloping sandy bottom with some small patches of reef here and there.  (Are you tired of that description yet?  Sorry...it's just fairly appropriate.)

This Banded Coral Shrimp, Stenopus hispidus, was just asking me to take its picture.

And this isn't the greatest quality picture, but I loved the composition, if you will.  It's an unidentified Lionfish (likely a Common Lionfish, Pterois volitans, but my Lionfish ID Skills are still a bit lacking) sitting on an Elephant Ear Sponge, Ianthella basta.

Day 4 - Dive 4 - Nudi Retreat

This Harlequin Crab, Lissocarcinus laevis, is hanging out in a cool looking Beaded Sea Anemone, Heteractis aurora.

Same kind of anemone, but here are two pictures of the aggressive Clark's Anemonefish, Amphiprion clarkii, that come charging at you when you swim by.  I had one of these swim at me, then around me, for a good 20 seconds nipping at my mask.  He/she never really took a bite, but the fish was certainly being defensive. 

Day 5 - Dive 1 - Angel's Window

Angel's Window is an AMAZING dive site.  It is a large "pinnacle" with one side attached to a sandy sloping wall.  Hard to describe, really.  It resembles a wall-dive on three sides.  Down near the bottom there is a nice swim-through with two exit points.  We choose to swim right, then go out into the sandy sloping area to look around for a while.  My list of critters from this dive was quite long, but it included a Clown Triggerfish and a Warty Frogfish.  Woohoo!  More cool critters.  The dive is a bit challenging, as this area is a bit current-swept.  The current wasn't over-powering, but it made the dive more work than it otherwise would be.  In my dive log after the dive, this is what I wrote:  "This is a challenging but beautiful dive.  Wow!  Wow!  Wow!"

A pair of nudibranchs, Glossodoris atromarginata.

I knew this wouldn't be a great picture, but I took it anyway.  I wanted proof that I had seen a Clown Triggerfish, Balistoides conspicillum.  I've been wanting to see one of these since the first time I ever saw a picture of one.  Of course, this guy was near the bottom and we were up on the wall.  Every time I'd drop a little to head down and get a picture, it would run away.  But I saw it.  I have proof!

Another of the highlights of this dive was finding the Warty Frogfish, Antennarius maculatus.  It was hanging out on the wall.  Very cool!

And I got this decent (uncropped) picture of another Porcelain Crab, Neopetrolisthes maculatus, hanging out in an unidentified anemone.

Day 5 - Dive 2 - Air Bajo 1

Air Bajo 1 is mostly a sandy slope, but it has some reef in the shallows.  The reef isn't as significant as a site like Pantai Parigi, but it was enough for me to record it in my notes.  We came here searching for the Mimic Octopus.  And we found it.  Twice!  Actually, Man found the first one and it came out to play.  Man found a second one but it never left its den.  Then I found the third one.  Wow, I was starting to feel like a real muck diver, finding the Mimic myself.  Woohoo!

This Mimic Octopus, Thaumoctopus mimicus, came out to play just a bit.  Wow, they are amazing animals.  I observed the "I'll swim like a flounder" routine to get away, and the "I'll look like a sea snake" to get back in the den.  During this dive, I was running out of superlatives for what to say. 

At some point during the dive, I spotted a Leafy Filefish, Chaetodermis penicilligera, swimming downslope away from us.  So I took off trying to get a good picture.  And this is the best one I got.  Turns out we'd see one later in the trip that wasn't as shy, but the thrill of seeing this on the dive is still fresh in my mind.

I'm including this Leathery Sea Anemone, Heteractis crispa, for what should be obvious reasons to most of you.

And this cuttlefish (possibly a Sepia Cuttlefish, Genus Sepia) was hanging around one of the lines that's attached to a mooring buoy.  Always fun to encounter a cuttlefish and watch, mesmerized, by the way they swim.

Day 5 - Dive 3 - Pantai Parigi

This Shortfin Lionfish, Dendrochirus brachypterus, was hanging out in the shallow reef.  I was struck by its stark colors compared to most other lionfish.

The Striated Frogfish, Antennarius striatus, has a hairy variation that is pretty rare and very popular to find.  Of course, it means that many people refer to this as the Hairy Frogfish.  There's the problem with common names...the same species has two (or more) common names.  Well, this one wasn't very hairy, so I wondered why people were calling it the Hairy Frogfish.  Then I found the picture in the REEF Fish ID book showing the hairy variation.  It all made sense...except I never got to see the hairy variation.  Guess I'll have to come back to Lembeh again...

And this fairly large cuttlefish (Genus Sepia) was just hanging out above the sponge, not a care in the world.  (Well, I'm speculating.  Truth is, it likely had quite a few things to care about.)  But it was very cool anyway.

Day 5 - Dive 4 - Air Prang - Night Dive

Air Prang is probably considered one of the classic muck dives in Lembeh.  I asked to see the Stargazer and Bobbit Worm, so Man took me to Air Prang.  And Air Prang came through for us.  In flying colors.  There's not much else to say about this dive site, except that it's quite large, and is mostly sloping sand.  We came back here later looking for something else (See Day 7).  So Air Prang was a reliable dive site for finding cool stuff.

The Bobbit Worm, Eunice aphroditos, seems appropriately named for some reason.  Truthfully, I don't know where the name comes from.  But wow, is it ever one weird critter.  At the dinner table after the dive, the most common word used to describe it was "alien."

This picture has been cropped.  This Commensal Shrimp, Periclimenes sp., was hanging out on an unidentified sea pen.

I have no idea what this worm is called, but it reminded me of the Jointed Three-Section Tube Worm, Spiochaetopterus costarum, from Puget Sound.  Shape-wise it's not identical, but it did have the two feeding tentacles visible and moving about.

This Stargazer, Uranoscopus sp., was quite hidden, with only its eyes and mouth poking out of the soil.  Wow, look at that face...

And this Black-Finned Snake Eel, Ophichthus melanochir, didn't want to come out to play, despite numerous requests on my part.

But this White Margined Moray, Gymnothorax albimarginatus, was swimming about, presumably hunting.  Very cool to watch.

Day 6 - Dive 1 - Magic Rock

Even though the quality on this shot isn't perfect, I still kind of like it.  My dive guide, Man, can be seen through the coral looking for more of the Denise's Pygmy Seahorse, Hippocampus denise.

This Winged Pipefish, Halicampus macrorhynchus, really blends in with the algae/seaweed that is near it.  Excellent camouflage!

And this is one of my better shots of the Mantis Shrimp, Odontodactylus latirostris.  Gotta love those eyes.

Day 6 - Dive 2 - Teluk Kembahu 1

Every time I saw one (or more) of these Ringed Pipefish, Dunckerocampus dactyliophorus, I smiled.  I just happen to think they look really cool.  And they never seemed to be out in the open; they were always kind of hiding deep below the reef or under a sponge.

The scorpionfish are often very hard to identify.  Man and I looked through a lot of pictures of scorpionfish, and the two best IDs we could come up with for this were:  Devil Scorpionfish, Scorpaenopsis diabolus; and Flasher Scorpionfish, Scorpaenopsis macrochir.  Regardless of the species, I thought the coloration was very cool.

And this Striped Puffer, Arothron manilensis, was just hanging out on the bottom, minding his (her?) own business.

Day 6 - Dive 3 - Pantai Parigi

I caught this Painted Frogfish, Artennius pictus, with its mouth open feeding.  This is one of my favorite pictures from the entire trip.

On this particular dive, there were a large number of Blue-Spotted Stingrays, Dasyatis kuhlii, around.  At one point, I think I counted eight within my field of vision.

And in the shallow reef, this Star Puffer, Arothron stellatus, was just hanging out in some coral, "maxing and relaxing."

Day 6 - Dive 4 - Police Pier 1 - Night Dive

Police Pier 1 is very similar to Police Pier 2.  Mostly just muck (sandy bottom) with a patch of cool stuff here or there.  This dive had some really cool critters, so I was very happy.

This Starry Night Octopus, Octopus luteus, was out and about and even bigger than the last one we saw a few days ago.

This fireworm, genus Chloeia, was one of about five or six that were active on this dive.

This fairly large nudibranch has yet to be identified.  My best guess is something within Genus Platydoris.

This Zebra Lionfish, Dendrochirus zebra, was displaying its beautiful pectoral fins for my picture.

And this HUGE Sea Urchin was tucked into a hole in the reef and seemed to be moving out.  On the surface after the dive, Man said that's typical behavior.  They stay hidden during the day and come out at night to hunt.  I'm not sure of the species, as there were a few distinguishing marks that just didn't match to some of the urchins in my ID books.

Day 7 - Dive 1 - Air Prang

This dive we went hunting for the Rhinopias, a particular genus of scorpionfish.  There are a few Rhinopias that live in Lembeh, so we weren't sure which one we'd find...IF we found one at all.  The Rhinopias hadn't been spotted by the dive guides at Divers Lodge Lembeh in about six months.  But Man had an idea, and he went to Air Prang to look for the Rhinopias.  So did we find it?  OF COURSE!  When Man found it, I was taking a picture of a lionfish when I heard this "Woooooooooooooooh!" through the water.  I turned to look at Man and he was pumping his fist and doing a very cool critter dance.  So I swam over and there it was.  The Paddle-Flap Scorpionfish, Rhinopias eschmeyeri.  Wooohooo!  I gave him a high five and we proceeded to take a large number of pictures.  After some time, we wandered around some more, then came back to it to take a few more pictures...just in case.  Wandered around to see more cool stuff (like the sponge creating a current), then finally came back to the Rhinopias one more time.  I was elated that we found it.  (To give full credit, Man is the one that found it, so I guess there was no "we" here.  But I was still overjoyed.)

Here it is, the critter we were searching for:  Paddle-Flap Scorpionfish, Rhinopias eschmeyeri.

And this sponge happens to be covered with a soft coral of some sort, so we could see that it was creating a current.  It almost looked like the exhaust from a vacuum cleaner.  Very cool!  (Not sure of any species ID.)

I love to find patterns underwater for pictures, and this picture reminded me of a flower bouquet.  I'm not sure what the species is, but I would guess a coral of some sort.

This critter, the Hairy Squat Lobster, Lauriea siagiani, is very difficult to photograph.  It tends to hide between the "lumps" on a big barrel sponge, so getting a good camera angle is near impossible.  Patience pays off, though, as I finally got a somewhat decent shot here.

And the Ribbon Eel, Thinomuraena quaesita, was a fairly common critter to find on many of our dives.  However, it rarely has the full extension of this one.  It seemed to be hunting, trying to capture some of the small baitfish that were swimming around this part of the reef.  The blue color indicates this is a male.  (Information from REEF Fish Identification: Tropical Pacific, by Allen, Steene, Humann and DeLoach.)

Day 7 - Dive 2 - Jahir

When I saw this sea cucumber, Neothyonidium magnum, I had to smile.  Much different coloration, but similar in many ways to the sea cucumbers from Puget Sound.  We saw and watched it draw its feeding tentacles into its mouth to sweep off any particles caught in the water column.  It was almost hypnotic, watching the slow procession from one tentacle to another.

This white scorpionfish, of unknown ID, really stuck out.  Most scorpionfish really camouflage themselves and blend into the surroundings.  Not this one.  It stood out like a sore thumb.  Or so the saying goes...

I've always wanted to see this star, Protoreaster nodosus, and I finally did!  Of course, by the end of the trip I'd seen them over and over, but I never got tired of seeing it.

This Sea Urchin, Mespilia globulus, is playing host to a Zebra Crab, Zebrida adamsii.  I had seen two other zebra crabs, but this was the best round of pictures I ever got.  And I thought the urchin had cool colors, so I swam away from this smiling.

Day 7 - Dive 3 - Nudi Falls

Dare I say that by Day 7, seeing the Ornate Ghost Pipefish, Solenostomus paradoxus, was almost getting to be "ho-hum."  Make sure you understand the word ALMOST in that previous sentence.  Trust me, it was still a thrill.  Especially with this pair of them, but I ended up enjoying finding new critters so much that seeing "old" critters was only a little exciting.  (If that makes sense...)  And I'm guessing that makes me sound a bit spoiled...not getting all that excited about seeing such a beautiful and rare creature.  Yes, diving Lembeh one gets vey spoiled.

Nudi Falls starts out as a wall dive, and near the top of the wall was this Giant Frogfish, Antennarius commersoni, hanging out on a sponge.  And somewhat surprising to me, the frogfish was actually a slightly different color than the sponge where it was lounging.

And this nudibranch, Glossodoris cincta, was quite prevalent at many of the dive sites. 

Day 7 - Dive 4 - Tanduk Rusa

You may be getting tired of this description, but Tanduk Rusa is another "classic" muck dive.  It is mostly a sandy bottom (look at the sandy background in the last four pictures) with occasional patches of interesting structure (see the first picture with a small amount of structure). 
 

These Rhino Filefish, Pseudaluttarius nasicornis, were attempting to "hook" their triggers (filefish are related to triggerfish) on the sponge/coral piece in order to stay in place.  I didn't get too close, as I didn't want to disturb them, but I did watch them for a bit.

This Bobtail Squid, Euprymna berryi, reminded me a bit of the Stubby Squid, Rossia pacifica, from Puget Sound.

This Crested Nembrotha nudibranch, Nembrotha cristata, was only found at a few dive sites, but it was always a beautiful critter to spot.

This Purple-Edged Ceratosoma nudibranch, Ceratosoma tenue, had a couple guests riding shotgun; the guests were Emperor Shrimp, Periclimenes imperator.

And this tube-dwelling anemone of unknown ID had a neon green color that caught the eye in a vast stretch of drab sandy bottom.

Day 8 - Dive 1 - Wreck of the Kapal Indah

For my second-to-last day, I asked Man to take me to four new dive sites, knowing that tomorrow on my last day I'd be revisiting two of my favorites.  So our first dive was another wreck.  This wreck isn't quite as deep, and there isn't a mooring buoy with an anchorline attached, so we swam downslope towards the wreck.  It was almost a surreal experience to have this big shadow materialize, forming the outline of the ship.  This particular wreck lies upright on the seafloor.  We spent some time on one side, moved around to the back side, then went into what I imagine is the engine room, and up onto the deck.  As I mentioned earlier, I'm not a trained wreck diver and I don't go deep into holds or rooms.  This wreck didn't require any of that.  And another cool thing about this dive is the finish.  After using up our bottom time on the wreck, we swam upslope to encounter a fairly large reef with quite a variety of life.  This made for a very enjoyable finish, and a "two-fer" of a dive.  Wreck and coral.
 

I found this nudibranch on some small structure right on the seafloor.  Based on the Sea Slug Forum, it appears to be what they identify as Janolus sp. 8.  There were two of them close by, and this was the best picture I got.  I'm a bit disappointed I didn't get something better...

And under the back of the wreck was this huge lobster.  (Unsure of the actual species.)

Day 8 - Dive 2 - Kuda Laut 2

I had already been to Kuda Laut, but Man took me to Kuda Laut 2 for this dive.  And it's been quite a few days since my dive at Kuda Laut, but this site seemed different.  It seemed to slope more and have more areas of shallow reef.

This Mantis Shrimp, Odontodactylus latirostris, was out and about so I got a decent picture.  I'd still love to get a close-up of the eyes.

And it's always fun to get another species, so I smiled when Man pointed out this Robust Ghost Pipefish, Solenostomus cyanopterus.  Then, later on the dive, we found another one.  Woohoo!

Day 8 - Dive 3 - Hairball 2

When I saw Hairball and Hairball 2 on the list of possible dive sites, I knew I had to dive one of them at least once!  In my dive notes, I wrote:  "Interesting dive site.  Muck with small patches of reef." 

The sequence in these pictures is kind of fun.  (And neither image is cropped.)  In the first image, there is a Commensal Shrimp, Periclimenes sp., on the snout of a Black-Finned Snake Eel, Ophichthus melanochir.  In the second sequence, the shrimp has "taken flight" and is moving away from the snake eel.  I feel bad, as I wonder if the snake eel didn't get a full cleaning.  (With these images, it will certainly help to click the image to see the full-size version.)

This isn't the greatest picture, but I think the Cockatoo Flounder, Samaris cristatus, is such a cool animal I wanted to share the picture anyway.

And here's another cool nudibranch, Nembrotha lineolata.

Day 8 - Dive 4 - Serena Island - Dusk/Night Dive

This island is up Lembeh Strait a bit from the resort, and it's quite a small island, but it makes a good Mandarinfish dive spot.  It also has some nice reef beyond the broken staghorn coral field where the Mandarinfish hang out, so this was our choice for the last night dive of my trip.
 

I have to admit, in some ways I felt like a voyeur taking these pictures.  Tonight we were lucky enough to observe the mating behavior of the Mandarinfish, Synchirops splendidus.  A male would work to attract a female (sometimes while driving away other males).  Once two fish felt in the mood, they would join together and swim, in sync, up to about 1 meter above the floor where they would release sperm and egg simultaneously.  Here's a picture of the coupling before they got too high. 

I had seen the Pajama Cardinalfish, Sphaeramia nematoptera, on previous dives.  But on this dive, they were EVERYWHERE.  I must have seen 200 of these things on this dive.  On the few other dives I'd seen them, I only saw a handful at a time.  Not sure if it's a night-dive thing, or if this island has a huge Cardinalfish population.  But I happen to think they're a cool looking fish.

And this Hermit Crab, Dardanus pedunculatus, is always cool to find, with its protective anemones on its back.  The anemones on its back are likely in the genus Calliactis.  And I love the shape and color of the eyes.

Day 9 - Dive 1 - Magic Rock - The penultimate dive.

Sadly, this was my last day of diving in Lembeh.  (Until I come back!)  I chose two of my favorite dive sites, Magic Rock and Pantai Parigi.

I found Nemo!  The False Clown Anemonefish, Amphiprion ocellaris, (and all clownfish, for that matter) are hard to get pictures of.  But this one wasn't so bad...

And this unknown hydroid (possibly Stinging Hydroid, Aglaophenia cupressina) seemed to have some sort of parasite covering it.  I found it interesting, so I snapped a photo.

Razorfish, Aeoliscus strigatus, seemed to form small schools and be visible on a majority of the dive sites.  They were fun to watch, bobbing up and down trying to get food from the bottom.  They startle pretty easily, so it was always hard to get a good picture.

Day 9 - Dive 2 - Pantai Parigi - My last dive.

And you may have seen pictures of frogfish before.  And I'd seen lots of frogfish on all of my dives here in Lembeh.  But what made this Painted Frogfish, Antennarius pictus, so cool was that I found it on my own!  Yes, it only took 35 dives, but I finally found a frogfish on my own.  Woohoo!

And this Hermit Crab, Dardanus megistos, is actually sparring (or mating?) with a now hidden hermit crab in the bottom shell.  Not sure what's going on...

So I sit at my keyboard trying to think of some profound conclusion to the pictures you just looked through.  There are other divers that have better photographs than I can show you.  But I tried to show you the diversity of life that lives in Lembeh Strait.  It has all kinds of diving, from wrecks to walls, and from muck to beautiful coral reefs.  This variety of topography provides for quite a variety of life.  All of it is beautiful and amazing.  I am certainly privileged to have the opportunity to dive here.  And I can't wait to come back.

My trip ended the following day with a wonderful gathering on the beach. Rob, Linda, Belgis and others sent me off properly to a speedboat ride to the working port of Bitung.  Here all the locals got to stare at the huge bald white guy getting out of the boat.  I was then whisked away be Eddie from Manado, the driver, to take me to the airport.  We had a few distractions along the way.  First, we came across a funeral procession going down the road, with the locals waiting to join in as it went past.  And we encountered a number of ox-drawn carts.  I almost felt like a time traveler, having spent the past 10 days in an island paradise doing nothing but diving.  Now here I was riding by carts selling their wares.  What fun.

Planning for the Trip, Dive Logs, and Critter Identification and Tracking

I'd like to spend some time talking about these issues, mostly because they are some areas I put some time into and enjoy.  As I mentioned previously, I've got some friends that are organizing a dive club trip here in July, 2010 and I think this section might prove helpful to some of them as they plan their trip. (If you'd like more information about the trip, look here.) 

To plan for the trip, I'm not necessarily talking about airlines, etc.  I'm thinking about the critters I will see.  I spent quite a bit of time looking at websites to get a feel for the critters I'd see.  Most people that go to Lembeh mention things like the mimic octopus and the frogfish.  But in my research, I found so many more cool critters.  So I created a spreadsheet of all the critters I thought I could find.  I compiled the list based on a few websites. (Divers Lodge Lembeh Photo Page and Lembeh Resort Critter Page were the two most useful.)  I entered all of these into an Excel spreadsheet so I could track what I found.  I also left lots of blank spaces, as I knew I'd see much more than what was on the list.  I found a few errors along the way that I have since corrected, but it was a great way to start.  I included scientific names due to the same critter having two different common names.  The correct scientific name will always fix that problem.  Here is a pdf version of the "Species Tracking Form" that I used.  I am in the process of updating it as I add the species I found that weren't on the original list.  If you are going to Lembeh and would like an updated copy, send me an e-mail.  I'd be happy to give you my most current version.

I like to log my dives.  However, I don't typically use the standard "paper" logbook.  (I do get stamps from every dive operator and guide, so for this trip, in 35 dives I only filled two pages of my paper logbook.)  Instead, I use SmartTrak software from Uwatec.  Typically, I will sync my dive computer and enter the dives that way.  But during my trip to Seattle in April and my dives with Tim, my computer froze and had to be sent back for a warranty replacement.  Since I didn't get it before my Lembeh trip, I had to resort to entering my dives manually into the software.  So I created a form to use to log each dive.  (pdf version of Dive log form)  I'd fill out the form on the boat while the memories were still fresh, then enter the information into SmartTrak later that night or the next morning.

After filling these in for every dive, I made some modifications after I got home.  I found I needed more room to record the critters, and there were a few more "stats" I found interesting.  So whenever I get to take another multiple-day dive trip, I'm going to use my updated form.  (pdf version here)  If you find these forms useful, I'd be happy to send you the actual Excel file of each.  Just send me an e-mail and let me know.

I am very happy with my decision to plan my diving before I went to Lembeh.  It made the critter hunting even more fun.  And, truthfully, I think I identified far more things than I would have otherwise.  After a few days of watching me fill out my log, Man asked to see my critter list.  Then he started planning dives based on what I still hadn't seen yet.  (This was discussed a bit earlier, when I discuss our hunting for the Rhinopias on day 7.)  He'd also point out fish he thought I needed for my list, even if they seemed kind of ordinary.  (E.g. the shrimpgobies)

As for critter identification, I used all of the following websites:  Sea Slug Forum;  Marine Flatworms of the World;  Starfish Site (MUCH more than seastars, by the way);  Divers Lodge Lembeh Photo Page;  Lembeh Resort Critter Page;  and Zubi's Frogfish Page.  I also used the following books:  REEF Fish Identification, Tropical Pacific, by Allen, Steene, Humann and Deloach;  Nudibranchs of the World, by Debulius and Kuiter;  1001 Nudibranchs by Coleman, Coral Reef Animals of the Indo-Pacific, by Gosliner, Behrens and Williams;  Indo-Pacific Coral Reef Field Guide, by Allen and Steene, and Nudibranchs and Sea Snails: Indo-Pacific Field Guide, by Debelius.  Many of these books (but not all) are available at the Lodge.  Next time, I might consider taking my own copies so I can do some critter ID in my room under the fan.  This would depend on the weight of my luggage...  As for the identification, if I felt comfortable making an ID, then I did.  Knowing there are some species that are hard to differentiate, I'm sure I missed a few.  And in cases where I couldn't make a better-than-average identification, I left the critter as unidentified, occasionally giving a suggestion.  If you see a mistake, please e-mail and let me know.  I'm always happy to fix mistakes and learn more in the process.

Thanks for reading.  I had a fantastic trip and can't wait to go back to Lembeh Strait and Divers Lodge Lembeh.