Boarding the Marissa (the other boat was called Francisca) we found that our dive gear was already there and assembled. Our cameras, which had been in the freshwater camera rinse tank had also been carried on board for us. Having confirmed that all our gear was loaded we set off on the 15 minute ride to the dive site. TK3 (Teluk Kembahu) as it is more usually called is in a small Bay opposite the village of Kembahu and is one of three sites that are in the Bay. After kitting up we performed backward rolls off the boat and were carefully handed our cameras. TK3 was a typical ‘muck dive’ site with a black sand slope from 3 to 25 metres. The dive here consists of looking through the rubble and in and around sunken bits of wood and nets. It was such a great area and always turning up something different on each occasion that we dove it. Looking back at my Log Book I realised that we had dived the different TK sites a total of 6 times throughout our stay.

Normally I try to avoid boring you with lists of fish but the temptation here is too great. Apart from lots of wrasses, pufferfish, anemone fish and the more normal creatures you might encounter, here is a list of what you can expect to see on this site:-

Mandarinfish, Bangai cardinalfish (endemic to this region), sea moths, white devil scorpionfish, spiny devilfish, leaf scorpionfish, juvenile harlequin sweetlips, giant frogfish, painted frogfish, porcelain crabs, purple commensal shrimps, finger dragonet, yellow barred jawfish, razorfish, snowflake moray eels, ribbon eel, Helmut's gurnard, pipefish, broadclub cuttlefish, squat lobsters, snake eels, seahorse, hairy frogfish (striated), crinoid shrimp, zebra crab. The list of likely nudibranch sightings is longer still!. All this in just one Bay.

Returning back to the boat 75 minutes later we handed up our cameras which were again very carefully handled by the helpful boat crew and were then helped on board where we were given dry towels (luxury) and offered fresh fruit as a snack. Returning back to the Resort once again our cameras were carried ashore and placed into the freshwater camera tanks to soak. Whilst I returned to the room to change film (I am still in the dark ages as far as converting to digital is concerned) the boat crew changed tanks and prepared the boat for the next dive at 11:00am.

Prior to departing for the second dive of the day a waiter collected our order for Lunch. This was much appreciated as there was very little time to spare upon arriving back from the second dive, freshening up, eating lunch and then preparing for the third dive.

And so, this was very much the way that the rest of the dives panned out, with my wife Judith joining me for the 11:00am and 2:30pm dives.

Occasionally (3 times) I summoned up the extra energy to partake in my favourite type of diving namely at night. Calculating the time I had spent underwater on those four dive days it came to approximately 5 hours. It is no wonder that I never seem to get a sun-tan on diving holidays.

The house reef should also not be ignored as a potential dive site. We enlisted the help of Andi who apart from being a very good Dive Guide had become something of an expert in showing people the best that the house reef had to offer. The house reef which is regularly dived as a dusk dive with almost guaranteed sightings of Mandarin fish mating also provided sightings of them during the day along with two magnificent orange fringed black juvenile Batfish, a Crab Eye Goby, Pipefish with eggs, Gold-spec Jawfish, Nudibranchs etc.

Afternoons were spent lounging by the freshwater pool with the occasional swim to cool off. At approximately 4pm freshly baked cakes were on offer in the restaurant and these kept us going until evening meal was served from 7pm until 10:30pm. From the restaurant which was not air-conditioned but constantly received a wonderful cooling breeze we could sit and enjoy our meal whilst we watched the fisherman with their powerful lanterns illuminating the dark waters as they fished the Strait.

Early to bed and early to rise was the norm. At night the daytime quietness was shattered by the sound of thousands of insects and the occasional gecko calling out. Attracted by the light streaming from the windows of our room we watched as geckos (clinging to the glass) hunted for insects that were also attracted by the light. Although the noises of the night were loud we always slept soundly until the sunlight streaming in heralded the start of a new day.

On our off-gassing final day at our request the dive shop provided us with a boat, captain and one of the english speaking dive guides to take us on a tour of the sights of Lembeh. Including visiting the spectacular second world war memorial complete with DC3 aircraft, the port of Bitung, the market and the many wonderful sights that we had only had fleeting views of as we passed by on our way to various dive sites. It was a great and memorable morning which we much appreciated and enjoyed.

But as with all vacations and good things they must finally come to an end. Leaving our new friends that we had made is always hard but were fortunately we were all travelling back to Singapore on the same Silk Air flight. We finally said our goodbyes and went our separate ways at Changi Airport.

In order to break up our return journey we stayed at the simple but clean and comfortable Transit Hotel which is in the airport itself. Later that evening we enjoyed a fresh Pizza, Garden salad and the odd glass of Valpolicella wine at one of the excellent airport restaurants.

The following morning our Singapore Airlines flight departed promptly at 9am on the final leg of our journey home.

At the beginning of this Trip report, I was wondering if the previous year’s events had any effect on the people of Sulawesi? I can say that as far as we could tell there appeared to have been very little impact. The people are still as polite, courteous, helpful co-operative and eager to please as they were the last time that we were in Lembeh. As far as Lembeh Resort is concerned we could not fault it (apart from some reservations about the food) the hotel staff were wonderful. The grounds were beautifully maintained and the dive shop and dive guides did there very best (and by in large succeeded) in showing me the things that I had particularly wanted to photograph. It was a great vacation and we would like to express our thanks to all of the staff at the Lembeh Resort for their hospitality and kindness.

The following images were all taken with a Nikon F90x with a 20mm or 70-300mm zoom lens.

Four Dive boats, Briefing and Equipment Lockers Room.

One of the many boats that are seen passing through the Lembeh Straits.

The following images were all taken with a Nikon F90x in a Subal housing with 105mm lens and Subtronic strobe.

The diminutive Bobtail Squid. This one was less than 1cm long

The Tozeuma Shrimp lives amongst the gorgonian and is very well camouflaged.

Judith's first attempt at digital photography using a Olympus C7070 in a Olympus PT-027 housing. This Painted Frogfish was taken using the internal strobe only. Not bad eh?

Click HERE to visit Judith's Lembeh Gallery.