:: Lembeh Strait - North Sulawesi Diving Travel
Guides ::
Lembeh Strait
The world
renowned Lembeh Strait lies off the northern tip
of
Sulawesi. Since resorts started to open in the mid-90s
the area has rapidly gained popularity amongst macro
photographers and is now considered the diving Mecca for
critters and macro marine life. The extremely diverse
marine habitat in this stretch of water offers a
plethora of macro species, many of which can found
nowhere else on the planet. Diving here is the ultimate
experience for photographers in search of the unusual
and unseen. It is often refered to as a muck divers
paradise as most of the sites are either sandy areas or
small reefs, there are no spectacular walls of drop offs
here. With over 30 dive sites to choose from and even a
WWII wreck all within a short boat ride over calm waters
from the resort it is no surprise that the Lembeh Strait
is a world class dive destination.
Lembeh is
diveable
all year but the conditions do vary from month to month.
January to June sees variable (but still fine)
conditions and less divers. August sees the poorest
visibility but the richest numbers of critters and
September to October are probably the best two months
overall.
The Lembeh Strait has over 30 dive sites so since the
topography and marine life is very similar for most of
them we have only included the most popular. Other good
dive sites in Lembeh include Jahir; a large sandy site
with coral blocks, Nudi Retreat; very similar to Nudi
Falls, Aw Shucks where whip coral and pipefish are
abundant, Pantai Parigi; more muck marine life, Kapal
Indah; wrecked cargo boat teeming with life, Jiko Yance;
reef slope with good viz, Aer Perang and the house reefs
at Kungkungan and Divers Lodge.
LEMBEH DIVE SITES
INFORMATION
Police Pier
The sandy shallow slope here has a lot of rubble,
trash and things that look out of place underwater.
However don't let this put you off, they all make
excellent hiding places for all manner of exotic
critters. Under the pier itself you can expect to see
frogfish, seahorses, waspfish, snake eels, cleanershrimp
and cuttlefish, also keep a lookout for the endemic
Banggai cardinalfish. This is also a great spot for a
night dive wherre countless species of crab come out to
forage for food and the rare Bobbit worm may be found.
Nudi Falls
A small vertical rock drops into a slope that ends
on a grey sandy bottom at 25 meters. As its name
suggests the highlight of this dive site are the sheer
numbers of nudibranchs that can be found. The soft coral
bed houses myriad macro creatures including pygmy
seahorses, frogfish and mantis shrimps. The elusive
Rhinopias can also be found here though your dive guide
is more likely to spot one.
Hairball
This bizarrely named spot is one of Lembeh's more
popular. Frogfish sightings here are pretty much
guaranteed on this black sand bed of life. This is a
true muck dive site with seahorses, octopus, crabs and
plenty of other crustaceans. Many of the critters are
very well disguised, as algae makes a great camouflage.
Close by is Hairball 2 where juvenile batfish,
cardinalfish and zebra crabs are seen.
Critter Hunt
Situated at the southern tip if Sarena Kecil Island
is this spot which upon first impressions does not look
like much. However with the majority of Lembeh's dive
spots a keep eye and patience is the key for scattered
amongst the rubble and small coral heads are myriad
macro critters, hence the name! Keep a look out for
decorator crabs, waspfish, frogfish and squat lobsters.
Angel's Window
Situated off the north coast of Lembeh Island the
submerged peaks here have a number of gorgonians that
are home to pygmy seahorses. It is a little different to
the rest of Lembeh's muck dive sites, this spot is more
like a coral reef dive. Visibility is usually a bit
better and there is a couple of swimthrough at about 25
meters which makes up the "Window". Snappers and jacks
are often found hanging out here and the walls are lined
with crinoids and featherstars.
California Dreaming
This is a nice dive to get a break from all the
muck. Colourful coral gardens with large orange tree
corals and red gorgonians feeding in the current here.
The visibility is also often better that that of the
murkier muck sites. There is a plateau at around 14
meters where the critters can be found for those macro
addicts that simply cant get enough!
Teluk Kembahu
These dive sites, abbreviated to TK1 and TK2, are
named after a local village and are found on the
Sulawesi side of the Strait. Topography consists of a
dark sandy bottom with scattered rubble and sunken logs.
It is where the first mimic octopus was sighted in
Lembeh, also the home of the Banggai Cardinalfish which
can only be found in this region. No shortage of other
marine inhabitants here either with mandarinfish, gobys,
devilfish, frogfish, porcelain crabs and razorfish, this
is an exceptional dive site.
Mawali Wreck
A Japanese steel cargo ship from WWII was scuttled
and sank in 1943. She now lies in 30 to 15 meters of
water on her port side. The wreck is around 65 meters
long and has heavy coral growth, a number of large
lionfish lurk in suspension over the hulk. Spotted
baramundi cod are seen along with the usual macro
subjects including pipefish, nudibranchs and shrimps.
Penetration is no longer recommended due to the heavily
encrusted surfaces and instability of the structure.
Bimoli Wreck
Another Japanese freighter from WWII lies on her
starboard side in 30 meters of water. Torpedo damage is
quite extensive and the wreck is very overgrown and is
almost its own mini reef. The wreck starts at 18 meters
with the propeller at 30, ammunition can still be seen
and very little has been removed. The twisted structure
now forms the home of a number of critters such as rock
lobster and circling barracuda and tuna.
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