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Lembeh’s weird underwater world
of black sand dive sites and their
abundance of rare and unusual critters
are well documented. What is not so
well known is the “other side” of what
has become known as the “Critter
Capital of the World”.
Lembeh is not just about muck
diving; it’s about so much more. Lembeh
boasts colourful coral reefs, rock
pinnacles, sharks and other pelagics,
wreck dives and unique areas where
the reef literally meets the rainforest in
a melting pot of mangroves and marine
life. Next time you visit Lembeh dust off
your wide-angle lenses and get ready to
see an unexpected side to diving
in Lembeh.
“Batu Angus” boasts one of
the most unique seascapes on the
planet. Mangroves merge with the
reef, archerfish lie in wait below thebranches and this is an incredible spot
for underwater photography. Sunbeams
filtering through the leafy overhead
canopy create surreal effects as reef fish
dart in and out of the corals. You won’t
run out of photographic opportunities.
The Mawali wreck, a Japanese
freighter which sank during WWII, is
now encrusted in hard corals and
adorned with colourful soft corals and
sea fans. If you need your fix of critters
you’ll find a plethora of nudibranchs,
pygmy seahorses, frogfish, various macro
crustaceans as well as cuttlefish, schools
of batfish, barracuda and clouds of
glassfish – otherwise enjoy diving on
a thriving living reef.
Big fish in Lembeh? Absolutely.
Sites such as “Batu Kapal” should be
on the bucket list for any big fish
aficionado. If sharks, rays and other
passing pelagics rock your boat then
this is the place to be – exhilarating
currents bring with them schooling fish,
hunting barracuda, giant trevallies, tuna,
grey and whitetip reef sharks, passing
eagle rays and occasional pods of resident
pilot whales.Sulawesi, IndonesiaINDONESIASULAWESILEMBEHHergen SpalinkAlex RoseAndrew SallmonLEMBEH
Text by Sarah Wormald
Images by various contributors