Indonesia Trip Report Part I: Lembeh
In the last 13 hours, I have haggled over 65,000 rupiah
(what amounts to about $7US) for a west Papuan penis gourd, dipped my toes in
the Indian Ocean, and because the Indian Ocean might be polluted, I had my toes
cleaned by fish in what was probably the weirdest tourism ritual I have ever
played along with. And as I sit here and
wait for my airport transfer out of Bali, I can’t help but reflect that none of
this has anything to do with why I am here.
Coconut Octopus (Amphioctopus marginatus)
Three weeks ago, I grabbed my favorite dive/travel buddy and
caught a series of meandering flights eventually bound for Raja Ampat, Indonesia.
The resulting trip has led us on 48 dives through the heart of marine
biodiversity. Our first stop was an
extended five-day layover in northern Sulawesi at an area known as Lembeh
Straight.
Pygmy Squid (Idiosepius sp.) with shrimp dinner
The area is famous for rich muck dives packed with unusual
macro critters. Muck divers search the
silt and sand for whatever tiny life happens to pop up. The point isn’t sweeping reefscapes or big animals,
muck divers want the little stuff and cover small search patterns in their
search. Our hosts were the gracious
folks at Two Fish Divers as led by our world-class guide, Heskiel. Heskiel could spot a polar bear blinking in a
snowstorm, or more useful to our expedition, a pygmy squid from 10 feet away.
Stargazer (Uranoscopus sp.)-Never miss a night dive.
Sarah and I went to Lembeh with a lofty hitlist of animals
that we wanted to see, and we ended up seeing most of them. We saw the infamous Lembeh sea dragon (that
is actually a species of pipehorse, but who’s counting?), wonderpus, coconut
octopus, Indian Walkman, stargazer, and even a gaggle of bobbit worms. And if this sounds fun, stay tuned for the
second installment on the highlight of the trip: Raja Ampat!
Marionia sp.
The Lembeh Sea Dragon, or more accurately, the Lembeh Pipehorse (Kyonemichthys rumengani) was discovered in 2006. Distinguishing these from the other muck is nearly impossible for all but the most experienced guides. Fortunately, Heskiel was top notch!
Bobbit worm (Eunice sp.)-NEVER miss a night dive, unless bobbit worms are around, then you might want to think twice. Bobbit worms were named in 1996 after Lorena Bobbit chopped her way into infamy.
Tags: underwater photography lembeh indonesia octopus nudibranch squid fish seahorse bobbit worm