Friday, January 9, 2009

Fascinating Lembeh

Continuing my dive stories in Manado, this time I went diving in Lembeh....


We stayed in Two Fish Divers again, but this one is in Lembeh! Me and my family's room was really cool! It was like a hut, but maybe a little bit bigger. There was dogs and a cat too. The dogs doesn't really bother me as much as the dogs in Bunaken but they're fine. This tortoise shell like cat was really adorable. She is very, very brave. Braver than Macan I think! Sometimes when I call her, she comes to me and sit near me (how brave)! Rebecca came to Lembeh too with Tina and Ingrid!

Day 4, 2nd Dive, Muka (Lembeh)

We arrived in Lembeh at lunch time, so we had lunch while waiting for our room. When our room was ready, we quickly unpacked our suitcases and then we got ready for more fun! We started by swimming out from the beach. First Tina and I saw sand, and then came big groups of Sea Urchins near some dirty sea grass. A few minutes later, the corals had shown itself. They were beautiful! Lots of Humbug, a little bit of Neon Damsel and a few Bangai Cardinal Fish welcomed us, when we swam a little bit further we saw, a Red-Banded Wrasse, a String Worm and a few groups of Rigid Shrimpfish.

Then there was several of Pipefish hiding (not together) on some rocks, and then we saw some Spinecheek Anemone fish in this anemone (of course). About one minute later I found this strange looking stuff so I asked Tina what it is, and then she said that the strange looking thing is actually a Jellyfish! It was an Upside-Down Jellyfish! Tina showed this red and white crab in this little coral, it was sort of cute.

When we swam back to the shore Tina and I saw baby Butterfly fish. Then, when we nearly came out, we saw a Ringed Pipefish which was quite amazing! Near the Pipefish there was some sea grass. On one of the sea grass I think I saw a green Nudibranch which camouflaged itself very good! Too bad Tina didn’t see it, so I don’t really know what kind of type the Nudibranch was.

Day 5, 1st Dive, 18/12/08, Nudifalls

Today I’m diving with Tina and a Dive Master. Her name is Ingrid. I think she is very nice, very helpful and I think she’s very funny too. We are going to Nudifalls for this dive. People said that it has a lot of Nudibranch, so I am hoping to see splendid ones. There was this Dwarf-Spotted Grouper that was a little bit far away from us and then, there was quite a lot of Cleaner Shrimp and Rock Lobsters hiding inside some holes. We saw groups of Rigid Shrimpfish and there was a lot of Wart Slugs. There was about two or three Flabellina that Ingrid, Tina and I saw, they were splendid like what I’ve said before. Lots of Moorish Idol was everywhere. We even saw Striped Catfish! A Black-Spotted Puffer was swimming by itself near the corals. When we were sort of under the boat, we saw some False Clown anemone fish, some Skunk Anemone fish, a few


Ringed Pipefish, a Cushion Starfish and guess what? We saw a Barred Moray having a fishes head for breakfast!!! First I thought the Moray’s head was stuck, so I felt a little bit scared. Then, when its head came out, I realized that it was actually eating a fish’s head! It was INCREDIBLE!

Day 5, 2nd Dive, Nudiretreat

Before we had lunch, I had another dive with Tina and Ingrid. It only took about four or five minutes to Nudiretreat. Ingrid is gonna help us look for interesting stuff like, another Nudibranch maybe or any other stuffs. We saw lots of Wart Slugs on the corals beside us, we saw a purple Flabellina looking thing and we saw a lot of Ascidians. There was a Hermit Crab too on the sand (I think), a few Tubeworms and there was some Indian Bannerfish that was swimming on the opposite side of us. Lots of corals were beautiful, there was some Sea Grapes, some Broccoli Corals and we saw this Fire-flower looking Soft Coral. It was sort of fun scaring the Reef Lizardfish that was on some rocks, some corals and on the sands. On the corals beside and under us, we saw a Crested Nembrotha and a Dusky Nembrotha. A Parrotfish was swimming on the big space looking good. When we were 1.5m away from under the boat, we saw some Pink Anemonefish, it was so cute! Before we said goodbye to the fishes, we saw two Thorny Filefish separated which was quite weirdly cool.






Day 5, 3rd Dive, Aer Perang

Drop those lunches and it’s time for one more dive for this day!
We are going to Aer Perang after lunch, but my mum is not going because she only wants to do the third dive. Plus, I’m not diving with Ingrid although; she’s still coming with us.
Sand was the first thing we saw. Then we saw a Blackbarred Sandperch and then we saw this cool sea cucumber called the Burrowing Sea Cucumber, Ingrid call it the ‘Scary Tree’ and I like it! A Fingered Dragonet was on some rocks and on the sand too. Some Sweetlips’ were swimming quite far from us, I always wonder why Sweetlips are called Sweetlips although its lips are not sweet at all? There were groups of Rigid Shrimpfish around, we also saw some Wart Slugs on the corals. We saw a pretty blue Ribbon Eel’s head was out of its hole, it is quite cute. We saw Moray Eel hiding in this sort of hole sleeping (I think). We were also lucky because we saw two juv. (juvenile) Batfish, it was my first time seeing one and I was so amazed! The juv. Batfish looks a lot prettier than I saw in some fish books. Not much of the Moorish Idol in this dive, it was like as if they were in some kind of vacation (like me)! We saw some Orange-Dashed Gobies, and then saw some Banded Gobies and we even saw a Yellowtail Barracuda! A Pin-Cushion Starfish was lying on the seabed near the corals. Pennant Bannerfish were swimming in groups when we saw them. Two or three Smooth Flutemouths were swimming side by side, like a little fishy gang. An Orange-Lined Triggerfish was swimming across us and it looks cool! Well it wasn’t the last fish we saw, it was a Rounded Pufferfish and it looks soo round (of course).

Day 6, 1st Dive, 19/12/08, Magic Rock

Last day, second dive from the last, MUST ENJOY it! Beautiful and cute Banggai Cardinalfish was swimming around and near some little corals, with some Humbug Dascyllus in it. We saw a Klunzinger’s Wrasse and Redbreasted Wrasse quite far away. Moorish Idols were sort of everywhere once again! I think we saw a group of Striped Catfish that was actually across us. We saw a Humpback Stonefish which was near a rock, we saw a yellow Trumpetfish, groups of Rigid Shrimpfish and we saw one or two Hexagon Grouper. There was some Spot-Banded Butterflyfish around us, and there was a lot of anemone fish; there was the Tomato Anemonefish, the Pink Anemonefish and there was Clark’s Anemonefish. Some Variegated Lizardfish were trying to hide by camouflaging itself, but they weren’t that good so it was easy to very easy to surprise them! Just before we waved and said goodbye to the fishes, we saw a Spotted Porcupinefish, it was quite deep so I didn’t see it quite clear.

Day 6, 2nd Dive, Pantai Parigi

Just a few minutes ride to our last dive for this holidayL! But it was TOTALLY AWESOME! Lots and lots of Moorish Idols were everywhere! There was a lot of Black-Back Butterflyfish, but there wasn’t as much as the Moorish Idols, a lot Humbug Dascyllus was hiding on the little corals and some were hiding in the big corals too. There was also some Decorated Goby and some Seagrapes came to my sight and the rest came to Tina’s sight (I guess?)! Then we saw a few more of Klunzinger’s Wrasse, a few more groups of Rigid Shrimpfish and a few more of Hexagon Groupers! One or two Trapezia Crab was hiding in this coral, a few Wart Slugs was on some corals too, we saw this Flabellina looking thing and we saw a Sealface Pufferfish! We saw this juv. Many-Spotted Sweetlips which Tina and I call it the Cha-Cha fish! We even saw a Demon Stinger near this rock. At first I thought it was just one medium sized rock, but then, Tina told me to stay where I am, she dived a little bit deeper and then with her metal stick, she showed me that half of the rock was actually a fish! We saw two or three juv. Teira Batfish and it was great! Just before I said goodbye for the last time, we saw this VERY black Crocodilefish! Tina told me to stay at where we was (so she can point it to me), just like the Demon Stinger! It was a really AWESOME dive and I enjoyed it a lot! I hope Tina, Lucy and Ingrid enjoyed diving with me as much as I enjoyed diving with them!


I can't wait for December 2009, bacause I'm gonna be 10 on that month which means I could get my Junior Open Diver course! YAY! I'm planning to go to Lembeh or Bunaken to get my course, so maybe I could get the course with Tina or Lucy:)!

Beautiful Bunaken

Last year, I went diving with my family to Bunaken and Lembeh in Indonesia.
and I'd like to share my fabulous dive adventures with all of you...

Me Rebecca Mayang
First of all, I met my Instructor, Lucy on the 14/12/08 which was the first day. It was my first time diving in Bunaken, and it was great! We are staying at Two Fish Divers. It was great! There was just one thing I was scared of... the DOGS! They're cute, but I'm just scared they'll lick me!!! A cat named Macan was there. She is very friendly, very brave and her coat was pure black.
When you sleep at night, you could always here the lovely sound of the wave. It makes you sleep easily. I really enjoyed staying at Two Fish Divers!
I met this pretty little girl called Rebecca! At first she was sort of scared of me, but then she's getting use to me. Rebecca is Tina and Nigel's daughter, and Tina and Nigel is the owner of Two Fish Diver's, they're very friendly.

Day 1, 14/12/08, Muka Kampung


Lucy and I swam out from the beach of Muka Kampung for a start.

The first thing I saw was sand and loads of dirty sea grass, then we saw lots of Horned Sea Stars. About one and a half minute later the pretty corals and the lovely fishes came to my sight. Many of the fishes were hiding in the corals and in some holes because they were scared of us. There were quite a lot of Long-Nosed Butterfly fish, some of them swam in groups and some didn’t. Then, a Trumpet fish was swimming to a space under a coral near us; I wonder why the fishes are sooo scared of us?





Day 2, 1st Dive, 15/12/08, Alung Banua

The next day, me and Lucy went to Alung Banua with my family. We went on a boat to go to the location.

This time I did a giant stride to get in the water, it was my first time. A giant stride is an easy thing to do; all you have to do is to hold your mask and your mouthpiece with one hand and hold everything else with the other hand. After that, look across the clearing and take a big step forward in the air and that’s it.

We had to swim a little bit until we were about 2 or 3m above the corals. When we were inside the water, beauties came to my sight again. Lots and lots of fishes were surrounding me. We saw a Parrot fish, but it was quite far away from us. Then there was quite a lot of Xmas Tree Worms (Christmas Tree Worms) on some of the corals. A few minutes later, Lucy and I found a group of Puffer fish. There were 5 Puffer fish in total. Lucy said that it might have been a puffer fish party-hahaha, and I agreed with her. It’s really weird because usually Puffer fish doesn’t really hang out together. A little bit further, we saw some Anemone fish (Clown fish). Anemone fish are one of my favourites because they are quite cute (sort of).

Day 2, 2nd Dive, Muka

After lunch, I had another dive with Lucy. This time we went to Muka (Muka Kampung) again, but we saw different sthings. We saw a Unicorn fish (but it doesn’t have a horn!), a Spotted Boxfish, a Hawkfish who was staying still on this pretty coral, a Ribbon Eel and even a Spotted Moray Eel. The Moray Eel was hiding in this hole. Lucy and I started to count Butterfly fish but it was too much (because they were sort of everywhere) so we got confused! A lot of Anthias were hiding in the corals, they were so adorable!

Day 3, 1st Dive, 16/12/08, Lekuan III

Breakfast is done, and now’s time for more diving. Me, Lucy and my family went to Lekuan III (3) for the next day. I did a giant stride to get in the water again. I just love doing that! Lucy and I saw some Sweet Lips, a cute baby Boxfish and a Sea Star hiding inside a hole. We zapped lots of Christmas Tree Worms and Fan Worms, it was so fun watching them hide away. They were so preety because their amazing colours and we even saw this apartment building of Anemone Fish! We tried to knock their doors (if they really had one), but some of them were too scared to come out and some were brave enough. Since it was an apartment (if it really was), we saw a few baby anemone fish and they were soooooo cute! They were also terrified of us!

Day 3, 2nd Dive, Lekuan II



A few minutes ride to Lekuan II (2) and I’m ready for another dive with Lucy! On this Dive, Lucy and I are quite lucky because we saw a Barracuda! Ok, you don’t really need to be lucky to see a Barracuda, but it’s just…so COOL! Then we saw two Flute Mouths, a Bump head Parrot fish which was swimming a few meters away from us and a Napoleon Wrasse, followed by lots of Midnight Snapper, then, by some Fire Dart Gobies. We even followed the Trumpet fish and played the trumpet for them!



Day 3, 3rd Dive, Timur II

Bye, bye lunch, and HELLOO….fishes! The current were fairly strong today but at least we could still enjoy this diving! For this dive, Lucy and I found lots of different Sea Stars; we saw a lot of Feather Stars, then I think we saw about one Pin Cushion Star, and then we saw lots of Brittle Stars inside big holes and in some corals! The most fun thing that we did was…knocking on lots of Anemone fishes' front doors, some came out to see who were there (which was Lucy and I) and some were too shy to come out!

On this dive, there is something that is not fun too…because this is my last dive with Lucy:( , but we totally had a GREAT time together:) and maybe I could dive with her again next year:)?!?!





Day 4, 1st Dive, 17/12/08, Sachiko

Today we are moving to Lembeh, but my dad thinks it will be good to have one more dive in Bunaken, so we are diving in Sachiko today. Since I’m not diving with Lucy again, for this dive and all of the dives in Lembeh, I’m going to dive with Tina. Since Tina is the owner of Two Fish Divers, I'm sure we're gonna have a wonderful time like me and Lucy. In Sachiko, Tina and I saw lots and lots of Red Tooth Trigger Fish, they were like everywhere! Then we saw a Bluespotted Ribbontail Ray, which was hiding under a rock. Tina let me go closer to the Ray but when he realizes that I was next to him, he swam away really fast like a lightning towards the other way Tina and I were diving. Then we saw lots of Butterfly fish; there was the Pyramid Butterfly fish (which was one of my fav), the Triangular Butterfly fish and the Longnose Butterfly fish. Regal Angelfish, Red-Banded Wrasse, Steep-Head Parrot fish, Orangespine Unicorn, Moorish Idol, Lined Sweetlips and Bluefin Travelly were swimming around us, but they were quite scared of us. When Tina and I were swimming by, we saw a few Orangefin Anemone fish swimming around their anemone, followed by a Smooth Flutemouth.


..... to be continued ......
It'll be on Diving in Lembeh... YAY!

Welcome to Melati's Blog


Hi,

Welcome to my blog!


I live in Brunei, I love swimming, diving, surfing, ice skating and travelling with my family.



Hope you enjoy my adventure story!




Luv,

Melati