Recently in Marine Life Category

Cary Yanny reports

"Wow what a dive! We had already seen a Hairy Frog fish a flamboyant Cuttlefish and so much more. William Tan and I were on the hunt for a pair of Wonderpus that had been seen mating the previous day by one of our dive groups.

With eagle eyes we were not disappointed. At 4m there they were.

We saw the whole beautiful courtship dance and act, which took about five minutes, and was simply amazing.

I have been diving the Lembeh Straits for over 10 years and this is only the second time I have seen this.

We all finished our dive feeling happy and elated, cursing the need for a surface interval as we all wanted to get back diving as soon as possible to experience the next great adventure!"

Well having been away for 6 weeks it was about time to see if my gills were still working.
 
And they were!  I got on the boat eager to set up my camera.  Dive 90 are staying at our Lembeh Cottages. And would be joining me on the boat soon.3 dives today, they turned out to be Panti Pergi, Nudi Retreat 1 and Air Bajo.  Of course the critters were there waiting to say "hello"  For those for you that know me the fish and critters do talk to me!
 
Steve's buddy Eileen very quickly suggested that Steve dive with me. A little to quickly I think she was glad to dump the photographer husband.
 
Soooooo much to see! Sea Moths, Pygmy Cuttlefish the obligatory Pigmy Seahorse.  Nightmarish skeleton shrimps, a Seahorse that was in fact a baby but I like to believe that it was a new species of pygmy bit big! A sexy shrimp on a bubble coral first time for me and of course the day would not have been complete without seeing a Flamboyant cuttlefish and a Mimic Octopus, did I mention the Mimic? oh yes I did.  Many happy people on our boat! Me being one of them. Lots of scrummy food wonderful singing from Detmon and co and way way to much fun.

What a perfect day!

On October 16 - 23, Anna and Ned DeLoach, co-authors of the best-selling series of marine identification field guides in the business, lead an exclusive action-packed week of marine life education and underwater fun with Eco Divers at Kima Bajo Resort & Spa, Manado.

Modelled on the DeLoach's successful Caribbean Fish & Critter Hunt, the activities have been tailored to North Sulawesi's world-famous reefs.

The week's activities include Basic Reef Fish and Invertebrate Identification; Daily Underwater Fish and Critter Hunts for the area's most sought-after species.

Also an Underwater Photo/Video Workshop:
• How to capture memorable wildlife portraits
• Getting close to elusive species
• Macro photography
• Waiting for the right moment
• Framing your subject to best advantage

Special Nightly Presentations include:
• Cephalopod Behaviour - The Outrageous Antics of Some of the World's most Outrageous Animals
• Symbiosis and Camouflage: Hiding in Plain Sight
• The Diverse Reproductive Repertoire of Reef Fishes
• Which Fish Eat What

As an added bonus the couple will debut the long-awaited Reef Creature Identification - Tropical Pacific, with more than 2,000 species photos, many taken by the authors in North Sulawesi.

We guarantee that after spending an energizing week of fun and learning with a group of like-minded friends, diving will never be the same! Email info@eco-divers.com for more information 

Well.....Looking at the title some of you might be thinking I am going mad. Even, if it is not completly unaccurate as a statment I can assure you that everything is going well here in the Kima Bajo neighbourhood.

What actually is happening is that Ghost pipe fish are coming out and start to get together. At the near by dive site TJ. Bolung I have seen three Ornate Ghost PipeFish. Have a look at the picture below..........

 

Once again I have decided to go diving in Bunaken and between my 2 boat going out I have picked that one going to Lekuan 1, I love that dive, beside having myriads of Pyrmaid Butterfly Fish and other coral fish, you have the guarantee to see nice big green turtles resting on the reef or swimming around.

Anyway today my aim was to look for soft coral crabs, by the name you can tell that they are crabs living in the soft coral ;). While looking for this magnificient small critter I spotted a very beautiful little Red-spotted egg cowrie.  I have decided to make it my picture of the day :)

 

 

 

This week I have had the opportunity to pay a visit to our "new" operation in the Lembeh Strait.

What a change for our day tripper! Since the Eco Divers Lembeh Cottages operation assists us during the day trip we have been seeing at least the double of critters we used to find. That's quite normal having 2 Dive Guides like Iwan and Detmon (Iwan 15 years diving in the Strait) diving there every day, therefore this time I went there with a wish.........the wish of seeing a Lacy Renophias and as you can tell by the picture they could make my wish coming true.

By the way for the record I have seen 2 Renophias on the same dive site!! Thank you very much Iwan and Detmon.

 

 

 

 

The Bunaken marine park walls are very well know for the colorful walls, clear water, reef fish and pelagics. From a photography point of view most people coming here for the first time think that the best lens to bring here is a wide angle. It is beautiful to shoot wide in clear water when the sun is shining, however, on the other hand, shooting wide in an overcast day can be a bit disappointing for some. In addition to this every time you will bring your Wide angle lens you will have our eagle eyed guides showing you some very nice critters.

Many divers often ask me: "what should a bring with me, in terms of lenses , when I will visit the marine park?". Three lenses are my favourite for shooting in here.

1) Fish eye lens to use in shallow water during sunshine days and in deeper water for very nice drammatic shoots.

2) 60mm lens , this is one of my favourite.....I have bee shooting for more than 2 years with just this lens, it gives you a very wide range of possible shots you can take.

3) 105mm Lens, The best choice for shy critters, pigmy seahorses, small gobies, and still great lens for turtles portrait or reef details, excellent for our afternoon dives.

If it is fish eye shots you want to take do not forget to pack a macro lens for those day it might be overcast. This is a rule of thumb for underwater photography in the marine park.

I am still feeling the high of my trip and have been telling everyone what a great time I had. From the moment we arrived at the Kimo Bajo Resort we felt relaxed and pampered.  Your dive center is located in such a beautiful, private location on the beach facing the majestic volcano, it is almost surreal. 

The resort is awesome and immaculate.  Meeting Luca and the staff at your dive center was so reassuring for me because I knew immediately I was in good hands.  As an inexperienced diver I was initially nervous about being with a group of hard core divers and thought I might get "neglected".  I told Luca about my reservations and he made sure the crew was aware of me and my inexperience.  Your guides made a special effort to keep an eye on me and to constantly check in with me to make sure I was feeling comfortable. 

As the week progressed I grew more and more confident about my diving and I credit that to being able to move at my own pace.  It was almost like having my own private, personal guide/dive master.  To call your staff professional is a huge understatement...they truly went ABOVE and BEYOND to make our entire group's experience exceptional. Aside from my interactions with your staff I have to say that I was so excited about seeing some of most incredible animals I ever imagined I could see!  The areas we dived in are really magical and I will never forget that experience.  I was also pleasantly surprised at how clean and comfortable your boats are.  We had shade and cozy places to rest and eat, (more about the food next), I never felt crowded because you kept our group small.

The food....wow, what can I say.  I was so completely impressed with each and every meal...(especially our dinner at Lembeh!)   Kudos to the chefs at both locations.  Our buffets at Kimo Bajo were so beautiful and everything was so good I just couldn't resist tasting everything and then going back for seconds.  I did not expect to have that kind of quality or selection in a buffet. 

I want to thank you again for all of your warmth and hospitality. You have done a magnificent job with your entire staff.  EACH and EVERY ONE of them is so wonderful, friendly, warm, knowlegeable, efficient and yes, very, very professional! I hope to dive with you again

Monica King
Owner/Broker
San Luis Obispo Realty
CA 93401
www.monicaking.com

Well another outstanding 2 weeks