Special Trips
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May, September and November 2012: Three Free Special Events to mark Minahasa Lagoon's 10th Birthday
Minahasa Lagoon Resort is celebrating its 10th anniversary since inception and to mark the occasion there will be three very different Birthday Party Packages, each offering many free extra activities. Book a minimum 7 nights All Inclusive Dive Package at Minahasa Lagoon/Eco Divers during any Party Week and come to join in the fun!
Choose from three events:
- Month of May - North Sulawesi's Nature & Culture
- 01-08 September - Fish Geek Week
- 24 November-01 December - Learn Underwater Photography Week
Month of May - North Sulawesi's Nature & Culture
We are celebrating North Sulawesi's natural and culture heritage in May. Guests will be offered a free Highland Tour plus a free 3-hour Spa Package at Minahasa Lagoon Spa. There will also be an evening of cultural dances with a traditional Minahasan Dinner buffet and also a Gala Dinner & Birthday Party Night. Each guest will also receive a free gift.*
* One free tour and spa package per guest. Minimum booking must be 7-night All Inclusive Dive Package
01-08 September - Fish Geek Week
Guest Lecturers Mark Erdmann, Gerry Allen & Massimo Boyer
Learn about the biology of Underwater North Sulawesi from three of the world's most illustrious names in marine biology. Each night a free biology workshop will be offered, whilst each morning before diving the Lecturers will brief divers on the behaviour and habitat of various families of fish, so divers can then have fun that day trying to identify various species. The Lecturers will help to identify any strange fishes spotted and photographed. Photo week also also include an underwater treasure hunt with great prizes and a Gala Dinner & Birthday Party Night. Each guest will also receive a free gift.*
* Minimum booking must be 7-night All Inclusive Dive Package
Nightly Workshops
- An introduction to Manado & Bunaken
- An introduction to Coral Reef Fishes and their Identification
- Extreme Biodiversity: in search of Indonesia's marine biodiversity epicenter
- Biology and Conservation of the Indonesian Coelacanth Fish
- Advanced Coral Reef Fish Identification and Natural History
- Highlights of Reef Fish Observations during North Sulawesi Fish Geek Week
About our Guest Lecturers
Originally from the USA, Dr. Gerald R. Allen is the author of more than 400 scientific articles and 35 books. He served as Senior Curator of Fishes at the Western Australian Museum in Perth between 1974 and 1997 and is an international authority on the classification of coral reef fishes. Since leaving the Museum he has served as a private consultant, primarily involved with coral reef fish surveys in Southeast Asia for Conservation International. Dr. Allen definitely has an "old school" approach, spending as much time in the field as behind a desk looking through a microscope. He received a Ph.D. in marine zoology from the University of Hawaii in 1971 and since then has logged well over 13,000 hours of scuba diving in all tropical seas, especially the vast Indo-Pacific region. Underwater photography is a consuming passion and hundreds of his photos have appeared in a variety of international publications.
24 November-01 December - Learn Underwater Photography Week
Guest lecturers Takako Uno, Stephen Wong & Jason Isley
This is simply THE best opportunity this year in Asia to take your photo skills to the next level. World-renowned photo geniuses Takako Uno, Stephen Wong and Jason Isley will be sharing their secrets for free, through nightly workshops and presentations. This week is open to any and all, from beginner to accomplished photographer. The celebrations will be rounded off with a Gala Dinner & Birthday Party Night, an informal photo contest and a prize-giving. Each guest will also receive a free gift.*
* Minimum booking must be 7-night All Inclusive Dive Package
About our Guest Lecturers
Full time husband and wife marine photojournalists, Stephen Wong & Takako Uno's works have been published in over 20 countries and 100 individual journals & publications, including National Geographic, BBC Wildlife & GEO. Their works have appeared in more than 40 photo exhibitions, including Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History & Monterey Bay Aquarium. In 2009, both of them have been inducted as members of the prestigious "Ocean Artists Society".
Their images have received dozens of awards in international photo competitions, including four times in the renowned BBC Wildlife Photo Contests. Takako has discovered a number of new species: five Nudibranchs, one Octopus, one Snapping Shrimp & one Crab. Stephen has found one new species of Goby.
Stephen and Takako's images have appeared in over 80 books, including co-authorship of "Sipadan-Mabul Islands", "Celebrate the Sea" & "Gorontalo Hidden Paradise". The couple's signature publication, "An Ocean Odyssey", a 240-page wide blue pictorial anthology, has received broad international acclaim.
Jason Isley completed his divemaster course in Cairns, Australia in 1996 and then trained as an underwater cameraman. Towards the end of 1996 he left Australia to join Simon Christopher in Sabah, Malaysia and help create Scubazoo. Since then Jason has filmed and photographed extensively all over the world. During Jason's twelve year career as one of Scubazoo's senior cameramen he had many highlights such as overseeing the underwater logistics and filming for the two UK Survivor series and the Disney IMAX production Sacred Planet. He filmed on programmes such as Journeys of a Lifetime with Minnie Driver, Animal Planet's The Jeff Corwin Experience, Nick Baker's Weird Creatures and Perfect Predators for Discovery Channel's shark week.
Choosing to focus on his passion for underwater photography full time, in 2008 Jason stepped back from filming and is now the driving force behind Scubazoo's Publications division. He was pivotal in the production of Scubazoo's first coffee table book Sipadan-Mabul-Kapalai, Sabah's Underwater Treasure as well as Scubazoo's 2008 coffee table book reef which has been translated into 10 languages and gone on to sell over 150,000 copies worldwide. In 2010/11 he managed the production of Scubazoo's first self-published book MALDIVES - The Underwater Kingdom.
Jason's photographs and articles have been published in magazines and books around the world and his images have won several international awards.
Email info@eco-divers.com and be sure to book your place today!
June 2012: The Lembeh Fish & Critter Hunt 2012, with Ned & Anna DeLoach
Want to learn all about marine life? Then there's no better place to be than at Eco Divers Resort Lembeh in June 2012. Ned & Anna DeLoach, co-authors of the best-selling series of marine identification field guides including Reef Fish Identification - Tropical Pacific and Reef Creature Identification - Tropical Pacific, and the marine life column Encounters in Alert Diver magazine, and Critter Hunt in Scuba Diving, will be running FREE week-long workshops on reef fish and invertebrate identification, behaviour and photography. This one's not to be missed! Plenty of diving, discovery and underwater fun, plus nightly presentations.
Dates:
- Week 1 02-09 June 2012
- Week 2 09-16 June 2012
- Week 3* 16-23 June 2012
(* if Week 1 & 2 sell out)
The week's activities include:
- Reef fish and invertebrate identification and behavior
- Daily underwater fish and critter hunts for the area's most celebrated species
Underwater Photo/Video Workshop:
- How to capture winning marine wildlife portraits
- Tips on getting close to elusive subjects
- Framing your subject
- Waiting for the right moment
Special Nightly Presentations include:
- Cephalopod behavior: The outrageous antics of octopus, cuttlefish and squid
- Symbiosis and Camouflage: Hiding in plain sight
- The diverse reproductive behavior of reef fishes
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 and be sure to book your place today!
