Imagethief

"Lumba-lumba!" My friend Dave shouted the Bahasa word for dolphin from the top of the boat and pointed to starboard. A family of five or six was driving a school of small tuna through the silky, morning water. A mother and calf treated us to a series of tandem leaps. For ten minutes the dolphins orbited our boat, easily visible in the clear water. It was our first morning in North Sulawesi and already the week was shaping up nicely.

North Sulawesi has been a pilgrimage destination for divers for twenty years, ever since the gorgeous walls of Bunaken Island gained notoriety. Bunaken is now part of a marine park encompassing four other nearby islands, and nearby Manado supports one of the liveliest diving communities in Asia.

Most areas would be fortunate to have one such site of global renown, but North Sulawesi is twice blessed. On the opposite side of the peninsula, just a few miles from Bunaken, the Lembeh Strait has quietly become the most famous muck diving site in the world. Lembeh's black-sand bottom shelters creatures that can shame the imagination of Hollywood's finest alien designers. New species are still regularly discovered there.

But there is still more to North Sulawesi. The islands of Bangka, Talisei and Gangga are midway between Lembeh's black sand and Bunaken's blue water. These less famous islands combine the characteristics of both neighboring destinations, and offer some surprising diving. Easy access to both Bunaken and Lembeh gives divers the best of all possible worlds. We had come to stay on Gangga, from where we could easily explore all of North Sulawesi's diving.

Ptolemy's Aquarium
In the third century BC the Egyptian ruler Ptolemy II built what was then the most exotic menagerie in the world. He would have loved Sulawesi muck diving. There is no greater menagerie on earth.

Despite the label, black sand mucking is diving for sophisticates who find the colorful and grotesque as captivating as the majestic and huge. Macro photographers sing the praises of "good muck" with a vigor that can make non-diving friends reach for the phone number of a mental health professional. Mucking is about patience and deliberation; the slow prowl of the bottom for the dimple, bump, odd motion or flash of color that is telltale for some creature. It takes time to develop the eye, and a good guide can mean the difference between bust and bounty.

We started our mucking at the grandly named Paradise Reef, just off the mainland. The brief boat ride from Gangga was livened by the appearance of the dolphin pod, but, from the surface, Paradise's tumbledown jetty and tepid water looked anything but promising.

But our first impressions were unfair. Jetties create their own ecologies, and the gentle slope of black sand popped with life. A shabby looking gray mound was revealed as an Inimicus devil scorpionfish. Drab and dull at first, it surprised us with a flash of brilliant, red pectoral fins. Looking twice was essential. A leaf drifting under the jetty was actually a ghost pipefish. Sunken sticks turned into sculptured and double-ended pipefish. Mantis shrimp skulked liked cats in the rubble under the jetty, one feasting on a juvenile pufferfish that had strayed too close to its lightning claws. A concrete block was a condo for harlequin ghost pipefish, and an expanse of algae concealed seahorses and cockatoo waspfish. Not bad for an average depth of 3 meters.

By ecology or illusion, black volcanic sand seems to support more exotic residents than white coral sand, but the white sand of Bangka's placid Thalassa Lagoon surprised us. Actually a shallow channel, the "lagoon" is an anchorage for the rough pontoon boats that fish the local waters. Twenty boats were moored in the channel when we visited, bathed in the warm orange of a Sulawesi dusk.

Chilly water gave lie to the warm sunset. Featureless from a the surface, close inspection of the bottom yielded gems. Large, ochre and brown starfish hosted purple and orange emperor shrimp, while sea urchins sheltered Coleman shrimp and badger clingfish. A single sunken log was home to lionfish, and banded and skunk cleaner shrimp. Snake eels and mantis shrimp watched us warily from their burrows. Tiny strands of fuzz caught our attention by gently waving in the completely slack water. A closer look revealed a chorus line of bizarre skeleton shrimp. I snapped away until my shivering wife hauled me to the surface.

The muck of Bangka, Talisei and the nearby mainland is good, but Lembeh is the gold standard. The narrow channel supports an outrageous assortment of critters in several subtly varied ecosystems. An early morning departure from Gangga and a 90-minute boat ride took us to the temple of muck.

Our first stop was not black sand, but the wreck of the MV Mawali, a 60m long freighter lying on its port side in the center of the channel. Moderate visibility and mildly chilly water didn't spoil the dive. Entirely encrusted with corals, Mawali is a vibrant reef sheltering huge scorpionfish, nudibranchs, sweepers, flower groupers, lionfish and harlequin ghost pipefish. The open cargo holds are easily explored, as are the remains of the wheelhouse.

Mawali was a taste of what awaited us at two of Lembeh's grubbing sites, Nudi Retreat and Kasawari, next door to the famous Hairball (see the MM/YY Asian Diver). We found pygmy and full-sized seahorses, flying gurnards, rare juvenile finger dragonets, and spectacular yellow and white harlequin ghost pipefish. In the shallow cove of Kasawari eight Pegasus sea moths slowly scratched their way across the sand, always in pairs. Our computers had to run us out of the water.

To a photographer, North Sulawesi's muck diving is an embarrassment of riches. A feeling of acute film deficiency haunted me throughout the trip. In 19 dives I came up with unexposed film in my camera once, and that was because my strobes weren't firing. Calling the area a macro wonderland is a disservice to divers who don't carry cameras, but few regions offer a more dazzling assortment of alien-looking critters.

The Great Wall of Sulawesi
But you can't spend your whole life face down in the sand, and Bangka and Talisei have pinnacles and walls that offer a welcome change from the muck.

The best blue-water site between Bunaken and Lembeh is Tanjung Arus, on Talisei's seaward tip. A promontory of rock juts from the island forming a pinnacle that cascades from 6 meters to 30. Schools of snapper and sweetlips patrol, along with the odd Napoleon wrasse. Grand sea fans enliven a healthy reef that shelters leaf fish, lionfish, and a polychromatic array of nudibranchs. A colossal swim-through penetrates the pinnacle, with one large opening opposite two smaller ones, and a large chamber in between. Crinoids inside the shady, central chamber open as if it is night, exposing commensal shrimp and squat lobsters. The blue beckons from either end, and there is nowhere to get lost. Although we were close to the mainland, Tanjung Arus felt like a dive in the open sea.

North Sulawesi photo tips
Photographers who want to make the most of the muck should use a 105mm lens, 1:1 macro kit or equivalent. A diopter can be useful for the tiniest subjects.

Take a 60mm or similar if you want to get good pictures of frogfish or some of the larger bottom dwellers in their environment. For those subjects a 105mm may force you to be too far back, especially in poor visibility.

For pygmy seahorses, try to avoid shining a spotting or modeling light on them. Often that will make them turn their back, which leads to photographer frustration and stressed seahorses. I have heard reports of hawkfish eating pygmy seahorses spot-lit by divers, although I have not seen this myself. You may want to check a sea fan for hawkfish before looking for pygmies. If you can compose them against negative space, you'll get a great photo, although this can be hard to do.

For walls, note the direction the wall faces and time of day you plan to dive. Photographers will want the sunlight on the wall, or the sunburst visible while diving for wide angle shots. A little planning, tides permitting, can mean better shots.

Air Banua, also off of Talisei, reminded me of Bunaken, with a nearly sheer wall dropping to over 40 meters, sea fans, large sponges, and vast schools of pyramid butterflyfish. At Bangka we found sea fans with abundant pygmy seahorses, cuttlefish, sponges hiding huge frogfish, and a painted anglerfish slowly flicking her lure in hopes of attracting an unwary meal. There was also a gorgeous field of soft coral, rare for that area.

As surprising as Bangka and Talisei were, the Bunaken Marine Park built North Sulawesi's reputation for wall diving, and we would have been remiss to skip it. Talisei, Bangka and Lembeh are all on the continental shelf, but the marine park's five islands jut from abyssal depths, and the diving is appropriately dramatic.

It doesn't take long in the marine park's water to see the attraction. Kick gently across a shallow fringing reef of captivating beauty, and then watch it plunge away in a sheer cliff prowled by a constellation of fish. There are few sensations like gliding over the lip of the wall and coasting into the blue as the coral drops into invisibility beneath you. Exhale and fall into the deep, and it is as close to unassisted flying as you will ever get.

Divers have worshipped at the altar of Bunaken's Lekuan wall for twenty years. In good conditions it is a lazy drift past a great wall of coral, with sea fans and tremendous sponges that host a legendary population of marine life. Schools of pelagics sweep by, and curious batfish shadow divers. It's tempting to watch the blue but the real show is in the crenellations and small caves dotting the wall. With our lights we peered into holes hiding white-tip sharks, several species of cleaner shrimp, pipefish, blennies and turtles. We dropped to the first terrace of Lekuan 3, at 40 meters, to look for bigger fish and were rewarded with a visit from four good-sized blacktip reef sharks. Alas, the depth ensured it was a brief encounter. Nearly thirty other equally interesting sites await divers with the time to explore.

Between the black and the blue
Bunaken and Lembeh have built North Sulawesi's reputation for diving, but we discovered that it is well worth exploring the rest of the peninsula. In our week on Gangga we visited both legendary locations, but we spent most of our time on the charms of Bangka, Talisei and the nearby mainland. There we discovered seldom-visited dive sites that capture the best of both muck and wall diving. It's all out there, waiting for divers with the time to go just a little bit further.

Getting there:
Garuda flies to Manado from Jakarta daily, and SilkAir flies direct from Singapore four times a week. Both flights are a little over three hours. Photographers be aware: SilkAir is unforgiving about excess baggage, and the fees are steep. Indonesia's Bouraq and Merpati airlines provide connections to other destinations in Indonesia.

Entry requirements:
Indonesia has visa-free entry for residents of 45 countries for up to 60 days. Onward tickets are required and passports must have at least six months of validity remaining.

Climate:
Hot and humid, averaging about 30 C. Lightweight clothing is generally suitable. Water temperature ranges from 25-29 C. 3mm wetsuits will often suffice, but Lembeh can require a hood or 5mm suit.

Best time to dive:
North Sulawesi can be dived year-round. April-October is the best time for general weather and conditions.

Health and Safety:
Coastal areas are not malarial. Travel vaccinations are a good idea, especially hepatitis. Stick to bottled water.

Language:
Bahasa Indonesia is the local language, but diver operators will cater to English and, sometimes, Japanese. The town can be navigated in English, with occasional effort.

Local customs:
Swimwear and casuals are fine at resorts. In town, trousers and, for women, long-sleeve shirts are suggested. Don't use your left hand to eat, touch people or hand them objects. A raised voice will rarely get you anywhere.

Currency:
Indonesian Rupiah (IDR). As of printing, about 9000 Rupiah to one US dollar.

Manado/Bunaken:
Many of the operators around Manado are members of the North Sulawesi Watersports Association. These operators support the Bunaken Marine Park, which charges divers 50,000 Rupiah ($6 US at printing) for a daily tag, or 150,000 Rupiah for an annual one. Fees support conservation in the park.