Sulawesi, Indonesia - Straddling the Equator, the large and convoluted island of Sulawesi has a coastline greater than that of the USA. In the south, the remote Tukang Besi Islands and Wakatobi Resort have come to be renowned for their awesome diving. In central Sulawesi is Toraja Land, home to one of the most unusual primitive cultures still surviving on our planet. In North Sulawesi is Manado, capitol of the region, the area of Indonesia with highest Christian population, and the focus of this report.Gateway Manado - Located in the far northeast portion of Sulawesi, the city of Manado provides a very efficient entry point to the entire region. With a modern new airport, getting to North Sulawesi's great diving has never been simpler. Manado is easily accessed via direct jet service from Singapore, Bali, Kota Kinabalu and other major hubs. It also serves as jumping off point for the diving of Irian Jaya. The bustling port city of Manado and the neighboring city of Bitung are striking for their strong economy, many Christian churches, and diverse populace living together quite peacefully.
Resort Options - Once in the Manado area a selection of lodging options awaits you, ranging from simple inexpensive dive lodges, to a 4-star hotel with its own in-house dive operation. Favorites for me include Kungkungan Bay Resort, Lembeh Resort, Hotel Santika, and the great new Gangga Island Resort & Spa. Always keeping an eye towards topside touring and spa highlights, a new and very pleasant revelation for me on this trip was the rejuvenation to be found at the lush and contemplative Gardenia Resort, located in the highlands above Manado.
Lembeh Resort - Built in 2003, this attractive new property is just across Lembeh channel from Kungkungan Bay Resort. Remarkable for its thoughtful design, and the way it has been so cleverly and seemingly naturally integrated into the cove and hillside of its setting, Lembeh Resort's lush gardens, careful landscaping, and waterfront vistas make for a truly spectacular little dive resort. Built with stone and exotic local woods, the spacious guest rooms have good beds, efficient European-style air-conditioning systems, large semi open-air Balinese-style bathrooms, and a wide oceanview balcony. Public spaces include the pleasing two-story dining room, infinity swimming pool, dive shop, dockside gear storage hut, and a large, well-lighted camera preparation area with individual cubicles each equipped with charging facilities. A definite asset is the fact that Lembeh Resort's diving services are handled by Murex Divers. Their capable boatmen and highly experienced divemasters, coupled with efficient western-minded management, guarantee you as good a diving experience as is to be had in North Sulawesi. If there is any downside to this property it is that the hillside setting requires a bit of walking up and down stone pathways between the rooms, public spaces and dive areas.
Murex Dive Resort - Now more than 17 years old, Murex was one of the very first dive operations to plumb the depths and beauties of Bunaken Marine Park. Though it shows its heritage, Murex continues to offer a comfortable, efficient, and cost-effective means of diving Bunaken and Bangka. The rooms are small but well air-conditioned, each with private bathroom. Lush gardens are full of flowering plants and butterflies, and a large coconut plantation next door makes for resort privacy and lots of interesting bird life. A serene oceanside breakfast area has recently been added to supplement the original open-air dining room. The gear storage area is only steps from the water and the dive boats. The boat ride from Murex Resort to the Bunaken dive sites will take one hour or a bit more in the simple local-style boats, or 45 minutes in the one somewhat rundown speedboat. This fast boat is also used for day trips to access the superb diving around Bangka Island. In addition to Dr. Batuna, the foresighted physician who founded Murex, a define asset here is American Danny Charlton who married the diving doctor's daughter. Danny works on marketing for Murex and has helped to improve the efficiency of the reservations process and move this venerable dive resort forward in the 21st century.
Gardenia Country Inn - Located in the small village of Tomohon (City of Flowers), the 45-minute drive from Manado to the Gardenia Inn takes you from the heat and humidity of sea level to an altitude of 900 meters, and a completely different environment. The air is pleasantly cooler and drier, and a different set of flora and fauna become evident. Set well back from the road beside an intriguing multi-tiered Buddhist temple, Gardenia Country Inn is artfully sited amidst manicured gardens, a rushing mountain stream and lively koi ponds. A selection of outdoor and semi-open nooks, platforms and small grottos are perfect for serious relaxing, reading, walking, bird watching and private meditation. Services include massage, day tours, and an excellent restaurant that specializes in a remarkable BBQ dinner that one cooks to taste on a gas burner built into your table. If all the contemplation is too much for you, the bungalow rooms also include a TV set, VCR, and a selection of contemporary movies are available. Gardenia Country Inn is a perfect spot for a romantic get away, a place to banish the symptoms of jetlag after the long international flights, or better yet both at once. I intend to visit Gardenia Inn again, and recommend it to anyone with a taste for massage, meditation, fine food, or just in need of a rejuvenating respite from the "real world."
Expert Dive Guides - But this is where the sharp eyes of the region's superbly trained dive guides come into play. Initially schooled by dive guide extraordinaire Larry Smith, these fellows have become world-class fish finders. With the eager assistance of these dive guides, Lembeh Strait reveals itself home to be one of the richest repositories of marine life on Earth. In fact, the guides' eyes are so good that you might wish to bring a magnifying glass underwater, and/or your longest macro lens, to fully appreciate all that they have to share with you.
Photographer's Paradise - As a result of the extraordinary marine life and "photo-sensitive" guides, many Lembeh dive travelers are avid underwater photographers, with the focus on macro. The good resorts further cater to photographers' specific needs with well thought out camera prep areas, boat crews trained to handle cameras, and by providing various photo pro months during the year. Experts such as Larry Smith, Denise Nielsen Tackett, Larry Tackett, Burt Jones, Maurine Shimlock and others are occasionally available to accompany divers on the daily boat trips, sharing tips and spotting critters, and to provide advice on how to improve your u/w photo results. On my own guided groups, I strive to make the travel as hassle-free as possible, and then enable my guests to make the most of their diving and photographic opportunities.
Manado, Bunaken, and the Northern Islands - Perfect compliment to a Lembeh Strait visit, is an add-on stay in Manado, there to experience the blue-water and coral reef diving of the justly renowned Bunaken National Marine Park. Generally, the transfer between the two areas is accomplished via a simple two-hour car ride. By special arrangement it may be done via boat transfer, to include two dives in the remote Northern Islands along the way, home to some of the healthiest and most beautiful coral reef I have ever seen. There is also the option of spending a few nights on Banka Island, which is pictured at right. It's roughing it, by some folk's estimate, but I really liked the relaxed feel of Bangka Island, and definitely appreciated the excellent reef diving that become available there. Be it via a day boat trip, an overnight at Bangka Bungalows, or an extended live-aboard cruise, exploration of Bangka and the northern Sangihe Islands is well worth the effort.
Bunaken Marine Park - In existence for some years now, Bunaken Reserve is probably the best-known scuba diving site in Indonesia. The good news is that it still lives up to its nickname of Bunaken Sea Garden. After the muck diving of Lembeh, most striking and satisfying for me is Bunaken's beautiful blue water, visibility often well in excess of 100 feet, and the large schools of fishes. Here you may swim amidst thousands of colorful tropical reef fishes - pyramid butterflyfish, redtooth triggerfish, bannerfish, Moorish idols, and the like. Equally pleasing is the opportunity to encounter pelagic animals such as shark, eagle ray, and Napoleon wrasse, all while swimming along coral reefs adorned in soft corals, sea fans, and big sponges. The Bunaken dive guides are now equally as adept as those of Lembeh, and able to show many of the same exotic creatures to be found in nearby Lembeh Strait. Bunaken too has immense biodiversity, including pygmy seahorses, ornate ghost pipefish, orangutan crabs, devilfish, ribbon eels and the like, all with the background of a healthy coral reef.
Topside Touring - Before departing the Manado region, it should be noted that there is some interesting topside touring to be done. A highlight for me was an optional visit to Tangkoko National Park. We walked through virgin rain forest, listened to the rich sounds of the jungle, glimpsed the hornbill flying overhead, and spied upon black macaque monkeys as they made their evening camp in the treetops. At dusk we were led to a huge strangling fig tree with a hollow interior where we met, at point-blank range, the Tarsier monkey. Small enough to sit in a teacup, this tiny nocturnal primate has very large eyes to enable hunting its insect prey in the dark. The Tarsier is terminally cute, strongly reminiscent of the friendly version of the little monsters in the movie "Gremlin." For me it was very much worth the two-hour drive and steamy jungle trek to see them face-to-face. If you can tear yourself away from the diving, give Tangkoko or one of the other topside day tours a try.
The Bottom Line - My love of Asia and Indonesia is well known and this most recent trip to North Sulawesi only added to my appreciation of this diverse and fulfilling dive travel destinations. I was pleased to see that Bunaken Park still serves up great diving. The pristine areas of Bangka Island and beyond leave me hankering for a Sanghie Islands live-aboard expedition. Above all, I came away highly impressed with the new Lembeh Resort, which strikes me as one of the most attractive and effective dive resorts I've ever seen. The bottom-line, for me at least, is that I can't wait to go back. Group Dive Tours to Indonesia
Island Dreams will create a custom Indonesia itinerary offering you maximum diving value, plus the option of rewarding topside touring to Bali and beyond. A wide variety of diving and touring options can be customized to suit your taste, budget, and time constraints. Contact the adventure experts at Island Dreams for complete details.
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