Ambon or Lembeh in Jan

[Kilili]

Well, if you like macro, and esp. Nudibranch, go to Nudipixel.com and you can see what's reported for the two locations.

Ambon data is somewhat underreported, and I have a lot of material not yet submitted.

I find that Lembeh offers a lot more variability of species, but water conditions are frequently poor for good macro.
Ambon visibility tends to be better, and there is a lot to see. Don`t overlook Cape Paparua resort.

Flight connections to Lembeh are easier, if it matters to you.

I like both places, and would be content going to either, as well as Anilao in the Philippines.

 

[AlMitch]

I like both places, and would be content going to either, as well as Anilao in the Philippines.

I'm surprised to hear you would put Anilao on the same level as Lembeh...

 

[Kilili]

Don't know why. For macro, Anilao has more variety, plus clearer water, like muck diving without muck. When I photograph, I categorise every species I can identify, so it's easy for me to check what I've seen and where.

One difference, Anilao is close to Manila, and lots of locals come down to dive on the weekends, but rarely dive during the week. For many operations, costs are split, so you may wind up paying more for boat & guide during the week.

For places to stay, Lembeh offers a wider, and bigger, spread. Actually, I'd rather stay in Lembeh, but be diving in Anilao, PG, Apo Island, and such. Have probably spent a total of 6-8 months diving in Lembeh, maybe 4 or so in Anilao/PG. PG, by the way, has a lot less variety, but I still enjoy spending time there, and you can dive for less money compared to Anilao, depending on where you stay. I've never found any bargains in ANilao.

In general, if between Sep and Jan, I go to Lembeh. If between March & June, it's the Philippines.

I hate the transPacific flights, so, when I go, it's usually for about 2 months.

 

[Allison Finch]

I've been to both and, while Ambon has the BEST mandarin fish photo spot ever, I much prefer Lembeh. There are more critters per square foot, IMO. Also, the black sand makes a much more attractive substrate for good photos. Ambon has lighter and more reflective sand. I really like the resort options as well. I usually prefer liveaboards, but not in Lembeh.

 

[AlMitch]

In general, if between Sep and Jan, I go to Anilao. If between March & June, it's the Philippines.

????? I was sure Anilao was in the Philippines

 

[Luko]

Ambon has the BEST mandarin fish photo spot ever,

I'd rather say Bandanaira... they're BIG and FAT. You can shoot them even snorkeling.

 

[Kilili]

Well, I messed that up, some kind of brain malfunction. Meant to write
In general, if between Sep and Jan, I go to Lembeh. If between March & June, it's the Philippines.

 

[instructorinasia]

lembeh in january is great as it not so busy after the christmas period. The diving is normally very good with pretty much every critter being spotted over that time.

In answer to WetPup the rain does not affect the diving too much at all - tends to rain over night with some short rain spells during the day which are great for cooling it down a little!

 

[pughio83]

Kilili- is that because lembeh diving between may-aug not so good? I went in nov/dec and it was excellent but want to go somewhere for excellent macro for photography and am
Worried if go lembeh in may or June that critter numbers will be down, especially the cephalopods. When u said ppines was that referring to anilao/PG?

 

[jake11]

Here is this week's list of critters that they saw in Lembeh from the divekbr blog. ( KBR's resort blog)Wow!! Very impressive!
[h=1]What am I?[/h]Posted by: Kaj Maney

​

It’s not every day, or even every dive, that we see something that we have no idea what it is. This week, though, saw one of those days and dives.
What on earth (or underwater) is this? I found it on a black sand site, about 16m (50ft) deep. It was moving horizontally through the surface on the sand and was about 5cm (1.5&#8243 long when contracted and about 10cm (3&#8243 long when fully extended. It moved with a peristalsis-like movement, contracting and expanding it’s body like an accordion.
The really strange thing was evident when I saw a close-up of it’s ‘head’. Even though it resembled, a little, an earth worm, it’s head opened up in a very weird way. You can see the front of this thing is just freaky!!! Even though I’ve watched is many times now, I still can’t quite work out if the front tube that extends rolls out from inside, or just stretches out.
Once is it extended, then a quite substantial part of it’s insides then moves through the new front opening…you can see organs (?) moving forwards…it really is very very weird!!
Well, if you guessed it was a Peanut Worm, then you were right!!! I didn’t know this, but thanks to the wonders of the internet, a quick post on my Facebook group, Underwater Macro Videographers, and a biologist from Italy gave me the answer.
Well, by answer, he told me what it was and a little bit of further research (link to Wikipedia article) told me a bit more. The most interesting (make that weirdest) fact about them is that they are actually a delicacy in the town of Xiamen in Fujian province of China. I will not be moving there!!

Click here for the video in a new window​

Barb had a great week too. She finally found a very elusive shrimp that she has been searching for a long time, It lives on a green Black Coral, is tiny (of course) and very hard to spot. Here’s a lovely photo and if anyone has any idea, please let me know.

This week’s critters have given us more Blue Rings. They seem to still be everywhere!! There have also been Wonderpus, Mimics, Coconut, Algae, Long Arm and Starry Night Octopus. There have been Broadclub, Pygmy, Crinoid and Reef Cuttlefish, as well as Reef Squid and Bobtail Squid on night dives. We have seen Velvet, Ornate, Robust and Rough Snout Ghost Pipefish. There have been yellow and pink Bargabantis, Pontohi and Denise Pygmy Seahorses, as well as Common, Moluccas and Estuary Seahorse. We’ve also seen Pipehorses, Pipefish (some lovely Winged Pipefish) and Lembeh Pygmy Seadragons. Crustaceans have been fab, with Harlequin Shrimp, Bumblebee Shrimp, Tiger Shrimp, Boxing Crabs, Donald Duck Shrimp, Xenia Swimming Crabs, Zanzibar Shrimp, Crinoid Shrimp, Emperor Shrimp, Hairy Shrimp, Orang Utan Shrimp, Tozeuma Shrimp, Carry Crabs, Candy Crabs, Hairy Squat Lobster, Squat Shrimp, Elegant Squat Lobster, Skeleton Shrimp, Mantis Shrimp, Porcelain Crabs, Cleaner Shrimp and many more. And we’ve seen Giant, Warty, Painted, Sargassum, Hairy and Occellated Frogfish. There have been Leaf Scorpionfish, Bubble Shells, Bobbit Worms, Pegasus Sea Moths, Spiny Devilfish, Ambon Scorpionfish, Solar Powered Nudis, Pickachi Nudis, Crocodile Snake Eels, Cockatoo Flounder, Flatworms, Electric Clams, and Liberty saw a very rarely seen Guitar Shark!!

---------- Post added November 29th, 2012 at 05:02 PM ----------

Here is this week's list of critters that they saw in Lembeh from the divekbr blog. ( KBR's resort blog)Wow!! Very impressive!
[h=1]What am I?[/h]Posted by: Kaj Maney

​

It’s not every day, or even every dive, that we see something that we have no idea what it is. This week, though, saw one of those days and dives.
What on earth (or underwater) is this? I found it on a black sand site, about 16m (50ft) deep. It was moving horizontally through the surface on the sand and was about 5cm (1.5&#8243 long when contracted and about 10cm (3&#8243 long when fully extended. It moved with a peristalsis-like movement, contracting and expanding it’s body like an accordion.
The really strange thing was evident when I saw a close-up of it’s ‘head’. Even though it resembled, a little, an earth worm, it’s head opened up in a very weird way. You can see the front of this thing is just freaky!!! Even though I’ve watched is many times now, I still can’t quite work out if the front tube that extends rolls out from inside, or just stretches out.
Once is it extended, then a quite substantial part of it’s insides then moves through the new front opening…you can see organs (?) moving forwards…it really is very very weird!!
Well, if you guessed it was a Peanut Worm, then you were right!!! I didn’t know this, but thanks to the wonders of the internet, a quick post on my Facebook group, Underwater Macro Videographers, and a biologist from Italy gave me the answer.
Well, by answer, he told me what it was and a little bit of further research (link to Wikipedia article) told me a bit more. The most interesting (make that weirdest) fact about them is that they are actually a delicacy in the town of Xiamen in Fujian province of China. I will not be moving there!!

Click here for the video in a new window​

Barb had a great week too. She finally found a very elusive shrimp that she has been searching for a long time, It lives on a green Black Coral, is tiny (of course) and very hard to spot. Here’s a lovely photo and if anyone has any idea, please let me know.

This week’s critters have given us more Blue Rings. They seem to still be everywhere!! There have also been Wonderpus, Mimics, Coconut, Algae, Long Arm and Starry Night Octopus. There have been Broadclub, Pygmy, Crinoid and Reef Cuttlefish, as well as Reef Squid and Bobtail Squid on night dives. We have seen Velvet, Ornate, Robust and Rough Snout Ghost Pipefish. There have been yellow and pink Bargabantis, Pontohi and Denise Pygmy Seahorses, as well as Common, Moluccas and Estuary Seahorse. We’ve also seen Pipehorses, Pipefish (some lovely Winged Pipefish) and Lembeh Pygmy Seadragons. Crustaceans have been fab, with Harlequin Shrimp, Bumblebee Shrimp, Tiger Shrimp, Boxing Crabs, Donald Duck Shrimp, Xenia Swimming Crabs, Zanzibar Shrimp, Crinoid Shrimp, Emperor Shrimp, Hairy Shrimp, Orang Utan Shrimp, Tozeuma Shrimp, Carry Crabs, Candy Crabs, Hairy Squat Lobster, Squat Shrimp, Elegant Squat Lobster, Skeleton Shrimp, Mantis Shrimp, Porcelain Crabs, Cleaner Shrimp and many more. And we’ve seen Giant, Warty, Painted, Sargassum, Hairy and Occellated Frogfish. There have been Leaf Scorpionfish, Bubble Shells, Bobbit Worms, Pegasus Sea Moths, Spiny Devilfish, Ambon Scorpionfish, Solar Powered Nudis, Pickachi Nudis, Crocodile Snake Eels, Cockatoo Flounder, Flatworms, Electric Clams, and Liberty saw a very rarely seen Guitar Shark!!