Lembeh - can you help?
- Thread starter pelan-pelan
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pelan-pelan
Contributor
Well - don't know where to start. I think a separate thread when I can get my thoughts into gear.
We stayed with lumbalumba and they were as superb as ever. News on Froggies is that it is being managed by the same guy as Bastianos - but more than that I don't know.
General comments - thought some of the sites on Bunaken were getting a bit crowded. Lekuan 1 and 2 produced some beautiful dives and more turtles than we have seen before.
Sites Manado-side have some spectacular stuff and they tend to be a bit quieter. There is a mix of muck, coral outcrops and walls available over there. Very convenient for lumbalumba.
Pilot whales, sperm whales, Rossi's dolphins (new to us) and spinner dolphins out in the bay.
More rubbish, regrettably, than I have seen before.
And - there is a big publicity event in the next week or so when they are going to have more than 1500 divers in the water at the same time at Bunaken. Hmm - visions of fins hitting coral. But perhaps it will result in the city council of Manado being made to wake up before it is too late on the trash situation.
Would we go again - yes, in an instant.
We stayed with lumbalumba and they were as superb as ever. News on Froggies is that it is being managed by the same guy as Bastianos - but more than that I don't know.
General comments - thought some of the sites on Bunaken were getting a bit crowded. Lekuan 1 and 2 produced some beautiful dives and more turtles than we have seen before.
Sites Manado-side have some spectacular stuff and they tend to be a bit quieter. There is a mix of muck, coral outcrops and walls available over there. Very convenient for lumbalumba.
Pilot whales, sperm whales, Rossi's dolphins (new to us) and spinner dolphins out in the bay.
More rubbish, regrettably, than I have seen before.
And - there is a big publicity event in the next week or so when they are going to have more than 1500 divers in the water at the same time at Bunaken. Hmm - visions of fins hitting coral. But perhaps it will result in the city council of Manado being made to wake up before it is too late on the trash situation.
Would we go again - yes, in an instant.
song
Contributor
Well I am back and here are my impressions:
- marine life was definitely better than during my previous visit in 2004: lots of small reef fish, many turtles on all sites, some Napoleon, a few white and black tips, some eagle rays, a small school of barracudas; macro is as good as ever. Great night dives.
- Viz was about 15 to 20 m
- Didn't find the sites too crowded, although we would run into a group from time to time
- lots of rubbish in the water at the surface
- the island remains very low key even though the number of resorts has increased; no night life whatsoever for the tourists
- I dove with Seabreeze and then with Froggies; both have their advantages and drawbacks - Personally I preferred Froggies, but this may be because the owner of Seabreeze was not around due to a personal emergency
- marine life was definitely better than during my previous visit in 2004: lots of small reef fish, many turtles on all sites, some Napoleon, a few white and black tips, some eagle rays, a small school of barracudas; macro is as good as ever. Great night dives.
- Viz was about 15 to 20 m
- Didn't find the sites too crowded, although we would run into a group from time to time
- lots of rubbish in the water at the surface
- the island remains very low key even though the number of resorts has increased; no night life whatsoever for the tourists
- I dove with Seabreeze and then with Froggies; both have their advantages and drawbacks - Personally I preferred Froggies, but this may be because the owner of Seabreeze was not around due to a personal emergency
Hi Pelan Pelan
Check this out blacksanddive.com
A new upscale resort in Lembeh but a lot cheaper than KBR. Plus they offer unlimited and free selfguided house reef dive. Their house reef is what is known as TK1, also Hairball. They are right in the middle of the best dive sites.
Check this out blacksanddive.com
A new upscale resort in Lembeh but a lot cheaper than KBR. Plus they offer unlimited and free selfguided house reef dive. Their house reef is what is known as TK1, also Hairball. They are right in the middle of the best dive sites.
Hi Pelan Pelan
Check this out blacksanddive.com
A new upscale resort in Lembeh but a lot cheaper than KBR. Plus they offer unlimited and free selfguided house reef dive. Their house reef is what is known as TK1, also Hairball. They are right in the middle of the best dive sites.
Check this out blacksanddive.com
A new upscale resort in Lembeh but a lot cheaper than KBR. Plus they offer unlimited and free selfguided house reef dive. Their house reef is what is known as TK1, also Hairball. They are right in the middle of the best dive sites.
ScubaGlo
Registered
Did you get for your trip to Lembeh?
Benny De Witte
Guest
Hi All,
I'm Benny De Witte, manager at Froggies Divers at Bunaken Island, Manado. Just to get some of the loose thoughts or rumors going around on ScubaBoard I would like to clarify a few things. Bastianos is owned and run by Mor Bastiaan who is indeed a family member of the Bastiaan family that owns Bastianos at Bunaken and also Bastianos Lembeh in Lembeh Strait. But we are not changing at all the previous and quite different style and very personal approach towards our clients at Froggies... nor do we wish to do so in the future. We still dive with a max. of 2 to 3 clients per dive guide; we still have a max. of 5 to 6 divers per dive boat; you can still finish your dive whenever you want to as long you do not go into deco-stops and surface with at least 30 bar/500 psi left in your tank. You still keep the same dive guide throughout your holidays with us, even the boat you join the first time will be the same one. All your diving equipment is being taken care of by our capable staff, so all you have left to do is put the regulator in your mouth and... enjoy another one of those "laziest dives" you've ever experienced. Because that's just one of our targets: you can relax and we will do the work for you. Same goes for the daily food, taking care of your bungalow, your transfers from and to the airport and your comfort in general. Besides the new free Wi-fi access in the whole resort we still have a laundry service. Some things had to be renovated: we have hot water showers and western style toilets in all our bungalows now and we added a nice veranda extension onto our restaurant to give you that easy view on the evening sunset while you are drinking your coffee/tea. The beach part in front of our resort has been turned into a exclusive for our clients relaxing area with a nice view over Liang Beach. We are currently renewing our website but of course anybody can send us an email at the email address that is still mentioned on it. We will answer you a.s.a.p. See you soon!
I'm Benny De Witte, manager at Froggies Divers at Bunaken Island, Manado. Just to get some of the loose thoughts or rumors going around on ScubaBoard I would like to clarify a few things. Bastianos is owned and run by Mor Bastiaan who is indeed a family member of the Bastiaan family that owns Bastianos at Bunaken and also Bastianos Lembeh in Lembeh Strait. But we are not changing at all the previous and quite different style and very personal approach towards our clients at Froggies... nor do we wish to do so in the future. We still dive with a max. of 2 to 3 clients per dive guide; we still have a max. of 5 to 6 divers per dive boat; you can still finish your dive whenever you want to as long you do not go into deco-stops and surface with at least 30 bar/500 psi left in your tank. You still keep the same dive guide throughout your holidays with us, even the boat you join the first time will be the same one. All your diving equipment is being taken care of by our capable staff, so all you have left to do is put the regulator in your mouth and... enjoy another one of those "laziest dives" you've ever experienced. Because that's just one of our targets: you can relax and we will do the work for you. Same goes for the daily food, taking care of your bungalow, your transfers from and to the airport and your comfort in general. Besides the new free Wi-fi access in the whole resort we still have a laundry service. Some things had to be renovated: we have hot water showers and western style toilets in all our bungalows now and we added a nice veranda extension onto our restaurant to give you that easy view on the evening sunset while you are drinking your coffee/tea. The beach part in front of our resort has been turned into a exclusive for our clients relaxing area with a nice view over Liang Beach. We are currently renewing our website but of course anybody can send us an email at the email address that is still mentioned on it. We will answer you a.s.a.p. See you soon!
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