Kevster
Contributor
Papua Diving/Lembeh NAD Trip report Jun 08 -Part 1 Flights Baku-Dubai-Sing-Manado-Sorong-Makassar-Manado-Sing-Dubai-Baku. Silk air flight from Singapore to Manado was cancelled due to a volcano erupting near Manado so I arrived in Sorong on Monday morning, a day late. Merpati flight from Manado to Sorong was ok. Took just over 1 hr & was on time. Unfortunately all my flights did not connect well. Stop over hotel in Manado was Ritzy hotel. Was not great but a good location close to shops. Would book elsewhere next time. From Sorong boat journey took 2.5 hrs to Kri resort. Sea was calm. So after 4.5 days of travelling it was time to dive.
Kri resort- The resort is classified an eco resort. Its very simple but nice. Very beautiful surroundings. Water bungalows with common toilet/washroom. The Kri resort is about 1km along the beach from the luxurious Sorido resort. Food was ok. As good as could be expected in such a remote place. Did not notice many mozzies but I opted for Malarone & covering up with lots of spray.
Diving- Very good and diving in small groups of 4-5. Guides were not the best. Most sites close to resort, about 15 mins. There were other sites that were half day or full day trips but they all had a surcharge of 20-60 Euros. I done 13 dives (Mon-Fri) there is no diving on Sat. The reefs are pristine. Some of the dives were very fishy. Big groups of Jacks, yellow snapper. A few other highlights were Wobbegong sharks & amazing sponges,corals. My fav dive site was Mios Kon. Never seen so many fish in 1 dive. Unfortunately the weather was not great. Some days were sunny & viss was ok (10-20m). However some days it rained and was quite gloomy underwater. I would say I was disappointed in 4-5 of the dives due to the conditions. The currents were ok. Some drift dives, most of the dives were shallow , dont think I went below 28m in any of the dives. Used reef hooks at Cape Kri in the afternoon dives. These were fishy dives. The current was ripping. Strongest I have experienced. Most of the dives was slopes rather than walls. The day trip to the passage was also good. Was like diving in a river but with some caves and lots of great soft coral, fans. However once again the viss was less than 10m. Mantas- There is a specific dive site for the mantas. Done this twice. It was AMAZING. We had 4-6 Mantas during the 1 hr dive. 2 stayed around most of the time. They were huge ,approx 3-4 m . This was the highlight of the trip. They were so close a few times I had to duck to avoid them. Again viss was about 10-15m. I would suggest NOT going for 1 week. I would recommend a stay of 2 weeks at Kri. It takes too much effort to get there for only 5/6 days diving, especially if the weather is not great & potential flight problems. Also make sure you allow for the domestic flights to be cancelled. I was unlucky with the Silk air flight getting there but on the return leg it was really bad. The Sorong-Manado flight was cancelled for 2 days for maintenance!! and I had to fly Express air to Makassar instead,then to Manado with Lion air. I got my ticket changed 3 times. All guest had similar problems.
Pros: Richest reefs in the world? Cons: Remote, travelling, basic. Conclusion. Great diving for a reasonable price. Mantas were amazing. Domestic flights were crap. Staff at resort were very friendly. Very glad I went but dont think I would go back. For me it was too much hassle/flights/very early starts/malaria worries/basic .
Part 2 NAD Lembeh 16/6/08- 21/6/08. My 2nd time at NAD. Quite simply the best diving/resort for around $100 a day IMHO. Easy to get to and staff are great. Excellent guides. 14 dives. Highlights ; Nudi falls, coral garden dive sites. Hairy frogfish, weedy scorpion fish ,pigmy & so much more. Conclusion. Great diving, nice resort will definitely return.
Kri resort- The resort is classified an eco resort. Its very simple but nice. Very beautiful surroundings. Water bungalows with common toilet/washroom. The Kri resort is about 1km along the beach from the luxurious Sorido resort. Food was ok. As good as could be expected in such a remote place. Did not notice many mozzies but I opted for Malarone & covering up with lots of spray.
Diving- Very good and diving in small groups of 4-5. Guides were not the best. Most sites close to resort, about 15 mins. There were other sites that were half day or full day trips but they all had a surcharge of 20-60 Euros. I done 13 dives (Mon-Fri) there is no diving on Sat. The reefs are pristine. Some of the dives were very fishy. Big groups of Jacks, yellow snapper. A few other highlights were Wobbegong sharks & amazing sponges,corals. My fav dive site was Mios Kon. Never seen so many fish in 1 dive. Unfortunately the weather was not great. Some days were sunny & viss was ok (10-20m). However some days it rained and was quite gloomy underwater. I would say I was disappointed in 4-5 of the dives due to the conditions. The currents were ok. Some drift dives, most of the dives were shallow , dont think I went below 28m in any of the dives. Used reef hooks at Cape Kri in the afternoon dives. These were fishy dives. The current was ripping. Strongest I have experienced. Most of the dives was slopes rather than walls. The day trip to the passage was also good. Was like diving in a river but with some caves and lots of great soft coral, fans. However once again the viss was less than 10m. Mantas- There is a specific dive site for the mantas. Done this twice. It was AMAZING. We had 4-6 Mantas during the 1 hr dive. 2 stayed around most of the time. They were huge ,approx 3-4 m . This was the highlight of the trip. They were so close a few times I had to duck to avoid them. Again viss was about 10-15m. I would suggest NOT going for 1 week. I would recommend a stay of 2 weeks at Kri. It takes too much effort to get there for only 5/6 days diving, especially if the weather is not great & potential flight problems. Also make sure you allow for the domestic flights to be cancelled. I was unlucky with the Silk air flight getting there but on the return leg it was really bad. The Sorong-Manado flight was cancelled for 2 days for maintenance!! and I had to fly Express air to Makassar instead,then to Manado with Lion air. I got my ticket changed 3 times. All guest had similar problems.
Pros: Richest reefs in the world? Cons: Remote, travelling, basic. Conclusion. Great diving for a reasonable price. Mantas were amazing. Domestic flights were crap. Staff at resort were very friendly. Very glad I went but dont think I would go back. For me it was too much hassle/flights/very early starts/malaria worries/basic .
Part 2 NAD Lembeh 16/6/08- 21/6/08. My 2nd time at NAD. Quite simply the best diving/resort for around $100 a day IMHO. Easy to get to and staff are great. Excellent guides. 14 dives. Highlights ; Nudi falls, coral garden dive sites. Hairy frogfish, weedy scorpion fish ,pigmy & so much more. Conclusion. Great diving, nice resort will definitely return.
