Lembeh Questions

I know that Lembeh is the muck diving capital but I have a few questions about this place...
1) what are the dive conditions like? Deep? Strong currents? Cold? Etc...

2) how many days do you need to dive this place

3) are there reefs or is it just black sand muck?

Any other information would be appreciated. I'm wanting to go there in late December and primarily am interested in photography...

Okay, let's go through it sequentially from 1 to 3 :

1- not really deep, your dive profile would be pretty much like 25m at max, a little cooler than the surrounding waters but I don't remember hitting less than 25°C and not much current, if any. The thing is that you tend to stay a lot on the bottom, hence you get a load of nitrogen on each dive, it's a good idea to systematically use Nitrox32 on each dive.

2- I'd say 5 diving days if you're on first try but most of the operators can slip in a divetrip to nearby Bangka which is pretty much different (that'll bring us to the 3rd point), on the other hand if photography is your aim, you can extend it to 10 days.. I've already seen groups of macro buffs staying for up to 3 weeks. As for me, even though I am a keen photographer (you can browse my flickr account for my latest Lembeh shots, click on my signature), after 5 days*4 dives a day, I was done. Let's say I can't sit still, so maybe 7 to 10 days would be a good duration, certainly if you can accomodate a trip to Bangka area in the meantime (though in december it might be to rough to sail Bangka straits).

3- there are spots which are a little more "coralistic" than others (Nudi retreat, Nudi falls, etc.) but to be honest, black sand muck or coral rubble is the most usual fare. Your best chance to see really incredible corals is nearby Bangka (This is your second chance to click on my flickr account).

Oh I also forgot to ask, how does Lembeh compare to Raja Ampat?

Dive conditions at Lembeh are relatively shallow with a "hard" bottom (though how "hard" silt can be is a valid question) with water temperatures a bit cooler than the other Manado-hub dive areas. I take a core warmer to layer with my wetsuit for Lembeh. The dive sites themselves are not generally exposed to current, but if you go to the tip of the island to the dive site called Batu Kapal, there is some current diving, which is sort of nice for a change.

In comparison to Raja Ampat.... well R4 is a huge area, and it's well known for prolific coral, schooling fish, mantas and other pelagics.... I did very little diving at R4 that was anything at all like Lembeh. Maybe a couple of dives only--one at Aljui Bay and one at the pearl farm pier.

If you want to do some clear viz, reef dives in between your critter hunting, you can go to spots such as Pulau Dua at the North East side of Lembeh Island. December is an excellent time to do this. The shore of Lembeh island between Batu Kapal and Pantai Parigi offers several sites with good corals. E.g. California Dreaming and Angel Window. But these shore can be exposed to a big swell in December. Almost all of the more than 30 dive sites of Lembeh Strait can have very strong currents. Especially Nudi Retreat, Nudi Falls, Crtitters hunt and Pantai Parigi. But all dive centers know the conditions here and they simply pick another place if the current is too strong. The temperature of the water depends on the time of year. July and August coolest with 26 as minimum and the rest of the year 28/29. Btw, Bangka can be cold....once met a mola mola with water temp of 21.

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Sorry, should be Pulau Dua at the SOUTH East.

- Diving is pretty shallow (max 25-30m) and most dives are spent around 15-20m for the majority of the dive.
- Currents are not really a problem here

- I always recommend at least 5-7 days to really get a feel for the place.
- there is a good mixture of both. In there Strait itself there is black sand, white sand, rubble, corals, pinnacles and mini-walls. At both ends of the Strait there is some lovely coral diving and Bangka is only an hour away and many places will run day trips up there. Bangka is lovely - corals (soft and hard), blue water with a touch of current!

You will get some awesome shots of some really wierd creatures in Lembeh! R4 is totally different except for places like Batanta! It is worth it to go to Lembeh at least once. I would stay at least a week. Look into KBR! We love that place and the dive op manager is Kaj who is an excellent photagrapher! He will give you all kinds of tips and hopefully you can check off most items on your wish list! Have fun!

I guess my concern is that I'll get over there and it will all be the same... just a black sand desert. I'd like a little variety.
My main goal is photography and I want to get shots of mandarin fish, mimic octopus and wondrous, juvenile version of various fish, closed anemones with clown fish, etc. Lembeh seems to have all that

Lembeh Strait 2012 | Facebook

Pics from my last trip to Lembeh.

Dove a 2/3 suit - 4 - 5 dives a day no issues at all with warmth.

Not much in the way of coral, mostly sand and coral rubble.

Mostly very shallow diving. 1 hour plus dives is the norm.

5-7 days would be about perfect. Have a look at Black Sands Resort as an option.

Raj Ampat is completely different. There are muck diving sites in Raja Ampat, but mostly you are there for coral and fish. High current dives are likely and are some of the best dives.
Raja Ampat 2012 | Facebook

Pics from the same trip but from Raja Ampat.

I would suggest tht if you are going all that way you try to do both. A few days in Lembeh and then a liveaboard in Raja Ampat - or the other way around.

Matt,

I'm coming to the party a little late and most people have answered your questions but I'll add my .02 cents worth any way. I'll just skip to number 3. Yes there are a few nice reef dives already mentioned California Dreaming & Angel's Window. Also other sites have a mixture of reefs, walls, muck, rubble. Don't know if you want both but I just did a trip to Anilao, Philippines and Anilao has a really good mix of muck and reefs with all the strange critters you see in Lembeh. As for Raja Ampat I agree with Quero for the most part. There are still lots of kewl critters to see in R4 that you see in Lembeh or Anilao, nudis, frogfish, ghost pipefish, etc, just not quite the variety. If you want to see pics from R4, Lembeh and Anilao go to Facebook and search for chinacat46 and then look at my photo albumns.