Dive Sites
Diving in Lembeh - What You Will See
The dive sites along mainland Sulawesi had more black sand seabeds, while the dive sites along Lembeh Island were more coral rocks. This has probably to do with the way the current flows.
I expected Lembeh to be shallow, like 12m all the way, but actually the depths vary and can be quite deep, going up to 25-30m for certain sites. We even did a deco dive once!
But whatever the depth, the marine life is so varied that you'll see all sorts of things at any depth. Even at 3m, we saw a huge helmet shell.
From aboard the boat during our surface interval at Hairball2, we could see the sea anemones, resident clownfish and Banggai cardinalfish on the shallow 3m seafloor.
I think the best night dives we've had are those in Lembeh. You see an amazing amount of action because a lot of the marine creatures in Lembeh are quite nocturnal, like the shrimps, crabs and eels.
Jan 2006
Dive 1 - Nudi Retreat
Dive 2 - Hairball1 
Dive 3 - Pante Parigi
Dive 4 - Jari-Jari (Jahir) (night dive)
Dive 5 - Tanjong Tebal
Dive 6 - TK2
Dive 7 - Slow Pok
Dive 8 - Police Pier (night dive)
Dive 9 - Nudi Falls (dawn dive)
Dive 10 - Makawide
Dive 11 - Jari-Jari (Jahir)
Dive 12 - Hairball2 (Mandarin dive)
Dive 13 - Angel's Window (coral rock)
Dive 14 - Hairball2
Dive 15 - MPZ Point
Favourite sites: Jari-Jari and Police Pier
Mar 2007
Dive 1 - Magic Rock 
Dive 2 - TK2
Dive 3 - Jahir
Dive 4 - Police Pier (night dive)
Dive 5 - Aw Shucks
Dive 6 - TK3
Dive 7 - Jahir2
Dive 8 - Tandu Rusa (night dive)
Dive 9 - Angel's Window
Dive 10 - Hairball2
Dive 11 - Pantai Parigi
Dive 12 - Jahir (night dive)
Dive 13 - Jahir
Dive 14 - Air Prang
Dive 15 - Nudi Falls
Dive 16 - Hairball (night dive)
Favourite sites: Jahir and Hairball
July 2007 
Dive 1 - Nudi Falls (night dive)
Dive 2 - Air Perang
Dive 3 - Police Pier
Dive 4 - Tandu Rusa
Dive 5 - Jahir 1 (night dive)
Dive 6 - Batu Merah
Dive 7 - Angel's Window
Dive 8 - Nudi Retreat
Dive 9 - Police Pier (night dive)
Dive 10 - Jahir 2
Dive 11 - TK3
Dive 12 - Hairball 1
Dive 13 - Pantai Perigi (night dive)
Dive 14 - TK3
Dive 15 - Nudi Falls
Dive 16 - Tandu Rusa
Favourite sites: Nudi Retreat and Jahir 2
Important: The Lembeh Straits water tends to be a little colder (26 degrees Celcius in dry season) than Bunaken or Gangga (a throw away from the mouth of the northern end of Lembeh Straits). You are strongly encouraged to email your Lembeh dive operator before your trip to double-check the water temperature and weather. You never know, you may need some time to find and pack extra insulation.
If you're unlucky and it rains during the dry and cool season, be warned that the rain, wind, and cool ambient temperature can make you miserably cold, as evidenced by the 24 degrees on my dive computer. Once it was too cold to spend the surface interval on the boat, and we had to go back to the resort! (Where I promptly poured hot water down my wetsuit to stop the shivering. I was already wearing 3 layers, mind you.)
But this is divewithsus.com - there is a bright side! The good thing about this is big fish do pass through - fishing boats have caught whale sharks and mantas in the Straits! Yopie has seen a whale shark twice.
In fact there used to be a net in the northern of the Straits, but it was removed many years ago. Fish life is improving and we hope it stays that way. We've seen giant barrucuda, schools of batfish and many schools of bannerfish and angelfish.
