Indonesia’s Lembeh Straits offers some of the best muck diving in the world. With a little mud and plenty of black sand that showcases all the colorful critters you’ll see while diving in Lembeh, as well as the calm, clear conditions, Lembeh is just about as good as it gets! So, grab your camera and let’s go – this is macro paradise.
Hairball 1 & 2
Hairball one and hairball two offer some of the best muck diving in Lembeh, or anywhere else in the world, even though it looks fairly bland at first. Once you adjust to your surroundings and are able to focus on the sand in front of you, you’ll have the opportunity to spot some incredibly rare creatures, including the strange seahorses that live in this area. Covered with a fine hairlike growth that almost looks like algae, these are very rare and are well camouflaged by the sand here. Watch for frogfish that melt into the environment, as well as zebra crabs, juvenile batfish with a brown coloration that blends right in, and the zebra-striped hump headed spadefish that frequent the area.
Angel’s Window
Angel’s Window features a massive rock with a big, coral covered swimthrough at about twenty-five meters, as well as a pair of peaks that rise from its top to just a few meters from the surface. This is a truly magical site, with yellow Denise seahorses frolicking with pink pygmy seahorses among the huge gorgonians, and damsels engaging in courtship rituals. Huge stonefish hide in the sand along the bottom of the rock, and as you explore its walls, you are likely to encounter a variety of nudibranchs, as well as anthias. There is a little current here at times, however, this site is so rich that it offers plenty to see, even for beginners who choose to stay a little closer to the surface.
Jahir
If you have never seen a hairy frogfish, then get ready – you can find them all over the place at Jahir! This site features a lovely sandy area embellished with big, healthy block coral where these incredibly adapted creatures engage in courtship and mating rituals. Watch for females bloated with eggs, and look just a little behind them to see the smaller males, who eagerly nudge the females in hopes of passing their genes along to the next generation. Here, sea urchins provide a contrast to the sand, and a variety of other invertebrates pose for photos.
Batu Merah (Red Rock)
Batu Merah, which is also known as Red Rock, begins with a gradually sloped sandy area that leads to a fringing reef where an abundance of ribbon eels swirl in time with the very light ocean pulse that you can feel here. Look for the massive rock coated in feather stars and soft coral, where sweepers and cleaner shrimp eagerly nibble at the bits and pieces of nutrient that come from the rock’s other inhabitants. This dive site has lots to see at all depths, between three and twenty-four meters.
Police Pier
The police pier can be dived day or night, and if you don’t mind hunting through some interesting garbage on the bottom of the dive site, you’ll be rewarded with the sight of harlequin shrimps, Banggai Cardinalfish, and orange painted frogfish camouflaged among the orange sponges that dot the site. Watch for smaller males keeping watch over larger females. Under the columns of the pier, you will find anemones and anemonefish, as well as a plethora of nudibranchs, wasp fish, and even Barramundi cod.
After the sun goes down, stick to the sandy portions of the dive site and watch for the nocturnal Bobbit worms that hide beneath the surface, waiting for small fish to pass. Once a fish is in range, the worm, in a strange turn of events, strikes. It drags its fish down to its lair where it consumes the evidence. You will see sleeping fish, and you may even get to watch octopus as they extend themselves over the sand in search of unsuspecting shrimp and fish.
TK 1, 2, and 3
Teluk Kembahu 1, 2, and 3 are named after the village along the bay’s shoreline. Here, you’ll find a beautiful, gently sloping ocean bed of black sand with an abundance of creatures in residence. Look for ornate and robust pipefish, sand stargazers, and devilfish.
With a depth between three and twenty-five meters and little if any current, these sites are ideal for divers of every level. Watch for the mimic octopus that were first discovered here, and which put on an incredible show. They have been known to mimic everything from sea snakes to flounder, to mantis shrimp, to lionfish. This amazing creature can even make itself look like a stingray or a jellyfish! Other octopus species also inhabit the site – you may see the rare wonderpus, or you may get a look at the blue ring octopus that are often seen here. Watch for mobulas and mantas during the day, and keep an eye out for sharks resting in the sandy area.
Retak Larry (Larry’s Crack)
Filamented ghost pipefish and scorpionfish are just a couple of the creatures you will find when you dive Larry’s Crack. This wonderful site features plenty of gorgeous black sand, and is home to some shy frogfish, sea horses, and cockatoo flounders, to name just a few! Ideal for divers of all levels, this site starts at three meters and extends to a depth of 25 meters.
Besides the wealth of well hidden shrimp, crabs, gobies and other critters that live in the sand here, you will see an explosion of nudibranchs almost everywhere you look. This is a nudibranch breeding ground, so get ready to see some interesting and even rare species of nudis!
While these sites are but a few of the best sites Lembeh has to offer, the sheer enormity of the area combined with the incredible volume of life and diversity of species makes this area one that you’ll want to explore at length. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself booking a return trip sooner than later!