Scuba Diver Ocean Planet Issue 2/2016 | Page 82

BIG ANIMALS AND LITTLE CRITTERS INDONESIA Lembeh By BRANDI MUELLER Lembeh Strait is one of the world’s most popular locations for “muck diving”. The small body of water between Lembeh island and mainland North Sulawesi seems to be the gathering place for the weird and wonderful. Most dive sites are black sand, which require a little bit of treasure hunting to find the good stuff. Luckily, local dive guides have eyes like hawks and can pick out a tiny baby frogfish as small as a pea from 10 metres away. The entire strait makes for great critter-hunting, and divers will find plenty to look at just walking off the beach at local resorts or venturing further off into the strait. Popular dive sites include “Nudi Falls” (lots of nudibranchs), “Angel’s Window” (a large pinnacle covered with marine life and a great place to see pygmy seahorses), and “Hairball” (hairy frogfish). Popular critters include flamboyant cuttlefish, wonderpus, frogfish, mandarinfish, and stargazers. 10. A hairy frogfish “fishes” for dinner using its lure to attract prey SDOP 80