Text and photos by Pamela Martin
One of the most beautiful things I love about diving is being able to plunge into the water, escaping the bustle and noise of my reality and enter the watery, blue, tranquillity of the ocean, where my soul can truly be at peace. I find myself once again in Lembeh Strait, South Sulawesi, diving in the kingdom of tiny things, feeling blessed to have the time to take notice of the incredible world of underwater creatures found in one of the most biodiverse places on earth.
The sun is warm and welcoming, the water tepid and clear. The diving is deliciously easy and the wildlife abundant in both numbers and beauty. Lembeh is famous for its muck diving, the black and brown, powdery volcanic sands made up of fine grains of limestone, sandstone and nutrients, providing food and shelter for the macro inhabitance that surround Lembeh Island. The dive sites are to numerous to mention by name or even dive twice in a short five-night stay. Pleasantly surprised by the different encounters on each and every dive, we are spoilt for choice and enriched by each magical experience.
Lembeh Strait, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, situated in the Coral Triangle is one of the worlds oldest and most biodiverse places on the planet. Common here are species a diver can only dream of elsewhere, including critters such as; mandarin fish, hairy frogfish, devilfish, flamboyant cuttlefish, ghost pipefish, pygmy seahorses and more species of octopus you can point eight tentacles at, just to name a few. The numerous alien like creatures found on underwater adventures to Lembeh Strait make diving here an unforgettable experience.