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Local Dive Guides, Martin and Sam rest between dives.

After a nights flying between Sumatra and Sulawesi we arrived in Manado at 5 am a little worse for wear.

The next day we got a boat to Bunaken Island, overlooked by Manado Tua – a non active volcano. The islands that surround North Sulawesi are pretty impressive, surrounded by mangrove forests and sandy beaches. A submerged plateau encircles the island before reaching the drop off where the reef wall descends to hundreds of meters. These reefs are among the richest in marine life in the world, the corals flourish in variety and consistency with a huge range of reef fish thrown in for good measure. On our first dive our guide Dell (Indonesian Pop Idol Top Ten qualifier) picked out a Pygmy Sea Horse, Oran Utan Crabs and many other macro critters. Turns out he was a worthy contender with some classic rock ballads going down later that night accompanied by Lorenso and the best homemade bass you could ever imagine.

For the month of January we have teemed up with the North Sulawesi Watersports Association for some conservation work. The Crown of Thorns Star Fish is causing havoc in the region because their natural predator the Napoleon Wrasse has been over fished (illegally) for Chinese markets. These guys go through coral pretty quickly, especially at the rate they reproduce so it will be our job to pick them off the reef and yes – destroy them. Seeing as they have poisonous spines its not a completely unfair sport, a local who has been doing it for many years has trouble moving his index finger so you might have to put up with a few spelling mistakes for the February to July editions! For a full report check our conservation area later next month.

For more information on the successful conservation efforts made by the North Sulawesi Watersports Association follow the link:

http://www.divenorthsulawesi.com/news.html