Lembeh Updates

FINALLY! After two years and three months of being closed due to The Pandemic, BSDR has opened again. We were waiting for quarantine on entry restrictions to be lifted. Now that it is easier to enter Indonesia and Visa on Arrival (VOA) is available again, the divers...

We are 14 months into our shutdown, so we wanted to post a general update. The big question on everyone’s lips is “When will Indonesia open up to foreign visitors?” The answer is (still) that we do not yet know. The Indonesian President Mr. Joko Widodo has stated in a...

Do you want maximum variety on your dive trip to North Sulawesi? Do you want to stay at two resorts but not miss any diving days while transferring? Do you want a hassle-free combination package to experience both the walls, schooling fish, sharks & turtles of...

NEWS!! As we all continue to Stay Home & Stay Safe, we wanted to give you all an update on how things are at BSDR and in Indonesia. We also wanted to give an update on the progress of Scoot flights to Manado from Singapore. At Black Sand, we have been shut down...

The most common octopus species to be found on the black sand sites of Lembeh Strait also happens to be one of the most interesting critters anywhere. The veined octopus, which is more commonly called the coconut octopus, is a firm crowd favourite. It is much larger...

It is no secret the Lembeh Strait is the Frogfish Capital of Planet Earth. We really love our frogfish. Correctly identifying the numerous species we encounter can be challenging since some species look very alike, causing confusion. Antennatus nummifer  (Spotfin...

The latest issue of Tauchen Magazine (Germany) has named the Black Sand Dive Retreat House Reef as "One of the 40 Best House Reefs in the World"! We are very grateful for the recognition and thank Tauchen for thinking so highly of our "front yard". We look forward to...

I was finally back in the water, replacement camera in hand. Flooding a camera is a terrible experience. I had avoided that feeling for over a decade, but when you dive with a camera in a plastic box under pressure, it is only a matter of time until the inevitable...

We had an noteworthy find recently: something from the genus Melibe, which has some very interesting members. Over the past year all the resorts in Lembeh have received an increasing number of a single name on the wish lists: the Melibe colemani. We have found a few,...

Our Dive Centre Manager Ben is starting off his blog contribution with something artistic... a poem about one of the most sought-after critters - the Rhinopias. The Spell of the Hunt Rhinopias, Rhinopias, Rhinopias: The echo of promise resonated across the...

Gerry & I had a fabulous afternoon in the Tangkoko National Park. No fish, but plenty of fun.... and sweat. Tangkoko is a popular sidetrip from Lembeh for nature lovers. I hadn't been there in years and with Gerry visiting on his own, I decided to tag along to the...

As my annual Age Counter clicked over another year on May 22, I decided to celebrate simply. I spent my weekend shirking my responsibilities and getting a load of dives in. The visibility was great, the seas calm and the currents co-operative. I managed to go out for...

So now that we are all clear on telling the difference between the wonderpus and the mimic octopus, I’d like to delve further into the realm of the mimic. There are actually three species in the mimic family: the mimic, the brown mimic and the white-v octopus. The...

Since Lembeh Strait is considered "The Frogfish Capital of the World", anyone who dives here can expect to see plenty of the popular critter. Differentiating between the various species can be tricky though, especially the smaller ones. Juveniles can be quite...

So, how do you tell the difference between a mimic and a wonderpus? Let’s try to make this clear. I can understand the confusion telling a mimic from a wonderpus. They are alike. But if you see them side by side, the differences are obvious. Having our guests ask...