In the Shadow of Manado Tua pt2

• Aba Point – House Reef
• Sachiko – Bunaken
• Tiwoho – House Reef

Aba point is a stunning wall dive which drops to about 18 meters along the wall. The wall is draped in blue and green tube sponges which put me in mind of an old ruined temple in a jungle, covered with ivy and with the occasional stone feature jutting out from the structure. In this case, the ‘stone features’ were more barrel sponges of all size. This was a fantastic dive and became another firm favourite of mine for this and other reasons.

At Sachiko we found another of the tiny Hippocampus sp. that we had seen at Fukui (although his one was a brown colour) and just like Fukui, this one was a bugger to photograph as it was sited right at the base of another boulder and beneath the skirt of a Porites which covered the rock.

First Frogfish

At Tiwoho I had the joy of seeing my first frogfish. This one didn’t need to be pointed out – it was huge and sitting prettily over the mouth of a small barrel sponge – an excellent picture; or it would have been! As I unwisely sat back whilst the other guests moved in to take a couple of snaps, what was a nice setting in clear water soon became history as the sand was kicked up with each passing diver and with little current, a lot of it stayed in the water around the frogfish. So immediately, the idea of framing the whole fish on its perch was out of the window and I had to make do with a close up of its face. Nothing like as interesting but I took what I could. This was not the last time that this was to happen to me and it certainly wasn’t the most frustrating but it was very annoying all the same.


Day 3 – Macro

Sites:

• Siladen Island
• Odyssea Point II – House Reef
• Aba Point

Siladen is another site where shallow muck diving is on offer right next to another beautiful wall dive and you can do both in the same dive easily. This time we were after boxer crabs and I had a great time photographing several which was great fun. These things carry little anemones around in their claws and use them to ward off enemies, predators and photographers. Like the crinoid squat lobsters, they are happy to take on any size of opponent and will wave the anemones around at you. Very difficult to photograph as they like to scurry off but occasionally you’ll find one that will try and take you on.

At Aba point, I came across what I came to see as the guardian of the wall, a huge tuna. This thing was about one of the biggest fish I’ve seen and it cruised back and forth along the wall almost as if it was on patrol. It would follow us around the dive and even back to the boat always keeping one eye on us. One of critters I was keen to see was a mantis shrimp and toward the end of the dive James, the guide, found one happily searching outside its burrow but as he was about to call me over the tuna swam past and the shrimp caught sight of it and was off like lightening. Ah well, there was more of these to come in the days ahead.


Day 4 – Macro

• TJ Kopi – Manado Tua Island
• Gabet
• Open Sea Point – House Reef

TJ Kopi is another spectacular wall dive that faces into the open ocean on the side of Manado Tua; consequently it is subject to stronger currents than the other sites I had dived which made macro photography a little difficult. It also means that waters are more nutrient rich and so the walls are covered with life. Several large Napoleon Wrasse patrolled the wall here which was a fantastic sight.


Day 5 – Wide Angle (12-24)

• Molas Shipwreck – Opposite Manado
• Lekuan II – Bunaken Island
• Siladen Island

Today was the day that the weather turned. We had been enjoying bright sunshine and blue skies but today started a little overcast and with a slight wind that stirred up the surface of the water making the journey across to Bunaken a tiny bit choppy. Lekuan II is one of three Lekuan sites (I, II and III) that sit next to each other and means ‘not straight’ or bendy. This was another awesome wall dive with barrel sponges big enough to fit a man inside. Unfortunately, the weather was getting worse and so getting nice scenic shots with sunbeams was not possible – annoyingly whilst at the reef around the molas shipwreck earlier in the day we had a sun break-out and managed to get some nice sunbeams but the reef was nowhere near as good as Lekuan. Typical! However, the best was yet to come. After the dive at Siladen we surfaced away from the boat and into a lovely swelling sea with the a little rain starting to fall. After a short while the boat picked us up with a little difficulty as it swayed in the swell and then the heavens broke. In seconds the viz topside was obliterated and we could no longer see the mainland, Manado Tua and not even Bunaken, the rain was torrential and lightening was flashing around us. Breathtakingly exciting!