Kasawari Lembeh Resort

Mucking Around?

The Lembeh Strait is a relatively wide channel of water that separates Lembeh Island from the North Sulawesi mainland. At first glance, it doesn't appear to be much. In fact, it looks rather dark, dirty and cold. The main port of Bitung is located in the Strait, and fishermen of all description come and go continuously from this area.

It's only upon entering the water that you discover the hidden secrets below. Since the first dive resort was built here in the 1990s, the Lembeh Strait has gradually become synonomous with excellent muck diving. Critters of all description (as well as many that defy description) abound here. For divers interested in observing, photographing and video-ing strange creatures, Lembeh is arguably one of the best places in the world to visit.

Which is why I was kind of shocked when I realised I haven't spent an extended amount of time in Lembeh for about nine years! I've dived the area for a day or two here and there over the past several years, but this is the first time since 1997 that I've had a chance to dive continuously for a week and concentrate on critter photography.

Luxury in Lembeh

My visit to Lembeh was courtesy of the new Kasawari Lembeh Resort. I have only one thing to say - Every dive resort in the world should be like this! In all seriousness, Kasawari is one of the best dive resorts I've ever visited.

Over the years, I've dived all over the world, and I've been fortunate enough to visit some awesome destinations. Like most dive travellers, I go to far-flung places to see marine life, and I'm accustomed to putting up with minor inconveniences - from crappy airlines to less-than-ideal accommodations, and everything in between. As long as I see what I'm looking for, I'm quite tolerant. Staying at Kasawari, however, was a sheer joy. First, it's a boutique resort, with only 10 cabins, for a maximum of 20 guests. To call the accommodations "cabins" doesn't quite do them justice though. They're more like "villas", something you'd expect from a luxury resort in Bali or the Maldives. The rooms are spacious and extremely comfortable, with large bathrooms, an outdoor shower, and wonderfully hot water (an absolute must for diving Lembeh).

Second, the resort is specifically geared toward photo and video buffs. The camera room is the biggest I've seen anywhere - 17 workstations, each with two charging points and a storage shelf. Even with all my gear spread out in the usual chaotic clutter, there was plenty of space - so much so that I felt obliged to make an even bigger mess than normal. Here's the kicker - the resort has a very well thought-out system of placing your camera gear in baskets. The dive crew take your cameras to and from the dive boat in the baskets, where they're locked down into custom-built racks to hold the baskets - no worrying about camera parts flying everywhere! And after the dive, the crew bring the cameras up to the enormous dive platform, where they dunk your gear (still in the baskets) into huge freshwater rinse tanks! When you want to work on your cameras, the crew carry your cameras (again still in baskets) to the camera room for you.

This is without doubt the most organised, most well thought-out system I've ever come across for handling camera gear - absolutely second to none. No worrying about cameras slipping all over the boat, being stepped on by some clutsy co-diver, being accidentally dropped into the deep blue during transport, becoming encrusted with salt and marine life due to lack of freshwater.all the things you usually have to worry about when dragging around delicate and expensive camera gear.

The system worked so well that I barely had to touch my cameras except while underwater and during the evening when charging batteries and downloading files. Ahhh.if only it were so easy everywhere else! I could really grow accustomed to being this pampered. Kasawari Lembeh Resort has just recently opened for business, so it wasn't full when I was there, but mark my words - with the unparalleled quality of facilities and service, by this time next year, you'll have a hard time getting a room.

Critter Paradise

The main reason people come to Lembeh is, of course, the critters. There are critters of every possible type, shape, and form. For photographers and u/w video buffs, this place is paradise.

Want frogfish? There are painted frogfish, clown frogfish, hairy frogfish, striated frogfish, giant frogfish, and probably more. Want sea moths? They're everywhere. Pygmy seahorses? Pick a colour. Rhinopias? Frequent sightings. Nudibranchs? You'll see a dozen species or more on some dives. The marine life in Lembeh Strait also seems to "perform" more often that in other places. You'll find animals hunting other animals, mating, guarding eggs, and just generally doing stuff. It's almost as if they know that everyone's carrying a camera and wants to get interesting images or video footage.

The only drawback if there is one to diving here is that the water is a bit colder than elsewhere. My dive computer usually showed 26-27º Celsius, but it certainly felt much colder. With black sand and muck on the bottom, it's generally dark, so psychologically, you probably end up feeling colder than it actually is. If you visit Lembeh though, I'd recommend a 5 mm wetsuit and a hood, especially if you plan to stay a few days.

The typical schedule at Kasawari goes something like this:

    06:00 light breakfast/ coffee
    07:45 first dive
    09:30 breakfast
    10:30 second dive
    12:00 lunch
    14:30 third dive
    17:00 mandarinfish dive (when enough people want to go)
    18:00 night dive (when you want to do a night dive)

By 20:30 or so, I was so zonked that it was all I could do to keep my eyes open. Downloading several GB of files and sorting through to delete the ones I didn't need usually took me to about 22:30. I found myself longing for the good old days of film when I could just pass out in peace without feeling guilty about not having downloaded and sorted all my images for the day. Sigh.