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 Indonesia: The Lembeh Stretch

Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world and its 17,000 islands are scattered between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific, in a vast area of sea, which has always been the scene of mankind’s complex history. Sulawesi, the Celebes of the Spanish and Portuguese navigators, is one of these islands and it is a melting pot of races and religions, a land of spices and of pirates, the landingplace of the East India Company and of merchants from China and Japan sailing towards India and faraway Arabia. Today modern Sulawesi is no longer the port to the Far East but is, in particular in the Lembeh Stretch, the chosen destination of naturalists and underwater photographers and the tourist industry has become its new great source of wealth. The Lembeh is a channel that flows between the mainland and an island from which it gets its name. It is around 12 km long and from 200 to 1200 metres wide and may be compared to an enormous pass where the waters of the Celebes Sea encounter those of the Molucche Sea creating an environment particularly rich in endemic species. In fact, down there the influence of the glaciations was marginal and this factor together with the upheavals of the geological eras and particular environmental conditions resulted in the reshuffling and isolation of life forms, creating new species without causing the extinction of pre-existent ones and giving rise to exceptional biodiversity which for a large part has yet to be studied. The most important city of the stretch is Bitung, with around 120,000 inhabitants of mainly Christian protestant faith. It boasts a natural port that in past times offered a safe haven for those heading South towards fabulous Makassar to trade spices, cloth and scented wood and that is still bustling today. Unfortunately, during the Second World War, American aircraft heavily bombed the port and managed to sink several ships. The Japanese government subsequently erected a war memorial in the port of Bitung in order to commemorate the fallen. Today, those destructive events are fortunately but a faded memory and the shipwrecks have long been camouflaged by the many shapes and colours of flourishing living things. However, the sea is not the only feature of the Lembeh Stretch. In fact, the land overlooking the water is covered in dense forests, extensive coconut palm plantations and rice paddies. To the East the imposing Gunung Klabat volcano rises 2022 metres above sea level, its steep slopes and faraway peak accessible only to those with good legs willing to face a 6-hour trek. The great natural beauty of Sulawesi has enabled this land to greet the third millennium with a strong vocation for tourism. It is our hope that tourism, this rich source of wealth, does not destroy this land but on the contrary, that it may promote conservation, transforming its sea into a research and study lab for naturalists and biologists and a place of wonderful adventures for all divers.

The Lembeh Resort

Situated on the island of Lembeh, about half way down the stretch, the Lembeh Resort was opened in December 2000. At present it offers 14 spacious cottages with large verandas overlooking the stretch, perfect for admiring the beautiful sunsets of North Sulawesi. The bedrooms are equipped with air conditioning and an en suite Balinese style bathroom. Each cottage has a mini bar and a safe.

Facilities available to customers include a swimming pool, bar-restaurant, bookshop, video lounge with satellite TV, shopping centre, massage service, Internet access and laundry service.

Detailed information can be found on the website www.lembehresort.com , as regards prices, tours activities and diving excursions.

Above all, we would like to highlight the expertise and the enthusiasm with which Jhoan and Kat, Diving Coordinators, apply to organizing everything in order to achieve the best possible results.

The diving centre has an equipped room where photographic equipment may be stored, flashes may be recharged and other routine operations may be carried out after each diving excursion. Each workstation is kitted out with small towels, power points and adapters. The boats are comfortable and quite fast, so that the furthest diving site may be reached in around twenty minutes.

But the best surprise is the profound knowledge of the guides, the enthusiasm they put into finding these creatures and the sense of security they give when organizing the dives. We asked Ronald, who together with Abner has been working at the resort from the start, how he had gained his experience. He told us that he started out in 1996 at the Kungkungan Bay Resort and that he owes nearly everything he knows to Larry Smith, a myth in the world of “critters”. All the best experts began with Larry and then gradually built up their knowledge by studying habitats, habits and characteristics of this particular world. The youngest have attended marine biology courses at Manado and thanks to the teachings of the experts, it will not be long before they are up to the responsibilities of the main guides.