In Bunaken this week, we couldn’t decide where to look – the blue for big stuff or the reef for small creatures. There have been plenty of both, including another Mola-Mola sighting! And just as our dive manager and instructor Dion is off to get to know our Bali and Lombok dive centres better, we’ve been busy teaching PADI Open Water and Advanced Open Water courses.
It’s been a busy first week for Markus, who joined the team as a senior instructor recently. After a couple of days of acclimatisation, he has already taught his first Open Water and Advanced Open Water courses. In the meantime, Yvonne has been busy with two groups of Indonesian guests taking their first steps as divers. Busy days all around and it looks like it’s going to continue like that for a little while.
Our fun divers’ highlight of the week was another Mola-Mola, ‘found’ by senior guide Kres for his guests, Emma, Aimee and Jonathon. We’ve been extremely lucky to see so many Molas over the last few weeks. Contrary to their typical behaviour, they’ve been in pretty warm waters of around 28 degrees, making it a more comfortable experience all around. Apart from Molas, we’ve been lucky enough to hang out with schools of black snapper, too.
The big stuff notwithstanding, it’s been a great week for smaller creatures, too. Several species of shrimp, including the banded coral shrimp in the picture (thanks again, Alex Schade), numerous species of nudibranchs and our reigning favourite, the pygmy seahorse, were all spotted by our dive guides. Safe to say, this week has been good for photographers!
Last, but not least, a group of divers headed to the Bunaken Wreck today. Little is known about it apart from being a World War II transport ship that is now sitting on the seabed in 40 meters between Manado and Bunaken. The techies were in the water first, planning to explore the propellers and rudders, which are part of the deepest section of the wreck. On the way up, it was time for techies and ‘regular’ divers to meet for a bit and explore the growth on the wreck: bluedragon nudibranch, vivid green sponges and possibly the largest trumpetfish we’ve ever seen! The wreck is easily combined with a multilevel ascent along a nearby slope, allowing for a bit of muck diving, too!
What’s on the cards for next week? Hopefully many more exciting marine life encounters and more new divers!