When you hear «Lembeh Strait» — your first thought should be of amazing diving with an unusual abundance of amazing critters
like pygmy seahorses, hairy frogfish, stargazers, wunderpuses, Rhinopias.
For super macro species
like pygmy seahorses, you definitely want to have a diopter for magnification.
Not exact matches
Haan's Reef on Gili Air is fast becoming renowned for excellent «muck diving» where divers can see rare critters
like frogfish, pink — leafed scorpion fish, flying gunard, mantis shrimp, nudibranchs,
pygmy seahorses, robust ghost pipefish, blue ringed octopus and ringed pipefish.
There is so much out there to discover: small little funky looking creatures
like ghost pipe fish, mantis shrimp,
pygmy seahorse, blue ringed octopus, frogfish and a wide variety of nudibranches.
With an extensive soft coral garden hosting plenty of xenia specimens, some macro life was found: nudibranchs,
like the Chromodoris and Flabellina, flatworms, Orangutan and Porcelain Crab and also the Raja Ampat Denise
Pygmy Seahorse!
Some of the highlights included gorgonian sea fans themselves, beautiful soft coral formations and animals
like Whitetip Reef Shark, Oriental and Diagonal - banded Sweetlips, and two variations of the Denise
Pygmy Seahorse, one of them known only from the Birds Head Seascape region, which includes Raja Ampat.
This dive site was ideal for macro lovers considering the abundant amount of colorful nudibranchs, sea slugs and flatworms spotted by our dive guides especially in the shallows, together with crustaceans
like the Hairy Shrimp; besides that it was an opportunity to spot a Denise
Pygmy Seahorse!
Some of the marine life seen during the dive included: Banded Sea Snake, Day Octopus, Hawksbill Turtle and smaller creatures,
like the Bargibanti
Pygmy Seahorse, nudibranchs, five different kinds of flatworms, headshield slug, Hairy Shrimp and even a nocturnal Epaulette Shark.
On top of that, a friendly school of Bumphead Parrotfish let our divers approach while munching on the reef, Green and Hawksbill Turtle were also seen and a few critters, including Tasseled Scorpionfish, Denise
Pygmy Seahorse and nudibranchs,
like a beautiful Nembrotha kubayana.
A Whitetip Reef Shark, schooling batfishes getting cleaned and smaller animals
like the Bubble Coral Shrimp, Hairy Shrimp, nudibranchs and a few
Pygmy Seahorses, including the Raja Ampat endemic specie, were caught by our guests cameras.
Due to the strenght of the currents during the day, our groups spend most of the time along the northern wall looking for critters
like Crinoid and Wire Coral Shrimp, Soft Coral Pipefish, flatworms, nudibranchs, Bargibanti
Pygmy Seahorse and more.
As it is usually the case in Raja Ampat, we spent our night dive looking for macro subjects and critters, and it did nt disappoint, as a few animals
like Pontohi
Pygmy Seahorse, Long Arms Octopus Marble Shrimp were seen in Sawandarek Jetty.
This dive was not different, as Bargibanti, Denise and Raja Ampat Denise
Pygmy Seahorses were seen, nudibranchs,
like the Flabellina and even a Giant Frogfish were seen.
On top of that, macro life and critters were pointed out by our divemasters,
like the Denise
Pygmy Seahorse, Ringed Pipefish and also a couple of Wobbegong Sharks.
Camouflage masters
like the Wobbegong Shark, Leaf Scorpionfish,
Pygmy Seahorse and Ornate Ghost Pipefish were also photographed.
Bangka is blessed with clear blue water, stunning hard and soft corals, tiny gems
like the Pontohi
Pygmy Seahorse, and some great drifts which bring in schools of fish.
As it is usually the case on this site, plenty of macro life and critters were pointed out by our dive masters: Nudibranchs,
like the Thecacera, Flabellina and Nembrotha, Reef Octopus, Bargibanti and Denise
Pygmy Seahorse (including the color variation of the last specie that is found only on this region of the world), in between others, filled this dive with pleasant surprises.
The dive site was Baby Rock, where the dive guides, already spotted Bumphead Parrotfishes and a some macro life,
like the Raja Ampat Denise
Pygmy Seahorse, Orangutan Crab and a few lobsters.
Bargibanti, Denise and Raja Ampat Denise
Pygmy Seahorses were found, different nudibranchs,
like the Flabellina, and flatworms too.
Haan's Reef on Gili Air is fast becoming renowned for excellent «muck diving» where divers can see rare critters
like frogfish, pink — leafed scorpion fish, flying gunard, mantis shrimp, nudibranchs,
pygmy seahorses, robust ghost pipefish, blue ringed octopus, ringed pipefish, turtles, various coloured frogfish and Bio Rock projects.