Fourth day at Lembeh, three day dives and a Black Water Dive (post retirement dives 921,22,23,24) May 5, 2026

Each morning the Lembeh Resort Dive Center fills out its dive boat board so everyone can see which boat they are on, the boat's crew, the dive guides and the scheduled dive sites for their boat, sometimes there are dive boats from liveaboards or other dive resorts on the scheduled dive site and the resort limits the total number of divers on a site to 15 so then your boat takes you to another nearby dive site. Again, Guy and I were on the Andrea dive boat most days with dive guides Eldo and Obo'k. Below:

At each dive site, we are given a dive briefing with a dive plan escovering depths, directions, and most likely photographic subjects. Below: Eldo gives us our dive briefing for Nudi Falls, the most popular and in demand dive site in Lembeh Strait due to its combination of a beautiful wall, sea fans with Pygmy Sea Horses and, of course, nudibranchs.

Our first dive was a Nudi Falls. Below are some photos from this dive, so see the rest, go to: https://photos.app.goo.gl/DMhptWAfaTQB49DAA Opo'k's list of the subjects he showed us on this dive, below:

Tiny, maybe 1/4 inch, Whip Coral Shrimp. Below:

Pgymy Sea Horses, these are tiny, 1/8 to 3/16 inches, tucked into a colorful sea fan. Opo'k carefully pointed them out to us. I could barely see them, let alone see which way the head was facing, etc..Then you have to carefully hover without making contact with the sea fan while focusing and taking pictures.Below:

A beautiful irrestiably cute, constantly wriggling juvenile Harlequin Sweet Lips, about 2 inches long, was my next subject. Below:

A beautiful Nebrotha nudibranch, below:

Beautiful, dense, rich, invertebrate life along the wall at Nudi Falls. Below:

Juvenile File Fish, about 1 inch long. Below:

Below are some photos from our dive at Pintu Colorado and Jahir 1. To see more, please go to: https://photos.app.goo.gl/nF1dXvWXVVYHgTbd7 https://photos.app.goo.gl/ANkJQ2VZE6fh2pYp7 A beautiful transparent Anemone Shrimp, about 1/2 inches long, hovers over her Sea Anemone. Below:

A striking Starry Flatworm, below:

Below: A different kind of Whip Coral Shrimp, maybe 1/4 inch long.

Whip Coral Gobies, about 3/4 inches long, below:

A well camouflaged Sea Moth and a pair of Sea Moths, about 1 inch long, below:

A small, about 2-3 inch, highly venemous Blue Ring Octopus, initially well camouflaged when pointed out by OPo'k, then prominently displaying its blue rings after being agitated by our close approach and my flashing strobes. Below:

Below: A Mimic Octopus

A beautiful small Blowfish shelters in trash on the sea floor. Below:

Below: A Spiny Devilfish

Our fourth and final dive of the day was a Black Water drift dive where you drift with a free floating buoy with hanging lights in hundreds of feet of water. This kind of uw photography is challenging because you are floating in black water trying to spot small organisms that have risen from the deep during the night. Some surface pictures and some dive photos from this outing below. To see all (not that many) of my dive photos from this dive, please go to: https://photos.app.goo.gl/nLkynuhiwRW4DeLB7 This is the buoy, which has a light on its top and has lights spaced out on a weighted line below, which we will drift with on this dive. The boat drifts along staying near the buoy and on the alert for other passing vessels in Lembeh Strait.

Guy excited to start our Black Water Dive, his first ever. Below:

Our dive guides, Opo'k and Eldo, have just deployed the buoy and its lights. Below:

Opo'k gives us our dive briefing, we're drifting off a dive site called Hairball. Below:

A drifting snail called a Veliger, the shell is about 3/16 inches across. Below:

Below: A drifting juvenile needlefish

A drifting small shrimp, maybe 1/4 to 1/2 inches long. Below:

A juvenile Moorish Idol, maybe 3 inches high. Below:

A tiny, maybe 1/2 inch, drifting juvenile Octopus, possibly a wunderpus. Below:

A drifting juvenile smapping shrimp, maybe 1/2 inch. Below:

A wonderful fourth day of diving at Lembeh Resort!!

Third Day at Lembeh, Three day dives and a dusk dive May 4, 2026

Our first dive of the day was at a site called Sarena North. Some photos from this dive are below, to see more, please go to: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Ficj18B9fkP21Xjd8 A Sea Dragon Nudibranch, below:

A really cool, transparent with tiny polka dots, Eggshell Shrimp, named for the two white "egg shells" on its exoskeleton, sitting comfortably in its sea anemone. Below:

A large, 6-7 inch, beautiful Peacock Mantis Shrimp was out actively hunting. Below:

A Spiny Devilfish, below:

A beautiful Broadclub Cuttlefish, about 8 inches long, below:

This Wunderpus Octopus was quite patient with us but eventually retreated into a burrow which flushed out this Mantis Shrimp with eggs which patiently posed for photos. Below:

A Thorny Sea Horse, about 4-5 inches long, below:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/tLW7jWzeVuZhrEso7 Our second dive was at AER Bajo 3, some photos from this dive below, to see more please go to: AER Bajo 3 https://photos.app.goo.gl/Pqh2MJ1SYpAMY4tA6 Flying Gunard (they don't fly, the beautiful wings are for display). Below:

We saw a pair of very patient, and confident in their camouflage, Giant Frogfish, difficult to photograph well with may narrow field macro lens because they were around 10 inches high. Below:

We saw a passing school of Shrimpfish, which swim vertically and are about 4-5 inches long. Below:

A beautiful nudibranch, below:

I saw and photo'd much more on this dive, go to link above to see more. Our third dive of the day was at Pulan Abach 2. I finally was successful seeing and photographing Harlequin Shrimp. Some photos from this dive below, to see more, please go to: https://photos.app.goo.gl/B9ALVVnxxKBzfKGJA Below: A selection of Harlequin Shrimp photographs

An equally difficult to photograph Tiger Shrimp, below:

A Pygmy Cuttlefish, below:

Our fourth dive of the day was a dusk dive at TK3. Below are some photos from this dive outing, to see more, please go to: https://photos.app.goo.gl/qDWVMe4EZyCicmeM8 Our excellent dive guide, Obo'k, does a summary of the creatures he's shown us after every dive. Below is his list from our dive at TK3.

A Stargazer, below:

A beautiful Coconut Octopus, below:

A Long Arm Octopus, below:

Below: A Robust Ghost Pipe Fish, around 3 inches long.

A Hermit Crab with a well decorated shell. Below:

A beautiful crab munching away. Below: