!
15 – 17 October 2009
N0 50.831 E124 42.464
A relatively unknown dive destination not far from Lembeh is slowly getting its share of the limelight. Buyat Bay is about five hours from Manado located south of Lembeh. It used to be a gold mining operation that shut down recently. Now the mining facility’s skeleton staff are seeing a different face – the face of divers vs. that of miners.
Danny Charlton of Lembeh Divers insisted we include Buyat Bay in our North Sulawesi itinerary, and now we understand why he didn’t take no for an answer. It was a coral reef revelation!
Here are several images to show how different it was from Lembeh’s muck.
Monstrously big hard boulder coral in 5 meter depth
Crinoid studded sponge decorating the reef floor of Buyat Bay
Cabbage coral forest that went on and on and on
Bright red soft corals definitely posed well for us
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This entry was posted in Coral reefs, Coral Triangle, Ecotourism, Indonesia, North Sulawesi, Scuba Diving
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4 Comments
Great photos guys! Keep up the good work and be sure to stop by Green School on your way through Bali. We’d love to have you!
enjoy the journery
I am blown away by these great pics of such beautiful corals growths. Pristine, unbroken, prehistoric. Hope they are kept this way forever …..
Hi Stella and Yogi! You had mentioned to me how special Bayut Bay is and after 6 trips to Lembeh I think it is time to explore Bayut Bay (based on your wonderful pictures). It is great to see a mining town evolve into a sustainable ecotourism destination. Where should we stay in Bayut Bay that has a good dive operation as well as nice rooms? Does this exist yet? Further, have you blogged on Gangga? We need to go there as well! Danny Charlton knows the lay of the land (and sea) pretty well?? Missing your wonderful slide shows, talks, and visits. From Santa Cruz with love, Clay
Clay – We have the only dive center in operation in Buyat. Divers stay in the simple accommodations which were once miner quarters. Have a look at our site for more info: http://www.crittersatlembeh.com
Cheers
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