The target of our quest - the beautiful and elusive weedy scorpionfish (Rhinopias frondosa). Photo by Roger Steene

During the month of October, 1999 Coralrealm contributors, Scott Michael and Janine Cairns-Michael, were exploring the Lembeh Strait of Northern Sulawesi in search of the elusive weedy scorpionfish. During their expedition, Scott and Janine sent regular email reports back to this web site describing the diving and marine life they were seeing on their daily dives. Read about their discoveries and fascinating finds by click the link below.

Reports From Sulawesi

Where is Sulawesi?

The island of Sulawesi (a.k.a. the Celebes), is one of the largest islands in the Indonesian Archipelago, covering an area of about 73,000 square miles. Its extensive coastline is fringed, in many areas, by coastal reefs teeming with invertebrates and fishes.

Map of Northern
Sulawesi

Lembeh Strait is located on the northeastern coast of Sulawesi, and separates the main island and the much smaller isle of Lembeh. This region is not known for its massive schools of pelagic fishes or aggregations of requiem sharks. No, Lembeh Strait has become known as a "Macro-Mecca." This is because of the incredible number of unusual marine animals that are regularly encountered in this area. Animals like mimic octopus, flamboyant cuttlefish, a throng of nudibranchs, the Bobbit worm, crocodile snake eel, wartskin frogfish, ghost pipefishes, thorny seahorse, cockatoo waspfish, a variety of lionfishes and other scorpionfish species, crocodilefishes, shrimp gobies and many others are seen here with greater frequency than other dive destinations. For this reason many make the long sojourn to Kunkungan Bay Resort, a beautiful resort tucked away on the banks of Lembeh Strait.

Lembeh Strait is also home to one of the most sought after members of the family Scorpaenidae - the weedy scorpionfish (Rhinopias frondosa). Although this fish does occur in the Strait, it is by no means common. The siting history goes something like this: last year, at this same time, two Rhinopias were spotted on numerous occasions. One was cherry red, while the other was lilac in color. Both of these specimens were seen in about 100 feet of water at a dive site known as "Angel's Window." The year before, a small purple specimen was seen at "Nudie Falls."

If you want to get a taste for some of the scenery and marine life you may see in Lembeh Strait, why not take a virtual dive? Just click on the title below and dive in! We've created an exciting and beautiful photo tour (with narrative) for your education and enjoyment.

Select a Virtual Dive
	Lembeh Strait Tour Take a tour of the scenery and typical marine life you will encounter while diving the Lembeh Strait of Northern Sulawesi Indonesia. This dive includes 22 beautiful photos of species commonly seen in Lembeh Strait, complete with descriptive captions and the names of dive sites where you are likely to encounter each critter. ( 22 photos - 13 minutes )
	Nudi Falls Virtual Dive Make a "Virtual Dive" on one of Lembeh's most popular dive sites -- Nudie Falls. A narrated journey with 21 photos. ( 21 photos - 12 minutes )
	Lembeh Strait Night Dive #1 Take a virtual night dive to hunt for strange and rare marine life. This dive features 26 beautiful images of noctural Lembeh Strait Marine, plus video clips! ( 26 images - 18 minutes )
	Lembeh Strait Night Dive #2 Take a virtual night dive to hunt for strange and rare marine life. This dive features 26 beautiful images of noctural Lembeh Strait Marine life, narration and video clips! ( 19 photos - 10 minutes )