Numpse
20-12-2003, 07:14
Marcia (her indoors) & I have just returned from our 3rd trip in 5 years to Manado in North Sulawesi. We've now dived with 4 different operators out there & we were so impressed with the set up at the last we used (Lumbalumba Diving) that Marcia felt compelled to bully me into posting a few words here.
Firstly though, "the others"...
Tasik Ria
To be fair, it's 4 years since we dived with them & in that time the diving there's been taken over by Eco Divers who we have no first hand experience of. But... viewing one of their vessels from the comfort of a Lumbalumba dive boat last month, it looked to be typical "cattle boat diving". Their boat wouldn't have looked out of place moored with a dozen others to one of the diver saturated sites in the Northern Red Sea. Unsurprising, I guess, as I believe that's where most of their "experience" was gained. Maybe I'm being unfair, but I got the impression that if you're the kind of diver who's into "diver soup" & who'd enjoy an "18 to 30" holiday, then these are the folk for you.
Baraccuda Diving
Again, it's a couple of years since we dived with them, but it's hard to think that much will have changed. Run on a shoe string by Mike Smith, a likeable German/English guy. Every dive with them was a nail biting adventure ... would the boat stay afloat till we got back to shore? How much longer would the outboard be able to run on only one cylinder? I've got three lingering memories of our time with them....
Our first dive set the tone for what was to follow over the next fortnight...The resort guide, a young local lad, turned his air on & an apple sized balloon immediately developed on his hp hose close to the console end. It was fizzing so enthusiastically that he didn't seem able to hear me question whether he should be entering the water to dive the 42 metre Molas shipwreck, that we were about to take on. Well, his air consumption was exceptional, because despite getting into deco, he almost managed to complete his stop before having to beg a lungful or two from me!
We did two night dives. On each of them the guide had to "borrow" Marcia's torch five minutes into the dive because his had died & he had no backup.
The last memory still brings a smile to my face....Despite the Heath Robinson dive set up, Baraccuda had very nice accomodation. Every night we would nod off to the croaking of a bullfrog who lived beneath our bungalow. It was the size of a well fed cat & sounded more like a disturbed sheep than a mere amphibian. Anyway, midway through our second week the croaking stopped. At breakfast the next morning I asked one of the staff what had happened to the frog. With a smile she casually replied that one of her colleagues had eaten it! (& just when I'd got my head around the sight of dog carcasses hanging on display in the food market)
Thalassa Diving
Run by the charmingly attractive Dutch entrepeneur, Simone. Thalassa is located in the grounds of the Santika hotel. We've stayed there a couple of times. It's a big operation. Sadly, when we stayed there recently we found that the standards in what was once an excellent hotel have dropped considerably. There was an horrendous incident involving some of the hotels resident cats, but the story is ongoing so I'll not recount it until I'm confident of all the facts. Suffice to say though, that it's unlikely Marcia & I will ever stay there again.
The diving operation there however, has much to commend it. Best feature of all are the two twin 200Hp aluminium speed boats. These have been custom built for diving & are by far the best way to get to any of the remoter islands with relatively pristine dive sites, such as Bangkka. It's an exhilarating ride & the diving at the end of it is well worth the extra few bucks that Simone charges for the extra expenses she incurs.
Lumbalumba Diving
So far, this is quite simply our favourite dive outfit on the planet....and we've travelled over a pretty big chunk of it. The Dutch owners, Roel & Juud are professionalism personified. Their dive boats are so comfortable & well equipped that it's a struggle to force youself to dive at all. But having taken the plunge you can't help but be impressed by the diving standards & local knowledge of the guides, all of whom have been trained by Roel & share a mischievous sense of humour. Frankly, I find the sense of humour thing a little puzzling, because let's face it, the Dutch aren't known for their joke telling skills, are they?
Back on land, Roel is nearing the completion of a self contained resort. It is planned to have no more than ten bungalows & all share a magnificent view down the hillside & out over the bay towards Bunaken.
As always, if you look hard enough you can find fault....at the time of our last visit, Maxi (senior dive guide & future pool attendant) still hadn't finished digging the on site pool. However, our minds were taken off this minor aggravation by an excellent post dive Peppered Prawn BBQ served up to us by Roel & Juud as we watched the sunset from their restaraunt verandah.
Aaah, the memories!
Maxi?....Pull your finger out!
There Marcia. Will that do?
Firstly though, "the others"...
Tasik Ria
To be fair, it's 4 years since we dived with them & in that time the diving there's been taken over by Eco Divers who we have no first hand experience of. But... viewing one of their vessels from the comfort of a Lumbalumba dive boat last month, it looked to be typical "cattle boat diving". Their boat wouldn't have looked out of place moored with a dozen others to one of the diver saturated sites in the Northern Red Sea. Unsurprising, I guess, as I believe that's where most of their "experience" was gained. Maybe I'm being unfair, but I got the impression that if you're the kind of diver who's into "diver soup" & who'd enjoy an "18 to 30" holiday, then these are the folk for you.
Baraccuda Diving
Again, it's a couple of years since we dived with them, but it's hard to think that much will have changed. Run on a shoe string by Mike Smith, a likeable German/English guy. Every dive with them was a nail biting adventure ... would the boat stay afloat till we got back to shore? How much longer would the outboard be able to run on only one cylinder? I've got three lingering memories of our time with them....
Our first dive set the tone for what was to follow over the next fortnight...The resort guide, a young local lad, turned his air on & an apple sized balloon immediately developed on his hp hose close to the console end. It was fizzing so enthusiastically that he didn't seem able to hear me question whether he should be entering the water to dive the 42 metre Molas shipwreck, that we were about to take on. Well, his air consumption was exceptional, because despite getting into deco, he almost managed to complete his stop before having to beg a lungful or two from me!
We did two night dives. On each of them the guide had to "borrow" Marcia's torch five minutes into the dive because his had died & he had no backup.
The last memory still brings a smile to my face....Despite the Heath Robinson dive set up, Baraccuda had very nice accomodation. Every night we would nod off to the croaking of a bullfrog who lived beneath our bungalow. It was the size of a well fed cat & sounded more like a disturbed sheep than a mere amphibian. Anyway, midway through our second week the croaking stopped. At breakfast the next morning I asked one of the staff what had happened to the frog. With a smile she casually replied that one of her colleagues had eaten it! (& just when I'd got my head around the sight of dog carcasses hanging on display in the food market)
Thalassa Diving
Run by the charmingly attractive Dutch entrepeneur, Simone. Thalassa is located in the grounds of the Santika hotel. We've stayed there a couple of times. It's a big operation. Sadly, when we stayed there recently we found that the standards in what was once an excellent hotel have dropped considerably. There was an horrendous incident involving some of the hotels resident cats, but the story is ongoing so I'll not recount it until I'm confident of all the facts. Suffice to say though, that it's unlikely Marcia & I will ever stay there again.
The diving operation there however, has much to commend it. Best feature of all are the two twin 200Hp aluminium speed boats. These have been custom built for diving & are by far the best way to get to any of the remoter islands with relatively pristine dive sites, such as Bangkka. It's an exhilarating ride & the diving at the end of it is well worth the extra few bucks that Simone charges for the extra expenses she incurs.
Lumbalumba Diving
So far, this is quite simply our favourite dive outfit on the planet....and we've travelled over a pretty big chunk of it. The Dutch owners, Roel & Juud are professionalism personified. Their dive boats are so comfortable & well equipped that it's a struggle to force youself to dive at all. But having taken the plunge you can't help but be impressed by the diving standards & local knowledge of the guides, all of whom have been trained by Roel & share a mischievous sense of humour. Frankly, I find the sense of humour thing a little puzzling, because let's face it, the Dutch aren't known for their joke telling skills, are they?
Back on land, Roel is nearing the completion of a self contained resort. It is planned to have no more than ten bungalows & all share a magnificent view down the hillside & out over the bay towards Bunaken.
As always, if you look hard enough you can find fault....at the time of our last visit, Maxi (senior dive guide & future pool attendant) still hadn't finished digging the on site pool. However, our minds were taken off this minor aggravation by an excellent post dive Peppered Prawn BBQ served up to us by Roel & Juud as we watched the sunset from their restaraunt verandah.
Aaah, the memories!
Maxi?....Pull your finger out!
There Marcia. Will that do?