INDONESIA GALLERY
The island of Sulawesi is one of the largest islands in the Indonesian archipelago. Lembeh Strait is an eight mile stretch of water separating Lembeh Island and the northeastern coast of Sulawesi. Kungkungan Bay lies in the Lembeh Strait. This area has established a well-deserved reputation as a muck diving mecca because of the remarkable diversity of marine animals living in the sand and rubble of its featureless black sand slopes and small fringing reefs.

The underwater photographic opportunites are superlative. Most of the diving is shallow, light and visibility are good, and most of the time currents are not a factor. Most important is a good guide - these creatures are camouflage specialists.

The blue ribbon eels photograph was captured in the last few minutes of the last dive of the trip at a depth of perhaps 15 feet. There were many, many eel holes, but this one held two eels, one of which was in the process of changing sex.

The painted frogfish was one of innumerable frogfish found in a patch near Police Pier. It was on this trip that we discovered the remarkable diversity of frogfish and actually witnessed their remarkable ability to change colors. The painted frogfish were nestled in coral, some of which was bright orange-juice yellow, and the rest of which appeared as a nondescript brown. The frogfish in the area had all matched the yellow coral to a remarkable degree.

Click picture for close up view