The Bright and Beautiful
Even though you have had a whistle stop of this amazing place, there are a few more creatures which deserve a mention for being remarkable in appearance, behaviour or overall weirdness.
There are additional riches to be found above the sea in this versatile country, rich in culture, environment and wildlife.
The Weird and Wonderful
This underwater spider must still count as one of the weirdest finds we had in Lembeh. It was at 5 m depth, and looked to all intents and purpose like a land spider. Everyone I have ever shown it to says it is a land spider but it was alive and thriving under the sea. Most underwater spiders of this type are seen in fresh water and carry a bubble of air around to allow them to stay under water for periods of time.
Stargazer, Astroscopus guttatus
This stargazer must count as one of the weirdest fish we saw. It is a stout fish but the face is basically on top of the fish, which buries itself in the sand so only the terrifying features are visible. There is an electric shock organ just behind the eyes to catch the unwary. Easier to see at night, we searched high and low to see one. Finally at the end of the dive with 5 atm air between us we found him and took our photos breathholding.
The Flying Gurnard, Dactylopterus volitans
This unusual fish is covered in bony scales and has colourful bat like wings and can glide long the bottom, or walk on modified pectoral fins. It loves crabs and shrimps and bivalve molluscs.
Striped razorfish or shrimpfish, Aeoliscus strigatus
Razorfish are the only other fish, besides the seahorse, that swims vertically. In their case it is upside down, noses to the sand, sometimes in large shoals and often aligned with vertical soft corals, urchin spines or sea grasses. The turn in perfect synchrony and eat small crustaceans from the bottom by sucking into their tubular snouts, rather like the seahorse.
Hidden Gems
There are lots of other critters which just don't quite fit in any of the featured categories so here are a few of our favourite!
Tasseled filefish, Chaetodermis pencilligerus
This highly ornate fish looks like a work of art. It drifts in the current sedately
Golden goby, Lubricogobius ornatus
This tiny golden fish often lives in cans and bottles. They are usually in pairs and glow brightly in the torchlight. This little guy below is blowing on his eggs, laid on a rock nearby, to aerate them.
This is a juvenile puffer fish. Puffer fish have beaks, made up of fused jaws, to eat crustaceans. They can inflate themselves into a spherical spiny ball by filling their stomachs with water and they contain tetrodotoxin, a potent poison to deter predators.
Longhorned cowfish
This comical looking fish is part of the boxfish family.
One of 4 sea snakes common in Indonesia, the banded sea krait, Laticauda colubrina.
Kraits have paddle like tails for better swimming. They are semiaquatic and spend a lot of time under the water hunting, they also return to the land for rest and digestion. They are highly venomous, one snake has enough venom to kill 10 humans, but not aggressive and tend to avoid humans. Most bites occur when untangling them from fishing line.
Stargazer snake eel
Another nightmare fish buried under the sand to catch the unwary.
Fire Urchin
This beautiful sea urchin cruises around the sandy bottom. Small fish, shrimp and crabs hitch a ride and get protection from the spines. Dark to the naked eye, shine a light on it and it is a disco ball of colour and luminescence.
Electric clam
These clams hide in caves and under ledges. The edge of the clam lights up with a pulsating blue light, attracting prey.
On Dry Land
Well I think it is quite clear now that the underwater delights are sufficient themselves to draw you to Lembeh, but there are also interesting things to see on land. The KBR resort is next to the busy harbour town of Bitung, bustling with markets and local colour. We set off for an early morning visit and cruised the fish market and the food market. The people were colourful and friendly. We were disconcerted to see offerings of roasted rats and bats on skewers, expressions caught in a rictus by the flame grilling. A sight guaranteed to start a serious consideration of vegetarianism I can tell you. We ate vegetable soup for 2 days after that, fearful that the bats and rats might worm their way into the resort kitchen!
The hillsides are fertile with terraced cultivation. Palm oil, rubber, cocoa, coffee, tea, cassava, rice and cloves are the important agricultural commodities.
Although KBR is on the shore of the north east mainland of Sulewezi, the coastline surrounds a lush mountainous landscape with rainforests. We took a day tour (mainly to try not to get bent after weeks of diving for 6 hours a day!) The car wound through narrow roads, up the mountain in humidity and damp heat to the rain forests of Tangkoko National Park where several endangered primates dwell, most notably the Black macaque and the Tarsier monkey. We were fortunate to get good sightings of both although it involved a hot sweaty trek in the forest for a couple of hours.
En route we visited the buddhist temple of Buddhayana Vihara in the village of Kakaskasen, with its well known pagoda and Chinese decoration. Although primarily Christian, Sulawesi hosts all religious sects peacefully. We listened to the beautiful tympanic music from faceted drums.
Originally a temple for Taoist worshippers, it now serves Buddhists as well.The temple complex is surrounded by 18 statues of Lohan, a symbol of, or representation of, a sinner who is enlightened and returns to the right way.
The pool is thought to bring good luck and Buddhists will throw coins in the fountain before prayer.
The tarsier monkey is a tiny primate that lives in groups in the rainforest and looks a little like our bush babies. It lives on insects and is largely nocturnal for which it has specially adapted and huge eyes. The eyes are the largest in any monkey and each eye is equivalent, or even slightly larger than, its entire brain. It is at risk of extinction which is a serious conservation status, most likely because of loss of habitat.
A whole family of maybe 15 or 20 individuals may live in one tree. We walked for 2 hours to this tree to find a group known to live there. As the light faded they could be seen peeping out from the nooks and branches.
The Black Macaque is indigenous to Sulawesi and surrounding islands and lives in the rain forests in groups of 5 to 20 individuals. They eat mainly fruit but also leaves and eggs, insects, birds, frogs and lizards. Its habit of devastating crops means it is hunted as a pest outside of the reserve and the bushmeat is considered a delicacy, contributing to its status as critically endangered. They have no fear of humans and posed on the leaf littered forest floor.
Perhaps our luckiest encounter was with this small group of Bear Cuscus, another animal specific to Sulawesi and surrounds. A marsupial, it is related to the Possum. Speculation is that it arrived on a vegetable raft from the Australasias in the dim and distant past. Little is known about them as they are shy and rarely seen. Deforestation and bushmeat trade are their main threats and they are listed as critically endangered. Only 4 zoos in the world house them.
Lunch was at a fish restaurant where you chose your fish from the pond below you and all the food scraps were recycled back to the fish. I am pretty sure that is frowned on in fish circles and may lead to them growing 3 eyes or something but the food was delicious.