Its hammer time at Bunaken! I have been very lucky with sightings this past year at Bunaken. A huge Mola Mola in the shallows at Fukui, thresher sharks both deep at Muka and during an open water course at Lekuan Tiga, dolphins at Tanjung Parigi, and surface and snorkel sightings of Manta, Pilot Whales, Black Marlin and Sailfish: but it was still a thrill to be checked out by a stocky Scalloped Hammerhead shark. The shark did a slow cautious swim by at 50m then edged off into the gloom. That was great! Myself and Danny were very chuffed, but felt a little bit bad for Rachel who had chosen that morning to take off, ouch! Then I hear an excited shout from Danny, the shark had circled around us and was waiting for us on the reef, between the two of us making sure each other had seen it and both of us grabbing for cameras it is no wonder the poor shark got a fright. Boom, off like a rocket into the gloom again!

I have to say we spent most of the rest of the dive looking into the blue, the reef did not get the attention it deserves. It just goes to show what might be lurking down in the cold depths around Bunaken; Coelacanths for sure but what else?

Danny and Rachel have spent the past week practising their Deco Procedures skills, and have been rewarded by some very varied conditions. Plenty of shark and ray action down deep possibly due to the cold water, 24-25C on quite a few dives but lots of life and visibility ranging from 40-5m due to some pretty strange currents whipped up by the wind. We also visited the wreck off Manado and had some beautifully clear albeit cold water and found a drop off and pinnacles past the stern of the boat. These would well be worth a visit at a later date as they dropped well below 50m.