Well after planning this trip for around half a year, I’m now roughly half way through my PADI Divemaster course here in Sulawesi.
Sometimes when people think of Divemaster Trainees, they get the impression that they are mostly backpacking twenty somethings. Well, I’m not quite in that age group anymore, but I have definitely been bitten by the scuba bug. Doing the Divemaster course isn’t really about looking for work in the dive industry, well at least not in the immediate future. It’s more about a personal challenge and improving my dive skills.

When it comes to Sulawesi, I’m also a repeat offender – I was here – both Bunaken & Lembeh last year. I was really impressed with the amazing diving in both places, the great atmosphere in both Two Fish Divers locations as well as the professionalism of the staff. The opportunity for excellent reef walls in Bunaken, the incredible critters of Lembeh as well as the Mawali Wreck (a WWII Japanese Freighter sunk close to Mawali village in the Lembeh Strait) made it an easy decision to come here.

Thus far I’ve been in Lembeh. Thanks to the careful and patient instruction of Luke my buoyancy control really has improved significantly, I’m much more confident with my rescue skills (which I hope I’ll never have to use) as well as seeing some of the amazing locals here. Some of the highlights have included the beautiful frilly white with black spotted juvenile barramundi seem to be everywhere at the moment, a cute coconut octopus in a glass jar and using a piece of plastic as his door, the feisty peacock mantis shrimps, a stargazer and the weird and wonderful bobbit worm (was it really named after Lorraina Bobbit?) Also a warty frog fish marching over the sand and how could I forget the fabulous mandarin fish!

Anyway there is still plenty to do and I’m very sure that I’ll be kept very busy on the second half of my course in Bunaken.

Lyn