Dive Review of Eco Divers/Kungkungan Bay Resort in
Indonesia/Lembeh Strait

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Eco Divers/Kungkungan Bay Resort, Aug, 2008, by Rod Challenger, Fl, USA ( 2 reports). Report 4441.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	The diving from KBR in the Lembeh Strait was excellent. I am not sure why anyone would want to stay at another resort (this was our second trip to this resort and I have not stayed anywhere else on the Strait). The accommodations in the traditional bungalow were great. Great bed (they have added mosquito netting since we were there three years ago, and even though I deployed it, I don't think we needed it.). I understand the bungalows have all been remodeled and they were fabulous. AC works great. Satellite TV. Huge bathrooms with stone floors. They have a buffet in the main dinging room/hotel office for breakfast, with made to order eggs, but you can still order other items. Other meals are ordered off the menu and you can eat anytime you want. The menu is extensive and good with a variety of cultures represented (alas, no hamburgers). Meals are included in the rates but there is an extra charge for soft drinks and alcohol (they've opened a new bar in the upstairs of the main lodge building). There's also a small charge for great ice cream bars if you don't want one of the regular desert offerings. When you come back from a dive before lunch, hostesses meet you at the dock to take your order so it will be ready by the time you rinse out your wet suit, dry off, and change clothes and walk to the dining room. They also meet divers before the night dive to provide the same service. The diving delivers what the Lembeh Strait is all about. Though we had been here three years ago, I still saw things this trip that I did not see last trip (flamboyant cuttlefish (even mating); mating mandarin fish (a special dusk dive takes you to a special spot); a pygmy,pygmy sea horse;an unusual long, thick pipefish (I forgot the name already);a rhinopious scorpion fish (discovered here a couple of years ago and found no where else);a decorator crab that looked like a transformer and several other creatures which I have forgotten but will remember when I finally review my video. And there were the usual unusual creatures found here; all types of ghost pipefish, wonderpus, pygmy sea horses, sea moths, dragon fish, scorpion fish, bangai cardinal fish, etc. Others saw the mimic octopus, though I didn't. I'll have to come back to see that as well as the blue ring octopus which is often seen here. The staff was fabulous. Steve, the dive manager, and his wife, the hotel manager, have been here five years (which is unusual in this business) and their experience along with the dive guides (many of whom have been here more than 5 years)made for a fabulous experience. Steve was even able to replace the batteries in my wife's dive computer from stock he had on hand (unusual in a place so remote). And he sold us some great metal dive pointers he makes, suitable for pointing, clanging on your tank to get your buddy's attention, or for sticking in the sand to hold you you in place (no gloves allowed here.) This is not for everyone. You won't find a lot of pretty coral and lots of great reef fish and great visibility. Mostly, its about the muck and the debris where these great creatures make their homes. This resort pioneered muck diving here and it continues to be an amazing place to dive if you want to see the unusual and rare. We combined our stay here with a live aboard which explored areas outside the strait (the resort's boats only cover the strait) and that is a great way to see this fabulous area.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Wakatobi, Komodo, Fiji, Thailand, New Guinea, Palau, Truk, Red Sea, Carribean
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	choppy
Water Temp	80-82°F / 27-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	25-50 Ft/ 8-15 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	[Unspecified]
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish	N/A
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	A separate building housed the camera charging/working area with 110/220 for charging. Unique system to get the cameras to the water. Divers took their cameras from the work area, then placed them in nearby fresh water rinse tanks. Crew would then transport the cameras down the dock and to the boats before every dive.

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Dive Review of Eco Divers/Kungkungan Bay Resort in Indonesia/Lembeh Strait

Eco Divers/Kungkungan Bay Resort, Aug, 2008,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Eco Divers/Kungkungan Bay Resort in
Indonesia/Lembeh Strait