In amongst the beautiful sloping corals of South Lombok’s stunning reefs, we also have a few sandy patches where we can look for macro critters. We usually glide pretty close to the sand to find these smaller animals but over the past week we’ve had good reason to stay a little higher in the water…
Spiny Waspfish Every day is a school day, so the adage goes and especially so for divers. So it was to our surprise and pleasure this week to find a critter that was new to us but well known to the divers in places like Lembeh, the Spiny Waspfish AKA Spiny Leaf fish, Ablabys macracanthus.…
Our PADI Divemaster Internship in South Lombok: Jil and Yann After 2,5 weeks in Nusa Lembongan, we left the island to go on a new adventure. We must admit, the departure was not an easy one, as we really enjoyed our time there, but still, the change of scenery was a nice opportunity to see…
The Banded Cleaner Shrimp Stenopus hispidus otherwise known as the banded coral shrimp or the banded cleaner shrimp, is abundant here in South Lombok and can be found in warmer waters around the world. Named for it’s red and white stripes, this favourite with photographers can live up to 200+ metres deep but is often…
Echinoderm has to be one of the more wonderful gifts from the ancient Greek language, it means hedgehog skin! Within this phylum we find starfish, sea urchins as well as our creature of the week… the sea cucumber. There are over 1,700 species of sea cucumber and they are to be found on the seafloor…
This week we got to see a number of different species of triggerfish on our dives in South Lombok. All species of triggerfish (in the family Balistidae) share a special fin layout and thus swim with a unique swimming style. The anal and posterior dorsal fins cover the lower half of the fish’s body, like…
Seeing a critically endangered creature in the wild has got to be one of the best parts of being a diver. This week we saw one of our favourite residents on the reef, a critically endangered hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata). Hawksbill turtles are placid creatures and are omnivores that primarily eat sea sponges but have…
Pipefish (Syngnathinae) in Lombok In some parts of the world, the humble pipefish (Syngnathinae) is an elusive character to try and find. Related to the better-known seahorse and enigmatic seadragon, pipefish like to hide in plain sight… in between the branches of a sea fan or nestled in between the protective spikes of a sea…