2019-12

Diving paradise: Bunaken Menado

Bunaken Marine National Park is located in the East Bank of North Sulawesi, Indonesia. It is composed of five small islands, such as Nain, mantehage, manadotua, Bunaken, siladen, etc., which form a crescent reef island. It is surrounded by deep and steep reef walls, and there are many beautiful marine organisms distributed in these large and small caves. The most fascinating part of the Marine National Park in Bunaken lies in the ever-changing seafloor landscape. There are more than 300 kinds of corals and more than 3000 kinds of tropical fish. They live in the water between 30 and 100 meters deep. At the same time, they can enjoy groups of barracuda, white fin shark, humphead Parakeet and even the sea in front of the viewing window as long as they take a 30 minute semi submarine Snakes, if they are lucky, can see turtles and hammerhead sharks.

Before departure in China, I had booked the diving itinerary of Bunaken in advance, including hotel pick-up and lunch, three diving points, which are very cost-effective and most expected.

It takes about 30 minutes by boat from the city of Menado to the island of Bunaken. There is a feeling of coming to fairyland. The scenery on the island is very natural and simple. There are not many tourists and they enjoy it very much.

After landing on the island, I immediately went to the diving shop to change into diving suit and diving gear, and then I went back to the ship and set out for the first diving point in Bunaken.

Looking at such a clear and blue sea, I wish I could plunge into it with a strong hand. It's really beautiful. It's really the world's first diving resort.

Standing on the boat, you can see the underwater coral reef at a glance, and you can clearly see many marine fish swimming in it. But after diving underwater, we found that there are far more fish here than we can see standing in the bow.

Seriously, among the countless diving sites I have visited, Maldives, Saipan, Guam, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, the red sea of Egypt No one can compare with the present Menado bonaken National Park, where the coral reefs are rich and well protected, marine fish are extremely rich, and the colorful underwater world is dazzling.

In the beautiful ocean world, it's a big movie to take a picture with GoPro. Thanks to the diving instructor, not only for guiding our diving all the way, but also for taking a lot of underwater photos with GoPro!

Bunaken diving tips:

1. Diving in Bunaken must wear diving suits, not only for the protection of people, but also for the protection of coral reefs. Shirtless diving is not allowed;

2. When diving, try not to wear sunscreen. It is said that sunscreen is very harmful to coral reefs;

3. When diving, you must check the diving equipment and listen to the instructions of the diving instructor;

4. For safety reasons, snorkeling needs to wear life jackets;

5. Try not to feed marine life;

6. The diving time should not be too long each time, leave enough interval for rest.
7. In addition to the diving group, you can also go to Bunaken island by boat at the fishing port of Menado;

8. Bunaken island can be accommodated, but the number is limited and it needs to be booked as early as possible.

There are many potential points in Bunaken, among which the popular ones are:
Black Rock
Black rock is not as boring as its name. It can bring you more than black cliff. If your seeker has keen eyes, you will find a lot of interesting little guys here: symbiotic shrimp, King shrimp and a series of sea rabbits. Squid, ribbon eel, leaffish and anglerfish can also be found in black rock by divers.
Fukui
Different from other typical Bunaken dive points, Fukui dive point has no vertical cliff. Instead, it has a relatively gentle slope, completely covered by leaf like hard coral, creating a good living environment for many invertebrates, such as giant bucket sponge, giant clam, etc. In addition, devil fish, garden eels, Su Mei fish, yellow mouth barecheek snapper and other fish will appear here.
Cela-cela
CelA celA is located in the south of the island of Bunaken. In Indonesian, it means "crack". Just like its name, this craggy and vertical cliff makes many corals and starfish grow here. At the same time, because of the unique geographical conditions here, many sea fish are attracted. Here you can see butterfly fish, devil fish, parrot fish, spiny tail fish and other fish. CelA celA is a potential spot where interesting creatures can be found at night.
Lekuan1,2,3
The lekuan submarine fault is one of the most famous potential spots on the island of Bunaken. The classic fault landform of Bunaken is vividly displayed here. Because of its unique landform, the soft and hard corals here are particularly colorful. Small tropical fish, scorpion fish, butterfly fish, lion fish and other fish also shuttle among corals. When diving deep into the sea, you can also see Napoleon fish, turtles, eels, molas and sea horses. If you are lucky enough, you can meet the famous devil fish. At the same time, lekuan3 is also a very suitable diving point for night diving.
Sachiko's point
This dive point is named after a Japanese diving agency. It is located in the north of Bunaken island. In addition to having vertical reef walls like other Bunaken dive points, several deep caves can also make you have new discoveries. Pyramidal butterfly fish, horseman fish, maiden fish, humphead fish, parrot fish, butterfly fish and other fish; at the same time, the large current makes large fish and fish storm often appear in this dive point. If you are lucky, you can also meet the white fin reef shark, the black reef shark and the large king fish. In addition to the deep sea scenery that fascinates divers, the reef top scenery can also make snorkeling enthusiasts linger.
Mandolin
Although there are different opinions on the origin of Mandolin's name, it does not hinder the determination of divers to come here. Mandolin also has the classic colorful cliffs of Bunaken, with hard and soft corals around you. Here you can see fin fish, puffin puffin (blue, green, pink), coral grouper, white tip reef shark, etc. If you are lucky, you can also have a look at the storm of Barracuda and blue and yellow sea bream. It can be said that Mandolin is a unique dive point.