Siladen Resort, North Sulawesi, Indonesia July 2016

Dive trip 1:SILADEN ISLAND RESORT AND SPA : NORTH SULAWESI, Indonesia : June 27 – July 05 2016 :

Siladen Island, North Sulawesi, is a 6 star location! A superb small island in Bunaken Marine Park, it is highly regarded as a quality dive resort. Of all the places I’ve been, it is one place where glassy calm seas and blue sunny skies seems the norm – day after glorious day. The diving is largely wall and reef slope diving with some spectacular overhangs and lots of Turtles. There is a mixture of some macro subjects with larger fish life such as Bumphead and Napoleon Wrasse, and the occasional White Tip Reef Shark. Siladen has also updated a few aspects of the resort, with two new luxury villas and a new fast dive boat (Siladen 12) that will reach the Bangka Islands in only an hour! This will add yet another dimension to this superb location, as the Bangka Islands have some of the best soft coral bommies in the Coral Triangle. Further, for those who have been to Siladen in the past, the Gardenview rooms are now brighter, with larger windows and extra lighting – they are still darker than the Beachfront rooms though due to shade from the forest canopy.

I rate Siladen very highly. I dived Sipadan and Kapalai in North Borneo in August 2009 (nearly $1000 more expensive) but would not rate either resort as highly as Siladen Resort itself – the diving is very close but not the colour or diversity one experiences at Siladen – the walls of Bunaken Marine Park with vase sponges; sea whips and yellow tunicates blaze with colour. Have a look at the website – see www.siladen.com which has an extensive video of the resort and its diving. There is also a Siladen photo gallery at http://www.flickr.com/photos/7274586@N04/ It is very much what you see is what you get at Siladen – the resort is very European and chilled and actually totally lives up to the glamour of the promotional material!

The diving suits all levels of experience with small guided groups and generally superb conditions – simple gentle drift dives are the norm. There are 15 bures; a 2 bedroom garden villa and three new luxury villas.

Have a look at this superb new video on Siladen - https://vimeo.com/131372996 ; and also https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-R_V6FBf-l0

The new luxury villas^ Depending on configurations, we can probably accommodate a maximum of around 45. Five of the villas and the three new luxury villas are right on the beach – only 5 meters from the water, while the rest are set in tropical gardens. All bungalows are air conditioned and have European-style power points. The resort has a large pool; an updated fully equipped PADI dives centre, a lounge are with pool table and specialises in a variety of massage, aromatherapy and beauty (!) treatments. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Nv9OSNbQ5A&feature=youtube_gdata

THE DEAL The drop in the $AUD has hurt us a bit with pricing though the overall package is still very good value for such a lovely resort, and the resort managers have included a few freebies for our group (including free nitrox). I have looked into other options (such as Beqa; Taveuni or Volivoli Resorts, in Fiji) but costs are higher still during holiday periods. Last time we were at Siladen the $AUD and $USD were about equivalent.

PRICE INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING AIRFARE: Melbourne / Singapore/ Manado / Singapore / Melbourne – Singapore Airlines Group LAND ARRANGEMENTS:  All transfers  Siladen Resort: 7 nights accommodation – gardenview; beachfront bure; luxury villa  All meals…full breakfasts, gourmet buffets; theme night dinners; all tastes catered for  A seafood beach barbecue with local band  A jungle night dinner with traditional Indonesian delicacies  A sunset cruise  Furama Hotel Singapore – 1 nights accommodation twin share  Free admission to Singapore Zoo; Sentosa Leisure centre or various other stopover offers (see quotation for more details)  Dive package includes 11 boat dives with tank; airfill; weightbelt; diveguide services; free nitrox for suitably qualified divers   CREDIT CARD MERCHANT FEES APPLY: VISA/MASTERCARD/BANKCARD 1.5%  CREDIT CARD MERCHANT FEES APPLY: AMERICAN EXPRESS/DINERS CLUB 3% 

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The new dive centre ^

The new dive centre^

Dining: Food is a feature of the resort and we were very impressed on our previous visits by the variety, quality and quantity on offer. Large, diverse buffets normally offer various selections including seafood; beef and chicken dishes with many local Indonesian dishes, as well as an extensive European menu including various pasta options. Beach Barbecues are also a feature (amazing seafood amongst other options) and kid’s menus are available. Romantic dinners are also on offer either on the beach or in the seclusion of your Bungalow! The jungle night, when the restaurant is transformed into a Vietnamese village with whole BBQ Pork is not to be missed! There is so much variety on offer – I have been to resorts three times as large with half the variety.

What follows is an article I wrote for Sportdiving magazine “Bunaken’s best secret” (August 2009 edition).

This covers the experience in depth from my perspective. The diving is wonderful – and in 2009 and 2012 we found yet more Turtles as well as cute little Pygmy Sea Horses and various other new discoveries. This place is heaven for photographers with high levels of biodiversity and some of the most colourful reef walls I have ever seen. And I would highly recommend at least one night dive here – simply amazing!

CULTURAL AND ADVENTURE ACTIVITIES (some depend on number of participants, fitness, etc.)

1.Tangkoko National Reserve on Sulawesi Island, a light trek in the rain forest with many primates and birds - most famous is the Tarsier – the world’s smallest (and cutest!) primate.

2. Highland Tours to small towns outside Manado city with lunch at the Lino Lake 3. White water rafting 4. Dolphin spotting 5. Beach Dinner at Siladen with Minahasa Dancers 6. Cooking Classes with local overtones 7. Morning Yoga class 8. Stand up paddle boarding Siladen Island features also a local village close by with an amazing house reef – Blue Girdled Angelfish – lots of great snorkelling here!

For the snorkelers – I asked the resort for information about snorkelling packages and this is what is on offer for snorkelers – Greetings from Siladen. 

We do have many good snorkelling sites as the top of the reef is very healthy and shallow.

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If your guests want they can snorkel everyday by boat we will always tell them what will be the best boat for snorkelling and we do send a snorkelling guide overtimes there are snorkelers onboard.

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There is a snorkelling fee that can be paid onsite at the end of the guests stay and we charge according to how many times they did it. To give you an idea of the snorkelling prices:

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5 half days of snorkelling cost 1.300.000IDR and an unlimited package costs 1.800.00IDR per person without equipment or 2.000.000IDR with rental equipment included.

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There is good shore snorkelling off the local village as well (a short walk away from the resort) but from the boats there is the advantage of drift snorkelling, the boat picks them up at the end :)

BUNAKEN DIVE SITE GUIDE 1 Mike's Point It is named after a well-known underwater photographer, Mike Severns. Mike has spent so much time at this excellent wall, the dive guides eventually named it after him. Big pelagics, soft coral, large gorgonians, hump head parrotfish and Napoleon Wrasse are likely to be seen. Current can be pretty strong, depending on tides.

2 Paser Panjang Coral sloping wall between 5 and 25m normally with a mild current and good visibility. This site boasts a large field of garden eels, many different types of shrimp, and anthias. Also, turtles can be spotted here, with many shoals of fusiliers buzzing around.

3 Sachiko Point Named after a Japanese tour operator who decided this spot was her favourite. You'll know why, once you've dived at this spectacular wall. There is usually some current but it's likely to bring in the bigger ones. Common sightings are reef shark, large tuna and jacks, turtles and rays. Coral growth is rich and soft coral is particularly good.

Exciting encounters with curious but harmless sea snakes (highly venomous though) are not rare. Visibility varies from 20 to 35 metres, depending on the tides.

4 Bunaken Timur Simply means "East Bunaken". This site is the whole reef section between "Muka Kampung" and "Sachiko Point". It could have had at least 4 different names as it is a very long reef that is impossible for you to see in only one dive!

Current is occasionally a bit strong, but as this is a long reef, it never poses too much of a problem. Shark, barracuda, grouper, eagle ray, very rich coral growth and a lot of small stuff, it's all here. When the tides change, visibility can be a little murky (15-20 metres).

5 Pangalisan Nice long drift dive on endless macro wall, same reef structure as "Bunaken Timur".

Dugongs occasionally spotted here in the very shallows on top of the reef. Blue spotted stingrays and scorpion fish as well as many lionfish. Lots of interesting colourful invertebrate life here, such as nudibranchs, feather stars, sea urchins, sponges, tunicates (sea squirts) and anemones. Visibility in the range of 15 to 25 meters. Sea snakes and many small creatures and fish in the shallows on the reef top.

6 Tanjung Paser This is a deep wall dropping from the surface to 30m, where visibility is normally around 20m and one can see huge fans and lots of dark green hard coral covered in shoals of anthias. Many grouper move around this area - particularly striking are the red ones living in the dark green coral, which makes for a colourful photo. Eagle rays and turtles can occasionally be seen here and the chromis-covered acropora comes nearly to the surface.

7 Muka Kampung Located opposite the village of Bunaken. A steep drop-off with a sandy sloping path on the tip of the reef corner on which we often observe eagle ray, stingray and thousands of butterfly fish. Classic Bunaken drift dive with several different species of large sea turtles. Visibility varies from 15 to 30 metres.

8 Lekuan 1 The 'Lekuans' are considered by some to be amongst the top dive sites of Manado. Lekuan 1 has a sandy slope at 3040m which is often used as a hang-out for reef sharks, then leading onto a steep wall. There are outcrops of coral

covered with anthias and many schooling fish including snapper, fusiliers and pyramid butterfly fish. You can regularly spot turtle here. This site gives you a chance to dive with dense populations of bigger reef fish (with numerous macro species in the shallows too).

Siladen Resort has a fleet of spacious, comfortable dive boats.

9 Lekuan 2 An undulating reef wall with many truly dramatic vertical drops, cuts, holes and overhangs make Lekuan 2 a favourite.

Excellent numbers and variety of almost all kinds of reef fish as well as outstanding invertebrate life. Generally good visibility and lots of big sponges gives you great wide-angle photo opportunities. Larger species like reef sharks, Napoleon wrasse and turtles make regular appearances.

10 Lekuan 3 A sandy bottom at first with pinnacles and outcroppings make Lekuan 3 a fascinating and different underwater landscape. At 40m a sandy chute brings you to a rock that, for some reason, often attracts sharks to come and sleep.

The landscape then changes into a vertical wall dropping to 200+ m, with large overhangs. These are the dwellings of numerous nudibranchs. Sightings of snapper, turtle and sea snake are commonplace here.

11 Celah Celah This a deep wall with large cuts gouged out of the reef, cracks and crevasses everywhere and normally excellent visibility. It's great to look out from these and have the sunlight bursting in, lighting up the blue, which makes this a popular site with photographers. Hippocampus Pontoh can be found here (a newly-discovered species of pygmy seahorse!) and black tip or white tip sharks cruise just below you. The many sea squirts and algae on the wall here are great places in which to discover small, strange creatures hiding.

12 Alung Banua Alung Banua is a wall with lot of value for macro photographers. Although turtles are quite common and eagle rays are no rare sighting, you really should try to concentrate on the "masters of camouflage". Crocodile flathead, leaf fish, ghost pipefish and frogfish are often observed here. If the current (if there is any) brings you East you will probably see, at a depth of between 18 and 25 metres, a beautiful collection of shallow caves. In this case its better to have your wideangle lens with you as well, as the sighting of it shows you a beautiful panorama. By the way, sleeping white tip sharks can be seen, so have an eye out for them too! Currents are usually mild and visibility is average 25-30 metres.

13 Fukui Named after a Japanese diver who dived this spot 20 years ago. He was the first person to publish a description of the place and henceforth its name; Fukui. It is comparable with the rest of Bunaken's dive sites, however it is one of the few

spots without a significant wall. Fukui is more sloping and has a few short, steep drops. Fukui is a "cleaning station" and all kinds of big fish have themselves cleaned while they take a good rest. It's a perfect place to observe Napoleon wrasse, barracuda, Jack and big Snapper. A sandy area at Fukui is home to a colony of garden eels. At a depth of 17 metres there are 5 good-sized "Tridacna" giant clams lying in a row. Fukui normally has a very mild current that can, occasionally, be a bit stronger. Average visibility is 20-25 meters.

14 Ron's Point This is a sandy area, with pelagic inhabitants such as tuna, sharks, jacks and occasionally a large barracuda or two.

There is much coral rubble here, where you can find morays, ghost pipe fish, leaf fish, different species of anemone - and of course their cute "Nemo" anemone fish tenants!

15 Mandolin The reason why it's named after a music instrument is because of "harmony" of this dive site. Some say its better at the top, some say its better in the middle, and others say it's best at 30-35 metres. All these different opinions have one thing in common; no matter where you dive at Mandolin, it's spectacular! Turtles, shark, eagle ray, large schools of fusilier, Napoleon wrasse, anemones, moray eels and huge Acropora "Table" coral, you name it! All have been seen here.

Current is usually mild and visibility varies from 15 to 35 meters. Mandolin is a spot to view many impressive and beautiful seafans.

16 Raymond's Point This is where you probably end up if a strong current brings you south from Mike's Point. No need to be disappointed though, as Raymond is a beautiful wall with good hard and soft coral. The current-loving whiptail coral are well represented and coral fish life is rich, including big pelagic species. At one point there is a large sloping sand patch where several stingrays feel at home.

17 Jalan Masuk Jalan Masuk means "Way In" - almost the only way for boats to enter the small mountain island of Nain, the furthest away of the 5 islands in the Bunaken national marine park, through its huge fringing reef that surrounds the entire island - but is perhaps 4 times the size of the island itself! This reef (the largest reef in the park) offers and endless trip flying over the enormous "fields" of many different species of hard coral, even as shallow as safety stop depth! Myriads of smaller colourful reef fish live and hide in this reef, saluted by the occasional pelagic ray, barracuda, shark or sometimes turtle. The more usual neighbours includes a rich fauna of invertebrate life like sponges, feather stars, star fish, octopus, sea cucumbers and many nudibranchs. Generally good visibility of up to 30-35 m makes this a colourful panoramic wideangle adventure, with the usually gentle current taking you for a free and relaxing underwater ride down "hard coral lane".

18 Barracuda Point Yes- the name says it all - barracuda, and if they're there, a lot of them (sometimes 100+)! Not only barracuda but big tuna and jacks too. However they're not always around and this reef isn't the most spectacular. The wall/slope has not much to offer but dead coral and sand. It's definitely not a spot for beginners as there can be strong currents, both upwards and downward! That's why Barracuda's like it so much here! We think this site is worth the risk of one dive during your stay, on the hope of seeing a big school.

19 Gorango This means "shark" in Manadonese dialect, but apart from that, there are not more sharks to be expected here than on any other dive site. The wall is long and steep and overgrown with hard and soft coral. We've had incredibly good visibility here (35+ metres) but also with a lot less, 10-15 metres. Gorango's reef is long and you can make more than one dive at this site.

20 Bango This is the name of the village and a slope (rather than a wall) on the south side of Montehage Island. It has outstanding soft coral! During low tide a lot of the wide fringing reef is exposed. Visibility varies from 20 to 30 metres and current is usually mild with occasional strong ones.

21 Tangkasi This dive is a sandy slope moving to a wall, which is inter-dispersed with sandy patches. There is a lot of soft coral at this site but also great hard coral formations, especially near the surface. The many sea fans and barrels sponges make is a real nursery habitat for the juvenile fish community. Tangkasi is covered in "cleaning stations" as well as invertebrate life, with many kinds of nudibranch to be found.

22 Beni's Point Sand slope area with step features to the surface. There is some broken coral here, but lots of interesting fish species.

Lots of Acropora and table coral adorn these steps. Here we see turtles nestled in the coral and shoals of butterfly fish and fusiliers passing by. Anthias cover the coral blocks and pulse with the current, which can be quite strong at this site.

23 Pangulingan No explanation of the given name. Between Negeri and Pangulingan is a strange shaped reef. There are quite a few spectacular spots on it, but also with some spectacular currents and that's why we don't like to dive this site with beginners.

The dive starts on a fascinating deep wall just adjacent to a stadium sized gently sloping coral plateau. After the wall, and perhaps a shark or two, you hit onto the densely populated slope at around 20 m depth and continue slowly up to the shallows along the sloping reef. Near the edge of the slope you often find larger fish like barracudas, jacks, trevallies

and big pelagic tunas. In the shallows often schools batfish or hundreds of smaller reef fish. Wonderful reef top with lots of little stuff and both hard and soft coral plentiful enough to provide you with a rainbow colour setting for your safety stop at the end of your dive here. Challenge yourself with this dive - the "reward" is usually worth it!

24 Muka Gereja "Muka" means front and "Gereja" means church. Once you arrive at this spot it's obvious why it got such a name. Muka Gereja is a splendid wall dive with very little current and calm water. What can you expect at Muka Gereja? It's a steep wall with lots of caverns and overhanging cliffs. There are huge barrel sponges, some with a diameter of over 1 metre and rich coral growth. One of the best observations was an immense school of striped catfish, so big and so "dense" that most watching divers thought it was a huge Whale! Visibility is good to excellent and, as said earlier, current is most of the time mild. The magnificent views of Manado Tua's 800 meters high volcano gives this site an extra dimension.

25 Negeri Negeri follows Muka Gereja eastwards. Currents sometimes exists but it depends strongly on the wind direction. Whether we go to Muka Gereja or Negeri is simply a matter of where the leeward side is. Again, this is a real quality site, with fantastic coral growth. For some unknown reason we hardly ever see a shark here but other fish are as abundant as everywhere. At one particular point there is a carpet of anemones at a very shallow depth. Visibility average is 20-25 metres and the current is usually gentle.

26 Siladen Point This is a steep wall on the south of Siladen Island, near the village. Divers will find a fine drop-off with enormous amounts of colourful soft coral, which really show their colours when the light hits them at around 15 m and above. Table corals, huge schools of pyramid butterfly fish and fusiliers, a vast amount of invertebrate life, nudibranches, crabs and anemones abound. Currents can be a sensation! Here you can see 20 kg. jacks chasing their prey. All in all, Siladen is a dive you shouldn't miss when visiting Eco Divers.