Bamboo Reef Scuba Diving Centers - Bamboo Reef Scuba Diving Centers

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We have a winner!  Mike Pine won a $25.00 Bamboo Reef gift certificate.

Thank you everyone for following along on this trip.  We look forward to having you join us on our next travel.

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So you have been reading our blog about the scuba diving trip to Santika Indonesia, and you are ready to learn how you can win a prize that Bamboo Reef is giving away….

Bamboo Reef will give away A PRIZE to one lucky reader who calls the San Francisco store between 10:00-10:15 on Wednesday October 12th and mentions the Santika Trip Prize Giveaway & can answer 1 question about the trip.  

Caller number 11 will be eligible for the grand prize. If they don’t get the question right, the next caller will have the opportunity to win.

We look forward to hearing from you!

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Final two days of the trip.

For some people 5 days of diving wasn’t enough. A significant number of guests signed up and did
another two dives just in time to finish before the 24 hour window closed required before flying. Others
opted for some other activities Including:Massages, Horse Riding, Rafting, Jungle Hiking, Trip into Town
& many other things

The last day behind us and a new morning, everyone finished up the last of their packing before making
their way to the foyer.

In a final farewell from the hotel we were celebrated in song and final beverages before loading into our
transport to the airport.

Our trip entailed an overnight stop in Singapore with a stay at a local hotel providing the opportunity
to spend an evening seeing sites and making our way round the city – definitely worthwhile. Local
restaurants were amazing and really good value when you can get great noodles for S$1.

A few posts below and then the Surprise announcement! (I’m not sure if any the following fb posts really
add to the trip or not. Either way, definitely remove my name from the first one.

Harley : We are in Singapore doing the free Night festival at Singapore Arts Museum (SAM). August 26
at 7:03am via mobile

Harley: This hotel is amazing. 57 floors up with a 360' view of Singapore at Marina Baysands Singapore.
August 26 at 8:37pm via mobile

Harley: Departing on our trip back to SF via Hong Kong at Singapore Changi Airport. August 27 at
12:48am via mobile

Harley: Made it to Hong Kong, departing in 45 mins for SFO at Hong Kong International Airport. August
27 at 7:18am via mobile

Harley: We have landed in SFO San Francisco International Airport. August 27 at 8:30pm via mobile

Tune in on Monday for the Announcement about our surprise. One lucky reader is going to win a prize.

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Day 5 Diving – By now you’d think everyone would be dived out. Absolutely not, and it turns out that
Bunaken still had a few more things to show us.

Laurie: Day 5 dive 1 was for grandpa and we saw 4 nudibranchs which are tiny colorful sea slugs and
hard to spot. Saw several fox fish, brain coral (my favorite kind!) and massive schools of blue trigger fish.
Saw large clown fish, parrot fish and the coolest thing by far was the spotted eagle ray at the end of the
dive which was very graceful and beautiful against the deep blue of the ocean - August 24 at 4:38am via
mobile

Pictures were taken with Sealife Maxx Duo 12 mp, by Chris

Laurie: Day 5 dive 2 was for grandma and saw a sea horse that was pregnant! Also saw leaf fish, frog
fish, and nudibranchs. Saw a clam in the reef and there were beautiful flowering anemones that I know
you would have loved... Beautiful! Love and miss you gram! August 24 at 4:41am via mobile

Pictures were taken with Sealife Maxx Duo 12 mp, by Chris

Laurie: Day 5 dive 3... My final dive in Indonesia today... Although it wassandy or a "muck" dive, we saw
sooooo many things including a sea horse and FIVE octopi! One turned colors when he got peeved at us
for being too close. Also saw a big crocodile fish... - August 24 at 4:44am via mobile

Pictures were taken with Sealife Maxx Duo 12 mp, by Chris

Catch us tomorrow as we wrap up the trip and information about the surprise we are planning.

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Day 4 Diving – Here are Laurie’s posts for the day

Laurie: Day 4 dive 1 was for Jesse! Saw a leaf fish 5 turtles clown fish trigger fish lobster and teeny tiny crabs and nudibranchs - cool colorful sea slugs. The turtles were awesome this dive!  - August 24 at 4:22am via mobile

Dive Site: Tumor Buro
Dive Depth: 112  ft
Dive Time: 60 mins

Pictures were taken with Sealife Maxx Duo 12 mp, by Chris

Laurie: Day 4 dive 2 was for Lexie and we saw a big school of jack fish and we all rubbed our tummies to say yum yum! They are big and fat and tasty. Saw a really big resting cow fish but he wasn't snoring as loud as your mom does. Saw 2 Box fish triggers, and two turtles. Coolest thing was looking ahead at the steep wall with all the divers and their bubbles ahead if me. Lexi... This was a special dive for me ... 50 dives!! August 24 at 4:27am via mobile

Dive Site: Tumor Buro
Dive Depth: 66  ft
Dive Time: 61 mins

Laurie: Day 4 dive 3 is Eric’s dive and was my second night dive and felt soooo much more comfortable than the first one I did in Honduras. Saw a sea snake that was small and a decorated crab, hermit crab, and several lobsters. The current got crazy for a while which is sorta nerve wracking for a night dive but I have mastered my buoyancy and feel great about it. The dive master held a sleepy (probably night blind) box fish, and the stars on the surface were the best part! Sooo beautiful    August 24 at 4:33am via mobile

Pictures were taken with Sealife Maxx Duo 12 mp, by Chris

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Day 3 Diving – It’s a bit of a trip – 3 hours each way by boat, but those who have been before say it’s absolutely worth it.  The first 2 hours were pretty uneventful, but then as we came around the corner of the island,  the wind direction crosses the current, so the waves came up quite a bit and bounced the boat around pretty good. For those of you who have done Monterey Bay, California – an average  day.

We were soon there and with little to-do, everyone quickly geared up and quickly made their way into the water where once below found the calm clear waters we expected to have.

This specific site is basically a pinnacle that stems from the sea floor with not much more than a few rocks breaching the surface a couple stories high.  What makes it special are all the soft corals and sea fans in a multitude of colors and styles. I don’t know if this video does the brightness of the corals true justice, but it will give you an idea – Watch the video

Laurie: Day 3 dive 1 was for Ryan and frankly I didn't think we would survive the ride there. Bangka islands were a 3 hr ride away and crazy rough waters greeted us. Once in the water totally worth it...one of the most colorful and beautiful dives ever. Saw rockfish baby barracudas and soft coral was amazing - August 24 at 4:04am via mobile

Dive Site: Sahaung Point
Dive Depth: 79  ft
Dive Time: 61 mins

Pictures were taken with Sealife Maxx Duo 12 mp, by Chris

Dive number two for me was one of the highlights of the trip as I got to have a Frog fish sit on my hand. See Laurie’s post.

Laurie: Day 3 dive 2 was for dad and it was the most beautiful place I've been to yet on the surface...absolute paradise... Bangka Island was turquoise waters and sandy beaches we got to relax on between dives. On the dive saw 3 lion fish and my new favorite frog fish. These were huge and black and Harley actually held them in his hand. They are like sleepy docile puppies that really can't swim. Sad but funny too. Ha Ha. Saw hound fish, leaf fish (very cool!) and a huge puffer fish - August 24 at 4:11am via mobile

Dive Site: Machiko Point
Dive Depth: 65  ft
Dive Time: 63 mins

Pictures were taken with Sealife Maxx Duo 12 mp, by Chris

Laurie: Day 3 dive 3 was for Wendy and was the hot springs dive!! Never seen a hot springs let alone an underwater one... Saw two octopi black and white. One even inked us like 5 times! Funny and amazing all at once. Saw 5 spotted rays in the sand... First time seeing rays In Indonesia. Several lion fish even a baby one all by the pier which was cool to swim around. I found an eel on this dive too and baby frog fish, crocodile fish and razor fish - August 24 at 4:18am via mobile

Dive Site: Jetty Paradise, Likupang
Dive Depth: 58  ft
Dive Time: 56 mins

Pictures were taken with Sealife Maxx Duo 12 mp, by Chris

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Day 2 Diving – The morning started the same as it did yesterday with a buffet breakfast after a restful night’s sleep.  Everyone is excited and looking forward to a second day of seeing critters that we have never seen before.  Here is what Laurie posted for this second day.

Laurie: Day 2 dive 1 for Nicholas in celebration of his birthday and saw a turtle on the reef and since he was resting, I was able to get up close about a foot away. Saw two barracudas and several other big big fish and a school of trigger fish and parrot fish. Happy birthday nick!!  - August 22 at 4:20pm via mobile

Dive Site: Sachiko Point
Dive Depth: 106  ft
Dive Time: 60 mins

Laurie: Day 2 dive 2 for Ben’s dive was Wild and fast just like little Ben. Filled with tons of adrenaline and excitement because of the super fast current. Saw the most turtles ever on one dive! Saw one HUGE turtle that was the size of Ben’s camping tent in his room -  August 22 at 4:26pm via mobile

Dive Site: Lukuan I
Dive Depth: 106  ft
Dive Time: 60 mins

Laurie: Day 2 dive 3 was for Jenn, and right off the bat saw my first sea snake which was actually really cool. Also saw a cuttlefish that flashed at u,sa porcupine fish, baby barracudas  juvenile sweetlips, razor fish and a very cool anemone with little blue fish I could have stared at all day.  August 22 at 4:30pm via mobile

Dive Site: Tiwoho Point
Dive Depth: 73  ft
Dive Time: 60 mins

Laurie:  Day 2 dive 4 twilight dive for Leslie which ended as it got dark. Saw two octopi, a white and black one that used its tentacles like feet to carry its sea shell home across the sand and both turned colors to match their surroundings. Saw juvenile groupers fighting each other and lots of beautiful pointed starfish - August 22 at 4:34pm via mobile

Dive Site: Katrin Point
Dive Depth: 35  ft
Dive Time: 60 mins

Pictures were taken with Sealife Maxx Duo 12 mp, by Chris

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Day 1 Diving – The morning started with a wonderful buffet with a good choice of local and internationally styled foods and even eggs cooked to order.  A great way to prepare for our first full day of Diving.

07.45am most people are already down on the dock and checking out their gear which was already aboard our boats and setup – all we needed to do was do our buddy checks and we were set to go – well that is unless you were one of the divers with cameras.  On this trip virtually everyone had a very nice camera with both macro and regular lenses, great for shots of the amazing  creatures, small and large we were about to see.

Soon enough after a few last minute checks we were on our way.

There are over 40 dive sites to choose from here at Santika with more than half of those within a 15-30 minute boat ride away.  Our first dive was at Lekuan III, one of 3 sites by that name.

Being our first dive, we dropped in on the edge of the reef with our dive guides.  You know when you’re in for a good time when you have one guide for every 4 people, and you immediately see massive schools of blue pallet tangs and rainbows of other species of fish.

Very quickly each group settled down and went off in their own directions with photographers snapping away more pictures than an HD movie by George Lucas.

The highlight of Dive 1 – a Huge Turtle the size of a 4 person deck table sun bathing on a Coral perch @ 40 feet overlooking the wall which dropped off 150 feet without seeing the bottom.

Dive Site: Lekuan III
Dive Depth: 80 ft
Dive Time: 65 mins

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Dive 2 – Just a short 5 minute ride to another part of the reef and a 60 minute surface interval and we were ready to go.  This site is Mandolin Point.

The current was much stronger on this dive.  My notes are a little fuzzy on this dive, but these are a few fish we saw Foxface rabbitfish, Paramid butterflyfish, Clown triggerfish, false Clown Fish, Redtooth triggerfish, Feather Stars, Anthias, Scorpian Fish, eels and so much more – watch the video below – it was not shot by anyone on our trip, but they did a great job capturing an awesome dive and posting it on YouTube

Dive Site: Mandolin Point
Dive Depth: 65 ft
Dive Time: 60 mins

Our boat ride back to the dock lasted just 30 mins during which time everyone chatting about all the fish we had seen and how it was true about what everyone says about  Santika – the colors of our the fish are just amazing.

Once back at the dock, it’s almost a 5 minute walk back to the dive shop, but it’s worth it when we find lunch – freshly cooked and a fully stocked fridge full of sodas.

90 minutes later back to the boat for our last dive of the day

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Dive 3 – Abang Point – this site is located East of the dive shop of the main island.  It’s a lot more sandy and you initially don’t expect to see much, and then the dive guides start to do their thing. They truly are hawk-eyed.  Before you know, we have found no less than 10 different species of Nudibranch. By now I’m really regretting not owning the most expensive camera I can afford.
Then there is octopus, scorpion fish, Razor Rigid Shrimpfish, and the list goes on.

Laurie:  So tired but great first day diving. Dedicating each dive to family. First dive went to mom and we saw a huge turtle. Second dive was for Kevin and was my 40th dive and first drift dive...the current was crazy. 3rd dive was for Joshua and was amazing and saw new cool critters. Looking forward to tomorrow! August 20 at 4:36am via mobile

Dive Site: Abang Point
Dive Depth: 55 ft
Dive Time: 60 mins

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