NAD-Lembeh Diving Resort

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NAD-Lembeh Diving Resort

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NAD-Lembeh Diving Resort is a small, photography-oriented resort with 2:1 guide ratio as standard.
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A small family run diving hotel / resort in the heart of Lembeh. We have some of the best guides in the Strait on our books and are always making improvements to our services.

05/10/2026

Unfolding its long, slender abdomen over the column of a host anemone, the Leopard Shrimp relies on a camouflage strategy that borders on abstract art. Unlike many translucent commensal species that disappear into their host, this shrimp wears a high-contrast pattern of bold, leopard-like rosettes and patches. On the sandy slopes, this striking design acts as a form of disruptive colouration, breaking up its physical silhouette against the folds of the anemone.

Found across sheltered rubble patches and sand slopes, these shrimp form tight associations with specific host anemones. They navigate the stinging tentacles with total immunity, using their host as a fortress while picking away at micro-detritus and tiny organic particles trapped on the surface.

Their body shape is remarkably distinct, characterised by a sharp, prominent dorsal hu**ed abdomen and long, delicate walking legs that hold the body slightly elevated off the substrate. When alarmed, they do not immediately retreat into deep crevices; instead, they flatten themselves tightly against the host tissue, relying on their broken pattern to blend seamlessly into the surrounding textures.

Framing Leopard Shrimp through a macro lens offers a fantastic opportunity to play with graphic patterns and subtle contrast. By targeting a snoot and slowing down the shutter speed, you can lock onto the glass-like eyes and brilliant patterns while letting the soft, repeating shapes of the host anemone drop off into a smooth, out-of-focus background.

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#水中写真 #ダイビング

30/09/2026

We are very grateful to share that NAD-Lembeh has received awards in the 2026 Scuba Diving Magazine Readers' Choice Awards.

Nearly 11,000 divers voted. NAD-Lembeh received an award in every category:

Best Overall: 2nd place
Quality of Staff: 4th place
Value of Resort: 3rd place
Quality of Rooms: 10th place
Quality of Restaurant: 10th place
Quality of Resort: recognised as one of the best

Thank you to our staff. These results reflect your work every day: our dive team, our boat crew, and our staff in the rooms, in the kitchen and at the front desk. We are proud to work with you.

Thank you to every guest who dived with us and took the time to vote. We don’t do mailing lists so are very proud to place organically like this!

We do not take your support for granted, and we will keep working to give you the best possible experience in the Lembeh Strait.

Terima kasih banyak.

28/09/2026

Trailing metres of iridescent, tissue-thin webbing between her dorsal and dorsolateral arms, the female Blanket Octopus looks entirely otherworldly as she drifts through the open water column. This dramatic, flowing cape isn't just an extraordinary visual spectacle—it is a sophisticated defense mechanism designed to startle predators and dissolve her outline against the endless ocean.

What makes this species truly remarkable is the extreme sexual dimorphism displayed between the sexes. While a fully grown female can stretch up to two metres in length including her massive webbing, the tiny male rarely exceeds two centimetres—making it the most extreme size disparity in the animal kingdom. Unburdened by the open ocean, the female spends her life as a pelagic roamer, even harvesting stingers from Portuguese man-o'-war tentacles to wield between her upper arms for personal defense.

When threatened, she can deploy the fleshy blanket to instantly multiply her perceived size, before severing sections of the delicate webbing to distract a pursuer while she jets into the dark. Encountering one of these pelagic giants mid-drift on a blackwater dive is an unforgettable experience, where capturing the light passing through those translucent, neon-edged folds reveals one of the ocean's most exquisite pelagic wanderers.

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#水中写真 #ダイビング

21/09/2026

A tiny, orange sphere covered in fine black dots and stripes suspended just above the sand is about the last thing you expect a massive Star Pufferfish to start out as. While full-grown adults can reach nearly a metre in length and dominate open reef slopes, the juveniles are minute, highly fragile creatures that spend their earliest days hiding in shallow estuarine patches, seagrass, or sheltered rubble zones.

In this early phase, their distinct pattern of fine, dark patches and bright orange or yellow body colouration acts as a form of visual disruption against the silt and dappled light. Unlike adults, which rely on sheer size, thick skin, and potent internal toxins to deter predators, these tiny juveniles depend far more on remaining unnoticed. When pressed, their ability to inflate by taking in water is already functional, transforming them into an awkward, spiky ball that is near-impossible for small predators to swallow.

Photographing these juveniles requires a slow approach, as their tiny fins beat frantically to manoeuvre away from any sudden movement or bright light. Getting low to the substrate and isolating that round, brightly patterned body against an out-of-focus background brings out the incredible contrast between where this species begins its life and the giant predator it eventually becomes.

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#水中写真 #ダイビング

18/09/2026

Dense, fibrous filaments break up every inch of its body, transforming what should be a heavy-bodied predator into something that looks suspiciously like a clump of decaying algae or a ragged sponge. Sitting motionless on dark silt, the Hairy Frogfish relies entirely on this shaggy exterior to fade into the background, completely disappearing in plain sight.

The real show begins when it deploys its built-in fishing rod. A modified dorsal spine topped with a fleshy, worm-like lure twitches rhythmically above its snout, drawing curious marine life toward a mouth that can expand in a fraction of a second. It is a game of absolute stillness, where the fish relies on negative pressure to engulf prey whole before anything even realises a trap was set.

Because their colouration shifts wildly from pale cream and fiery orange to jet-black, every individual presents a completely different visual puzzle on the sand. Capturing one comes down to cutting through all that chaotic texture—finding the tiny, heavily camouflaged eye amidst the tangle of skin flaps and locking focus right where the lure hovers.

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#水中写真 #ダイビング

15/09/2026

The Ornate Ghostpipefish is a masterclass in visual deception, looking far more like a piece of drifting floating algae or a crinoid feather than a fish. Moving almost imperceptibly along the slopes, it drifts head-down in the surge, completely blending into its surrounding host habitat. Every element of its body—from its delicate, spike-covered skin to its elaborate, fringed fins—is designed to dissolve its outline entirely.

Unlike true pipefishes, female Ornate Ghostpipefish carry their eggs in specialised brooding pouches formed by their enlarged pelvic fins. They are frequently found in pairs near sea fans, crinoids, or black coral bushes, hovering in synchronised motion as if tied to the same invisible thread. Their colouration is remarkably variable, ranging from translucent yellow and fiery red to mottled black, matching the precise environment where they settle.

Working with these delicate fish requires picking out the eyes and snout amidst a maze of intricate, feathery appendages. Because they constantly shift direction with the slightest water movement, capturing a clean profile takes careful observation of their rhythm in the surge. When everything aligns, it offers a striking look at one of the most intricately detailed creatures on the reef.

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#水中写真 #ダイビング

13/09/2026

The Magnificent Shrimpgoby is easily one of the most striking gobies on the sand, defined by its towering, sail-like dorsal fin. Perched at the entrance of its burrow, it maintains a vigilant guard over the surrounding sand. That oversized dorsal fin is not just for display; it acts as a primary signal flag, flaring wide to assert territory to rivals or possibly to communicate with others of its species.

That burrow-mate is almost always an alpheid snapping shrimp, forming a classic symbiotic partnership built for survival on open, exposed slopes. The almsot blind shrimp works continuously to excavate and clear sand from their shared tunnel, maintaining contact by resting a single antenna against the goby’s tail. At the first sign of a predator, a quick flick of the goby’s body prompts an immediate, synchronized retreat into the safety of the sand.

Getting a clean portrait of this species requires a quiet, methodical approach. They are exceptionally sensitive to water displacement and focus lights, often dropping that impressive fin flat against their back or retreating into the dark long before a diver gets into range. Waiting out the fish until it relaxes and fully flares its dorsal fin reveals subtle iridescent flecks of yellow and green along the rays—a sharp reward for a bit of field patience.

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#水中写真 #ダイビング

10/09/2026

The Flamboyant Cuttlefish is one of the few cephalopods on the reef that spends its life walking rather than swimming. Using its modified lower arms and lateral fins, it ambles over the sand with a distinct, heavy-footed gait. Its baseline tone is a drab yellow-brown that dissolves into the rubble, but the moment it is engaged, waves of vivid purple, white, and crimson ripple across its mantle in a clear display of toxicity.

Working with high-key photography transforms how we view a subject that is usually set against dark, moody substrates. Shooting with a wide-open aperture and flooding the frame with light strips away the heavy background entirely, leaving the cuttlefish suspended in a clean, luminous field. This approach shifts the emphasis away from the usual high-contrast muck environment and onto the pure form of the animal.

At shallow depths of field, the harsh outlines of the sand dissolve into a soft, ethereal wash. What remains is a sharp, refined focus on the finest details—the intricate texture around the eyes, the subtle curvature of the arms, and the soft gradients of colour along its body.

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#水中写真 #ダイビング

07/09/2026

Finding a larval Wonderpus drifting in the open water column is one of the absolute pinnacles of blackwater diving. At this early pelagic stage, these tiny cephalopods are almost entirely transparent, suspended hundreds of metres above the seafloor. Yet, despite their glass-like body, you can already see the distinct, fiery orange-and-white chromatophores beginning to form along their mantle and long, delicate arms.

Unlike many larval organisms that simply drift passively with the current, a young Wonderpus displays remarkable control in midwater. It frequently flares its slender arms wide into a star-like silhouette, using them to regulate its buoyancy, catch tiny planktonic prey, or briefly intimidate potential predators. When startled by a light source, it can instantaneously tuck its arms tight against its body and jet away with incredible speed.

These pelagic encounters offer a rare window into a transitional life phase that few ever get to observe. Before this creature settles onto the sandy slopes to begin its adult life of hunting and burrowing, it must first navigate the vast, open ocean in complete darkness. Catching a glimpse of this translucent predator midway through that journey is a powerful reminder of how much of the ocean's early life unfolds far out in the blue.

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#水中写真 #ダイビング

Address

Pulau Lembeh
Bitung
95500

Telephone

+628124756661

Website

http://www.nad-lembeh.com/

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