Nudibranch Lovers In Lembeh

Markus and Sandra Trachsel started diving together in 2005, and they fell in love with nudibranchs as their favorite critter.

Why nudibranchs? They said: “Well, the colorful patterns of nudibranchs are just like the many varieties of flowers, there are always more and more species to discover. There are 3 aspects that make us love nudibranchs: the first is finding them, the second is photographing them and the third is identifying them. Collecting nudibranchs is a hobby we are passionate about and we make a record of identifications and also send some photos from our collection to experts to help us with more details”.

Markus and Sandra mostly dive in Indonesia, and they visited Lembeh Resort before in 2011 and dived with Critters@Lembeh. They love critter hunting and the muck diving here, and on this trip (July 2014) they found lots of new species of nudibranch and of course other critters that were on their wish list, together with the help of Maykel Lumondo who was their private guide for their entire stay. They saw a hairy shrimp for the first time, and a blue ring octopus that they finally got to see close up, ambon scorpionfish and of course all the new nudibranch species that Maykel found. They commented on how special Maykel was because he was not only an amazing spotter but he also really tailored the dives according to their wishes and also helped them get the photos they were after. They also said how much they loved the food here at the resort, with its mix of Indonesian and international cuisine. Both the dive team and resort team gave Markus and Sandra a great experience and we are looking forward to welcome them back for their next visit.