Nudibranch, Lorenzo's Delight, Wakatobi Nudibranch, Lorenzo's Delight, Wakatobi

The reefs of Wakatobi Dive Resort

Posted by on Dec 1, 2004 in Underwater
One Comment

The reefs of Wakatobi are an underwater photographer’s dream.

The diving is pretty much unlimited and there are more than 43 mapped and named dive sites to keep you and your camera occupied for days on end.

Nudibranch, Lorenzo's Delight, Wakatobi

Nudibranch, Lorenzo’s Delight

Clownfish taken at Dania Baru, Wakatobi

Clownfish taken at Dania Baru

Wakatobi’s house reef will keep you occupied for ages and I found myself spending ages snorkeling on the reef with my camera.

Macro subjects:

Well known for seahorses the reefs boast an intense array of macro life. Every sea fan, anemone, coral structure hides macro subjects galore. And if you’re into abstracts, the coral structures make awesome subjects.

Nose-stripe taken at Dania Baru, Wakatobi

Nose-stripe taken at Dania Baru

Coral close up at Lorenzo's delight, Wakatobi

Coral close up at Lorenzo’s delight

Porcelain crab, Lorenzo's Delight, Wakatobi

Porcelain crab, Lorenzo’s Delight

Crocodile fish eye close up, House reef, Wakatobi

Crocodile fish eye close up, House reef

Wide-angle:

But while macro subjects abound, the reefs make for perfect wide-angle photography too. The reef topography is hugely varied and bedecked with large fans and sponges on which colourful crinoids stake-out to fish the currents for plankton. Generally the water is clear and particle free meaning you can experiment with lighting and composition.

Soft coral, Fan Garden, Wakatobi

Soft coral, Fan Garden

Sponges, Fan Garden, Wakatobi

Sponges, Fan Garden

While there are currents that sometimes make the diving challenging there’s most often a spot on the reef that you can hide in to avoid the current. And the dive guides are highly attuned to underwater photographers’ needs, knowing that we photographers can lose track of time and depth when focussed on getting the shot.

Sponges, Barracuda, Wakatobi

Sponges, Barracuda

Dive sites:

Favourite dive sites from my visit include Dunia Baru, Starship, Batfish Wall, Barracuda, Roma, the House reef and my absolute favourite, Blade.

Crinoid close up at Batfish Wall, Wakatobi

Crinoid close up at Batfish Wall

Blade is a cracking reef and one of the farthest reefs from the resort. Blade is a series of sea mounts in open water. The sea mounts are reminiscent of the serrated edges of a knife, from which the dive site derives its name. I was taken by the huge sponges and sea fans on this reef and the fact that, because you’re in open ocean there’s a massively deep drop off on either side.

Nose-stripe taken at The Cavern, Wakatobi

Nose-stripe taken at The Cavern

Located on Onemobaa island in Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia the reefs are in pristine condition and well worth the visit.

Crinoid close up at Batfish Wall, Wakatobi

Crinoid close up at Batfish Wall

Sponges, Fan Garden, Wakatobi

Sponges, Fan Garden

Coral close up at Batfish Wall, Wakatobi

Coral close up at Batfish Wall

Soft coral garland on The Cavern, Wakatobi

Soft coral garland on The Cavern.

Links:

If you enjoyed these images, check out my underwater portfolio here.

If you’re keen to find out more about the reefs of Wakatobi, check out their website here.

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One thought

  1. Michael Mac Iver

    March 20, 2013

    Incredible photographs Cormac! Awesome …

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