Nudi Falls

You roll off the side into water that is normally a degree or two cooler than at Bunaken. The descent is slow and unhurried, down a dark sandy slope to about 25 m where the bottom turns to soft corals like a bed of cauliflower. This upper stretch is search time rather than scenery: ribbon eels and shrimp-and-goby partnerships are the things to watch for as you work your way down it.

The slope ends at the mini-wall that is the site's main feature. Its face carries a heavy growth of ascidians and sponges, which is what the nudibranchs are here for, and the count runs high enough to justify the name. Your guide will spend a good part of the dive scouring a fan on the wall for pygmy seahorses. The floor and the rocky base of the wall is where most of the action is, with flying gurnards, frogfish, mantis shrimps and pipefish all likely to be around.

The dive finishes in the shallows by the wall near the boat, close enough that there is no swim to speak of at the end. Poking around here turns up lionfish, banded pipefish and more nudibranchs, and it is usually where the tally for the dive climbs fastest. Because the bay is sheltered and the boat is tied within sight, the last stretch can be spent on one small patch of bottom rather than on navigation.