So check out this little fella’ :

Have you ever had one of those dive moments when you are so completely spoilt for choice that you are lost for words too?  No, I’m not going bonkers; and I have not been sniffing the neoprene glue again. Or the white board pens.

Nudi Retreat 2 has always been an excellent dive. Just a few minutes ride from KBR, there is always loads to see, excellent corals, a lively, happy, sunny reef. But  a recent dive there just blew me away. I’d gone to photograph pygmy seahorses – especially the pink Hippocampus bargibanti, much loved of Lembeh Straits.  I’d just found a good fan coral that looked a promising home when one of KBR’s Top Dive Guides, the fabled Liberty, indicated that he had found another “PSH” as we call them – a Denise. Not so common around here – and seriously cute. And this one was pregnant. And willing to pose….. YAY!!

I had just started getting Denise (who is a male of course – confusing stuff eh?) to pout for me, when Liberty came dashing back gesticulating wildly for me to follow him. I knew it had to be good for him to drag me away…. and it was. A pregnant Pygmy Pipe Dragon  – or Kyonemichthys rumengani. Not only are these minute critters rare but they are incredibly hard to spot – looking like no more than a knot on a piece of cotton. A seriously small piece of cotton. And an even smaller knot. Tied by a micro-midget.

So, decision time: the Denise or the Pipe Dragon. Oh man! Toughest decision I have had to make since living in Kabul! So, of course, I bottled out – and photographed both.

And just as I was running out of bottom time, we found a Robust Ghost Pipefish…..

Oy vey.

So, call me a total Fish Anorak, this was one amazing dive.

Come to KBR, not only will you be lost for words, you will be spoiled for choice too……

Ghosts. Things that go bump in the night. The hairs that rise on the back of your neck. Deh-mee Moore talking to Patrick Swayze (yes ok, I agree, that’s barf-making rather than scary).  The headless horseman on the quiet country lane.

Ha! All nothing in comparison to what goes on here at KBR.  Gather near and listen to my tale. Hold your children close. Bar the door. Lock the window. Lo, as the dying rays of the sun disappeared on their final journey of the day and the wolves began to bay their mournful song across the misty hillside, I visited the site that is known as Pante Parigi. The waters looked dark and full of dread. Fear filled my mortal soul. I slipped into the still, thunder-dark ocean. Ripples surrounded me. Silence hung in the air. My heart beat faster as I descended through the depths…….

Of course this is all complete tosh: it was a gorgeous  day, flat calm, the sun was sparkling on the waters – and the only growling sound of “wolves” was my stomach trying to digest a plate full of pulled pork and coleslaw…… and my mortal soul was actually filled with Nitrox rather than fear. But, hey, I get confused ok.  And you want a story that captures your day and fills you with wonder….

So, how about this: 5, yes, FIVE Ornate Ghost Pipefish drifting around a small piece of patch coral in 6m of water. FIVE! Yeah, yeah, we have all seen a pair of them (yawn). But 5? F-I-V-E. Four green; one black (Black sheep of the family?). I have never seen so many happy underwater photographers in such a small space.  Mercy! It was like an advert for Nikon down there. and, yes, it made the hairs on my neck stand on end. But not out of fear. Out of sheer delight.

KBR: get the hairs on the back of your neck standing up.

Deh-Mee Moore anyone?

It’s another beautiful day here at KBR: sunny, warm, slight breeze……

The usual air of pre-dive excitement has been heightened by a group of guests, led by dive guide Iwan, seeing a blue-ring octopus. A second visit to the site, with groups led by Ben and Detmond, saw it again on a later dive.  We’re working on everyone getting a view. This is only the second one we have seen in 4 months.

The blue-ring octopus is the size of a golf ball but, bless it, has a venom powerful enough to kill humans. In fact, according to Wikipedia, the venom contains a veritable cocktail of chemicals that, frankly, I don’t want anywhere near this living organism: namely tetrodotoxin, 5-hydroxytryptamine, hyaluronidase, tyramine, histamine, tryptamine, octopamine, taurine, acetylcholine, and dopamine. Wow. Those little babies are like mobile dispensaries of death!

In fact good ol’ Wikipedia goes on to say the blue-ringed octopus is “currently” one of the most dangerous known sea creatures and, despite its small size, carries enough poison to kill 26 adult humans within minutes.

Doncha love that “currently” bit. Can you imagine the boys getting together underwater and saying, “ok lads, ol’ Blue-Rings is the killer du jour. He can get 26 of those air-breathing surface dudes with one bite. But, hey, y’know, let’s build something EVEN more deadly. How about we go for wiping out a whole city with one bite”.  Enough to make you choke on your Cornflakes eh? Maybe they are plotting even as I type…… gulp. Is one lurking in your bath??? It’s enough to cause mass panic in New York.

Spielberg, Jaws: eat your heart out.  It’s a Close Encounter of The Blue-Ring Kind!

No photo as yet. But believe me, He Be There. And He’s Wayyyttttingggggg……..

So, just to make up for the lack of a photo of a blue-ring, how about yellow rings? Does this badboy damselfish need some early nights? Do fish get redeyes?

I have to apologise yet again for being slow in writing the latest blog entry. KBR has been busy, busy the last few weeks. I could, of course, work 24 hours a day rather than just 14 and do a daily update, but one of my close friends has been nagging me that the grammar and punctuation has gone to pot: so I have to be wide awake to avoid another email from the Punctuation and Grammar Police.

The interesting switch to guests wanting rental gear has continued. Only a few weeks ago probably 95% of our guests had their own gear. Now I would say it is 50%. We are getting more rental gear but we can’t do this overnight. So, if you are going to need rental gear PLEASE let Reservations know so we can do our very best to look after you properly. God knows One Size Does Not Fit All. BCD in size XS anyone?

But why the change? More guests who do not have their own gear? Or guests electing to cut down on the amount they pack? The airlines are being more difficult about baggage allowances – although you never hear about golfers having problems!

I’ve just got back from my new favourite dive site: Batu Sandar 3. I’ve been there twice in the last couple of days. There are two cracking examples of Xeno crabs on whip corals. A white one at about 27m and a brown one in about 16m. They are a photographer’s dream. Stop your lens down to about f22 and create a black background. Bingo!

And when you are down there working on the composition of a lifetime, please watch how you fin. It’s SO easy to stir up the bottom and that award winning pic becomes a scene from a snow storm. And you can almost hear the other divers cursing you through their regs…..

Henry Ford: there was a guy who knew his onions. Build your car from standard parts: it’s quicker, easier and needs less skilled labour (?labor). End result: cheaper cars that everyone can afford.  Is the ability to travel easily one of the major contributors to freedom? Did Henry ever foresee where this would eventually lead? Freedom or slavery to petro-chemicals and all that implies?

Henry, according to legend, also said told his customers (not in person I guess) that they could have any colour as long as it was his standard black. Why did he chose black? Why not, say, yellow?  And I wonder if his standard black had a fancy modern car colour name? Infinity Black? Moody Obsidion? Black Dog? Well maybe not the last one!

What, I almost hear you sigh, on earth has any of this got to do with KBR and diving? Fair question. Wetsuits. Black. Most wetsuits are black.  In the last few weeks we have taken delivery of some new, REALLY stylish Scubapro ones. And they are ALL black. Every one of them. To quote Spinal Tap, “how much more black could this be? and the answer is none. None more black.”  But they come in different sizes! And there is the rub….

If you want to rent gear when you come to KBR, DO let us know as soon as you can. We will do all we can to make sure you get the gear and the sizes you want. Even though, we have found, some guests’  view of their size varies markedly from the reality. But we do not have infinite amounts of gear for rental. So book early to avoid disappointment.

And most important, remember, You Can Have Any Colour As Long As Its Black.

Thanks Henry…..

Apologies (again) for the slight slowness in giving you the KBR news. We’re really busy at the moment with a pretty much full resort, lots of divers, lots of dives, lots of fun…..

“As Far As The Eye Can See”. What on earth does that mean? Your eye may be able to see a lot further than mine. So just how far is it?

While you are thinking about that, I was on our House Reef yesterday. Sadly lots of guests don’t see the House Reef and when I mention it to them I can almost see the thought passing through their mind, “he’s trying to fob me off….” But please don’t think that. I’m not a Fobber-Offer. Two guests have just come back from diving the north side of the House Reef – and they were just full of all the things they saw: whip coral gobies, squat hairy lobsters, magnificus shrimps, anemonefish. This is one REALLY good dive.

So when you are visiting KBR, as you must, DO try and dive on the House Reef. You’ll love it.

And yesterday, after a few days of slightly windy conditions, I jumped on to the House Reef to find superb visibility: and I could see as Far As The Eye Can See. …..

KBR House Reef: close at hand; full of delight

And here is one of our House Reef residents