Schools Galore

We headed out to the far point to see how the Chimneys dive site has fared over the last six months. This is the first site to become unreachable when the east winds bring dry season to Sulawesi. In Gorontalo diving is opposite that of most Sulawesi diving locations. That means diving is only viable in Gorontalo during wet season. This is similar to the Bira/Selayar diving season in southern Sulawesi.

Diving at Chimneys was superb with 30-meter visibility. A Giant moray (Gymnothorax javanicus) lay fully exposed at the 3-meter reef crest for his morning cleaning courtesy of several Cleaner wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus). A school of Rainbow runners (Elegatis bipunnulata) dashed in for a close look. Then came the school of Mackerel tuna (Euthynnus affinis). Then a school of Double-spotted queenfish ( Scomberoides lysan) flashed by. Near the wall bottom far below, hundreds and hundreds of Blue-fin trevally (Caranx melampygus) kept hurrying past. The double tunnel sparkled with sunlight; a nearby cave sparkled with Golden sweepers (Paraprianthus ransonneti). Countless schools of minnows wiggled by the wall while schools of tropicals went up and down it. Swimming in tight formation, a school of Redtooth triggerfish (Odonus niger) feasted on plankton at the safety stop.

The hour-long dive covered only 250 meters, less than half the length of this dive site. I added ten species of fish to the list of marine life sited here, including those tuna and the uncommon and solitary Ovalspot butterflyfish (Chaetodon speculum). I also found a lovely damsel with honey-orange highlights and a strange school of tiny reddish fish swimming head up tail down in a small depression in the vertical wall. Both of these are not described in the fish books.