Tropical Living - Bali's Best Lifestyle Magazine
January - March 2007
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 Sharks Pygmies and Sunfish
Pictures by OK Divers
World Class Diving is clser than you thinkAsk any visitor why they chose Bali as their holiday destination and you will receive many and varied answers including, the culture, people, shopping, nightlife, stunning scenery and world class surf. But this striking tourist spot is also rapidly gaining a reputation for its treasures below the water surface. Bali is one of the most under rated dive destinations in the world, and even in Indonesia is often overshadowed by other Islands in the archipelago such as Komodo, Flores or Sulawesi, location of Takabonerate the world’s third biggest atoll where new species are literally being discovered on a daily basis. Indonesia has 14% of the world's reefs, considerably more than Australia or any country in the Caribbean. Bali is often over-looked by divers because of its touristy image but underwater life here is astonishingly rich, the island being ideally positioned between two oceans, the Pacific and the Indian. This results in the Indonesian Throughflow, a massive flow of water that passes through Bali depositing planktonic larvae that results in a very high diversity of species. True, ten years ago, the Dive industry here was not in such good shape as it is now. Some dive guides earned the island a bad reputation by taking inexperienced divers to sites where unpredictable currents meant they were diving beyond their comfort zone, and not every operator had equipment that was totally up to scratch. All this has changed, however, and Bali has since seen a new breed of international instructors and divemasters setting up operations here, investing in state of the art equipment and bringing years of experience from destinations such as Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam. "It is all about education" says Radka Malec of OK Divers, "introducing basic infrastructure such as mooring buoys means that delicate reefs are no longer in danger of getting damaged. Knowing from currents and cliff formations where to look for new dive sites has meant that after much trial and error we now have locations here where the marine life is totally world class." Tropical Living asked Radka and two other leading dive operators, Bea Goldschmidt from Habitat H20 and Michael Wiedenmannoot from Paradise Diving to come up with the top 5 diving experiences in Bali. What is it that makes the diving world class and where do you have to go to do it? In search of the Mola MolaNusa Penida is an Island just 28km east of Benoa, adjoining the more touristy Nusa Lembongan which is popular for its day trips and white sand beaches. Just on the far side of Nusa Penida lies the Indian Ocean and the Wallace Line, a 1.3km deep trench that separates western Indonesia from the different flora, fauna and wildlife on the Australasian side. Nusa Penida is a large barrier to the currents coming North and produces strong upwellings of cold waters bringing with it large pelagics such as trevally, shark, mantas, and an especially rare animal to see, the oceanic sunfish, or mola mola. There are not too many dive sites in the world that can boast the presence of the magnificent mola mola, but Crystal Bay in the channel running between Nusa Ceningan and the west side of Penida is one of them. As Michael points out "I often take divers there with over 2000 dives in their log who have seen pretty much everything except mola mola. They really are quite rare. Of course you need to allow two or three days during the season to be reasonably sure of a sighting." Diving with sunfish will provide you with an unforgettable memory - the odd looking flat disc lolling almost motionless and staring at you with its large dopey eyes. It certainly is one of the most unusual looking creatures in the sea. The German name for this fish is "Schwimmender Kopf" or swimming head, which gives an idea of their appearance with a body less than twice as long as it is deep. One whopper was measured at 3.1 metres in length and was found to weigh 2,235 kg making it the heaviest bony fish in the world. Mola mola are usually found in deep, cold oceanic waters, but occasionally come inshore. This happens between July and September every year in Bali, making these months the best time to see these fish, although sometimes sightings go all the way through to November. Manta Point (Batu Lumbung)Manta Point is situated on the southwest coast of Nusa Penida and can be quite rough with high waves making it sometimes difficult to reach. Compared to the gentle slopes of Bali nearby this is an entirely different place - white limestone cliffs rise vertically up about a hundred meters, large waves crash on the rocks and send spray and mist up to the trees and bushes precariously clinging to the little soil they can find. Whole chunks of rock and pieces of the cliff seem to have fallen into the sea. But once here you will almost certainly be rewarded with a spectacle featuring some of the oceans most spectacular and graceful creatures, for the dive site is a manta cleaning station. Underwater is a pinnacle to which the tide brings a continuous supply of plankton which attracts a seemingly endless procession of these majestic animals. There is no need to go deep, the mantas gather at a depth of 4 to 12 meters and often appear to swim out of nowhere (visibility is not always so good) and hover at the tip of a rock. Clouds of wrasses rise and clean them and it is possible to swim close enough to get up front and personal with these huge animals! From Sharks to Pygmy's in Padang BaiNot so long ago getting to Padang Bai was a traffic clogged 60 km hassle taking up to two hours from the tourist centres of the south. Today the new bypass road from Sanur runs all the way past Klungkung making the journey possible in just over an hour. Padang Bai has always been a charming village and now offers a range of respectable accommodation to suit all needs. It has not only been gaining a reputation as the gateway to much of Bali’s East coast diving (only 30 minutes by fast boat over to Penida), but also as home to many tiny rare creatures that have only been discovered in the recent years. One such animal is the frogfish, one of the most bizarre and spectacular of all the reef fishes. Only 5-10cm in length the frogfish is sought out by many purveyors of the rare and unusual and divers travel to distant parts of the world to see and photograph them. Also found here is the pygmy sea horse, very difficult to spot but a treat for experienced divers. Only growing to 2 cm it is remarkably well camouflaged since the colour of the fish matches the gorgonian it inhabits. Other rare creatures to be sought out in these waters include the ghost pipefish or harlequin shrimp, and searching out these creatures with an experienced dive guide in the waters around Padang Bai is a dream of any underwater photographer. A 20 min boat ride east from Padangbai with the right sea conditions can have the adventurous diver taking on the swirling currents of Tepekong and Gili Mimpang. Here, at Gili Biaha, the experienced diver can enter the shark cave and get close and comfortable with small white tip reef sharks resting up in the cave crevasses. The white tip sharks come here year round to rest and benefit from a good source of food, whilst nurse sharks lay their eggs on the bottom of the cave which is protected from the conditions outside. The swell can be challenging at times but if conditions allow you to enter the cave and view the sharks and crayfish hiding here, it is a great buzz for any diver. A 20 min boat ride east from Padangbai with the right sea conditions can have the adventurous diver taking on the swirling currents of Tepekong and Gili Mimpang. Here, at Gili Biaha, the experienced diver can enter the shark cave and get close and comfortable with small white tip reef sharks resting up in the cave crevasses. The white tip sharks come here year round to rest and benefit from a good source of food, whilst nurse sharks lay their eggs on the bottom of the cave which is protected from the conditions outside. The swell can be challenging at times but if conditions allow you to enter the cave and view the sharks and crayfish hiding here, it is a great buzz for any diver. An Intact Underwater WorldBali offers four completely different types of dive experience on one relatively small island. There is the strong currents and drift dives of Nusa Penida, the variety of sea life in Pandang Bai, the black volcanic sand and lava of Tulamben, and the stunning walls and white sandy bottom of Menjangan Island. A key thing that all of these sites have in common is that the underwater world is still intact. Unlike many top dive sites around the world, Bali was not really affected by coral bleaching, and nor by the all too common habit of dynamite fishing. In fact, Bali is one of the few places in the world that is actually growing coral, and Karang Lestari, located on the North West side of Bali (and a good base for diving Menjangan) has an award winning artificial reef project which stimulates coral growth on man made metal structures using low voltage electricity. The process encourages coral to grow at eight times the normal rate rapidly creating new habitats for reef fish and making new dive sites available only a few metres snorkel from the beach. The frames make an excellent nursing ground for juvenile species and more elaborate artificial reef structures are planned for the future. The Liberty WreckNo diving trip in Bali would be complete without diving the wreck of the US Liberty, a freighter conscripted into war time service carrying war materials from Australia to aid the allied effort in the Philippines. Standing on the black stone beach of Tulamben Bay with it's volcanic boulders it’s hard to believe that just 40 meters from the beach below the calm blue waters lies one of the best and safest wreck dives to be found anywhere in the world. At 120 meters in length and between 6 and 35 metres depth the shipwreck swarms with tame and curious marine life. Traveling as part of a convoy of ships through the Lombok Strait it was torpedoed by the Japanese submarine I-166 in the early hours of January 11th 1942. Although badly crippled the Liberty remained afloat and was taken under tow by two accompanying destroyers in an effort to get it to Singaraja where it was hoped it could be repaired. The Liberty was taking on too much water and was eventually beached in Tulamben bay where it sat for the next twenty years. Then in 1963 the highest and most holy of all mountains in Bali, Gunung Agung erupted causing powerful earthquakes that rolled the beached ship to her current resting place. As you dive to 8 – 10 meters, there before you stands the dark shape of the wreck, endless meters of twisted coral encrusted steel laying in some of the most accessible and fertile waters in the entire Indo-Pacific. Once you round the stern of the ship you notice the large gorgonians, brightly coloured soft corals and sponges covering most every surface of the wreck. Cruising the deeper seaward side of the wreck you can look up and see the silhouettes of thousand of fish hovering above you, and perhaps on entering the cargo hold a ball of schooling big eyed jacks. "In high season there are often between 3 and 4 hundred divers a day on the wreck," says Bea from Habitat H20 "so a big tip is to get there early before everyone else shows up." Interestingly, with this amount of dive tourism, a whole local community has grown up in one of the poorest parts of Bali that survives purely from this business. Accommodation, restaurants, drivers and porters all rely totally on the enthusiasm and addiction of scuba divers. Feel good about diving in areas such as Tulamben and Amed as the experience will be that much richer and more rewarding knowing that you are giving something back to the local population. To experience world class diving in Bali for yourself, contact :
OK Divers
Habitat H20
Paradise Diving Indonesia |
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