Destination in Focus ... Bali
Michael has enjoyed many trips to Bali and often spends a month at a time in the region enjoying all that Bali has to offer. Here he shares with us some of the memorable diving he has undertaken in the region which will surely inspire his fellow DAN Members.
My Favourite Dive Destination: Michael Yorke
Bali is an amazing place to dive with waters so warm you can feel like you are cooking in your wet suit! Make sure you always use a dive operator, as the currents can be really powerful. Following is an overview of some of the dive spots I have enjoyed during my travels.
Diving Sanur
Sanur has the channel, which is rich in marine life from nudi branches to trigger fish, schools of barracuda and sharks. Night diving is amazing with the plankton shooting “sparks” with the simple wave of a hand! The phosphorescence is a must-see experience!
Crystal Divers (Check out DAN’s Bonus+ website as Crystal Divers are a Bonus+ Partner) are the people to see if in Sanur.
Going up the coast there are so many great places to dive, Padang Bai, Amed and Tulamben to name just a few.
Diving Padang Bai
To dive here I took a Jukung (a small canoe style boat with outriggers) through the port (about 2 kms down the coast). Once moored I entered the water (you have to “kit up” in the water as the boats are too small to do a boat entry) I watched the crystal clear waters and clams beneath me. Descending I realised that these were Giant Clams! Clarity of water can be so deceptive. A long drift dive finally put me at a site called Blue Lagoon. In about 3m of water my dive master pointed to go to shallow water. As I surfaced he asked me to turn around and to my amazement I was on the steps of a temple…..before me was dense jungle and on the temple were offerings of fruit to the gods that the monkeys had come down to eat. It will still be one of the most amazing experiences of my life; it was like being in an IMAX film!
Diving Amed
Further up the coast is Amed where dives are also undertaken from the jukung boats. The diving here is excellent; the reef is teeming with fish life and the waters are warm which makes for very comfortable diving. Surfacing in an isolated bay waiting to be picked up is such an experience……lush jungle clad hills with azure blue skies overhead is breathtaking! A pearl white schooner from Vietnam had weighed anchor and gracefully sailed out to sea as we waited for our pick up. Slipping quietly through the clear waters back to Ahmed with these visions made for a remarkable dive.
Diving Tulamben
Further up the coast is Tulamben…the divers Mecca! Not much here but accommodation. I stay at Matahari with the volcano Agung a sobering reminder of the power that nature can unleash as it did in the early 60’s. The hotel is right on the water with a beach full of black volcanic pebbles. Two dives are the choice: 1.Right to the “wall” where you can explore coral and sea life, and 2. To the left to dive the USS Liberty.
During one dive on the “wall” I experienced the most amazing “thermo cline” at about 30 metres. As the water seemed to “shatter” like glass a huge Napoleon Wrasse appeared, looking like a jigsaw puzzle broken into pieces. The sudden drop in temperature, although by only a few degrees indicated this phenomenon…dive computers are so good!
Leaving the hotel you walk to the left and go about 300m across the bay. Suiting up in the shallow water you slowly glide across a barren sea desert of black sand, and suddenly as if a black ghost has appeared before you the stern of the ship rises like a monument to the men that served aboard her during the 2nd world war. The liberty lies at an angle across the bay with the bow at about 30 metres down. Diving from the right side the gun turret has been dislodged and is lying in the sand.
Whilst the wreck is heavily encrusted and decaying, it is a “must dive” and surely one of the most accessible dives in the world. I have had some dives on the Liberty that have left me breathless! Clear water, black tip reef sharks and the schools of big eye jacks that the local divers can summon to you by calling….yes, by calling…no I didn’t have the narcs! I have also seen roaring currents that have literally left me breathless as I wondered how far I could push the flow of my reg! So as a word of caution I recommend you only dive with a guide! Local experience is essential to experience the Liberty, which is an amazing dive whether you have outstanding vis’ or soup like conditions.
I will be returning to Bali in August so if you would like to meet up, need a place to stay or need a friend on the island if it’s your first time drop me an email at mikkimaxxx@yahoo.com.au.
We hope Michael’s review has inspired you to check out the diving in Bali.