The oceans surrounding Indonesia are full of wonder and amazement: there are so many creatures and cretins below the sea. Recently I dived in spots around Bali with Nico Dives Cool and Pure Dive in Nusa Penida. There is just so much to see in the magnificent underwater world but here are some of my most recent marine encounters.
Manta Point
True to its name, during every dive I’ve been lucky to see the amazingly elegant and beautiful Mantas which have been known to perform dances for divers … a truly memorable experience.
Nusa Penida
A beautiful dive site, rich in colourful coral and cute fish such as Nemo, Napoleon, Moray eels, angel fish and an array of pretty schools of fish dancing around in the ocean. Watch out for up and down currents which can make this a more challenging dive.
Candi Dasa Shark Point
Just imagine swimming along the seabed and there, just a few metres ahead, is a white-tipped shark having a quick 40 winks. The reef sharks around Indonesia are scared of divers and swim away from us much more quickly than we could swim away from them. Over the years I’ve seen many reef sharks around Indonesia and they clearly don’t find me tasty – but seeing them is unforgettable.
Candi Dasa Tepekong
Wow, what an exciting dive! There is a cave you can dive through, which starts around 26m and ends at 18m. This was a new experience for me and I absolutely loved the challenge. It’s also very pretty with a diverse range of colours and sea life. One of my favourite fish is often seen around here, the bump-head parrot fish. It’s an enormous, strange-looking fish with a huge bump on its head and massive buck teeth, which are usually munching away at coral. Dive sites like this make you feel as if you are in the movie Nemo!
Sanur Channel
Just a few metres off the Sanur coast lies this shallow channel. We did this as a night dive. Night diving might sound strange and creepy, and I must admit I was terrified when I was doing my first one as part of my advanced PADI. But, trust me, it’s wonderful – the colours are more vibrant when you shine your torch on the coral and you see different creatures. On this dive we saw eels, sea snakes, lots of graceful lionfish, Spanish dancers and decorated crabs, to name but a few.
Diving around Sanur, and the rest of Bali, is an experience of a lifetime. But don’t take my word for it – book yourself a dive experience and I’m sure you’ll become a dive addict too! Remember if you are going diving safety is the number one priority, know your limits and look after your buddy. Thanks to Nico Dives Cool for the use of their images, Pure Dive in Nusa Penida Bali for the map of the dive sites and for their images, and to both dive companies for some truly memorable diving.
https://nicodivescoolbali.com/
https://www.purediveresort.com/
