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TRAVEL BLOG ENTRY
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“Tulamben: a diver's paradise” |
Arguably, some of the best diving in the world occurs in the South Pacific Ocean. Like Fiji, Bali is one of the reasons it has this reputation. I only dived four times in two different locations, but the available dive sites as well as the dive publications highlighting those sites told me that I was in a diver's haven.
My first site was off the coast of Menjangan Island, a tiny neighbor to the main island's northwest coast. I arranged this trip through my hotel's proprietor, so he gave me the "guest" price. For less than half of what it cost to dive anywhere in Oz, I was driven 1.5 hours, taken out on the dive vessel, which resembled an old fishing boat, given lunch, and, oh yeah, dived twice on two of the easiest, longest, and more pleasant dives of my short career underwater.
Before I hit the water, however, there were two chance meetings that made this trip all the more memorable. When I was picked up from my hotel, I was the only person in the van, yet I had been told there were 2 others from my hotel going on this dive trip. Suspicious. We met one more woman from Germany back at the dive shop, but we were missing a crucial player, the divemaster. Apparently, he and another guest would be joining us along the way. After we picked them up, not including the driver we numbered 4 and 1/2. Scuba, the other guest's 3-month old monkey would be joining us for the day. I know as a citizen of a developed country, I probably should have shunned any involvement with a captive creature who should not be, but I could not resist after being around her for only a few minutes. She was as cute, playful, and curious as a human child. It was a bit erie to see the similarities in action and expression so first-hand.
The second surprise came after our van arrived at the dock. Another group of divers and snorkelers had come from a local hotel and would be riding with us in the boat. One of these divers looked incredibly familiar, and it turned out to be my first coincidental meeting with a personal acquaintance. Of all people, my Airtreks travel agent, Glenn, was joining me on a vacation he helped me plan. After several rounds of "I can hardly believe this" we had a very nice chat on the status of my trip: what I had seen thus far and what was coming. He remarked that this was only the second time in all his years as an agent and throughout his 100-plus country tally that he'd run into a client. I knew this type of meeting would happen, but I would never have figured it would have been him. We both had to take a picture to document the occasion.
Aside from the people and creatures whom accompanied me, the dives themselves were significant as well. The first dive was my first beach, or walk-in dive, and the second was my first over the side of a boat. The walk-in is actually pretty unexciting, unless of course someone feels they are too coordinating to be walking backwards and he/she tries to walk normally with flexible, size 94 shoes underwater. Then it becomes quite exciting! The second entry is one we've all seen in movies, likely having to do with navy seals or saving the world. The divers sit on the edge of a boat all geared up. Then, in one fell swoop, each holds his mask and regulator and assumes a cross-legged fetal position. Then it's just up to gravity to take him over the side. Both dives were very easy and reasonably shallow which meant we all spent most of our air, and time, enjoying the various flora and fauna rather than fighting current or breathing denser air. Our boat would pick us up at the end of our dive, which meant there was no need for us to swim against the current to begin in order to have it on the return. Instead, we simply went down to dive depth and floated, not swum, with the current for a good 50 minutes. If something was worth shooting, I simply swam back against the current for a few seconds to hold my position. The major highlight of these dives was the turtle which we spent several minutes with and of which we got some very clear, very close photographs.
The second diving trip was as far from Menjangan as one can get without leaving the small, but diverse island. If horses were used underwater, Tulamben would be a one-horse dive town. Really just one main street with accommodations, dive shops, and restaurants to support the richest diving spots Bali has to offer. Most of the time, the dive shops are simply the registration desks of the different hotels. The hotels vary from the Conde Nast-listed resort to the mom-n'-pop Blue Water Lodge, where I chose to stay. When my driver dropped me off, the caretakers, i.e. divemasters, were all crowded around a computer watching one of them play solitaire listening to the German owner's pop music several decades removed. At the site of a guest and diver, all but the playing DM hopped up and tried to sell me every dive site the tiny town had to offer. I knew of one, its most famous, before arriving, the USAT Liberty shipwreck. This wreck is considered one of the easiest and safest wreck dives in the world, but those superlatives say nothing to its super wealth of life and photo opportunities. One of the dive books the staff lent me was co-authored by a diver who seen the wreck over 1000 times in a period of 20-plus years. It is his favorite site anywhere in the world because he can always find something new yet can keep track of the things he's seen before.
This same dive book, Diving Bali, also spoke of the abundance of photographers around the Liberty due to its unique background. For the same reason the sea salt from this region is so unique, so are the underwater photographs: volcanic soil. This charcoal-colored backdrop illuminates every tropical fish's color as though it were done through Photoshop. Greens, yellows, reds, and purples all seem to have an electric glow to them against the dark sand.
I skimmed 'Diving Bali' the evening before my dive day, and it convinced me to dive a different site, the Coral Gardens, after doing the Liberty in the morning, the preferred time. However, after actually seeing the wreck for myself, I had to do it once more. A single dive, heck, a single week there would hardly be enough to whet the appetite of any semi-fanatical diver. However, Tulamben and nearby Amed have many more sites to offer with similar diversity and richness. In all, something close to a dozen sites speckle a coastline hardly more than 10k long. This means that a large variety of excellent dive sites are easily available in a small area. Factor in the price and the excitement of the locals having tourist in their small village, and Tulamben becomes a diver's paradise. I hope to return again and just stay there for a week or more exploring more of underwater Bali.
previous travel blog entryComments or Questions for the Author
the babysitter says:
Zach, I've been monitoring your travels since December. Sounds like your having many great experiences. I am proud your living your dream... Way to go!
auntiebecky says:
Your photos are looking GOOD! I love the coral. The colors are incredible. Thanks for all the beautiful picts.