The Best Places to Dive in Bali

January 23, 2014 | admin

Diving and snorkeling are fascinating water sports for those who love marine adventure. And when you come to Bali, you feel like living in a paradise because there are many diving spots you can visit to fulfill your passion. The scenery of underwater in Bali is so gorgeous and you can explore coral reefs, colorful fishes, and seaweed. The best time to dive here is during April to October. Here are some places you can visit when you want to enjoy your vacation in Bali.

Tulamben 
Tulamben lies at Kubu sub-district northern Karangasem Regency, Bali, Indonesia. It is around 25 km from Amlapura City. When you come from Denpasar City, you can go to Tulamben by driving a car for 82 km. Besides underwater scenery, you also can enjoy the other uniqueness because there is wreck of USS Liberty. This ship sank in 1942 because it hit by Japanese’s torpedo during Second War World in 30 meters depth. When you dive here, you can enjoy hundreds species of fishes that occupy the wreck. You can rent diving equipment. For this service, you will have to pay US$92.

Padang Bai 
Padang Bai lies at the eastern of Bali, close to Candi Dasa. This is a place to dock ferries to cross the sea to Lombok and Gili. Spending your time by doing sport activities will give you great experiences. When you jump into water, you will see hundreds of fishes and coral reefs. The most popular spot in Padang Bai is called as Point Shark Mimpang and Tepekong Canyon. At night, you can swim in Blue Lagoon. This spot offers you an exotic underwater panorama. For you who want to collect souvenirs, there are many mini shops selling local handmade from Bali.

Nusa Lembongan 
Nusa Lembongan lies 12 km from Badung Strait. It is a small island close to Nusa Penida Island and offers incredible experiences of diving. To reach this spot, you can go from Sanur Beach by motor boat for two hours. If you come from Benoa Port, it takes 1.5 hours by Bounty Cruises and Bali Hai Cruises which is depart from Ponton. When you come to Nusa Lembongan, you don’t need to worry about where you will stay at night. Here are some hotels, restaurants, and bungalows. You also can rent diving equipment and enjoy wonderful marine life.

Menjangan Island

 
Menjangan is a small island and lies 5 miles at the west of Bali. The island is considered as a center of local tourism. The reason is because Menjangan Island lies at National Park in West Bali. Total area in this island is 19,000 hectares, including Banyuwedang Peninsula. Most of tourists who visit the island want to stay longer because the island offers you incredible panorama. Coral reefs, colorful fishes, calm water and beautiful scenery will accompany you during your holiday in Menjangan Island. You will not forget the moment you diving in the island because Menjangan is one of the best diving spots in Bali.

 

Sanur Beach 
Sanur Beach offers you amazing underwater flora and fauna because this place has various spots. That is mean you can choose the location you like. You can meet shark, bat fish, barracuda, seahorse, and other species. You can rent diving equipment and dive together with professional. If you like to enjoy your holiday by diving in Sanur Beach, this spot can be reached around 6 km from Denpasar City. It takes around 30 minutes by driving a car, motorcycle or public transportation. The other activity you can try in Sanur Beach is sea walker. That is mean you can do many things when you visit Sanur Beach. The sensation of diving or enjoy flora and fauna become unforgettable moment.

The next question is whether you can dive or not? You don’t need to worry about it because you can take a short course. The instructor will guide you and give your suggestion when you learn it. They are professional divers and will help you to try diving in these spots. Thus, you can enjoy diving and snorkeling when you visit Bali. Next, you can see traditional dancing and local dishes.

Paradise Archipelago in East of Indonesia

January 23, 2014 | admin

The archipelago around Sulawesi and Borneo has been described as an ecological ‘hot spot’. East of Indonesia Archipelago have much terrain varied, from walls and fringing reef to caverns, big Green Turtles (Chelonia mydas), whitetip, leopard and nurse sharks, schooling barracudas, napoleon wrasses, cuttle fish, Spanish mackerel, jacks and batfishes, and ornamentalreef fishes hang out in record densities and diversity. If the sea has a heart, it lies somewhere in the dynamic mosaic that is the Indonesian archipelago.

In this biological hot zone, there are more coral and fish species than anywhere else on Earth. The numbers are staggering: for instance, Indonesia has 83 species of angelfish and butterflyfish, while the whole of the Caribbean supports just seven of each. This diversity is celebrated in The Sulu-Sulawesi Seas, a new photo-book by German photo-journalist Jürgen Freund. Part of a conservation initiative by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the book focuses on the area around Sulawesi, Borneo and the southern Philippines – the epicentre of the hot zone. This is a world where schools of jacks group into seething tornadoes over reef drop-offs, where tiny porcelain crabs seek refuge among the swaying tentacles of a host anemone. Stray from the reefs into a mangrove swamp and you are just as likely to run into a saltwater crocodile, the mightiest of the reptiles.

This region, referred to often as the ‘coral triangle’ or the ‘East-Indies Triangle’, encompasses three nations and an area of complex oceanography. All the islands have narrow continental shelves and many are separated from each other by relatively deep waters. Surface currents flow permanently eastwards along the north coast of Sulawesi and southwards along the west coast. To the south of the island there is a strong east-flowing current during the northeast monsoon, which is reversed during the southeast monsoon. Conditions are ideal for reef development and there are fringing reefs along the shores of most of the smaller islands, and some continuous stretches running for hundreds of miles along the coastline.

It doesn’t take an expert to see that this is a special place: if you were to do a dive on a Sulawesi reef, then jet off to anywhere in, say, the tropical western Atlantic, the difference would be immediately noticeable. For years, photographers have said that the reefs of the Caribbean are like English gardens compared with the marine jungles of Southeast Asia. For divers, it’s down to the ease of finding certain exotic creatures. The highly cryptic leaf scorpionfish, for instance, can be found all over the Indo-Pacific, but in most places no one bothers to look over areas of exposed coral (their preferred habitat) for suspiciously leafy objects. When you’re in the coral triangle, it’s always worthwhile looking around for semi-disguised creatures. And if you’re observant enough to find one leaf scorpionfish, there are usually others nearby.