2 April 2024 - Bare Island Deep Wall
Millpond seas and threatening rain which fell while we were down and after we finished. Went off W point and on the wall had 10-12 m viz but very cold 17C. Only 4-5 m back shallower than the Cave. Was just after low tide and had very slight incoming current. Three BBSHs, two on wall and one on the large rock. Came back via 15 Metre Reef and SHC. Four PPHs on BR, the two yellow/gold ones are beautiful. Could not find the striated anglerfish others saw on Saturday. Four upsidedown pipefish, two sawtooth pipefish, a few small moray eels, heaps of yellowtail near BR, octopus all over the place and a few small cuttlefish. The RIF was near OHR but on main reef, no sea dragon. A really nice relaxing dive, no other divers here except someone who left the water before we went down. Visibility good.
3 April 2024 - Bare Island Isolated Reefs
Millpond seas again, before low tide. Went off W point to W and then to IR1. Went around both reefs clockwise. Visibility not as good as yesterday, only 6-8 metres and cold again at 17C then 18C shallower, very little current and already incoming. Lots of yellowtail all through the dive and a large school of silver sweep between IR and main reef. A few dwarf lionfish, including a tiny 30 mm one. Plenty of octopus again. The yellow/gold PPH still there but only one of the red ones nearby. Upsidedown pipefish still there, although I did not look for all of them. Not many nudibranchs really. The RIF was in same spot as yesterday and no sea dragon again. Nice relaxed dive. Visibility fair.
4 April 2024 - Inscription Point
Dive with Peter and Jacki and three of Peter's friends from Norway. They have been diving Sydney this week with him. A little bit of wave action but okay, a slight incoming tide and a bit of surge. Viz 5-6 metres and mostly 18C but a bit of 17C. We were looking for sea dragons for the Norwegians and found one very soon after the start of the dive. Some more seen later. Went slowly and showed them some big belly sea horses, pygmies and Bare Island anglerfish. Jacki showed me the yellow one on the sea horse rock and also another one a bit past this. I looked for the grey one but it has moved again, I could not find it. The other divers were cold and used a lot of air so they headed back with P&J. I did not and came back alone. On the way back I looked again for the black/pink BIA and I found it about 15 metres to the SW of where it was before, on the W side. I put a rock on top of the rock it is on. Saw some more sea dragons on the way back. Nice dive. Visibility poor.
17 April 2024 - Bare Island Right
First dive for 13 days as huge rainfall event a few days after the last dive made water off Sydney filthy. Went in before Carols Plaque. First few metres were very dirty, but not brown like some other times. It cleared up at 8 metres and was 5-6 metres viz. Temperature was a constant 20C. Viz dropped to 3 metres or so at 45 minutes which was about low tide. Went normal way. The RIF was on Long Rock, there were two PPHs on OHR. Went to SHC via deeper way and on Block Rock there was only one gold/yellow PPH. One gave birth the other day! Then back via main reef. Five upsidedown pipefish in the normal two places and two sawtooth pipefish on the lower rock near Angler Rocks. These were almost in the open and I got some good photos. Heaps of small yellowtail at SHC, plenty of octopus but not as many as a few weeks ago. Also a very large squid. A nice 81 minute dive. Visibility poor.
18 April 2024 - Bare Island Right
So different to yesterday! Went in before Carols Plaque again. First few metres were much worse than yesterday, very very, dirty and somewhat brown. It was a little bit clearer at 6 metres but was only 3 metres at the most. Temperature was a constant 20C again. Viz dropped to even less in spots although near SHC it was a little bit better. Went same way as yesterday. The RIF was not on Long Rock and we could not find it. The two PPHs were still on OHR. Went to SHC via deeper way and Carole showed us a velvetfish in the middle area. There were actually three sawtooth pipefish on the lower rock near Angler Rocks, one had eggs and one was much smaller. Got some good photos. On Block Rock there was still only one gold/yellow PPH. Then back via main reef. Five upsidedown pipefish in the normal two places. Heaps of small yellowtail again near SHC and a few small kingfish swimming through them. Not as many octopus as yesterday. Despite the viz, a nice 85 minute dive. Visibility very poor.
24 April 2024 - Bare Island Not So Deep Wall
Again last weekend the weather was rubbish, so first dive in 6 days. Went in off W point. Warm 19C all dive. Went to NSDW and then along it to 15MR. A bit of outgoing tide here. A few nudibranchs and then a large short-tailed ceretasoma on 15MR. Saw another one later. Across to SHC, lots of larger yellowtail here and further along silver sweep. The yellow PPH is gone, none on BR now. Then to where the sawtooth pipefish are, four today and one still with eggs. Then back along main reef, three USDP and over on OHR, only one PPH. A frogfish back on main reef. Found the RIF, not on the normal rock but Flat Rock near it. No sea dragon nor Parramatta nudis that earlier group apparently saw. Two fiddler-rays. Nice easy dive. Visibility still poor but much better than recently.
25 April 2024 - The Monuments
Club Anzac Day dive and BBQ. Moved from Bare Island as forecast was not great. However, conditions not as bad as supposed to be. Went in and out at the Whales, easy. Went E first, viz was 8 metres but at 18 mins when we turned, it dropped to 3-4 m, this was about low tide. Little current and temp was 20C. Back W and turned again at 50 mins. Saw one sea dragon, some saw a turtle at E end, a few nice nudibranchs, including a rarer blue/black tambja. Also a school of yellowtail and a small one of bream. A few moray eels, some lionfish and all the usual fish. A nice dive with BBQ after. Visibility poor.
THE FOLLOWING DIVES ARE AT TULAMBEN, BALI, INDONESIA
28 April 2024 - Liberty Slope
First dive of the trip. Unfortunately my housing leaked, but camera okay. No idea why this happened. Went slowly down to 25 metres and then and then back again. Lots of nudibranchs, a few shrimp, a tiny bob-tailed squid, a pipefish, a huge mantis shrimp and more. A few fish around, a large lionfish, one clownfish and a few other tropicals. A very nice fist dive. Visibility very good.
29 April 2024 - Gerombong
A bit of wave action, had to time getting in and out. Not too bad. Viz was 20 m but later dropped as too many bad divers stirring up the bottom. I had a little too much weight after adding two more half kilo weights. Next dive too one half kilo weight out. Saw a tiny black anglerfish, perhaps 5 mm. Later a larger one, 25 mm, black with orange and blue spots. W+Quite a few nudibranchs. Camera lens was foggy and then at 22 m, it started to leak from the GPS button. Not as much water as yesterday. A few shrimp, including on a large nudibranch. Some mantis shrimp, lots of razorfish and a sole shallow. Nice dive again. Visibility very good mostly.
29 April 2024 - Gerombong
This time went to the left. Visibiity 20 m for most of the dive but some spots worse due to fish stirring up the bottom. Went along the wall to 25 metres, saw a clown triggerfish here, first I have seen in Bali. Also quite a few short-finned bannerfish and some Moorish idols. From here slowly went across to the other wall and then back to the slopes. Another small white anglerfish, 10 mm. Saw the large black one and the nudi with shrimp again later. More nudibranchs, razorfish and some trevally. Shallow more nudis. Again, a very nice dive. Pity I had no camera. Visibility very good generally.
30 April 2024 - USAT Liberty
Early morning dive on wreck. Went to bow, not many in at first but by the time we reached bow, lots had caught up with and passed us. Went to stern, the others saw three leaf fish. I went deeper around the chunky bits. Housing flooded again, finally at the end of the day I might have it figured. Went deeper to bow, some nice gorgonias. Wreck not much different to last year. Went to bow and finally around it. Very strong current on the way back shallower. Heart rate went from 60-70 bpm to 70-80 bpm and overall air consumption went from around 9 to 10 l/min. Looked at the boilers and shaft tunnel. Back to stern where some garden eels were very friendly. A school of barracuda over sand. Then back shallow to exit. Good dive. Visibility very good.
30 April 2024 - The Drop Off
Lots and lots of divers on shore and in the water. Many tech divers with slings/doubles and hang tanks. Still a great spot, large gorgonias and barrel sponges. An electric clam, a large rockrod, all the usual tropical species esp Moorish eels. A few nudibranchs. Had a problem with my inflator hose where it connected to BCD. Was loose and I fixed after the dive. Made it uncomfortable as when I leaned to the right, all the air in BCD came out and I sank. Went around the corner for a bit and then back shallower back to exit. Good dive again. Visibility very good.
30 April 2024 - Coral Gardens
No divers here at all, only a couple divers. Went straight out and then left. A few small ribbon eels, sub-adults. Some saw a larger one free swimming. More nudibranchs, lionfish, including one black one with bugs on its side. A few anemones with clownfish and one had eggs. There are cones, Hindu temples, other things here. Again, a nice easy dive. Visibility good.
1 May 2024 - USAT Liberty
Another very early dive. Only two others in the water when we hit wreck. Saw the two leaf fish, another I did not see. Just below the prop area. Then same was to bow. Housing still leaking. Saw some flutemouths, some shrimp in anemone and two tiny pipefish in an anemone. Then on the way back shallower, but through the wreck, saw two turtles and the barracuda were over the wreck. Some other fish too. Later a line of mullet on sand. Another nice dive. Visibility very good.
1 May 2024 - Melasti
Walked about 100 metres long to the SE and then entered the water. Went out and slowly back. Quite a current from the N. Saw two anglerfish, one very small. A very large moray eel and another smaller one, lots of nudibranchs, a pipefish and more. The current seemed to be only in the warmer 30C water and not the 29C water. A good dive. Visibility very good.
1 May 2024 - Melasti
This time went straight out from the parking area and then to the left. At first current was from N but when we got to the 29C water there was nothing. We saw three small yellow sea horses and another grey one. Also a large pipefish, one Shaun the sheep nudi, heaps of snake eels, a strange tiny while fish and heaps of blind shrimp and gobies. One goby was very colourful. Came back shallower with a slight current. Very good dive. Visibility good.
2 May 2024 - USAT Liberty
Another early morning dive on the wreck, only two other divers on wreck before us. Only two leaf fish, the other one could not be found. Did not go to the bow, just to the mid-sections. A lot of the large gorgonias that were there duing my first two trips are not there now. Spent a lot of time looking at parts of the wreck. Two sets of bollards under the mid-sections. Back via the column like area and there is a large exhaust fan behind boilers. The barracuda still over the boilers. Then to stern, plenty of garden eels and they stay right out till very close. I reckon I can get some good photos. Back shallow, more mullet. Another good dive. Visibility very good.
2 May 2024 - Sidem
Went in and around to the right to SE. Over the rocky reef a bit. Lots of large black lionfish in spots. Then back and over sand and under the mooring lines. A small yellow anglerfish, then a largish red sea horse and then a skinny yellow one. A crab in a tube anemone, lots of eels of different species. A few nudibranchs, mantis shrimp and at the end a pom-pom crab. A very good dive. Visibility very good.
2 May 2024 - Sidem
This time went out and just to the left (N). Refound the first anglerfish from earlier dive. Could not find the sea horses but later John found a nice larger yellow one. Lots of eels again, some of the mooring blocks have them under. Also dozens of lionfish of all sizes. One the way back, saw a small eel with a juvenile emperor angelfish (blue, white, black). The eel seemed to have some relationship with it and another fish. Found a few anemones and clownfish, one had lots of eggs. Later another pom-pom crab and also a night anglerfish that only comes out when its dark. It kept burying itself under the mossy bottom. Finally, a banded snake eel. Very nice dive. Visibility good, but dirtier.
3 May 2024 - Batu Niti
Walked about 100 m south through the bush and on beach and entered water there. Went E and then S a bit and then back past where we went in and back to same spot. Rocky bottom then sand with lots of rocks. Plenty to see. A large cowrie at the start, nudibranchs of many species, tiger shrimp, sea whip shrimp, a few different anemone shrimps, clown fish, a tiny green translucent lionfish, so cute! Two large stonefish, Ron scared them and they shot under me! At the end a banded eel which was caught on a fishing line. Yudi and I cut the line as close as possible to the mouth, it backed away for ages then took off. Hope it survices. Very good dive. Visibility excellent.
This time we went in at the same spot and headed a little to the right (S) but then went to N for the rest of the dive. Mostly down around 23 to 25 metres for first 37 minutes after the descent. Similar things to the last dive, but saw two pom-pom crabs at the start. Then a nice crab on a tube anemone, two harlequin shrimp next to each other, a mantis shrimp with three shrimps on top, an orange mantis shrimp, dancing shrimp on tube and normal anemones, starfish shrimp and flatworms. Great dive. Visibility only good, dropped heaps.
Night dive. Entered the water while still some light but was dark once in. We were the first ones in. Within 16 minutes saw 4 anglerfish, one giant, rest small. One black, pink, yellow. Later saw 4 more, two yellow like the one we saw on day dive here. Lots of stull out, decroator crabs, including an anemone one. A small yellow sea horse, 2 ghost pipefish, pom-pom crabs and many nudis. Got attacked by bugs and small fish and worms towards the end. A great dive. Visibility excellent.
4 May 2024 - Big Tree
Located very close and NW of Seraya Secrets. Went in and straight out, rocky bottom till about 7-8 metres. Some small mooring blocks with floatss to 4-5 m and a wrecked truck cabin and some other things like tyres etc. Plenty of lionfish around the bases. Then sand with some parts with isolated rocks. Saw two ribbon eels straight away, one juvenile black one and the other blue. Then headed down to 24 metres and then back to 20 for a while before turning. A large moray eel, a flutemouth, juvenile sweetlips, whip gobies, razorfish, and a few nudibranchs. Exited about 75 m along beach to SE. A nice dive. Visibility very good shallow but colder water was only good.
4 May 2024 - Agung
Second dive at same location but has a different name. Started 75 m up the beach where the previous dive finished. Went out and then SE along the side of a ridge to 25 m. Then worked the way back along the ridge to shallows and parallel to sand to the dive shed area. Lots of nudibranchs, including 3 donut dotos. A small pipefish, a huge ell, squat lobsters, seawhip gobies and some flatworms on featherstars. I found a really good jelly like nudi too. Also found a yellow leaf fish on the way back. A red spindle cowrie, a few gardens on the sand and I got a photo of one. A mantis shrimp swimming around too. Good dive. Visibility good deeper but very good shallow.
4 May 2024 - The Dropoff
Did not think there was anyone in the water when we started but there was, they must have come from Coral Gardens. Not many nudis but lots of fish, all sorts of tropicals. Morrish idols, trevally, fluemouths and more. Huge gorgonias, at least three really big ones and many smaller. Others saw 4 pipefish and I saw another electric clam. Quite dirty really, visibility only fair.
5 May 2024 - Bulakan
Went out and to left. Takes 5 mins to get to the slope. Saw some garden eels and Shaun the Sheep nudibranchs straight away. Then a tiny black anglerfish, hard to take photos as in a sponge. More Shauns, different colours, pink cheeks, Parramatta and others. Also a large long hydroid that had four different types of shrimp on it. Skeleton, red long ones, glass and a brown one. Others saw a small pipefish. A few species of other nudibranchs too. A large turtle in shallows at the end and a nice nembrotha with orange spots. Very good dive. Visibility very good.
5 May 2024 - Bulakan
This time went out and a bit to the left. Down the side of the ridge to 24 metres. A banded eel and a sickly looking dark crimson sea horse at the start. Then Donna found a wonderpuss octopus but it disappeared into the sand. I briefly saw it. More Shauns, a small blue-ringed octopus, plenty of garden eels, two tiny yellow gobies in a sponge, a few nudibranchs. A tiny white leaf fish. Another very good dive. Visibility very good.
5 May 2024 - Gerombong
Did similar dive to last Monday morning, down the ridge to the right then across to next ridge and then worked our way back. Quite a few nudibranchs and a small ornate ghost pipefish. Also a small pipefish. On the way back up I swam over a titan triggerfish nest and it attacked me. I had to fight it off with my camera and torch, luckily this manoeuvre stopped it from hitting or biting me. First time in over 4,800 dives! A good dive. Visibility good.
6 May 2024 - USAT Liberty
Early morning pre breakfast dive. A lot more divers here this morning compared to our other early dives. Went to stern and then found four leaf fish, up one from other days. Then along the deeper sections of the wreck towards the bow. Did not go that far, went into the "cavern" area and then forward of that a bit. Back to boilers, top one has a door open at the top. Behind the boilers you can see the flywheel and the start of the shaft. Then to rudder and you can see where the prop was removed, no shaft, just a hole. Then back to exit. Good relaxing dive. Visibility very good.
6 May 2024 - Melasti
Another night dive, only one other diver and guide here. Went to right, then down to 24 m. Saw aa yellow anglerfish, a very small sea horse, a wonderpus octopus, a harlequin shrimp and lots of crabs and shrimp. A few nudibranchs but not a lot. A strange crab with tiny anemones on body and legs, a few cowries and much more. A really good night dive. Visibility only fair.
7 May 2024 - Kubu Wreck
Walked about 100 metres through the bush to start the dive. Then out and to NE. Arrived at the wreck at12 minutes or so. Went to the stern to take photos, then to midships and entered the bottom hold. Went to bow and then up a level and back to midships. Then on deck to bow. A leaf fish here. Heaps of divers on the wreck as a boat arrived as we swam over. Then back S across to sand and then followed 18-19 m depth for12 mins. Then back to exit at the shed slowly. A few nudibranchs, a garden eel but lots of fish. Good dive again. Visibility very good but not so great on wreck at times.
7 May 2024 - Kubu Reef
This time went out and then to SE to the artificial reefs. First the pushbikes and motorbikes. Then to the satellite dish and then to the metal structures. All have a huge amount of growth on them, some of the gorgonias are very widespread. Lots of fishlife around, many anemones and clownfish. A large eel and a large crocodilefish. A few nudibranchs. Near the exit there was a smaller turtle munching away at the rocks for shells. Got some good photos. A good dive. Visibility very good.
7 May 2024 - Agung
Started from the Agung table area this time, rather than Big Tree. Went NE down the slope which is quite rocky. A tiny white anglerfish, lots of nudibranchs, a few very small moray eels, crabs, shrimp and more. A very strong current for a while. In the shallows lots of Moorish idols, butterflyfish, lionfish, juvenile sweetlips and sea urchins. A nice dive. Visibility fair.
8 May 2024 - Seraya Secrets
They are not diving here much as it is nowhere near as good as 10 years ago when I last dived it. Went out past the new artificial reefs, three larger concrete ones and a smaller steel one. Then down the slope. Not many nudis, unlike last times. I found a ornate ghost pipefish and later Yudi found another. Some shrimp, mantis shrimps, spindle cowrie but that is about all. Decided not to do second dive here so went back to the resort. Only an average dive except for the pipefish. Visibility very good.
8 May 2024 - Liberty Slope
Lots of divers ashore, but we saw only two I think under water, most doing the wreck. Went down the gully and across to S slope. Lots of nudibranchs, including a few new ones. Ron found a juvenile ornate ghost pipefish. Also a ribbon eel transitioning to adult, not black and not blue, just yellow. Heaps of shrimp, squat lobsters. A very good dive.
9 May 2024 - Gerombong
Did the lefthand wall. It goes NE and then N, NW and even almost W. We went a fair way to the end where it loops back towards the shore, then returned same way but shallower. Lots of fish, some gorgonias, seawhips and heaps of large barrel sponges. Saw another yellow margin triggerfish but it was not aggressive. Saw the clown triggerfish out here too, further around than last week. A nice hairy crab in a sponge, a few nudibranchs and lots of razorfish and garden eels shallow. Plenty of tropical species all over the wall. Very good dive. Visibility good.
9 May 2024 - Gerombong
This time went down the gully and then the ridge, crossing over to the next ridge to the SE and back a few times. Came back up the SE ridge. Lots and lots of nudibranchs, some rarer species. Yudi found a white anglerfish, extremely cute. Garden eels and razorfish as well. An excellent 78 minutes dive. Visibility good.
10 May 2024 - Nusu
Furthest N dive site, a new one. NW side of river and near two prawn farms. No facilities here at all. Went out NNE and then N. Took 5 minutes to get to 8 metres, mostly over rocky bottom. Then sand slope with lots of weed and algae. Some outcrops of rocks. Lots of nudibranchs, including donut doto, a small pipefish, some gobies on sponges, a spindle cowrie, lots of small clams shallow. A very good dive site. Visibility very good.
10 May 2024 - Harlequin Slope
This is between Liberty Slope and Coral Gardens. Went out till sand at 7-8 m and then SE and down slope. Heaps of new artificial reefs shallow, mostly house shaped on concrete sleepers and a couple of monkey bar shaped ones. Quite a few nudibranchs, a couple of large eels, both with cleaner shrimp. Could not get them to come onto my hand. Went S when at 25 m and then shallower and back. A tiny pipefish, a ribbon eel shallow and the most gobies I have ever seen on a seawhip, a couple of dozen. I got five in one photo! A good dive. Visibility very good.
10 May 2024 - Sidem
Once again a strange current that ran down the slope side. A bit of wave action too. A little quiet at first but then, so many anglerfish. I saw 7 and got photos of 6, one disappeared. Probably 9 or 10 overall seen. A giant anglerfish had a small yellow "toy boy" which ended up right against it. A wonderpus octopus right at the start. A few tiny eels but no photos as they hid. Quite a few nudibranchs and a harlequin shrimp. Not as many worms and bugs as last time. A very good dive. Visibility very good.
11 May 2024 - Batu Niti
Quite a swell running today, but gaps between where it was easy to get in and out. Started perhaps 200 metres SE along the beach. Went out and to SE. Saw three anglerfish, brown, pink and a very cute tiny purple one. Lots of nudibranchs, including some interesting ones. A small pipefish, a few pufferfish, shrimp and a very strange white flat crab, looked like a dead shell. Also two pom-pom crabs. A very good dive. Very surgy about 8 metres. Larger waves when we exited but still okay as long as you timed it right. Visibility very good.
11 May 2024 - Batu Niti
Swell much bigger during surface interval, water was coming over all the beach. We had to move our gear into the vegetation to save getting washed away. Went in at the same location as first dive, swell had dropped a little but extreme care was still needed. Very dirty shallow, less than a metre viz, even down to 20 m it was awful but then about 20 metres. Gradually the good viz worked its way shallower and at the end it was very good at 10 m. Not as many nudibranchs, but lots of shrimp, including a white seawhip, a lot of starfish ones, dancing and a tiger. Two tiger spindle cowries and a tiny starfish. A crab in a tube anemone. Still surgy shallow, but exit was okay when timed. A good dive, but not as good as first one. Visibility very good overall.
12 May 2024 - USAT Liberty
Lots of divers here already, including in the water. Did the usual route but went to bow and then back via the centre. The four white leaf fish still there, but two in slightly different spots. Donna found a green one on the shallow side of the wreck. Lots of fish, including a large school of unknown species. Found a nice anemone with heaps of clownfish in it. A good dive. Visibility very good.
12 May 2024 - Batu Ringgit
Started 40 metres to SE and went out and a little to right and down the slope. Dirty shallow after yesterday's swell but 15 to 20 m deeper. Lots of nudibranchs, many different shrimps including a clearish white one and a black and gold one on a featherstar. Starfish shrimp and gobies. Followed the rope for a fair bit of the dive. Lots of interesting stuff, including a large fish that was shadowed by a trevally. Saw it many times and also saw it on the second dive. A very good dive. Visibility very good.
12 May 2024 - Batu Ringgit
Ron and Donna's last dive of the trip. Started same spot as last dive but ended back at the shed track. Went out and to the left more. Less nudibranchs, but quite a few shrimp, an ornate ghost pipefish and also a spindle cowrie. A few very small crabs. At the end lots of small cone shells. Not as good a dive as the first one. Visibility very good.
13 May 2024 - Melasti
Carole and Leon came with use and dived at the same time. Started the same spot as last time, about 75 metres SE along the beach. Then went out and SE into quite a strong current. Used a lot of air doing this, but was worth it as we saw a medium sized yellow anglerfish. Excellent. Then drifted back and after 20 mins the current basically died totally. Yudi found an ornate ghost pipefish and later I found another smaller one. Lots of nudibranchs, some shrimp, a titan triggerfish but it did not cause any problems. A very good dive. Visibility very good.
13 May 2024 - Melasti
Started in the same spot as last dive but got out near the shed. I had ear problems at 19-20 m but it did not fix till I was at 15 m. Saw a tiny spotted boxfish, nudis, shrimps. We went past the shed and there where were Shaun the Sheep. I found a very large Parramatta one. Saw another titan triggerfish too. A Very good dive. Visibility very good.
THE FOLLOWING DIVES ARE AT AMED, BALI, INDONESIA
15 May 2024 - Leannes Wall
This is located 6 km ESE of Uyah Dive Resort, took about 20 mins to get there by boat. Moored just off Bintang (Bhima) Beach in about 2 metres of water. Headed N for a bit to the slope and then S along the sloping gully till the bottom turned to the N again. This became the wall. It was a steep slope at first and then a shear wall down to perhaps 35-40 metres. Very cold in spots, only 25C!! Mostly was 27C deeper and 29C shallow. No current except for the cold water which really only lasted seconds. The wall has lots of barrel sponges and small bright yellow gorgonias. Saw two titan triggerfish here but they did not cause trouble. A few bigger ones. Some coral pieces. Lots of fish around, including some garden eels earlier in the dive. A few moray eels and only three nudibranchs. A nice dive despite the lack of macro. Visibility very good.
15 May 2024 - Barracuda Point
This site is back towards the hotel and only 3.8 km E. Started off the E end of Bunutan Beach and drifted to the E and ESE around the point. Started in 3 metres and went N into deeper water and then E. Thousands of barrel sponges, some are huge. Also hundreds of gorgonias, some also large. A few pink ones but no pygmy sea horses. Saw the biggest garden eels I have ever seen at the start of the dive, hundreds of them. A few moray eels, two ribbon eels and lots of tropical fish. At the end heaps of large brain corals, one the biggest I have seen I think. A nice dive, with some current pushing us along in the middle part of the dive. Visibility very good.
16 May 2024 - Jemeluk Wall
Located about 10 mins to E, 2.1 km, at the E end of Jemeluk Beach off the point. Went N to slope and then E till the wall started. It ran N. Followed this at depth. At first more of a slope and then steeper. Lots of small gorgonias, a few barrel sponges, some larger pink gorgonias (no pygmies), sponges and hard coral. Very nice wall. When it turned R we came to near the top of the wall and headed back S. Saw some moray eels, a few nudibranchs, a ribbon eel. Part way along there was a mooring with a concrete square figure 8s holding it in place. Also some rio for coral to grow on. Then back to boat. Good dive. Visibility very good.
16 May 2024 - Selatan/Song Lawah
This site is 2.4 km NW of resort N of bura Song Lawah. We started off the point and drifted N about 390 metres and drifted but no real current. Dropped into a sandy slope about 9 m and then gradually got deeper to almost 30 m. Some large coral outcrops with some large gorgonias on them. Some barrel sponges, sponges, hard corals etc. Lots of fishlife around, a few juvenile sweetlips and a juvenile ribbon eel. Some moray eels and a few nudibranchs too. Lots of fishing net around, not big but long and stretched all over the place. Also a very thick rope running from the shallows deep. Towards the end we found a grey giant anglerfish on a grey sponge. About 30 m along was another one. Brilliant! From here worked our way shallow. A very good dive. Visibility very good.
17 May 2024 - Palung Palung
This is located at Tulamben, just around from Dropoff, 400 metres from the beach. Drift dive 200 metres to a bommie SE. Bottom a sandy slope with weedy looking coral on a lot of the bottom with sand inbetween. Some large coral outcrops here and there. Large flatish sponges on coral, with some chubby tube sponges here and there. A few lionfish, a friendly large turtle, a ribbon eel, a few moray eels, a yellow-lined triggerfish, lots of flutemouths and plenty of tropical fish. A very good dive with the best viz of trip, 30 m. Visibility excellent.
17 May 2024 - Batu Kelebit
Started at the same bommie where the last dive finished. Drifted SE and S. Similar sandy slope to last dive but none of the weedy coral, just coral outcrops. A few gorgonias, similar sponges. Another large turtle, a juvenile ribbon eel, a few large moray eels, lionfish and flutemouth. Ended up at a series of five huge steel structures. These are apparently left over from a fish farm that went broke. This is off the abandoned house and property we passed numerous times at Tulamben. Also three large Admiralty type anchors and stainless steel chain to buoys. Another good dive. Visibility very good.
18 May 2024 - Marina (no idea why)
Short 2 mins ride in the boat to straight off the road that comes in from the highway, western end of the main beach. Dropped down at a mooring and went N. Went down deeper to the wreck of a largish fast passenger ferry. Fully intact. Has been down a while. Two white leaf fish on the stern. Then SW a bit and followed a rope which had 3 ornate ghost pipefish on it. Then SW and some more rope, 10 more ornates on it, one big, the rest small. Others saw a robust ghost pipefish on the way. Lots of shrimp, some nudibranchs, lots of squat lobsters on one featherstar, Getting shallower, lots of Shaun the Sheep and then a large anemone. I got bitten on my hand and arm by one clownfish! Back in 5 metres a reef made from rocks with a huge amount of small fish on it and some moray eels. A very good dive. Visibility excellent.
18 May 2024 - Ghost Bay
This was a shore dive started and finishing in front of the hotel. Went straight out to artificial reefs, six dome structures made from steel. Also many other structures with large and small "pipes", bottles and more. Lots of fish on them, including a large spotted moray eel that I tickled through one hole to get it to come out a bit. Seemed to like it. Then went deeper to another pile of junk which had thousands of small fish on it. Saw an octopus on the way and after, a mimic octopus. Both disappeared into tiny holes in the sand. A couple of very large mantis shrimps, two tiny translucent lionfish, about 4 mm long. More proper lionfish, crabs, shrimp and Shauns. On the way back some garden eels. A nice dive. Visibility very good.
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