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| Offshore - Manta Point Nusa Penida |
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| Written by James Carys - hellobalimagazine.com | |
| Monday, 02 June 2008 | |
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‘Extremely fast currents sweep you along the coral walls with the ocean literally seething off into the darkness of the trench' Manta Point Nusa PenidaBali may have its fair share of dive locations worth exploring (think the USS Liberty shipwreck in Tulamben, Bunutan Bay in the east and Menjangan to the west) but the real diving starts when you hit the three islands of Nusa Lembongan, Cenigan and Nusa Penida. Strong currents prevail in the crossing of the geographical division known as the Wallace Line, the Lombok strait being one of the deepest trenches in the world means that any dive conducted here should be by confident individuals, with professional, experienced divers and with the best equipment available. Pigmy Bali Diving (Jl By Pass Ngurah Rai, T: 0361 778 320) can get divers over to Penida in under 45 minutes with their new speedboat operation but what can you expect to find when you dive there? Manta Point is recognized as being one of the premier dive sites on the islands to witness huge mantas grouping in relatively shallow waters at the cleaning stations. The colder water ensures excellent visibility often up to thirty metres whilst the odd giant pelagics are often spotted around this southern area of the island. Crystal Bay is part of the Cenigan channel and plays home to the much sought after Mola Mola as well as sharks, eagle rays schools of triggerfish and angelfish by the dozen. This little bay is about as pristine as you might hope to find around the Bali region, that is until you get out to Lombok. Again, caution must be taken with the strong currents in the channel, high tide dives tend to be smoother but consideration must be given to the cycle of the moon and tidal fluctuations around new and full moons. Blue corner is at the northwest of Nusa Lembongan and is possibly one of Bali's best dive sites. Extremely fast currents sweep you along the coral walls with the ocean literally seething off into the darkness of the trench metres from where you are. The whole experience can be extremely daunting with up and down currents causing mayhem with your dive computer and the cross sweep accelerating you towards giant outcroppings. Experienced divers only here, keep an eye on your buddy and wear gloves to hang onto the reef with, chances are good you'll need to at some stage of the dive. Try and avoid diving here during big swells as the visibility can be affected badly, larger pelagics are often sighted as are mantas, sun fish, barracudas and the odd shark. The entire northern shoreline of Nusa Penida plays home to sites worth exploring. A day trip out to these three islands is highly recommended for intermediate to advanced divers. |
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