Exploring Dive Sites in Nusa Penida | Intern’s Journal by Jonas Preisler
After having spent almost two entire months as a marketing intern at Blue Season Bali and having done several dive trips up to Tulamben and Amed, last week it was finally my turn at exploring dive sites in Nusa Penida. I think I don’t really have to mention that the diving in Nusa Penida is some of the most sought-after in Bali. However for the sake of the reader’s pleasure I’ll just repeat the fact that the richness and diversity of wonderful marine life (such as Mola Molas and Mantas!) as well as the stunning underwater scenery are second to none.
Just prior to departure, the trip was made even more exciting for me when I heard that I was to accompany the entire team of Blue Season Bali’s Divemaster interns. Usually I sit in the office and only see them occasionally in the passing at the dive center (and then I get to hear about how awesome their latest dive adventure was), so it was really great to spend an entire day together with them exploring dive sites in Nusa Penida.
The trip started off with the usual 7:30am departure and the 45 min boat ride to the adjacent islands of Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Penida. The sea was calm and the sun was shining so the crossing was very enjoyable and pleasant this day. Our first dive was at Blue Corner in Nusa Lembongan. It can be a challenging dive site with strong currents and undertow but as the day was nice and calm and the tidal movement was rather weak, the dive turned out to be a very pleasant drift dive with great visibility and a cheerful entourage. Sadly enough, no mola mola decided to bless us with its presence and with this missed opportunity the chances of me seeing my first of this specimen during my time here greatly diminished.
The second dive of the trip was at Manta Point where the visibility was rather moderate as the surge whirled up a lot of sediment. Divemaster intern James was to guide the dive and, given the difficult conditions, he did so very skillfully without any major hick-up. We spotted a shark (I believe it was a nurse shark) as well as a pretty large sting ray but, again, the main attraction we wanted to see, the manta rays, did not decide to turn up. Nevertheless, it was a fun dive and the only moderate visibility made me appreciate the third day even more!
Crystal Bay sure has its name for a good reason. The water in this site was so clear that you could almost see from one end of the bay to the next. This being my first dive here, I was really astonished by the visibility and the variety and richness of the corals and marine life and I thoroughly enjoyed the dive. As this was our third dive of the day we needed to stay in shallow waters and therefore we only took a quick look over the edge of the drop-off instead of descending further down to the cleaning station where during the right season mola molas are often to be found. This day unfortunately neither mantas nor mola molas turned up, however given the fact that I was accompanied by a great bunch of people and we were diving in paradise in pristine conditions on a beautiful day, this time was more than well spent!
Finally, on our way back to Sanur, lying on deck in the sun and feeling the ocean breeze pass by, being all satisfied and happy from the day’s diving, I remember thinking of just how fortunate we all are to be living a dream on a daily basis here in Bali. Carpe Diem.
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