Manta Diving in Nusa Lembongan

After a tearful goodbye to Nilufer and Chloe at the airport we directed our hotel supplied luxury air-con people-carrier to Sanur, on the south east coast of Bali, to catch a boat to the Balinese Island of Nusa Lembongan.  It was sad saying goodbye to the girls but our bank card breathed a sigh of relief as it had quite a pounding during the girls' two week holiday.  Amusingly the driver tried to drop us at the high-end fast boat office (£35 one-way) but raised an eyebrow when we asked to be dropped by the slow public ferry (£4 one-way).  So with a bunch of other budget conscious travellers, lots of locals, a huge amount of cargo including gas bottles, wall tiles, water barrels and a scooter we set off for Lembongan.

On arrival we headed to a dive shop we had been recommended by divers on Gili Trawangan.  The rough weather meant diving was not recommended for the first couple of days, but fortunately I was still nursing a cold so it gave me time to shake it off.  After finding some accommodation we simply stayed put for the rest of the day, wrote some blog articles and turned in early to watch the Malaysian Grand Prix (downloaded in Ubud).  The following day we rented a scooter from one of the waiters (£4.50 for the day will full tank!) and set off to explore the island.  Unlike the Gili's this island is a working island (i.e. not solely for tourism) and is a bit apart from the occassional vehicles are limited to scooters and bicycles.  We had a great day exploring a few of the recommended beaches and limestone cliffs, where the large swells roll in and create geyser-like jets of water spray.  When the tide goes out many of the older generation head out into the bays to farm the seaweed, currently Nusa Lembongan's primary source of income.  As such, the island is comparitively un-developed.  The most remarkable aspect though is the friendliness of the locals.  No matter whether they are 8 or 80 they smile, wave and say hello as you ride past.  Not once did we feel that we were getting looks of contempt.

Our third day on the island and I managed to get my first dive in over a year.  It was a pretty tricky dive with a very strong current.  For once the wet suit was not so short that I felt like I was being castrated but nursed a few problems with my mask and buoyancy; nevertheless it was fun and the amount of coral and fish were amazing.  The dive shop also rented out bungalows which once available we moved to, making our accommodation cost only £6.90 per night.  After the two morning dives and quick bite to eat Nilgun attended a yoga class.  She proclaims she has never sweated so much as when doing yoga in the mid afternoon Balinese heat.  I instead opted for working, from a hammock, one of my pet projects.

Our fourth, and final day, was the big day. The primary reason we visited Nusa Lembongan was to scuba dive with Manta Rays.  Due to how the currents are around the island creates conditions that are favourable for Mantas.  This is one of the few places in the world where you can be (almost) guaranteed of seeing Mantas, and not just one.  The dive did not disappoint.  Before we had even left the boat there was one alongside on the surface of the water.  After entry it did not take long to see one, then another, then another.  In fact there were so many coming and going that it was impossible to know how many there were and whether it was just a few circling.  Nilgun was so excited, even with a mask and scuba gear I could see her wide-eyed and thrilled at the site of the Mantas.

We were quite lucky with our choice of dive shop as two marine conservation scientists were staying there.  Their primary focus was the manta rays and we were able to learn a lot from them.  Peter gave a lecture the evening before our dive and also a 101 session on Mantas before we left so that we could try and take photos to help them identify the Mantas.  In fact, one of our photos helped them identify a particular Manta and it turned out that there were in total nine mantas in the water with us that day.