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Diving in
Lombok Island-Indonesia
Diving in Gili Trawangan, Meno Air
Coral and diving
Three small
islands, surrounded by coral, The Gilis, off Lombok's west
coast, are fast becoming one of her main draw cards. Dive
centres with all the high tech equipment and professional
instructors ensure that visiting divers at all levels of
experience and ability can dive in waters that have more
varieties of fish than anywhere in the world - and that
includes The Great Barrier Reef and Red Sea.
Gili Trawangan
Gili Trawangan
now appears to head the list as the most popular island - it
has long had a reputation as the 'party' island mainly
through a concentrated and central foreshore area of
restaurants, dive operations and hotels including some
luxury boutique choices.
Gili Meno
Gili Meno still
the quietest island is a place to escape to and although it
has a smaller list of accommodation options those that it
has are tending towards a more up-market clientele.
Snorkeling off beaches of pure white sand the coral is
superb.
Gili Air
has the largest
local population and while it has more of a lived-in feeling
than the other two islands for some that is quite possibly
its attraction. On Gili Air it's possible to likewise enjoy
the marine possibilities but also one can absorb some of the
local culture missing on the other islands.
In addition to
the Gilis there are many other dive and snorkel
possibilities such as an area now being prmoted on the
rugged south coast where the experienced can now dive among
hammerheads and rays.
Diving in South Lombok
South Lombok and South West Lombok Diving Location and
Information
 lombok
diving, safari and liveaboardsThe diving in the south of
Lombok is not very widely known, quite good but challenging.
There is one dive operator in the Bay of Blongas (Bay of
Tranquility). The Bay of Blongas is a large sheltered bay
with a peninsula. The waters here are calm, but as soon as
cross the narrow mouth around Gili Wayang, the sea gets much
rougher and choppy with a strong surge. The interesting dive
sites all lie here, mostly steep rocks and boulders some
half covered with water so this is only for experienced
divers! The dive sites are all 20 to 30 min by speedboat
form the resort. Visibility is not so good at most places 15
to 20m.
Diving in the South of Lombok, some people said only for
divers who had over 50 dives tanks but some beginner divers
also available but not in Magnet area ( Blongas bay ) but in
Kuta bay Area.
 For
divers who would like to enjoy some pristine dive sites, we
offer a world of 100% intact coral and a unique variety of
species.
Its an Eldora do for underwater photographers.
Aside from all this, there are deep-water pinnacles, where
experienced divers (min. Advanced Cert./+ 50 dives) can find
schools of lombok diving, safari and liveaboardsbig fishes:
barracudas, mackerels, and even hammerheads.
But, In South of Lombok, Not only for experianced Divers,
For beginner also there is several spots available for them,
JJR, Plawangan, Tanjung A'an and Gili Medas is for those who
like to see coral reefs which much better the Gili Islands.
The area has a very rough look, the landscape is very
impressive, with large waves pounding jagged rocks and lots
of white spray everywhere. From the boat you can see some
beautiful sandy beaches, stretching for kilometers but
empty, because of the waves crashing some way our. The bay
itself though earns its name of "Bay of Tranquility" because
it is very flat and calm with nice beaches and small fishing
villages. It can be reached from Lembar harbor (ferry from
Bali about 4 to 5 hrs) in about an hour over a very bad
road.
Dive Spot Information
01. Magnet
This dive sites is the reason why most divers come here,
mainly because there is a good chance to see hammerhead
sharks. This is a large rocky pinnacle lombok diving, safari
and liveaboardsjutting up from about 50m below. It lies in
the open sea and 20 to 30 min. by boat. Large waves crash on
top of the rock and over it and the resulting surge can be
felt even down at 20 meters! Actually you can only dive
safely below 15m because of the surge and all the bubbles in
the water and safety stops are made away from the rock. For
experienced divers only!
 You
dive on the north side of the rock and make a drop right in
the middle, if possible. If the currents are not so strong
you can now continue the dive by going in zigzag back and
forth between the eastern and western edge where the
currents coming from the south can be felt strongly. The
large pelagics such as hammerheads, whitetip sharks,
mackerels and barracudas congregate here in large numbers.
If the currents are fiercer, the area where you can dive
narrows with side currents pushing you towards the middle of
the sheer wall. If the currents lessen you can even dive
entirely around the rock which even then is still a
challenge, because you have to fight against both current
and surge..
The amount of fish you see is quiet amazing and during our
week there we saw a lot of really large dog tooth tunas,
some mobulas (like manta rays, but smaller) and eagle rays,
several sharks including hammerheads and twice we just seem
to hit a wall of barracudas - great! We also went once out
to the Magnet and decided not to dive, because it was too
dangerous. The other dive sites are more sheltered, so we
went there.
02.
Coral Garden
lombok diving, safari and liveaboardsYou dive around two
larger rocks with a seriees of smaller rocks which lie on
sand. Lot's of soft corals in yellow, orange and purple
colors, whip corals, some gorgonians and anemones. We found
some nice nudibranchs and shrimps and also saw a school of
small barracudas. An easy dive, max. depth about 25m.
03. Wollis Pinnacle
lombok diving, safari and liveaboardsa large rock which top
is about 7m below the surface and some more rocks tumbled
together and lying on white sand. We saw a black giant
frogfish, sharks, ribbon eels and several species of
nudibranchs. There is sheltered area with gorgonians, table
corals and black corals. An easy but interesting dive, max.
depth 19m
04. Gili Sera
lombok diving, safari and liveaboardsthis is a big junk of
rock. Underwater it looks like large pieces of the rock fell
down and are now litterling the sand all around the island.
These rocks are covered with leather corals, sponges and
tunicates, but there are some more sheltered areas where
table corals and black corals grow. When the currents are
not very strong, this is a nice dive site for small animals
such as nudibranchs, shrimps, glass fishes, scorpionfishes
and even the occasional sea snake, white tip reef shark or
ray.
05. The Cathedral
This
large pinnacle rises from about 40m to the surface. Only a
small rock is visible from the surface and zthe crashing
waves fills the upper 5m of water with bubbles. You dive on
a steep wall covered with soft corals, sponges and
tunicates. There are yellow sea cucumbers everywhere. We
encountered two species of sea snakes, the common banded sea
krait and I think the turtlehead sea snake (Emydocephalus
annulatus). The later has a much larger head and a brown
color but also some lighter colored bands.
The swell makes you go up and down a lot - not so good for
your ears - and like on the Magnet we actually surfaced from
about 10m by swimming away some distance to avoid the swell.
For experienced
06. The Highway Dive Site - Sekotong
The
extensive reef north of Sekotong is a popular site for
morning dives. The reef runs for about 3 km with sidetracks
veering off to the right and left. The top of the reef
starts at 18m and descends to a sandy bottom at about 32m. A
huge variety of species can be found here with abundant
pellagics like Jacks, Trevallies, Whitetip Reef Sharks, Rays
(including Mantas) and much more.
07.Hadiah Reef Dive Site - Sekotong
This
northern reef takes you down to about 26m, and is home to a
multitude of colorful reef fish: Lionfish, Sergeantfish,
Gobies of all sorts, and an array of Nudibranchs. It's a
great night dive destination, as it is home to many Lobsters
and Crustaceans. Uh oh, we might get hungry on this one
guys!
08.Triology Dive Site - Sekotong
A
marvelous reef in the northwest, this dive site still needs
to be explored as there are three main routes. So far we
have found Shrimp, Ghost pipefish, and Glassfish,
Bluespotted rays, Cuttlefish, Moray eels and a lot more. Off
the reef in the blue you might see a Whitetip Reef Shark
posing for you.
09.Sunken Island Dive Site - Sekotong
This soft
slope to the west of Sektong is very popular for relaxed and
colorful diving. Groupers, Batfish, Trumpetfish, shy
Octopus, and bearded Scorpionfish can be found around the
deeper coral blocks. With a little luck you can see Eagle
Rays and Mantas cruising out in the blue.
10.Gili Renggit Dive Site - Sekotong
Another favorite in the west is Gili Renggit, as it offers
rare species for the macro fan. The corals are alive with
Nudibranchs, Ghost pipefish, and colorful Shrimp. Can you
find the camouflaged Frogfish? Let the Cleaner Shrimp give
you a manicure or teeth cleaning.
11.Stairs to Medang Dive Site - Sekotong
Terracing down from 14m to about 35m this site provides a
fascinating underwater landscape where you can experience
the Indopacific at it's best with Mantas, different species
of Sharks, and plenty of lively reef fish in all colors and
sizes. On the top of the plateau Lobsters and Turtles make
frequent appearances.
12.Batu Gendang Dive Site - Sekotong
"The
drum stone" descends to about 25m with massive blocks giving
you the impression of diving a labyrinth. It is the home to
Whitetip Reef Sharks, Napoleonfish, and many Sweetlips.
13.Batu Mandi Dive Site - Sekotong
Dive
with different species of Sharks, Tuna, Jacks, and
Barracudas. Even schools of Eagle Rays are a possibility.
Ooh, I hope we get this lucky!
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