While Perth isn't so bad, I probably hadn't been here 2 weeks before I was taught the art of bailing and getting out. With just a 4 hour flight, most Western Australians flee to Bali most every chance they get, whether to go surfing, clubbing, discount shopping, or even just to go to the one good water park. After 8 months in Perth, I accrued enough leave time to get to Bali for another 10 day dive trip.
John, Gemma, and Andrea flew in from Dubai to meet me in Denpasar, the largest city on the island of Bali, Indonesia. Our driver carried us across the island to Tulamben on the northwest coast. The first hotel, the Mimpi Resort, was a seaside dive resort set up like a private village of landscaped courtyards and plush cabanas. Our bathroom opened up to an outdoor shower where you could look up and see the stars at night or cats peering from the fence in the morning. Each courtyard included a private daybed under a thatched roof- the perfect reading spot.
Gemma at the door of her courtyard at Mimpi
Canoes perched on the cobble beach
Each morning after breakfast, we walked down the beach, suited up at a nearby resort and beachside cafe, and completed shore dives. I was amazed to watch bone-thin women balance tanks and vests on their heads without tripping on the cobble beaches.
Gemma balances on the precipice; behind her is the beach access to our dive sites-
Just off the beach is the USAT Liberty Wreck, a 120m long former American supply ship. The ship was hit by a Japanese torpedo during WWII and then stranded by the Americans at Tulamben. A 1963 eruption of Mount Agung forced the ship between 3-29m deep and onto its side, creating a perfect habitat for marine life. Diving the wreck was an adventure. We squeezed between beams and fouled timber, then ascended vertical shafts which probably once were corridors. We'd return at night (talk about disorienting- wreck diving at night) to find the ghost-like bumphead parrotfish hiding out in secret compartments.
Gemma, Andrea, and me
Around the wreck and sites nearby, we saw schools of bumphead, a few octopi, leaf fish, pygmy seahorses, a school of jack, a blue-spotted ray, huge clams, several nudibranches, and white crabs. At one point, our dive guide Parman took us to some small cleaner shrimp, which jumped inside John's mouth when he removed his reg.
The walk back from our dives were less exciting- during the day, we balanced on the cobbles and dodged t-shirt and kite vendors (who quickly learned my name and called for me incessantly). After our night wreck dive (which I was a little shaken from), our dive master Parman led the way on the cobbles in the dark, swinging his dive light and blinding gemma and me behind him.
We had 10 dives over 3 days in Tulamben, Seraya, and Amed. In Seraya we saw barracuda, large black and , tree bark fish, box pufferfish, stonefish, and
harlequin shrimp. In Amed, we saw 2 giant dark green Moray's, emperor shrimp, a black octopus, several rays, and the small but plentiful garden eels. Where there was a reef, the corals were vibrant and colorful. Gold stalks with blue and white tips appeared frostbitten, while fans corals created chambers and mazes for reef fish to navigate.
The coast around Tulamben was stunning, with tall frangipani, palms, banana trees, and blossoming bougainvilla. The air was always pleasantly scented- at sunset, village roads filled with smoke from barbecued fish and meat, incense burned daily at the small shrines near each home, and offerings burned at each house with blossoms and rice in bamboo leave trays.
Breakfast was spent looking out over the ocean with pineapple pancakes. Lunch between dives was usually satay chicken and fish lunches. Grilled fish with lime was always the best choice for dinner. At nights, we'd venture out to nearby resorts and restaurants for dinner and drinks. Looking up to a brilliant night sky with celestial clouds in full view, black waves lapped against the cobble beaches below. Stomachs filled with Bintang.
The four of us saying goodbye to Parman before leaving Tulamben!
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