CNY on Nusa Lembongan

[charlier]

Chinese New Years on Nusa Lembongan, Bali

We just arrived home after a week trip to Nusa Lembongan. The weather (e.g., winds and swell) was way better than expected. We stayed at Two Fish. Steph and Laurent were gracious hosts, along with the Two Fish crew. The conditions limited us to the northern dive sites that included PED, Buyuk, SD, PED, Toyapakeh, Sental, and Mangrove, + Crystal Bay on our first day. On the north side, we saw two Mola² at about 30m! Another out of season encounter for me! On most of our dives, we were the only boat. During the last day, the winds died down and with a smooth 1.5m swell, we visited Manta Point. We were alone at Manta Point, but had the pleasure to dive with seven Manta's. Since we were diving Nitrox, we had our own dive master! Even when we joined another group, we had two divemasters for our group of four. The island was empty! Charlie
Photos taken by Andre & post-processing by Joanne

 

[Wisnu]

wow, mola in January + 7 mantas, you're lucky man

 

[charlier]

Yes, we are lucky. I forgot to mention all the great macro, etc.

 

[maat1976]

Those mola molas are sure weird looking creatures. I'm heading there in June but we probably won't see any at that time.

 

[EL Pistoffo]

Wow. Nice you got to see the Molas, they are on the top of my sighting list. I'll be there April-May of next year. Don't know if I have much of a chance to see one.

You mentioned you got your own DM being on nitrox. Why, the others where on air with separate DM?

 

[AlMitch]

Thanks for the report and you sure are a lucky son of a gun!!
I was looking seriously at NL for a trip in April and Two Fish were at the top of the list.
How did you find the accommodation?
How close is it to the beach?
What is the beach like right by the resort?

 

[charlier]

We rented a superior room with a/c at TwoFish. Nothing fancy, but the room was clean with nice garden view to the pool. The shower was incredibility hot or cool, not much in-between - with great water pressure! Since its so hot outside, a cool shower worked great for us.

Simple and nice breakfasts outside. My wife walked over for her 6:30 am coffee. I lounged in the morning around checking email until 7am breakfast. WIFI was slow, but it worked fine for email and reading the online news/magazines. Choice of pancakes, eggs, cereal, and fruit for breakfast. Tea, nescafe instant coffee, bread and toast are always available, with cold drinks, juices, beer, etc. as an extra cost. All food arrives on NL via boat. We were a short walk from the beach and boat.

They have a nice bar next to the swimming pool. FYI, the pool is mostly for teaching OW classes. It is not a lap pool, but refreshing.

The TwoFish crew took all equipment to the beach and loaded it on the boat. I just arrived with my dry bag, sunglasses, and sunscreen. Since we used Nitrox, we analysed the tanks at 7:45 am. This gave the crew time to get everything on the boat. All is totally mellow and chill. No stress, no rushing at all. Two Fish set up almost everyone's kit, except ours. We like to do it ourself. At the end of the trip, they break down the kit (except for us), transport it back to the hotel and wash and hang everything on PCV hangers. They have separate tanks for cleaning regs vs wetsuits. The TwoFish crew were careful, helpful, and cheery.

The beach by the resort was clean (by Indonesia standards), with many small boats tied to the beach. Similar to many small Indonesia Islands, NL has a garbage problem. Two Fish managers, Steph and Laurent with others have started a recycling program and are trying to limit burning trash. This will take some time.

It seems to us that we were the only divers during our visit that were using Nitrox. Our DM used it as well. Other guests used air. FYI, Nitrox on NL is expensive - I've been told is mostly due to transportation from the mainland.

Lastly, Mola² - my only other encounter was in early May - again off season. My personal view is that if I have low expectations, I will see Mola-Mola's or other such wonderful creatures. Otherwise I am always disappointed.

 

[AlMitch]

Thanks for that. You confirmed pretty much what I had imagined.
NL is definitely on our "To DO" list.
But we have decided rather to head off to Lembeh again and go critter hunting.

 

[EL Pistoffo]

Thanks for the Two Fish report. We will be staying and diving there next year for a few days.

 

[gee13]

How was the weather and can you remember what temp it was when you saw the Molas?


I also believe if you dont think of seeing one or talk about it youre more likely to encounter one.