Nusa Lembongan/Nusa Penida?

[dirtfarmer]

Nusa Lembongan/ Nusa Penida have recently come on to my radar. I'm thinking of combining a trip there with Lembeh. ( Right now it's this combo or a Sipadan trip)
I've done Lembeh (Love it) and read a bit about Lembongan. I would be travelling in early November so would miss Mola Mola season.
I shoot photos and video, both wide angle and macro.

Here's what I know about Lembongan:
Drift dives,Manta's,Sharks/Pelagics, Mola Mola's.

Anyone that's been there give me more depth of knowledge?
Conditions of the reefs?
Reliability of Manta sightings? Is there a season?
Ripping current?
Lot's of sharks or a few? ( did Palau last year)

Thanks!
Dirtfarmer

 

[Dim]

Hi, I have been to Nusa Lembongan/Penida 2 times. The reefs where we went (northeast corner of nusa Lembongan) were pretty nice, far better then I expected. At manta point we saw three manta's and from what I heard you can expect to see manta's almost all year round. The difficulty with manta point is, it is near the shore line which consists of steap cliffs. When the weather is bad, the waves are too big and then it will probaby be impossible to dive there. November is start of the monsoon season, so you need to be a little lucky weatherwise.
I did a total of 5 dives there and didn 't see any sharks unfortunately.

 

[divewench1]

Hi Dirtfarmer

FYI Bali doesn't have a monsoon season, but does have a rainy season which can affect the visibility in certain dive sites, but never stops us diving.

Yes, sometimes the waves can be too big to get to Manta Point, but this can happen at any time of the year, not just in rainy season, and as we have giant Manta all year around, your chances are good. We have recently found a second 'Manta Point' area, where young juvenile manta can be found, also at Nusa Penida. (shhh, its a secret!)

As for the conditions of the corals along the Penida/Lembongan coast; I'd say these are some of the best in the area, as the strong currents mean that divers drift over them rather than kicking into the corals.

Ceningan Wall, and Gamat Bay have some of the best tiered walls you will see in Bali, with a great chance of seeing pelagics passing through.

But, if you want sharks, try Amuk Bay (Gili Tepekong/Gili Mimpang/Gili Biaha).

 

[zivva]

Anyone that's been there give me more depth of knowledge?
Conditions of the reefs?
Reliability of Manta sightings? Is there a season?
Ripping current?
Lot's of sharks or a few? ( did Palau last year)

Hi,

I'm working in Nusa Lembongan as an Instructor for a year now.

So, to respond to your questions :

- Reef conditions :
Pristine.
No mass fishing (except long line targeting sharks just a few miles off Nusa Penida east coast, see Shark Fishing in Bali - Bali Shark Project) neither bomb fishing never occured here. Not a lot of DSD neither Open Water courses, so not so many people playing with their fins on the coral on a daily basis ...
The best coral and aquatic life being - in my opinion, shared by most of the local guides - Mangrove Point, Toyapakeh, SD Point, Karang Sari & Batu Abah.
Crystal Bay being the most popular dive site (way too popular in high season ...). It's indeed a nice dive site but I'm really not sure its popularity is well diserved : it can be super nice (but not better than my favorites ...), just a good one, or a nightmare depending of conditions ... and number of people around. Some parts of Crystal Bay are severely damaged : how could it be different when you have guides & their guests actually sitting on the coral waiting for the mola molas ... But most of the dive site remains vivid, specially the plateau where most of the stupidly-only-awaiting-Molas-to-show-up divers don't go

- Manta :
Can be seen year-round. 90% chances to dive with them when getting to Manta Bays (or whatever Secret you call them ...) or Manta Point.
The only tricky part being weather conditions (wind + swell) preventing boats to get there (and whatever when high swell level or strong wind, Mantas are not here ...) about 10 days a month in average. Numbers vary from 20 to just a few.
BTW, we only have reef manta (Alfredi) rays overthere not oceanic ones (Birostris). Some of them can get big (up to 4m, 2.5m on average, quite a nice number of juvenile & pregnant ones) but it's a nice shortcut to call them giant manta
Still, we are lucky enought to have about 10% of black Alfredis that is nice (because pretty rare generally) indeed.

- Current :
No current at Manta dive sites, only swell.
Currents are more or less medium everywhere but still unpredictable. Stronger currents occur mostly on Nusa Penida east coast + Blue Corner but still very manageable.
For sure, conditions can get crazy in every drift dive site, but obviously operators generally don't bring divers underwater with dozen of eddy at the surface ...

- Sharks :
Just a few.
150+ sharks being fished daily during the matting season just a few miles away off Nusa Penida may not be compatible with plenty of sharks dive spots ...
From the past 6 months, on average we see 50 sharks a month (sometimes 5 of them on a dive, most of the time just 1). From Baboo (mostly) to black tip, white tip, grey or whale shark on occasion (like 7 of them in the last 6 months ... don't come here to expect any encounter).

- Mola Mola :
Peak season between july and september.
Just an advice : try not to dive Crystal Bay in July / August, unless you like the tank banger sound & seeing dozens of divers at the same tiny spot waiting for the mola. Mola can be seen on a lot of other dive sites ... November is not the best season but still you can have some luck ...

You still can get further details including photos & videos updates here : Fresh news from Nusa Lembongan & Nusa Penida

 

[buiszie]

I agree with zivva, couldnt say it better....

 

[Tippytoes12]

Cannot recommend Lembongan highly enough. It's such a lovely little unspoilt working island , with no hassle, virtually no traffic , very few tourists and the most awesome diving. We have been lucky enough to visit Komodo , the Similans. Bunaken , Red Sea, other areas in Thailand , Tulamben, the Gilis etc etc and honestly for the quality of the reefs and marine life Lembongan is second only ( and a very close second) to Komodo and better than the other areas as wonderful as they all are. All 20 minutes and $100 dollars from Bali.

We dived and stayed with World Diving who also have three classes of rooms . The mantas are very common there, but as previous posters have said the weather can be a factor. It's obviously less of an issue of you stay on the island and get to the sites before the day boats from Bali arrive.

 

[Hike]

I just got back from Bali. Nusa Penida can get some serious sea conditions. On our way to Manta Point, we had two meter seas (but the actual dive site is a little protected. If you encounter weather like this, the visibility at Manta Point will be awful due to the sandy bottom getting churned up. Was about 5-8 meters when I dove there, but we still saw a couple of mantas (probably many more that we couldnt see due to the limited viz).

If you are looking for sharks, Bali is not a great option. Even the dives off Mimipang and Tepekong that they describe as shark dives dont have many sharks. Maybe the occasional baby whitetip hiding in a cave. I have done four dives there and saw one baby whitetip, and the current can be insane here and unpredictable, but can be a nice dive if the visibility is good.

 

[dirtfarmer]

Thanks all of you!

Great info. I'm not expecting or looking for lots of sharks, so any I see will be a plus. I would be staying on the island so thanks for that tip.
From what I understand November is pretty good weather wise but the start of rainy season, so hopefully I'll be able to dive Manta point.
(This last winter I spent 20 days on my favorite island and got shut out of the best sites due to wind conditions

If the reef comes close to Komodo I'll be happy. And I won't mind doing my best superhero imitation flying over the reefs.

Might anyone comment on the Macro reef life? Any of anemone/crab/shrimp/nudibranch/frogfish/pipefish?
Hows the small reef fish population?

Thanks again for all the info,
Dirtfarmer

 

[zivva]

Might anyone comment on the Macro reef life? Any of anemone/crab/shrimp/nudibranch/frogfish/pipefish?
Hows the small reef fish population?

Some local dive sites are better than others for macro but it highly depends of the conditions and your ability to hide under coral formations and pinnacles ... or just fly

Crystal Bay (inside the sandy bay & above the slope) / Toyapakeh / SD Point / Mangrove Point offer the best macro life around the islands.

Frog fish / Leaf scorpion fish / Porcelain crabs / Candy crabs / Cleaner shrimps / Anemone shrimps / Mantis shrimps & different kinds of Nudis & sea snails are quite common.

Otherwise, Lembongan Bay is not the best dive site ever, but a nice house reef with a huge number of juvenile cuttlefishes

 

[BCD Lembongan]

I agree with zivva, couldnt say it better....

I agree with him too... Crystal bay can be quite a circus in high season with all the speedboats from Bali dumping off loads of divers on the site. MUCH better sites exist around Lembongan & Penida where you have a high chance of seeing Molas also and get the whole dive site to just your group, even in high season!

PS. Sander when are you coming down to visit us?!? We've got some sunset Bintangs waiting for you here