The "insiders guide" to the Liberty Wreck at Tulamben in Bali

[donsilcock]

In January this year, with the support of Tulamben Wreck Divers who sponsored my trip, I spent six days diving the Liberty Wreck 4-5 times a day.

My objective was to try and understand the level of degradation that happens on the wreck because of the sheer numbers of divers who visit it - up to 150 a day in peak season.... I felt that there must be more going on than was immediately apparent because diving the wreck every year or so, and photographing it in the process, shows that significant damage does occur but the wreck seems to be able to rejuvenate itself!

It was a really interesting experience and I documented it all in an article that is in the current issue of X-Ray and over the weekend I completed updating my site with a kind of "insiders guide" to the Liberty so that other divers can understand what I think I gleaned from the experience.

Here is the link to the insiders guide to the Liberty wreck and just follow the various links to the other pages.

Here is the link to the X-Ray article on the Liberty wreck.

Don

 

[matts1w]

Thanks, Don. So awesome to read this. One of my favorite dives ever was alone on the liberty at 5:45 AM in flat water and perfect vis. Special is the only way I can describe it. I really enjoyed your narrative and the pictures are incredible.

As for your question, "Should we leave the wreck to the backpackers?" I am assuming by backpackers you simply mean the hoards of tourists who happen to dive a little... I am not so sure all of them qualify as "backpackers." No matter... Honestly, I have long ago settled with leaving Bali to the tourists and really dont care if I ever dive there again even though, and we all know it, the Liberty remains an AMAZING dive.... For me, too much of the "Kuta attitude" has sadly filtered its way up to Amed and Tulamben. The asgressive t-shirt hawkers and dive guides who relocate ghost pipefish to crush the competition gets pretty old. I still love to visit Lembongan, the Gils, and especially South Lombok, but clearly the writing is the wall with those places, too. I reckon the real fun now is searching for the next amazing spot...

 

[iDreamOfBubbles]

I leave for Bali on Friday, so I'm very glad to have a little "insider" information on the wreck. Thanks, that was a great read with tons of amazing pictures!

 

[donsilcock]

Thanks for the comments - greatly appreciated and yes, I was being a bit flippant about backpackers....

I like your comment about "Kute attitude" as it kind of sums it up.

Don

 

[xariatay]

Hey, Don, stunning photography. I love the colours of your photos... will add more thoughts after I have finished reading the article but did you get Tony's last name wrong? Dive Bali with Tulamben Wreck Divers - Bali Diving - About UsTulamben Wreck Divers - Bali

 

[jake11]

wow!!! thanks for the tips! We will be there soon and I am going to request a very early morning dive on the wreck!

 

[iDreamOfBubbles]

Just got back from Bali, your guide was so helpful to diving the Liberty! I did half a dozen dives on the wreck over the course of my week in Tulamben, and the night dive that I did on it was undoubtedly my favorite dive of the trip.

 

[alcina]

BTW Tony's name is Medcraft, not Medlow

I'll be staying at Tony's and diving Bali for the first time ever in September/October and I'm excited - but I'm also an early morning kind of girl, so it should work very nicely