OK Trip Report!
Just got back from a week of diving which included 2 days of diving at Bali and another 2 days at South Lombok. Will just concentrate on the South Lombok site:
We went with an outfit called Dream Divers, who were supposedly one of the first dive operators to dive the area, and its where Dive Zone started from later on. The guide we used was from Dream Divers, but the logistics were all arranged by Dive Zone. We staged out of the Belongas Bay resort.
The Magnet is a pinnacle that sticks out of the ocean right out in the open sea. The Indo govt has built a lighthouse on the pinnacle, so its a pretty obvious dive site. The swells were quite big (1-3m) and water was also very choppy. Since all the dive operators used a small motorboat (6-8 pax), it was a rather exciting journey there.
Descent was negative entry, because if you miss the pinnacle, you could be swept away by the currents, which would ruin the dive. Anyway, we did only 1 dive each day at the Magnet (had to abort the first dive on day 2 cos the surface conditions did not allow us to dive). One day 1, the other group spotted a Great Hammerhead, and on day 2, I spotted 3 scalloped hammerheads on the dive. So yes, there ARE hammerheads there! They were at around 40m swimming alongside and away so only saw them for a brief few seconds. Other things at the Magnet included huge black tips and white tips. But the surge is really strong there, and the up and down currents were wicked.
Another good dive site was the Cathedral. On the single dive we did there, the conditions were probably worse than what we experienced at the Magnet. But the highlight of the dive was when we descended we saw a small school (about 4-5) of eagle rays right below us. There were also a good number of sea snakes at this site, which is also an underwater pinnacle.
One of the best dives was probably Gili Sera, where we saw schools of pygmy devil rays (Mobula Rays) on every dive! The largest school we saw was probably 30+, with some eagle rays spotted on the last dive there. Vis was not fantastic, but it was still breathtaking watching the school glide by. This dive site was OK in terms of surge and currents, certainly nothing compared to the Magnet and the Cathedral.
Water temps were acceptable, 26-27C so dived in a 0.5 rashguard and boardshorts most of the time. One dive it was 24-25C so for most people a 3mm would be more than enough.
Not many sites there, but hell, I could do those 3 sites for an entire week! Will definitely go there again
as it is holiday season here in Bali.
