Trip report: a week of many firsts with Tulamben Wreck Divers

[ktkt]

I'm on my LONG journey home, and I'll give more details later, but I just wrapped up a great week with TWD. Many dives on the Liberty, and we also hit Coral Gardens, Seraya, Amed, Mystery Rocks, Kubu, Batu Kelebit, Palung Palung, and the Tulamben dropoff/wall; 33 dives in all! My first time for:

+ a big barracuda getting his teeth cleaned
+ getting *my* teeth cleaned by shrimp ;p
+ swimming in a big school of jacks
+ frogfish, including one about the size of my pinky nail
+ cuttlefish
+ pygmy seahorses
+ mantis shrimps
+ boxer crabs
+ squat lobsters
+ flying gunards
+ ribbon eels (blue ones and even a black one)
+ octopus about the size of my thumb
+ spanish dancer
+ a bunch of other new-to-me nudis
+ flashlight fish
+ an upcurrent (okay, this is not exactly a selling point, but it turned out fine, and it was a very interesting experience)

It was also my first trip with my camera. My buoyancy's been pretty good for just looking, but I need to fine-tune it for picture-taking. My guides were willing to play photographer some of the time, so I actually have pictures of me, not to mention more good shots of the pygmies than I could possibly have taken myself

 

[hui]

Looks like you have had a great time. I'm heading into Tulamben myself in a few weeks time, can't wait.

Can you advise on TWD as a dive op and accommodation facility? and did you do the other sites whilst based at TWD?

Thanks.

 

[ktkt]

I liked TWD quite a bit. I had a superior room half the time, which is right by the dive center, and then I was out at the villas a few nights (all they had available; things were surprisingly packed). The villas are super nice, but a bit far, so since I didn't want to drive a motorbike, I had to get picked up and dropped off whenever I wanted to stop by my room out there. (Great for a secluded dreamy vacation spot, not so convenient if you are trying to dive, dive, dive, and dive some more.)

Despite every room being booked, things never felt overcrowded at the dive center (the wreck was another story!). Things run smoothly, and they have enough guides to accommodate everyone.

My guides were good (Kadek for a couple days and Dharma for the rest), though most of the time I was sharing my guide with another diver. I don't think they assign more than two people to a guide unless it's a group that specifically requests it, and they seemed to make an effort to pair people up based on interests and skill level; I was very happy with both buddies I had. Together we picked when and where to dive each day, and it worked out very well. The guides were great at finding critters for us, and they helped me with photos as well. I got to do exactly as much diving as I wanted, so it worked out super well for me. I'll surely dive with TWD again when I visit Tulamben in the future, but personally, I probably won't stay at the villas again, just "in town" (villas cost more, less convenient, and fancy accommodations are not a priority for me).

All the sites I did were from my TWD base; for the sites that you have to drive 15-30 minutes or hire a little boat, it's an extra charge of about $10 for a 2-3 tank trip (well, I guess you could do just one as well, but we always did at least 2 dives when we had to travel a bit). Of course, the wreck is huge and covered in life, so you can also do as many dives there as you want. Coral gardens and the dropoff are also from shore, right near the shop. If you just let them know what kind of critters you want to look for, they can tell you what sites to go to.

Also, you want to be aware that there was mild current on most sites (and sometimes not so mild). It's not too bad, but something to be aware of and plan for.

 

[clownfishsydney]

Sounds great, we are spending a week there in September after a week on a liveaboard.

 

[matts1w]

Welcome to Indonesia. Glad you loved here as much as I do. This counrty has truly changed the way I dive.

 

[ocdiver1]

I've stayed and dove with TWD twice on trips to Bali and have nothing but great things to say about the guides and the reasonably priced accommodation. Great restaurant (Wayan's) right across the street

 

[Poi]

Might have to check that place out, we're heading there soon. Sounds like you had a great time.

 

[Luko]

Great restaurant (Wayan's) right across the street

Love his blackbird. Took me only two days to teach him how to whistle the first notes of the "Marseillaise".
If anybody's around, would you pls remind him the notes as a refresher, so that I can go through the rest of the anthem on my next stay.

 

[instructorinasia]

TWD are good operation, I did a 4 day unlimited dive safari with them in 2009 and it was great. we stayed at the villas (they were brand new!) and they were amazing - i could see the volcano from sitting on the loo! Wayan's is a good restaurant - I remember it fondly!