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Diving in Bali is still really fun and enjoyable. We dived with www.gekodive.com, based in Padangai. As usual they were professional, friendly, and super easy to contact. We only had three days for diving.
Day 1 @Nusa Penida with easy a flat water commute from Padangbai.
Toyapakeh, Nice small schools of barracuda, fusiliers, snappers, and black tip sharks at the end of the dive. The corals did not show much bleaching. The water temperature varied from 27°C to 22°C. No one else was in the water with us. The lack of bubbles was a real plus.
Bukut offered less current than Toyapakeh. My wife spotted an immature whale shark, for only a brief moment. However, the whale shark returned for 20+ min, with our small group of 4 (including DM). The whale shark seemed curious about us.
Day 2 @Nusa Penida with slightly bumpy commute from Padangbai.
Manta Point to ourselves, with the typical moderate surge. After 50 mins of diving, the eight manta returned to the shallow cleaning station. We extended our dive to 70 min. At the end of the dive, over 10 boats were on the surface.
Sental, again with only our group of 4. Nice small schools of fish, hard and soft corals.
Day 3 @Padangbai. James (Geko Diving) joined us for the morning. I was happy to be his excuse to get out of the office - he works too hard.
Tepekong with sharks in the small overhang/cave, two nice size white tip sharks on the plateau with small balls of fusiliers and sweetlips.
Mimpang, a bit colder at 25°C than the previous dive. A few commuting Mobula rays at the beginning and end of the dive. A real treat, since Modula rays rarely visit Mimpang.
Overall, I highly recommend Geko Dive Centre. There DM's are experienced, and are a pleasure to dive with. After reading the previous thread on Bali coral bleaching, I did not see much evidence for bleaching from the '16 ENSO event in Nusa Pendia or the two nearby dive sites in Padangbai. Perhaps shallow dive sites without mixing of cold water and currents might be more prone to bleaching. In my limited experience, internal waves temporarily cool down the water temperature and carry nutrient-rich waters from depth to the surface. Best, Charlie
Day 1 @Nusa Penida with easy a flat water commute from Padangbai.
Toyapakeh, Nice small schools of barracuda, fusiliers, snappers, and black tip sharks at the end of the dive. The corals did not show much bleaching. The water temperature varied from 27°C to 22°C. No one else was in the water with us. The lack of bubbles was a real plus.
Bukut offered less current than Toyapakeh. My wife spotted an immature whale shark, for only a brief moment. However, the whale shark returned for 20+ min, with our small group of 4 (including DM). The whale shark seemed curious about us.
Day 2 @Nusa Penida with slightly bumpy commute from Padangbai.
Manta Point to ourselves, with the typical moderate surge. After 50 mins of diving, the eight manta returned to the shallow cleaning station. We extended our dive to 70 min. At the end of the dive, over 10 boats were on the surface.
Sental, again with only our group of 4. Nice small schools of fish, hard and soft corals.
Day 3 @Padangbai. James (Geko Diving) joined us for the morning. I was happy to be his excuse to get out of the office - he works too hard.
Tepekong with sharks in the small overhang/cave, two nice size white tip sharks on the plateau with small balls of fusiliers and sweetlips.
Mimpang, a bit colder at 25°C than the previous dive. A few commuting Mobula rays at the beginning and end of the dive. A real treat, since Modula rays rarely visit Mimpang.
Overall, I highly recommend Geko Dive Centre. There DM's are experienced, and are a pleasure to dive with. After reading the previous thread on Bali coral bleaching, I did not see much evidence for bleaching from the '16 ENSO event in Nusa Pendia or the two nearby dive sites in Padangbai. Perhaps shallow dive sites without mixing of cold water and currents might be more prone to bleaching. In my limited experience, internal waves temporarily cool down the water temperature and carry nutrient-rich waters from depth to the surface. Best, Charlie
