Trip was this year, I just got back. And I did dive with Rod! Apparently he is up there four times a year.Excellent report, thank you so much.
Was your trip last year in 2022? And I'm assuming that you dove with Rod, the Aussie at Padang Bai.
Trip Report Trip Report - Komodo & Padang Bai Oct 2023
- Thread starter CJS
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When you said there was a management change, does that mean that Julian isn't the manager anymore?
Ya, I see Rod almost every time that I'm there!
Ya, I see Rod almost every time that I'm there!
Correct. He just left and an English guy named Michael (and a woman whose name I can't remember) have taken it on. They seemed both friendly and competent, as did all the local team.
maddog2
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I have a TG-5 and am thinking of buying a Gopro 12 to capture video. How does the video from the TG-4 compare to the Gopro 12?
JonnieB
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Nice report. I would also recommend Gecko Divers in Padang Bai, especially if one wants to support a locally owned and run dive shop.
waterbubble
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Just finished a couple of days in Padang Bai. We dove with Gecko Dive on the first day . Did Jepun which was freezing cold at 18 degrees with little to see apart from 2 sea horses. That the water was so cold came as a surprise in November especially as it was already at 21/22 last week. No chance to swim away from the shimmer as the thermocline was everywhere. 2nd dive was Blue Lagoon 26 degrees and despite lots of divers it yielded tons of critters. Several sea horses, lots of ghost pipe fish and scorpion leaf fish and nudis galore. I was disappointed that our dive guide finished the dive after only 45 minutes despite us having well over 100 bar left. We moved to Absolute Scuba mainly as we wanted to do a day in Nusa Penida and they had a boat going. Manta Point is not my favourite due to the crowds but we did see the Mantas . The water temperature was 2o degrees. Crystal Bay was a balmy 21 degrees . No Molas as we could not go deep but 2 Wobbegong sharks around 20 metres. Curious arrangement who the dive guide put in each group. We were on Nitrox and ended up with a nice girl with only 11 dives together with us . We did not really have a chance to go deeper to look for the Molas. Ended the day with a great drift dive and tons of fish so. 1 more day was Tepekong ( 21 degrees ) and Blue Lagoon again .
We have been to Bali many times but this was our first for Padang Bai. Blue Lagoon was amazing for critters and at the moment much better than Tulamben for the little stuff. But boy is it cold here. I need a warmer suit if we do it again. The dive times here are also much shorter than in Tulamben. You get between 45 to 60 minutes whilst we did Tulamben with Mimpi last week and had an average of 75 minutes for each dive in lovely warm water. I also vastly prefer the fact that you make your own schedule. Our dive guide Gede in Mimpi was super adaptable to what we wanted to do . The Liberty is still a great dive especially early in the morning and at night. Melasti was choker with divers with large cameras and almost no critters. Our dive guide said they have moved off probably because of all the flashes being fired all the time.
We have been to Bali many times but this was our first for Padang Bai. Blue Lagoon was amazing for critters and at the moment much better than Tulamben for the little stuff. But boy is it cold here. I need a warmer suit if we do it again. The dive times here are also much shorter than in Tulamben. You get between 45 to 60 minutes whilst we did Tulamben with Mimpi last week and had an average of 75 minutes for each dive in lovely warm water. I also vastly prefer the fact that you make your own schedule. Our dive guide Gede in Mimpi was super adaptable to what we wanted to do . The Liberty is still a great dive especially early in the morning and at night. Melasti was choker with divers with large cameras and almost no critters. Our dive guide said they have moved off probably because of all the flashes being fired all the time.
I experienced those temperatures a handful of years back. I was shocked. Fortunately, I had a sharkskin and heavy duty hood with me. It still wasn't enough.
Last year, my first time back since covid, I arrived prepared and had all of my cooler water protection with me including a 5 mil but temperatures were normal, despite that the month had been the same.
My dives with Absolute have always been about an hour. That said, they do have a schedule to keep especially on the 3 dive day trip. And if your guide was not wearing proper exposure gear, perhaps he just couldn't manage it more than 45 minutes? Who was your guide? Was it Ketut?
Last year, my first time back since covid, I arrived prepared and had all of my cooler water protection with me including a 5 mil but temperatures were normal, despite that the month had been the same.
My dives with Absolute have always been about an hour. That said, they do have a schedule to keep especially on the 3 dive day trip. And if your guide was not wearing proper exposure gear, perhaps he just couldn't manage it more than 45 minutes? Who was your guide? Was it Ketut?
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