Dive Bali & Lombok

[antacid]

Hi everyone, just sharing some pictures from a recent trip to Bali and South Lombok to look for hammerheads.

Spent a day each in Nusa Penida & Seraya, followed by 2 days at Belongas Bay in South Lombok. We got lucky on our first dive at Nusa Penida and say 4 molas, followed by a single mola on the 2nd dive. 3rd dive of the day was at Manta where we had fleeting glimpses of 1 white and 1 black manta.

The diving outside Belongas is really rock & roll. Really adrenaline dives with negative entries for every dive clutching on tightly to my dome port, worrying about getting run over by the boat, and trying not to fall on top of the diver next to me. The seas were really rough too. Ever seen the boat driver wearing a life jacket? haha

#1 Sunfish -- this mola tried to sneak above us when we were at 20m. couldn't ascend quick enough safely to get a decent shot

#2 Cleaning station at 35m

#3 A pair of nudibranchs

#4 Zanzibar shrimp - first time using a wet lens for me, uncropped

#5 My favourite shot - harley posing for the camera. this guy snuck up on to the coral after the first group of divers went past. perfectly poised.

 

[antacid]

#6 The Protoss shirmp - freshly moulted shell of a juve harlequin shrimp. what a find!

#7 Ornate ghost pipefish

#8 A pair of Coleman shrimps on their colourful carriage

#9 A dwarf lionfish near the end of the dive. couldn't have been more than an inch long

#10 the only shot worth keeping from Lombok. that's how bad the conditions were

To see more pics, just click here http://www.colouredshots.com/site/underwater.htm

Oh, at Lombok, we saw 3 hammers, lots of big fat white tipped and grey sharks, 30+ mobulas, about 4-5 eagle rays..and all within 6 dives. awesome!

 

[LeoDaddy]

Beautiful! :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[Mogdukth]

Awesome shots John, I must check out that Magnet dive when I visit Lombok next year,=)
Sounds like one hell of a dive though.

 

[antacid]

yes it's quite an adrenaline rush! my friends have a video of the boat ride during one of the calmer moments.. let me see if i can link it up here. the swells were about 2-3m on normal dives, and you can feel the surge all the way down to 20+m.

i should post a pic of my dive profile for you guys to see for yourself. one moment i was at 20m, then i was at 28m. next thing i knew i was up at 18m. scary!

 

[liquidforce]

I've always wanted to dive at magnet.... but the reputation ensured that I could never find a dive buddy!

Sounds like a great dive though (minus the up down currents and surface swells)!

nice pics!

 

[diver-hloc]

#5 My favourite shot - harley posing for the camera. this guy snuck up on to the coral after the first group of divers went past. perfectly poised.

#9 A dwarf lionfish near the end of the dive. couldn't have been more than an inch long

Like magic bro :thumbsup:

 

[Taraa]

Awesome photos!! Am heading to lombok this october!! Looking at your photos got me feeling excited all over again!!

 

[antacid]

thanks guys.. glad you liked them.

liquidforce> i think magnet is best for groups of 4 or less. the resort itself can only take 8-10 divers. so just grab someone and go! don't need a big group when a small group is better & safer.

hloc> thanks... so when are we going to see shots from your 350D+ikelite strobes? hehe

taraa> are you heading to north or south lombok? from what i hear, most people go to the north in the Gilis. and urm actually, most of the pics here are from Seraya in Bali. Didn't get any keepers from the 6 dives at Lombok. haha

 

[lovells19]

great series!!

damn making me regret for not confirming this weekend trip!!! hahaha

 

[antacid]

haha still not too late.. faster buy last minute tickets!

 

[GRbenji]

Awesome! Like your #05 especially, nice framing, sharp and good exposure.

 

[decimal86]

nice shots. thks for sharing. how cold was the water at Lombok?

 

[antacid]

nice shots. thks for sharing. how cold was the water at Lombok?

the water at lombok was about 26-22. most dives it was 26 but the last dive when everyone went in shorts and no wetsuits was when it was the coldest. haha

 

[diver-hloc]

thanks guys.. glad you liked them.

liquidforce> i think magnet is best for groups of 4 or less. the resort itself can only take 8-10 divers. so just grab someone and go! don't need a big group when a small group is better & safer.

hloc> thanks... so when are we going to see shots from your 350D+ikelite strobes? hehe
taraa> are you heading to north or south lombok? from what i hear, most people go to the north in the Gilis. and urm actually, most of the pics here are from Seraya in Bali. Didn't get any keepers from the 6 dives at Lombok. haha

Sadly no more trip for me this year and early part of next..... its FAMILY HOLIDAY Year, 2010/2011 :sweat:

 

[antacid]

Sadly no more trip for me this year and early part of next..... its FAMILY HOLIDAY Year, 2010/2011 :sweat:

just go for weekend trips to tioman/dayang? once a month also shiok lah. just to try out the camera. haha

you definitely dont want to be on a big trip and using it for the first time man... all the shots will be haywire

 

[diver-hloc]

just go for weekend trips to tioman/dayang? once a month also shiok lah. just to try out the camera. haha

you definitely dont want to be on a big trip and using it for the first time man... all the shots will be haywire

Time and $$$$ is the problem Bro.... too many weekend burned this month due to Public Holidays (I'm covering shift for Malay Collegue), the F1 Race, and not forgetting the new rail connection at Jurong SMRT Station (my Boss BAN all leaves for the weekend) :sweat:

By Oct (my weekend off near end of the month).... weather isn't too good for Tioman or Dayang/Aur.

Big big headache for me... life as a Public Transportation Shift Worker :sweat:

 

[coalfox]

#6 The Protoss shirmp - freshly moulted shell of a juve harlequin shrimp. what a find!

Great find!! Nice... :thumbsup:

 

[Taraa]

Im heading to gili trawangan!

 

[antacid]

i heard it's beautiful there with lots of soft coral. have a good trip!