Snorkelling in Candidasa & Pemuteran
In April this year, our second visit to Bali, my wife and I stayed for a week in Candidasa and ten days at Pemuteran.
At Candidasa the coral reefs directly in front of D’Tunjung resort (previously Sindhu Brata) have grown considerably since our last visit two years ago. There is a multitude of young reef fish feeding off the coral, making this a rewarding and safe snorkelling spot. We went out to the offshore islands in an outrigger canoe, a ten minute trip, and were quite dazzled by the vivid blue and yellow fish which frequent these waters - trigger fish, fuseliers and others. Many of the plate corals have striking blue perimeters. The following day we went on the Kastala-Tenganan trek, which took us along a contoured path with dense forest on one side, and rice fields and hills on the other. An irrigation stream followed the path, and the views were quite spectacular; bright red and yellow dragonflies, and large black and blue swallowtail butterflies added a special touch.
Our next snorkeling trip was out to Tulamben, an hour’s drive to the north. The wreck of the torpedoed US cargo ship, the SS Liberty, lies about 40 metres off the beach and is accessible to both snorkeling and scuba diving. The wreck has become the home to a profusion of corals and many different types of fish. On our way out we were surrounded by an enormous shoal of glistening silver trevally – a memorable experience.
We then traveled along the north coast road to the far north western town of Pemuteran, a pleasant 5 hour trip with fine coastal scenery along the way. This is a beautiful, peaceful part of Bali, well off the beaten track. A project was set up in 1992 by Australian Chris Brown to establish coral reefs along the beach at Pemuteran by anchoring artistic steel structures offshore, and stimulating coral growth through the use of electric currents. The reefs have established well, and a varied fish population has moved in – there were several types of parrot fish, butterfly fish and anemone fish which we had not come across before. Chris is the owner of Reef Seen Aquatics, and has pioneered many of Pemuteran’s environmental projects, such as the one to help protect local sea turtles and their eggs.
Menjangan island is a world-renowned dive spot, situated about 20 minutes drive from Pemuteran. The boat trip out to the island takes about half an hour. As you approach the island, it looks just like any other. But then you find that it has this amazing coral drop-off close by the shore, in crystal clear water. There is an abundance of coral, and a host of colourful reef fish; predatory fish such as blue trevally, barracuda and toothy needlefish patrol the drop-off. We went out to Menjangan 3 times, and on the last trip a large brown moray eel with white spots came weaving out of his lair, like some fantastic magic carpet.
A senior national parks ranger, Wahyudi, took us on a walk through the mangroves and an evergreen forest. He had a telescope and zeroed in on some interesting little creatures such as mud skippers, comical orange crabs with eyes sitting on the end of long stalks, yellow chameleons and brilliant blue kingfishers. At one creek crossing there was a pair of dragonflies with metallic purple on the top wing, and green on the bottom wing - as they flew there was a glittering kaleidoscope of colour. We caught a glimpse of orange as a barking deer moved away from us in the forest. Once out in the open we saw a falconette, which is one of the tiniest members of the falcon family - it is about the same size as a sparrow, and its main prey is the dragonfly!
One morning before sunrise we travelled by car to Lovina, and went out in an outrigger canoe to look for dolphins. There must have been a dozen canoes in all, and far out in the bay we came across the dolphins – they were in small shoals and put on a magnificent show for us, breaking water and jumping repeatedly close to the boat.
So Bali once again turned it all on for us. We have come to love the island for her warm-hearted people, and for the many wonders of nature which she so generously offers up.
Click on this link to see some photos
http://www.flickr.com/photos/phil_bromley/sets/72157626618631296/
Regards, Phil Bromley
