MANTA POINT
This is the must-see dive site for all divers who come to Bali. The Manta ray is a majestic and impressive animal, and seeing it for the first time is a transcending and magical experience. An unforgettable dive is waiting for you!
After following the sheer cliff-faces that characterize the coastline to arrive at the southeast end of Nusa Penida, you enter the mythical dive site of Manta Point. Sitting in 7 metres of water, nestled inside this protected bay, is the Manta “cleaning station” where mantas swim overtop of the same enormous boulder and allow the little cleaner wrasse to eat off the parasites that cover their bodies. The water temperature ranges between 20-24⁰ C and is often rich in plankton. Since the bay is quite large, and at times the dive site can be exposed to large swell, good conditions must be present to make the journey.
The Mantas found around Nusa Penida are classified as Reef Mantas (Alfredi Mantas), and measure 4-5 metres in wing-span, are black on their backs and white underneath (or sometimes black) with black or white markings which allow scientists, and divers, to identify them. They are harmless creatures, feeding on plankton, and giving birth to a single live young, once every two years. Since 2006, they are on the red list of endangered species facing extinction.
CRYSTAL BAY
Crystal Bay is a renowned dive site for being one of the only places in the world to observe the giant Sun fish (Mola mola). These massive pelagic fish, measuring about 3 metres in height, swim up from the deep to be cleaned by banner fishes (species of butterfly fish). Our chances of seeing this amazing fish are greatest between June and October.
Crystal Bay is named for its crystal-clear waters and therefore typically delivers an incredible visibility. Protected from large waves, and accompanied by a beautiful white sand beach dotted with coconut trees, this turquoise colored bay is a slice of paradise. In the middle of the bay is a tiny island with a staircase carved into the rock leading up to a sacred temple. The dives are made around this island, beginning on a sandy slope that guides us down to the edge of a coral plateau, between 6-10 metres deep, before it drops off into a wall that plummets down to 50 metres. You can also find little plateaus, which ends abruptly and drops off again, this time into the depths of the channel that separate Penida Island from Ceningan Island. In front of you is the blue of the ocean and it’s here that we have the opportunity to cross paths with the mighty (and harmless) Mola Mola.
This dive site is exposed to very strong and unpredictable currents that can carry divers into the blue and far from the dive site, or to unmanageable depths (down current). To safely dive there, divers must follow some basic rules while diving with responsible dive centers.
SD, PED, SENTAL
On the north coast of Nusa Penida, the seaweed farmers live along a white sand beach stretching the length of the coast, while beneath the surface the coral reef runs parallel to this magnificent panorama. Choosing one of the several dive sites available, we descend just in front of a primary school (Sekolah Dasar) to dive the SD wall, or in front of a temple to dive the Ped wall, or a bit further we can find the dive site Sental. These sites are topographically very similar; all are characterized by a sloping wall that sinks out towards the dark blue of the ocean and the atmosphere is extraordinary.
Once your group is ready, time to descend! Let go of the line and everyone takes off for an extreme rock’n’roll drift dive! Open your eyes; look all around, lay back as if you are in a big comfortable chair--including footrest--and don’t move. A festival of colors and emotions will take your breath away, schools of blue (red-toothed) triggerfish bear their teeth and dart about in all directions, hundreds of yellow butterfly fish forage for food and refuge amongst the lettuce corals; drift past giant, current-blown sponges and disproportionately large whip corals as schools of bat fish fly past and ornament the landscape.