Diving Nusa Penida: Manta Point
Me pretending to swim like a Manta Ray.
Today’s dives were amazing! We headed out to Nusa Penida for my first time. Since Penida is only about a 45-minute boat ride from Sanur beach we were lucky enough to get in 3 dives. Our first dive was at Manta Point. Manta Point attracts manta rays all year round due to the fact that the waters are rich with plankton on which the Mantas feed. The Mantas are known to be friendly and often come very close to divers. Unfortunately on this dive we didn’t see any Mantas, but I can’t wait to go back and go Manta searching again!
Charlie and Me fun diving :)
Crystal Bay Fun Dive
Our second dive was at Crystal Bay which is a shallow bay that drops off into a coral garden. This is also the site that is famous for Mola Mola sightings (usually August-October). The Giant Sunfish come to Crystal Bay to allow cleaner fish to peck away at their parasites. My first dive at Crystal Bay was one of the most fun dives I have had so far! Charlie (another DMT) and I had the chance to fun dive and just explore the reef. We played around with our buoyancy and just took time to explore the reef in a relaxed manor. It was awesome! We also took a lot of silly pictures.
Sakenan: Drift Diving!
Me and Charlie on a drift dive.
Our third dive of the day was a drift dive at Sakenan. This was my first drift dive so I was both excited and nervous. Drift dives are great because it is very little work for the diver. The dive boat will drop you into the water at one point and you will drift along the reef with the current. When you reach the end of the dive you but up your safety marker buoy (SMB) and the boat will come and pick you up. Piece of cake! When the dive started I found it a bit difficult to control my speed and buoyancy. By the end of the dive I was much more comfortable. It was awesome being able to drift along and look at all the reef life, I felt like on of the turtles in Finding Nemo! At the end of the dive I had a chance to practice putting up my SMB. It was a bit challenging at first but I got it up on my first try. That is something I am going to have to keep on practicing. It is so incredible being here! I am learning so many new things every day thanks to my teacher Henley and the crew at Blue Season Bali. It is so cool studying something that I love so much, I don’t even mind waking up before 6 every morning! I will be starting my rescue diver course next week. Stay tuned and I will update you guys on how it goes.
