Diving in Lombok and Gili Islands
Diving in
Lombok is incredible and is far superior to the
excellent diving that Bali has to offer. The
reason for this is partly due to there being
more areas that are protected from the fierce
swell of the Indian ocean but mainly due to the
proximity of Lombok especially on the west coast
to the Wallace line that is an imaginary line
that parts Lombok from Bali and travels further
up the coast where the two different types of
species both in and out of the water meet.
Lombok offers interesting scuba diving for
beginners to experienced divers. The main diving
takes place around the Gili islands which lie in
the northwest of Lombok in the strait between
Lombok and Bali. Around Sanggigi beach in east
Lombok there are also a couple of dive sites and
some dive operators such as dream divers also
offer scuba diving in the southern part of
Lombok (Blongas), where there is a lot of
currents and swells and large pelagics such as
sharks, rays and makerels.
Through the Lombok strait between Bali and
Lombok flows the Indonesian Through flow (Arus
Lintas Indonesia), a massive flow of water that
passes from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean. The
result is a rich underwater life and during
certain times of the year also large fish like
sharks, eagle rays, turtles and manta rays come
and visit the reefs.
This means that Biodiversity in this are is
amazing for a great diving and in line with most
bio-diverse areas on the plant with over 3,500
different marine species all living in and
around the reefs that are located offshore and
close to the beach feeding off the constant
streams of warm nutrients that flow from the
deep waters and the intense sunlight that allows
fans and wall coral to grow to gigantic
proportions.
When you compare the 3,500 different species
living around the reefs alone to the 1,500
species living around the Great Barrier Reef, it
is easy to see why Lombok is becoming more
interested for diving, dived although the reefs
have not yet been over dived and it is a good
thing that divers are taking great care not to
damage these reefs as over 25% of the worlds
coral reefs are located in Indonesian waters.
Three small
islands, surrounded by coral, The Gilis, off
Lombok's west coast, are fast becoming one of
her main draw cards. Dive centres with all the
high tech equipment and professional instructors
ensure that visiting divers at all levels of
experience and ability can dive in waters that
have more varieties of fish than anywhere in the
world - and that includes The Great Barrier Reef
and Red Sea.
The Gili islands are also not to be forgotten
and certainly require a mention for diving in
Lombok, as they are some of the richest and
diverse sites in the area. This is due to the
variants it the sea bed topography that is a
combination of slopes, drop offs and plateaus
that harbor all kinds of different species and
give a good all-round presentation of all that
Indonesia has to offer. When diving in Lombok on
the Gili Islands you can expect to encounter
such species as Moray Eels, Angel Fish, White
Tip Reef Sharks, Cuttlefish, turtles and Ghost
Pipefish as a selection of just a few of the
many. Diving around the Gili Islands and the
rest of northwest Lombok there are over 15
recognized and highly acclaimed dive sites and
many more sites that are worth seeing, there are
also many spots being found all the time that
offer incredible diving in this aquatic
goldmine.
In the morning you can even visit a little known
spot called Shark Point and no prizes for
guessing why. It is a point where there are
sharks although they are not the big scary ones,
just harmless reef sharks as well as turtles of
the Hawksbill and Green varieties ribbon eels
and as if that was not enough there are often
Manta as well. There is also an amazing spot
called Volkers' Golf course which is located not
above but below the water just 500 meters east
of Shark point. This green patchy floor, which
is very similar to an underwater golf course, is
the best spot to find sharks that can sometimes
be the bigger ones as well as schools of
Mackerel and doctor fish.
Gili Trawangan
Now appears to head the list as the
most popular island - it has long had a
reputation as the 'party' island mainly through
a concentrated and central foreshore area of
restaurants, dive operations and hotels
including some luxury boutique choices.
Gili Meno
Still the quietest island is a place to escape
to and although it has a smaller list of
accommodation options those that it has are
tending towards a more up-market clientele.
Snorkeling off beaches of pure white sand the
coral is superb.
Gili Air
Has the largest local population and while it
has more of a lived-in feeling than the other
two islands for some that is quite possibly its
attraction. On Gili Air it's possible to
likewise enjoy the marine possibilities but also
one can absorb some of the local culture missing
on the other islands.
In addition to the Gilis there are many other
dive and snorkel possibilities such as an area
now being promoted on the rugged south coast
where the experienced can now dive among
hammerheads and rays.
