TRAVEL
A Group Dive Guide to Indonesia by David Prichard & Lily Mak , Enchanted Sea Images, Inc., Dallas, TX
L AST MONTH WE EXPLORED the Philippines, this month were tackling another destination with thousands of Islands - Indonesia. When you hear; “We had a great time when you took us to the Philippines, but we want to see more parts of this Coral Triangle area that
over five times the length of the USA and mostly separated by water to create thousands of individual island cultures and pristine coral reef areas to dive upon. But Indonesia has a few regions that have become popular for dive tourists, namely the areas around Bali, Sulawesi, and the eastern part of the country that is west of Papua New Guinea and above western Australia.
has the best biodiversity in the world” said the group leader to you at your dive center. “How about setting up a trip to Indonesia?’ “We did have a wonderful trip to the Philip- pines, but we only saw a couple of the islands in the country that has 7,641 of them,” you reply. “While Indonesia also has great biodi- versity, it might be a bit more challenging to plan since the country is spread out over twice as many islands (around 17,000) stretch- ing from west of Malaysia in the Indian Ocean over to Papua New Guinea, which is north of Australia in the South Pacific. That’s a huge area, so let’s plan on just one part of the country for our trip.” As described in December’s Scuba Diving Industry Magazine overview article on the Philippines, the Coral Triangle’s exceptionally high biodiversity is largely due to the region not being encased in ice during the Ice Age. As a result, life both below and above the waves was able to flourish and evolve. The is- lands of Indonesia straddle the equator, pro- viding warm water year round, and contain
The Bali Region: The island of Bali has long been a tourist attraction due to its high concentration of a variety of art forms and culture as it is the only island in the nation whose inhabitants are primarily of the Hindu religion. While the capital and main international airport is in Denpasar, the City of Ubud is the island’s cultural center for dance and art, as featured in the 2010 film “Eat Pray Love” starring Julia Roberts, Javier Bardem, and James Franco. Divers discovered that the island was rich in marine life right off the coast so there are a lot of dive sites accessed by shore diving. Divers can find most of the “hit list” of exotic and rare sea creatures in Bali’s waters, including the Dugong “sea cow” that is related to the manatee. Besides colorful reefs, Bali also has shipwrecks to inspect, such as the Liberty wreck off Tu- lamben beach that was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine in World War II and
approximately 18 percent of the world’s total coral reefs, nearly one fifth. These reefs cover about 20,000 square miles, more than 51,000 square kilometers, or over 12 million acres, more than 5.1 million hectares, underwater. This region is home to roughly 5,000 species of marine life and nearly 600 species of coral. Popular Diving Regions: There is a span of about 16,000 miles from one end of Indonesia to the other, so there are a lot of cultural differences among the 17,000 islands. In ref- erence, the continental United States has only about 3,000 miles covering one end to the other with a lot of cultural differences between the state regions. Imagine now being
then beached on the shore before a nearby volcano erupted and its lava flow pushed the freighter back into the water. Bali also has offshore islands that are popular dive sites, like Nusa Penida where divers can spot the giant Mola Mola fish (Oceanic Sunfish) visiting from July to October. Northwest of Bali is Menjangan Island that offers colorful reefs and drop-offs but also features wild deer that can be seen swimming around the protected island. East of Bali is Lombok and the Gili Islands which is known for clear and calm waters for all levels of divers to enjoy the immense bio- diversity of marine creatures. The Sulawesi Region: The island of Sulawesi has three
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