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.: TULAMBEN US LIBERTY
Located on the northeast coast of Bali at the foot of Mount Agung. Tulamben is mainly known for the US Liberty wreck that lies close to the shore. The US Liberty is a cargo ship that was torpedoed in Lombok Strait on the 11th January 1942 (during the world war II) by the Japanese submarine. She was towed by two destroyers towards the port of Singaraja but she was taking too much water, so the ship was beached at Tulamben. Her cargo was salvaged by the local people. |
During the disastrous eruption of Mount Agung in 1963 she was pushed off the beach, broke in half and was left in her present position close to the shore of Tulamben.
The stern is somewhat intact, the mid-ship section is all broken and the bow is again in pretty good shape.
This wreck is a very popular dive site and it gets crowded around the middle of the day, when divers and snorkelers from Sanur or Lovina arrive, the local sales on the beach are always the first say "Welcome to Tulamben" to you.
Please notice that they have a porter system in Tulamben. The Diving Helper Club is a collective that will haul your diving equipment to the dive sites. The beach of Tulamben is covered with large black pebbles that make it very difficult to walk with heavy gear without turning an ankle. Getting in and out of the water is challenging enough (hold on to your dive buddy and time your dash to the shore so there are only small waves!) and no worries, the helper will always ready to help you!. For the same reason it is advisable to wear booties.
Entering the water from the black pebble beach can be quite difficult, but after about 30 meter you reach the black volcanic sand. The wreck lies on a sandy slope parallel to the shore, roughly southeast (stern) to northwest (bow).
Part of the superstructure is close to the surface about 5 meters and you can also be reached by snorkeling. The wreck is about 120 meters long, the deepest point is around 30 meters and it is nicely covered with corals and sponges. This is not a very difficult wreck to dive on, there are only a few places where you can penetrate, all towards the bow.
When you make your safety stop you can just lie on the sand and observe the ell garden, if you are not close to them, but fish or angle fish always try to touch your mask. And here also very good place for feeding fish with banana or bread in plastic bottle. |
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.: Paradise Reef and the River
These two dive sites lies between the wreck and the drop off. The dive started at the drop off (have the Diving Helpers Club carry the tanks there) and went down to 25 meters to see the cleaning station just slightly to the left of the drop off on the sand. Then go a head towards the Paradise Reef. If you are good on air, you can leisurely dive the whole stretch, otherwise you just get out, before you run out of air and walk back. Most of the dive is shallow arround 3 meters to 15 meters.
Specially the River is a great place to do so called muck diving and find rare animals such as the harlequin and the robust ghost pipefish, several species of eels and even the mimic octopus, boxer crabs or the harlequin shrimp! If you are lucky, you might also see an eagle ray or a couple black tip reef sharks, a big barracuda or Spanish mackerel!.
.: Tulamben Drop Off
About 500 meters to the east of the wreck and close to the temple, the underwater wall drops to a depth of 60 meters (the top is around 3 to 5 meters), sometimes there is a slight current.
There are three coral covered lava spurs that reach down to 50 or 60 meters but usually you dive at the one that lies to the west of the temple. The other two reefs around the corner are also worth exploring. On the first spur at 30 meters is a huge Muricella gorgonian fan, it must be over 2 meters in diameter! Just beautiful!
.: Batu Kelebit
After a short boat trip you reach this dive site southeast of Tulamben beach. There are some rocks close to the shore, around which you can dive, and some large reefs a bit offshore. You dive on a slope with nice hard and soft corals and sandy areas in between. You can also choose to do a rather deep dive - to around 30 to 50 meters - to see the underwater plateau.
If you are lucky you see big pelagic such as tunas, sharks, manta rays, barracudas and sometimes even sunfishes. Visibility is usually quite good.
.: NIGHT DIVES
The site are interesting also for Night Dive (US Liberty wreck, Drop off, Paradise reef and the river). They have something special but should only be attempted if you are good with your buoyancy! You will see flashlightfish (turn off the lamp), special cowries, nudibranchs and many spider crabs.
To fully appreciate the beauty and colours of corals. Make sure you bring your camera because with scorpion fish, spanish dancers, ribbon eels, mimic octopus or ghost pipe fish around your sure to capture something special. Night Dives are only available on your dive safaris or 2 dive in the day time and one dive for Night Dive but it is an experience your never forget.
HIGH LIGHTED
U.S.A. T. Liberty |
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