Beneath the Bali Blues

* This article with pictures has been published in the September 2014 issue of Saevus Wildlife Magazine, India.

At the crack of dawn, the world below is a different place. As we descend deeper, my eyes accustom to the dark blue. Feeble rays filter in through the burst of white light above, illuminating the silhouette of a gigantic structure stretched forth before me.

A nondescript mass of wood lies forlornly at the bottom of the seabed. As I near closer I realize it is the hull of the USAT Liberty shipwreck, which was sunk by a Japanese torpedo during WWII.

  

Long forgotten, the remains of what was once a US navy cargo ship are left in apparent disuse. All is quiet in the deep blue, but the shipwreck is a buzz of oceanic activity. Discarded by humans, the ship ruins serve as a wonderland for the denizens of the deep.

Colourful soft corals, sponges, and giant gorgonian fans decorate various parts of the ship. Vibrant fish abound, including butterflyfish, angelfish, damselfish, and anemonefish.

        Schools of trevally, fusiliers, and even barracuda circle this man-made structure calling it their home.

Keel of Liberty Shipwreck

I am here to focus on my underwater photography, and Luca Vaime from Underwater Tribe teaches me to hone my skills. 

       Having expanded my underwater camera kit with an additional strobe, I stop to snap some shots but the dive guide seems to be in a hurry. He points towards the aft of the wreck, and I wonder what better sightings he has in mind.

I follow him, reluctant to leave behind marvelous photography opportunities, but I am rewarded with something bigger and better.

A school of Bumphead Parrotfish!

As the name suggests, Bumphead parrotfish are characterized by the prominent bulbous forehead, which develops in adults. In a recent study, the male bumpheads use their bony heads to ram into each other during territorial disputes.

The bumpheads slowly move around the windows of the wreck, and we swim with them. Their aquamarine bodies blend with the oceanic blue, but as I light them with my strobes their true colours stand out.

While their front teeth are fused into a parrot-like beak, they also have teeth at the back of their throat for grinding food. Through their feces, they produce a substantial amount of sediment and influence coral reef structure, thus playing an important role in the ecosystem.

We watch these beautiful creatures until they swim away. All that is left is the scenic view of the wreck behind, and the blue beyond the windows.

Waving the cumbersome camera strobes around to the perfect position, I begin to practice wide angle shots of the interiors of the wreck. Some areas are barely recognizable, having been completely transformed by the marine life. 

With the advent of new camera technology, every novice has now become an expert, but underwater photography is much more difficult than the simple click of the shutter.

Light travels differently underwater, and the red end of the spectrum is absorbed as we descend deeper, casting a blue veil over all marine life. The photographer has to compensate for the layers of water in between, and understand how to manipulate light to capture the perfect image, not to mention managing the technical difficulties of diving. 

After a bunch of quick photos, I review them underwater itself so that I can tweak the exposures for the perfect shot.

I notice a large mammal silhouetted against the wreck in the last picture. By the time I look up at the actual scene, the animal has swum much nearer, enticed by the treat of sponges growing beside me. It is so close now that I can almost touch the Hawksbill turtle.

I stretch my fingers out for the camera shutter instead. My flash fires and I hold still awaiting his reaction. He glances at me with mild interest and then returns to his meal with renewed tenacity.

Hawksbill turtles are critically endangered and exploited as the sole source of commercial tortoiseshell. Apart from illegal trade due to a substantial market for eggs, meat, and even stuffed juveniles, a further threat is global climate change. An increase in the temperature of sand used for nesting can have adverse consequences. Currently, approximately less than 1 out of 1,000 eggs survive and reach adulthood.

Momentarily stupefied by this intimate encounter, I watch the Hawksbill in awe. I’ve never been this close to a marine turtle before, much less photographed one. I swim alongside snapping away to glory, as he nibbles at the choicest picks. It is only when the guide taps me on the shoulder indicating his watch, I realize it is time to go.

I linger around, but he shakes his head disapprovingly. I relent and turn to leave but he taps me again. Slightly confused, I look towards him as he vigorously gesticulates towards the deep blue away from the wreck.

I strain my eyes and spot the ominous fin of the black-tip reef shark. It wanders on into the open blue and soon it is lost.

By this time I’ve been on the deep end too long, and so we begin our ascent.

We pass a lone barracuda, and I long for a quick shot but there is not enough time. I snap it anyway, and stunned by the sudden flash it swims rapidly towards me. A moment of fear, but then it swims past my shoulder. I heave a sigh of relief.

It has been enough excitement for one dive, and we surface towards the morning sun.

What a splendid start to my day, and a wonderful way to begin my diving around the coast of East Bali!

I return to Mimpi Resort, which is a quaint tastefully styled hotel situated in Tulamben.

The sea breeze blows through the palm trees lining the shore, across the sprinkling fountains, past the gardens, and straight into the rooms. It truly is paradise, but there is hardly any leisure time to enjoy the luxuries of the resort.

         

Just before the afternoon dive, I feast on a sumptuous breakfast at the resort restaurant overlooking the pool, which stretches on infinitely into the ocean. The friendly staff chat on merrily, inquiring about the day’s sightings and wishing me luck for the dives to come.

During the course of the next week, we dive the sites of Amed, Seraya and Padang Bay. While Liberty Shipwreck is a minute’s walk away from the resort, Amed and Seraya are also close by making it a convenient base.

I am pleasantly surprised by the diving at Amed and proceed to do the maximum dives of my trip there. While Seraya caters to muck divers, Amed offers colourful coral reefs, and also wall diving.

Frogfish

Seascape

Bali really does have it all, and I am spoilt for choice as there is something for everyone. Ninety percent of the diving is shore diving. The sites are easily accessible and suitable for almost all levels of experience.

Seraya is comprised of patches of black sand, smaller rocks, and little coral growth. It is hardly a feast for the eyes, and you have to search patiently, scanning the gently sloping ground as far as the visibility goes.

It is well worth it when we sight the unusual and alien-like critters, marking muck diving as an other-worldly and much sought after experience.

Nudibranches

The masters of mimicry, ghost pipefish have some of the best disguises of the sea. They mimic the leaves, crinoids, sponges or seagrass that they are found around. 

Their camouflage renders them difficult to spot. It is only after careful scrutiny and patience, does one deserve this brilliant sighting. Most species have a wide geographic range as they spend a long period floating around the ocean as plankton, reaching adult length before they settle into the reef.

The Wonderpus sounds like it should be a cool indie-rock band, or perhaps the prime ride of an amusement park. It is instead a magnificent octopus, which lives up to its name in the sense of wonder and awe that it creates.

Unlike the mimic octopus, it is active during the twilight hours of dusk and dawn. The patterns on its body and arms are unique to each individual wonderpus, and the colours become more pronounced when it is disturbed as a warning display.

My dive guide points out two cryptically camouflaged Rhinopias scorpionfish, right next to a barrel sponge that I am photographing. This majestic species is tough to spot, even for a seasoned diver with a sharp eye, so this is definitely a double treat. These fish don’t swim much at all, preferring to crawl along with their fins and settle onto a sandy bottom. They rarely move and sway in the direction of the natural current, uniquely blending in with their surroundings.

While Seraya is a quiet and secluded dive site, Padang Bai serves as a ferry port and is much more crowded. 

 Populated by charming eateries playing 90’s rock, it is a lively town, and famous for its breathtaking marine life. It is not hard to spot the divers dressed in black, amongst the colourful throngs of tourists and locals alike.

As we settle onto a little boat, which ferries us to the dive site, we are one with the sea again. Padang Bai rewards us with some of the best dives of the entire trip, due to the sheer abundance and diversity of macro life.

Padang Bai Jetty

Frogfish

Sea-horse

Pipefish

The Mantis shrimp is a delightfully rare sight. When it first peeks out of the hole in the sand, I don’t realize it is carrying eggs. As I near closer with my camera, it rises up and out of the hole preparing to flee, revealing the bounty of crimson eggs!

The blue-ringed octopus can fit into the back pocket of your jeans, it is so small.

Before you begin to croon over it, you should also know that this tiny creature is one of the deadliest marine animals around. Beware of its charming curling arms and fascinating blue rings, which pulsate when agitated as a warning.

A bite from this octopus can completely paralyse and kill a human within minutes, and there is no known antidote.

Nature seems to have unleashed her creativity in the form of little explosions of colour called nudibranches. These bottom dwelling and shell-less mollusks have feathery gills that they wear on their backs. They derive their vibrant coloring from the food they eat, and some even retain the foul-tasting poisons of their prey to ward off predators.

After this dive site, I wonder what more Bali has to offer. I am already having a hard time keeping abreast of everything I’ve seen, but there is so much more in wait.  

When I first dive at the Pyramid site at Amed, I feel like I am swimming amongst ancient architectural monuments, reminiscent of the early beginnings of Egyptian step pyramids.

In 2005, around fifty man-made pyramids were sunk for ecological purposes to create an artificial reef. 

Needless to say that the project was a success, and we spot blue-spotted stingrays, sweetlips, snappers, and even a turtle. The highlight of this trip is definitely the pygmy seahorses, three of which are camouflaged in soft coral. This species has been on my bucket list for a while, so I am obviously thrilled with the bonanza!

Harlequin shrimp

 We are so pleased with this dive that we decide to come back to the site, but this time we are not so lucky. Caught in one of the worst currents the dive guide himself has ever experienced, we spend most of the dive merely holding on to a piece of rock or simply drifting along powerlessly.

To add to our woes, I am attacked by a Titan triggerfish who deems me a threat to her nest. Females can be very aggressive in their motherhood, and there is not just one but two of them.

Initially, my response is flight over fight, but the triggerfish are not happy. They came again and again, snapping at the tender flesh of my exposed ears and fingers. This time my dive guide chooses to fight, and we have to respond with alacrity to keep them away, displaying equal aggression. Though this does not scare them away, it does deter them, and they eventually stop following us.

Out of breath from not only this experience but from fighting against the heavy current, we tiredly wade onto the shore and plop onto the fresh sand below.

That is enough diving for the day, and also the end of my weeklong trip! I skip my fourth and last dive, choosing to hang out with the local children by the beach instead.

Breathing uncompressed air for a change, I lean back against the soft cushioning of the sand, and can still feel the waves moving around me. Slowly I recall the stunning memories that Bali has given me over the past week, determined not to forget anything.

The sun is dipping to reveal a beautiful sunset, a fitting end to my trip. The great Mount Agung stretches out before us, and it strikes me then that I am sitting at the base of an active volcano, which last erupted in 1964 and still occasionally spews smoke and ash.

What a marvellous country, the land of black volcanoes and stunning white sand! The plethora of natural resources that Indonesia has to offer amazes me, but more so its wild and unpredictable spirit. There is magic in the air, the sand and the sea, full of surprises, and as of yet, unmatched beauty.

The underwater world seems to be Nature’s most experimental canvas as she indulges in the wildest colours, patterns, shapes, and sizes, transporting us into a different world where we can be one with the wilderness.

There is so much to explore and learn from our waters, which cover nearly 70 percent of our Planet Earth. Unsustainable fishing practices, climate change, increasing acidity, pollution, and a host of other factors are threatening our seas, and us humans are responsible for most of the degradation.

Once we become aware of the beauty and appreciate its value, we seek to protect it and ultimately secure our future, which is so closely tied to the health of our oceans.