Tulamben and the Critters of Bali Hai

Tulamben is like a second home to me. A home away from home. Yes Im very blessed as I can leave home first thing in the morning and be diving there by the afternoon. For me its a quiet place for reflection and expression away from the chaos of mass tourism. Of being humble right under Gunung Agung's nose. After the day trippers go back it becomes a quiet little country town again. Yes the masses enjoy the wreck, and understandably what a great wreck USAT Liberty is. One can dive it 100 times and there will still be something new to see.
In my case recently this wasnt a whaleshark but a large school of........Rebreather Divers !! Complete with sidemounts and extranous bulky tech-style attachments. There I was cruising past wreck slope and it was a sight to behold all 15-20 of them! But with some usual photographers curse I only had my 60mm for macro and not my 10-17! (so no photos b-lah)

Anyway the macro opportunities never disappoint as usual and it was worth the fun entries and exits via the volcanic rock shores.. Seraya, Melasti, Segara, Bali Hai, Wreck Slope always throw up the usual suspects..and sometimes more. We had just come back from Lembongan where diving those surrounds and Nusa Penida albeit very beautiful but only one Mola to be seen but not enough time for a photo. As much as nice cool water diving and relaxing drift time was had..we were realistically 'Bintanged' by mid afternoon most days as the tides prevented further diving. I may have taken a handful of shots there but after that in Tulamben I had easily maxed out all my cards.

Well here are some more souviners I managed to take 'home' with me this time round.

Wonderful shots, as always, Gavin!

Apart from the shore entry (bloody pebbles, I hate you), Tulamben has got to be one of Bali's 'must-do' dive sites. These are great photos Gavin, is that a boxer crab?

Thanks Marcia and Amanda. Yes a type of Lybia, or pom-pom crab.

Very sweet. Thanks so much for sharing. I'm curious as to water temp on your dives. tia

In Lembongan /Nusa Penida 18-24C. In Tulamben always a fairly constant 27-28C

Nice ones, I especially like your harlequin shrimp. One month earlier, I also spotted it by myself (I like when I can alert the guide and tell him "Look, kid, this is how you look for harlequin shrimps" ), as well as the boxer crab at Seraya 5m stop and also the Coleman shrimps much deeper around 28-30m on Seraya.
btw, is that a WhiteV Octopus? never saw one like these...

May I contribute also on you thread with my own images of the same sites? Yes, ok, great ... (Now, this is called a threadjacking)

So here are some folks from Seraya :

1- The famous doto sp. nudi, aka the "Donut Nudi", Homer simpson's favorite


2- a first timer for me, a Tiger allied cowrie on Seraya.


3- Another uncommmon Thecacera "Pikachu nudi" on Seraya.


4- I love those photogenic but hard to spot guys, a Soft coral candy crab, also on Seraya :



Seraya is not the only interesting place for macro, I was amazed with the richness of the sandy slope east of the Liberty wreck.

5-Some juvenile clown frogfish fishing.


6- A nice Phyllodesmium nudi hanging on a seafan.


7- A supermacro of a Pink hairy squat lobster, which is always for me a photo treat.


8- Of course the usual Bargibanti pygmy seahorse you can't miss. For once I tried a backlit shot off my camera, with the help of my guide, Uji from Liberty Dive centre.

Outstanding shots, Luko! Thanks for sharing.

Thanks Gavin, Luko
Great pics
Tulamben is our home as well, we visit every year, except this year - shiort trip to Lembongan only on Dec.

Wow, absolutely incredible shots from everyone. Makes me want to take up photography.