fishonland
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We survived our first trip to the in(famous) South Lombok! So there ARE hammerheads at The Magnet, as claimed. Here are some vids to share (sorry no vids of the hammers as we couldn't get close). All vids taken with Canon Ixus 300HS.
Solo eagle ray at Cathedral, South Lombok (part of a small school of 5)
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Solo mobula ray at Gili Sera, South Lombok
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Mobula ray school at Gili Sera, South Lombok (part of a larger school of 30plus)
Welcome to Facebook
My trip report - for those who are solely interested in S. Lombok diving. If you just want to see turtles and reef fish at the Gilis.. the following is not relevant.
The diving
We only dived twice at The Magnet over 2 diving days (total 6 dives) due to rough surface conditions. There were 3 hammers (30+ metres) the second time. We saw none the first time, but this may have been due to bad timing (slack tide). As this was our first time diving Magnet I don't know if we were considered lucky to have spotted hammers, but according to the local dive operator, chances of spotting hammers are about 50% during the season (sightings of up to 15-20). Another group who were at the resort spotted a great hammerhead on their dive.
The other South Lombok sites were pretty awesome as well, with fat white tip sharks, graceful eagle rays, curious sea snakes, and impressive schools of mobula rays (up to 30+). There are some macro sites too (but we chose to skip those - conditions too difficult for macro photography). Sites are not DSLR-friendly, as you have to backroll+negative descent with your DSLR.
All S. Lombok sites are challenging due to the surface conditions (swells) and currents underwater (surge + up/down/left/right currents). All the divers in our group had at least 250 dives each with experience diving in strong currents, so we did not encounter any of the problems mentioned in previous trip reports on Scubaboard. However for obvious reasons it would be dangerous for divers who cannot do negative descent, have tendencies to float up halfway, not careful/aware of changing currents/depths, or are prone to seasickness. But then again, we met some divers there with 50-ish dives who managed to do Magnet on quite a challenging morning (albeit having used up 70bar just for the descent).
Where to stay
For easy access to S. Lombok dive sites, you have to stay at Belongas Bay, South Lombok. There is only 1 resort there (Belongas Bay Lodge). From the resort it is a 15min speedboat ride to most of the dive sites except Magnet (30-40min). It is not feasible to stay in other parts of Lombok, even at South Lombok (e.g. resort area of Sekotong where Cocotinos is located) and do day trips to Belongas Bay. This is due to the condition of the road leading to Belongas Bay (1.5h per way from Sekotong) which is extremely bumpy, and hence road travel can only be done in the day when the driver can see and (attempt to) avoid the potholes.
The resort (literally in the middle of nowhere) can only take 8-10 pax, there is hot water shower but no aircon, wifi, or mobile reception (they have a land line for emergencies). Mosquito repellent is a must. No swimming pool. Meals are indon style (rice with 3 dishes). Soft drinks, beer, and coffee/tea not included in full board package. BYO hard liquor.
How to get to Lombok
1. Fly directly to Lombok from Bali, Jakarta or Singapore (airport located in West Central lombok)
2. Fast boat (large speedboat, 1-1.5h) from Padang Bai, Bali, to Teluk Kode, Northwest Lombok (my friend paid USD70 per way on the Gili Cat as arranged by the dive operator, not sure if you can get it for less)
3. Slow ferry (4-5h) from Padang Bai, Bali, to Lembar, Southwest Lombok (Rp35,000 per pax). Uncomfortable wooden benches, horrible toilets and carrying your dive bags up 2 flights of stairs is a bitch (enter via the car ramp, no separate passenger ramp). We took the ferry.... Bali-Lombok we were lucky to get one of the newer ferries with airconditioned compartment & reclining seats , but the return journey we were not as lucky. Ferries leave every 2 hours or so (or when they are full).
Local operators
The only dive operator running trips to South Lombok & Magnet now is Dive Zone, located at South Lombok. We booked via Dream Divers, our guide was from Dream Divers, but we used Dive Zone boats and logistics. Long story.
More S. Lombok trip reports
Another more detailed trip report here by one of the other divers in our group (gymrat76):
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/general-asia/330744-magnet-south-lombok-anyone-dived-there-before-2.html
Solo eagle ray at Cathedral, South Lombok (part of a small school of 5)
Welcome to Facebook
Solo mobula ray at Gili Sera, South Lombok
Welcome to Facebook
Mobula ray school at Gili Sera, South Lombok (part of a larger school of 30plus)
Welcome to Facebook
My trip report - for those who are solely interested in S. Lombok diving. If you just want to see turtles and reef fish at the Gilis.. the following is not relevant.
The diving
We only dived twice at The Magnet over 2 diving days (total 6 dives) due to rough surface conditions. There were 3 hammers (30+ metres) the second time. We saw none the first time, but this may have been due to bad timing (slack tide). As this was our first time diving Magnet I don't know if we were considered lucky to have spotted hammers, but according to the local dive operator, chances of spotting hammers are about 50% during the season (sightings of up to 15-20). Another group who were at the resort spotted a great hammerhead on their dive.
The other South Lombok sites were pretty awesome as well, with fat white tip sharks, graceful eagle rays, curious sea snakes, and impressive schools of mobula rays (up to 30+). There are some macro sites too (but we chose to skip those - conditions too difficult for macro photography). Sites are not DSLR-friendly, as you have to backroll+negative descent with your DSLR.
All S. Lombok sites are challenging due to the surface conditions (swells) and currents underwater (surge + up/down/left/right currents). All the divers in our group had at least 250 dives each with experience diving in strong currents, so we did not encounter any of the problems mentioned in previous trip reports on Scubaboard. However for obvious reasons it would be dangerous for divers who cannot do negative descent, have tendencies to float up halfway, not careful/aware of changing currents/depths, or are prone to seasickness. But then again, we met some divers there with 50-ish dives who managed to do Magnet on quite a challenging morning (albeit having used up 70bar just for the descent).
Where to stay
For easy access to S. Lombok dive sites, you have to stay at Belongas Bay, South Lombok. There is only 1 resort there (Belongas Bay Lodge). From the resort it is a 15min speedboat ride to most of the dive sites except Magnet (30-40min). It is not feasible to stay in other parts of Lombok, even at South Lombok (e.g. resort area of Sekotong where Cocotinos is located) and do day trips to Belongas Bay. This is due to the condition of the road leading to Belongas Bay (1.5h per way from Sekotong) which is extremely bumpy, and hence road travel can only be done in the day when the driver can see and (attempt to) avoid the potholes.
The resort (literally in the middle of nowhere) can only take 8-10 pax, there is hot water shower but no aircon, wifi, or mobile reception (they have a land line for emergencies). Mosquito repellent is a must. No swimming pool. Meals are indon style (rice with 3 dishes). Soft drinks, beer, and coffee/tea not included in full board package. BYO hard liquor.
How to get to Lombok
1. Fly directly to Lombok from Bali, Jakarta or Singapore (airport located in West Central lombok)
2. Fast boat (large speedboat, 1-1.5h) from Padang Bai, Bali, to Teluk Kode, Northwest Lombok (my friend paid USD70 per way on the Gili Cat as arranged by the dive operator, not sure if you can get it for less)
3. Slow ferry (4-5h) from Padang Bai, Bali, to Lembar, Southwest Lombok (Rp35,000 per pax). Uncomfortable wooden benches, horrible toilets and carrying your dive bags up 2 flights of stairs is a bitch (enter via the car ramp, no separate passenger ramp). We took the ferry.... Bali-Lombok we were lucky to get one of the newer ferries with airconditioned compartment & reclining seats , but the return journey we were not as lucky. Ferries leave every 2 hours or so (or when they are full).
Local operators
The only dive operator running trips to South Lombok & Magnet now is Dive Zone, located at South Lombok. We booked via Dream Divers, our guide was from Dream Divers, but we used Dive Zone boats and logistics. Long story.
More S. Lombok trip reports
Another more detailed trip report here by one of the other divers in our group (gymrat76):
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/general-asia/330744-magnet-south-lombok-anyone-dived-there-before-2.html
