‘Finding Nemo’ in Nusa Lembongan

A wonderful underwater world. JP/Isao Soga

A plan to go diving was already in my mind when I took a flight from Jakarta to Bali. As soon as I arrived on the island, I immediately set off for Sanur and crossed the Badung Strait by public speedboat.

I was heading for Nusa Lembongan, an island that lies next to Nusa Penida and Nusa Ceningan off of Bali’s south-east coast.

The island is well-known for its numerous dive spots. There are at least seven dive spots around the island, home to a variety of attractive aquatic creatures and a wonderful underwater landscape.

One of those spots is Manta Point, which lies off of the southern shore of Nusa Penida, a world-class diving site famed for its gigantic manta rays.

And if you come during the right season, from May to September, it is highly likely that you will bump into the famously unique sunfish, also known as the mola-mola.

Diving lesson is given in the pool before taking the real plunge in the sea. JP/Vyara Wurjanta

But it had been four years since my last dive and I had virtually forgotten everything I had learned. Therefore, a preliminary refresh lesson in a swimming pool was a must.

A little bit nervous, I reluctantly fought the anxious feeling when I practiced the skill of controlling my buoyancy and clearing my mask. Everything went well in the pool, but who knew what would happen in the sea?

The next morning, along with a bunch of other divers on the boat with Lembongan Dive Adventure, we headed to Toya Pakeh, a dive spot located between Nusa Ceningan and Nusa Penida.

“The water is crystal clear,” said Annastinna, a 40-year-old Canadian, inspecting the water from the boat. She was right. Clusters of coral and anemones hazily swayed through the surging water beneath us — a moody window into another world.

Before we jumped into the water, Emo the dive master briefed us about the dive, including the signals we would need to use to communicate underwater.

Sunset in Nusa Lembongan, Bali. JP/Vyara Wurjanta

Feeling both excited and edgy, I took my turn to perform my back-roll entrance. Feeling thrilled, for I could hardly wait to embrace the under-water experience again, and a little bit nervous that my diving equipment could malfunction, and that I might forgot the important skills I had rushed through earlier in the pool, I fell.

But the uneasy feeling left the moment that I began sinking into the cold salty water, and took in the view around me. Down under the water’s surface it was clear, astonishing and wonderful!

Vast slope of various kinds of coral lay below. A couple of majestic table corals sat amid a sea of pale purple cabbage corals.

I gaped in awe as a school of colorful fish whizzed here and there, while anemones danced in a rhythmic motion. I caught a glimpse of three clarks anemone fish (Amphirion clarkii) — the star of the Finding Nemo animated movie. So many of them — probably his relatives — hovered among the tentacles of those peachy anemones.

And I quickly found the whole gang — a Dori-like blue surgeonfish and a flock of moorish idol fishes (Zanclus cornutus) — one of Nemo’s tank inhabitants — scurring among the coral. A blue starfish hung droopily on the corals. Fortunately, there were no hungry sharks masquerading as herbivores in sight.

And then a school of funny black-and-white-and-yellow stripped Oriental Sweetlips swung in an arrow formation. A big titan triggerfish with its glaringly colorful skin – it looked like it was wearing make-up – swayed nonchalantly, confident enough to move alone.

The scenery was so full, yet so quiet. The only sound I heard was the bubbling breathing from my second stage mouthpiece. This was indeed an idyllic paradise.

The second dive took me to a place in Mangrove Point, a spot just to the right of a mangrove forest in the north-eastern part of Nusa Lembongan.

The current was stronger here. Since even our most intense efforts at beating the current by kicking in the opposite direction proved pointless, we gave ourselves over to the stream, floating in the miracle sea once again.

A triplefins poses with wavy corals. JP/Isao Soga

But the time did fly. The 40-minute dive felt like only 5 minutes, and the 200 bars of fresh air in our tanks had already reached the caution zone. It was time to go up!

“It’s amazing. I should come back again one day,” said Eva, a 28 years old Czeh Republican national who along with her Jamaican husband was on her last day in Indonesia.

“It turned out that three weeks of traveling around Indonesia isn’t enough. I should have extended my vacation to three months!” she exclaimed.

She had a point. My two-week vacation on this very island alone felt like the blink of an eye. I swear I’ll be back here soon, to hunt down the famous mola-mola, and of course, the gigantic manta ray.

How to get there

• Take a public boat or speedboat from Sanur Beach. The public boat departs to Nusa Lembongan every day at 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., and the speedboat departs at 9 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. daily.

There are three departures to Sanur on Nusa Lembongan’s jetty at 8 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. everyday. Of course, the schedule depends on the weather.

•If you want to dive, there are several dive operators on Nusa Lembongan. Pick one that best suits you. And there are at least seven dive spots around Nusa Lembongan. Here they are, along with the underwater creatures recently spotted there:

•Crystal Bay: Mola-mola, manta ray, worty frog fish, turtle, eagle ray.

•Manta Point: Manta ray, turtle, blue spotted stingray, nudibranch, sea snake, nurse shark.

•SD: Breaching mola-mola, turtle, clouded moray, triggerfish, lionfish, yellow edge moray, tuna, barracuda.

•Toya Pakeh: Giant trevally, batfish, nudibranch, mantis shrimp, ribbon eels.

•Mangrove Point: Puffer, angelfish, reef shark, moray eel, barracuda, triggerfish.

•Pontoon: Lionfish, crocodile fish, rigid shrimp fish.

•Blue Corner: Marble ray, eagle ray, barracuda, turtle, nudis, angelfish, batfish, sea snake, eel, reef shark.