Exploring Nusa Lembongan, Indonesia

Widia Homestay

Jungut Batu panorama

   Nusa Lembongan is a small island off the coast of South Bali, only 8 sq km in size. It is connected to an even smaller island of Nusa Cennigan by a rickety bridge just wide enough for one motor bike. This works out nicely here on these slow paced islands because motor bikes are the only traffic, save for a few work trucks. The water is famously clear, so snorkeling and diving are usually the order of the day. However, when the surf is up Nusa Lembongan has some famous waves from the rights of Shipwrecks and Lacerations to the left and Cennigan Point.

 
   There are few little towns with the largest being Jungut Batu. This is where the ferry from Sanur dropped us off. Rocky Fast Boat ferries run multiple trips daily and jet across the Badung Strait in about half an hour. The Hindu culture of Bali continues on Lembongan. There seems to be shrines and temples around every corner. Even then entryway to peoples houses are ornate stone carvings that look like something you would find at a temple. Little woven baskets are filled with offerings every morning and laid to rest in front or on the different shrines. When Heidi and I visited this island four years ago we stumbled upon a little homestay called Widia Homestay where we relaxed for 3 or 4 days. We remembered how nice the owners were, and wondering how they have been doing, we booked out Lembongan stay again with them this time. Not much had changed on the island in the past four years.

Ed cave diving

  We wanted to get out and explore a little more of the area so diving was on top of our list. We didn't get a chance last time so day one we signed up for a two tank dive trip to manta point and crystal bay. Manta Point is a far boat ride way down the scenic coastline of Nusa Penida, the bigger neighbor to Lembongan and Cennigan. The ride is about 45 minutes during which you pass breathtaking sea cliffs, pinnacles, and even a huge rock arch. Something else we noticed on the ride were the wild convergence zones of strong currents. Disturbances on the surface of the water marked areas of upwelling, downcurrents, and other dangers for divers. Although, while these strong currents can be difficult for divers, they are exactly what bring in the bigger animals. Sharks, manta rays, dolphins, and big schools of predator fish glide through those currents like they don't have a care in the world, while hunting all the smaller fish brought in by the increased plankton.

  I had high hopes for seeing mantas since they said the day before they had seen many. Manta Point has a few cleaning stations where mantas hover over these coral bommies and all the little wrasses and butterfly fish jet out of their hiding places to go clean parasites and dead skin off the manta. Unfortunately no matter how hard we looked we could not find them this day. We did see a new shark species, a bamboo shark, swimming away from one diver giving chase with a GoPro. Lots of nudibranchs were around, the water felt great, and one massive table coral acted as a resting spot for five blue spotted stingrays waiting their turns to be cleaned by a small cleaner wrasse.
 

The Blue Lagoon

   The next spot was Crystal Bay. When we jumped in I noticed it was crystal clear, and also about ten degrees colder than everywhere else. Upwelling from the deep causes this site to consistently be colder, which draws in a very unusual sight, the mola mola, or ocean sunfish. I had some experiences with these weird looking fish during my Catalina/Tole Mour days in California where they would sometimes be sunning at the surface, but I had never seen one while diving. After finding a few crabs, a frogfish, anemonefish, and nudibranchs we heard tank banging from a group behind us hoping to get our attention. We looked out into the blue and there it was, a giant floating head. It was a mola mola! They look like they are missing a tail and are just one giant head, yet they can still become the most massive bony fish on the planet!

Seaweed Farms and Cennigan Point Surf Spot

  Back on land Heidi and I decided to explore a bit by motorbike while Ed and Jamie toured Penida. We made our way across Lembongan, then across the nerve wracking narrow bridge to Nusa Cennigan. Our first stop was a beautiful overlook of the thriving seaweed farming industry here. The local farmers create plots of seaweed in the intertidal zones where they string up and grow certain kinds of seaweed that is sold to Asia to make agar and carageenan, popular bonding agents for makeup and cosmetics. From our vantage point we could also see the famous surf break of Cennigan Point, so of course we decided to motorbike over for a closer inspection.
 
  Once we got there I saw only a couple of people out surfing what looked like head high lefts, racing past the shallow reef shoreline. I enquired about a board rental and to my surprise I could rent a board right there for only $7. Unfortunately the biggest board he had was 5'11'', which is way smaller than what I normally ride. But not being able to pass up the opportunity, I grabbed the board, jumped in, and paddled out. The paddle out was very easy thanks to a little rip current taking me out. A big group of cliff jumpers would later get caught in the same rip current and need rescuing. I caught a few short ones while I got the hang of the new board. The waves were a little intermittent but then I snagged the wave of the day, ending up way down the line in front of the seaweed farms. 

  Safely back in town we met back up with Ed and Jamie for another beautiful sunset, cold bintang beer, and even some live music at our dinner table. Now its time to switch the activities up for a little more inland adventure as we head to the cultural and art center of Ubud.