After traveling for almost 15 hours they arrived at a small island near Pulau Kangean. After nearly 10 days being far, far off the grid, they now have mobile phone service!
They also have great diving! After Pulau Masalembo they were afraid the diving might not be so good, so they were preparing to overnight here and then off to the North coast of Bali.
They called us after the first dive to say that the diving was in incredible and they were staying for more dives!
The Island they are on has no name (we don't have more detailed maps than on google maps). The main Island - (large island to the right) is a fairly undeveloped area that has seen massive deforestation due to illegal logging and flooding as a result of that. However, this is an area rich in natural gas reserves. A pipeline to the mainland has been built and supplies are already serving Surabaya. This created a small, but appreciated bit of job creation and work.
The marine ecosystem is unique and features both great diving and unique opportunities for marine life. The only diving in the area is undertaken by expedition boats, like ours. Many of these are based in Bali and do the 12-15 hour transit across some famously rough waters. So the diving is still exploratory and certainly no sites are named or even mapped.
While not something we hope to encounter while diving, the islands are also home to saltwater crocodiles. Definitely a unique diving experience if we did encounter one!
(though they are listed - by a somewhat dubious source as one of the 7 best dive sites in Indonesia).
After the Jaya does her diving here, she will head towards the Eastern coast of Bali where we find both "civilization" and some more unique dives. One of the big ones on everyone's list is Liberty wreck off Tulamben. After that - we pick up a couple more of our special guests on Gili Trawangan, a big night out and along the northern coast of Lombok and then into Komodo National Park - and our home for the next 5 months.
If you would like to join our Komodo trips - we are offering 3 and 6 day Komodo Liveaboards as well as day trips and our unique snorkeling tours.
Wicked Diving, Komodo
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