We woke up this morning psyched to dive. This is, after all, the first of many dive days over the next 8-weeks for the Best of Southeast Asia, where Quinn and I will be diving at 14 resorts in 9 diving hotspots. Follow our posts for daily photo/video updates and resort/diving comparisons.
Our first glimpses of Scuba Seraya were serene (we arrived late at night yesterday). Quinn and I hopped on the boat with our DM and were at Alam Anda in just a few minutes.
Alam Anda
This was one of those dives that keeps getting better and better. We dropped in over a black sand and rubble bottom but were soon over the main portion of the reef. The more we swam the more structure and beautiful corals came into view. The bottom was layered with hard coral dropping out of view down the steep slope accented with table corals and a few big sea fans. We saw a small turtle (it was far away – maybe a green sea turtle) and a large school of bumphead parrotfish, hanging around a cleaning station. Cleaning stations always present great underwater behavior photo opportunities. Not bad for a first dive.
A quick ride back to the resort gave us ample time to relax, eat some lunch and film a scene of episode 1 of our video series (if you haven’t yet, check out episode 0).
Liberty Wreck
Dive two was at the infamous Liberty Wreck. I’ve read about the wreck and have seen photos for years and can honestly say that one dive was not nearly enough as an underwater photographer. So many soft corals, fans, fish and structure to shoot! The size of the wreck was immense. There were no boats nearby but we saw an army of divers on the beach stumbling in and out of the water. I’ve heard about the school of jacks on the wreck but learned that these disappeared a few years ago – probably to entertain divers at another northeastern Bali reef.
The Liberty Wreck is a great site for diver-in-scene and dive buddy photos, so we took the opportunity to write 3 Quick Tips for Dive Buddy Photos with some photos from the wreck.
Below are a few more photos from diving today. Stay tuned for a full dive report and resort photos from Scuba Seraya tomorrow! I’ll also be filming and sharing some underwater video over the next day or two!
– Brent
There are some amazing views on the Liberty Wreck.
A school of glassfish hangs out behind an enormous sea fan.
Bumphead parrotfish at Alam Anda.
Quinn and Semut cruise over the Liberty Wreck.
