After a month of Great Walks in New Zealand’s mountains, we arrived in Indonesia to world-class seas.
Indonesia is in the Coral Triangle, the global center of marine biodiversity and home to more than 3,000 species of fish. We had few plans, but knew we wanted to explore this wonderful underwater world together.
We arrived in Bali to a monsoon deluge late on a Friday night. The streets were thick with scooters splashing through the rain. A crowd of bare-chested Indonesian boys was using the marble steps of the local ATM as a slip-and-slide, their soundtrack a cacophony of horns and nightclub beats.
We stayed on Bali for just one night before catching a fastboat to Gili Air. Gili Air is a tiny dot in the ocean off the coast of Bali’s nearest neighboring island, Lombok. And it is paradise.
Our first morning we awoke to sunrise over Lombok’s picturesque volcano-crowned silhouette, a soft breeze across the beach, the sound of crashing waves, and a multi-course breakfast in front of our bamboo bungalow. As we began to explore the island, we found a series of paths for running, a sunrise yoga class on the beach, and delicious local food (the nasi campur and spicy home-made sambal at Warung Padang was our favorite). With no motorized vehicles on the island, soft bells jingled as brightly adorned horses drawing small carriages trotted down the immaculate sandy paths, which are swept daily by business owners around the island.
Robynn’s one dress exactly matched Gili Air’s aquamarine waters.
The owners of our dreamy bungalows were a prickly Italian couple whose demeanor mirrored the countless cats they kept on the grounds – but they warmed up after a couple days. Their staff, in contrast, was quick to befriend us, especially the outgoing and thoughtful Mira.
But Gili Air is more than just a place to unwind, it’s also one of the world’s best places to learn to scuba dive. The island is blessed with gentle currents at shallow dive spots, crystal clear waters, perfect weather, and so much to see underwater. It’s easy to spot graceful sea turtles sleeping in barrel sponges, floating to the surface for a sip of air, or munching on coral. And the incredible marine diversity means that even our dive instructors – with hundreds of dives in the Gilis – were always discovering something new, like the extremely rare rhinopias they found at Hahn’s Reef just a few weeks before our arrival.
As Robynn last dived in Aliwal Shoal in 2001, she thought a tune-up would be wise, so signed up for a one-day refresher course. Michael began his three-day basic scuba certification.
The team at our dive shop, Manta Dive, was a fun and quirky group of expats, and with a few local dive guides who had worked their way up through the ranks. They started as wait staff and then learned the trade through free classes from Manta. More than just dive guides, the Manta team become our source for advice and assistance for everything Gili – from ordering prescription dive goggles for Michael to finding the best local warungs, tucked along small paths in the center of the island.
On our last morning, we did our first dive together, a glorious hour in a wonderland of brilliant coral, turtles, schools of brightly colored angelfish and trigger fish, a sea snake, and so much more. Our dive was led by Mul, one of Manta’s outstanding local guides and a bit of a comedian.
This last dive on Gili Air was also the first time we played with our Go Pro. The video just doesn’t do justice to the magic of Indonesian oceans. Without dive lights or a specialized dive filter, we couldn’t capture the tremendous colors. As diving novices, our footage is also a little shaky. But the short video is still fun for a taste of the many hours we will spend underwater in Indonesia. And, honestly, sea turtles are amazing - no matter the quality of the film.
After cleaning up from the dive, we boarded the boat to Lombok for our next adventure, a three-day trek up Gunung Rinjani, Lombok’s 3700-meter volcano peak.