Secret Reef, Gili Islands, Lombok, Indonesia

Site Overview
Site Type: Scenic Drift dives along a reef
Depth: Top: 5M Median: 13M Bottom: 22M
Location: In the channel between Gili Air and Gili Meno

Situated between Gili Meno and Gili Air, Secret Reef was part drift dive and part coral gardens dive. It started with the drift which was a bit like watching the landscape from the window of a speeding train. The coral garden at the end is presumably the secret reef – as it is possibly the most intact coral throughout the Gili Islands – and as such home to plenty of colourful reef fish.

Best to look - but don't touch diving Secret Reef at Gili Islands Lombok Indonesia by Diveplanit

We were moving too fast to photograph fish, so I captured the different types of coral instead.

There were whip corals…

Whip coral diving Secret Reef at Gili Islands Lombok Indonesia by Diveplanit

Plates of coral grown up like elephant’s ears.

Elephant ear coral diving Secret Reef at Gili Islands Lombok Indonesia by Diveplanit

Acropora a plenty and all in good condition too.

Acropora a plenty diving Secret Reef at Gili Islands Lombok Indonesia by Diveplanit

Stacks of hard and brain-like coral with seafans and nurseries of fish.

Coral stack with sea fans and tiny fish diving Secret Reef at Gili Islands Lombok Indonesia by Diveplanit

Coral with red spots which I saw on a few dives so I assume it’s a natural feature.

Coral with red spots diving Secret Reef at Gili Islands Lombok Indonesia by Diveplanit

And the ubiquitous tubular sponges in amazingly bright colours.

Tubular sponges diving Secret Reef at Gili Islands Lombok Indonesia by Diveplanit

Towards the end of the drift I saw a trumpet fish deliberately swimming between two fox-faces. Apparently it’s an ambush technique – though I’m not sure what’s in it for the fox-faces.

A trumpetfish hunting between two fox faced rabbitfish diving Secret Reef at Gili Islands Lombok Indonesia by Diveplanit

Just before we end the drift, our guide spots this Devil scorpionfish sitting in the bottom of the channel perfectly camouflaged.

Devil scorpionfish (look for the eye in the centre of the photo) diving Secret Reef at Gili Islands Lombok Indonesia by Diveplanit

At the end of the drift we slow down into a garden of acropora.

Even more Acropora a plenty diving Secret Reef at Gili Islands Lombok Indonesia by Diveplanit

Here we find a great diversity of fish amongst the coral.

Amongst them two long nose butterflyfish zigzagging along the reef

Two long nose butterflyfish zigzagging along the reef diving Secret Reef at Gili Islands Lombok Indonesia by Diveplanit

A Brown Tang between a Dark and a Mimic surgeon

A brown tang between a Dark and a Mimic surgeon diving Secret Reef at Gili Islands Lombok Indonesia by Diveplanit

A solitary grassy emperor

A solitary grassy emperor diving Secret Reef at Gili Islands Lombok Indonesia by Diveplanit

And finally a blue spotted puffer. All the time there is a background of diverse and colourful corals.

blue spotted puffer-and look at the corals behind diving Secret Reef at Gili Islands Lombok Indonesia by Diveplanit

At bottom: We dived Secret Reef, Gili Islands, Lombok with 7Seas Dive Gili, Gili Air, Lombok Indonesia.