| Site Type: | Reef – Drift |
| Depth: | Top: 5M Median: 12M Bottom: 16M |
| Location: | Along the northern coast of Lembongan Island |
Diving Nusa Lembongan is quite different from diving Nusa Penida and much more relaxing. Nusa Lembongan has a steadily sloping reef from about 5 to 16m with a lazy current flowing gently along it. The corals are still in great condition and plenty of reef fish call it home.
Here is a short video of a few of the critters you might see diving Nusa Lembongan.
Relatively shallow sloping reef simply hang and drift along, moving up and down the slope according to what takes your fancy.
The water is pretty clear and the coral varies with depth. Close to the top of the reef you’ll find pretty coral stacks with Anthias and Hawkfish
A Forsters Hawkfish in this particular case.
The mid-sized reef are well represented with surgeons, angels and butterflies, like this Velvet surgeon (note the bar under the eye)
A Blue Angelfish – showing what makes her an Angelfish: the little spine on the bottom of the gill cover.
A pair of key-hole angels – perhaps because the blotch is shaped like a keyhole or perhaps because they’re small enough to fit through one!
A pair of black back butterflyfish.
And an almost rectangular Chevron butterflyfish.
Also higher up the reef in the shallower water I spotted a juvenile yellow spotted puffer.
And further down the slope – the adult.
Another interesting little fish: the Mimic filefish – mimics the poisonous (to eat) Three Saddle Toby. Apart from their markings the easier way to tell them apart is just to watch: the Three Saddle Toby will instantly try to hide from you, the mimic will stick around and even on occasion, approach. This one is a genuine Toby – the next shot of him was his tail from behind!
There are plenty of nudis around, but not so easy to spot on a drift dive.
This Juvenile lionfish was resting inside a coral – check the anemonefish for scale
Between the corals, this lobster left himself a little exposed. Though he didn’t immediately make off.
This scorpionfish is so confident of his ability to make himself invisible he doesn’t flinch when I point my camera and light at him. Clearly in denial!
A finally, that village-idiot of fish: the Black tipped grouper – a fish that looks like it lacks IQ
