Bali Topside Activities

Posted on April 12, 2024April 12, 2024 by Annabel Thomas

Bali Topside Activities with AquaMarine

It is difficult to know where to start when listing Bali’s topside activities as they range from bird-watching walks and Balinese cookery courses to downhill cycling tours through Bali’s heartland and the ever-popular surfing as well as world-renowned golf courses. You can study puppetry or make your own batik sarong, learn the Balinese gamelan (xylophone) or try Balinese dancing.

Whitewater rafting is available and you can horseride on the beach or through the rice fields. Several companies offer Daytime and Dinner cruises. Watersports abound: fishing, wind-surfing, para-sailing, banana-boating.

These days Bali is the spa capital of Southeast Asia with many hotels boasting their own spas and many independent spas throughout the island. Holidays are the perfect time to indulge yourself: treatments for jetlag and sunburn are usually available!

Shopping and therefore bargaining (hard) is a way of life here, whether it’s for handicrafts, furniture, paintings, stone and wood carvings, fabric and soft furnishings, clothing, jewellery; whatever you need, it’s here in Bali. There are many cargo companies, too…

But perhaps the most enjoyable and educational activity of all is to learn about and experience Balinese culture. Deeply rooted in daily activities, ceremonies (such as tooth-filing) to mark each stage of this life can be witnessed all over the island. Visits to beautiful and spectacularly located temples are within 1-2 hours of most hotels in Bali.

Come and experience
The Island of the Gods for yourself
– you’ll find it hard to leave!

Dive Site: Amed

Posted on April 5, 2024April 5, 2024 by Annabel Thomas

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Dive Site Amed: A Little Known Treasure

Amed, the village, is located on the north east coast of Bali. Amed was traditionally dependent on salt-panning and fishing. Despite the arrival of tourists, Amed has retained the feeling of making it a place where people stay for weeks at a time.

Amed area is quiet with a lovely scenery. It makes a great location for 1 Day Bali Dive Trips. Conditions here, from the sandy shore or using an outrigger boat, are easy, with good visibility.

The dive sites actually stretch along the coast from Amed village (muck site) to Jemeluk and Bunutan, and beyond to Lipah Bay (Japanese Wreck site). Access to the various Amed dive sites is either from the shore or by jukung (local boat).

Popular Dive Sites in Amed

Popular sites in the area include Bunutan Point, the Japanese Wreck and Gili Selang.

Amed Reef (depth 12-22m), with many different kinds of sponges and Gorgonian seafans, is home to marinelife that includes lobsters, shrimp and goby sets, Blue-spotted rays, pygmy seahorses, and schools of fish from anthias to barracuda.

White-tip reef sharks, Napoleon wrasse, Giant trevally and large schools of bannerfish, snapper, and fusilier can be found at Amed Wall (10-35m). The deep slope after the wall is rich in invertebrates with crinoids and commensals.

Bunutan Point (18-25m) starts with a gentle sandy slope which often has many different nudibranchs and other macro critters. Visibility is usually good although sometimes there are thermoclines.

Lipah Bay (3km south east of Amed), a small black sand bay, is home to The Japanese Wreck, a 20m steel freighter wreck (5-15m) that is encrusted with sponges, Gorgonian seafans and coral bushes, and inhabited by anthias, parrotfish and angelfish. The deeper slope has interesting seafans and is often dotted with a wide variety of nudibranchs.

The small island of Gili Selang on Bali’s eastern point has some protected areas with big bommies and low-lying, healthy corals where you may see White-tip reef sharks, Napoleon wrasse, nudibranchs and pygmy seahorses. The more exposed areas may have strong currents but can provide the opportunity to see large pelagics. Gili Selang can also be reached by fast boat from Padangbai.

Being a Responsible Dive Tourist

Posted on March 15, 2024March 15, 2024 by Annabel Thomas

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Responsible Diver Preserve their Environment

When planning your holiday, choose resorts and liveaboards that have environmentally conscious policies; look for any awards they may have received. Ask: Do they actively contribute to the sustainability and preservation of topside and marine environments?

Encourage your guides to act responsibly; often they are simply over-zealous in their desire to please.

Be sure to streamline your equipment, ensure you are correctly weighted, and watch your buoyancy when diving near a coral reef or other sensitive environment. Be careful not to kick sand onto, stand on, or touch coral.

Educate yourself about seafood and the source of the seafood that you eat. Check www.fishonline.org. Do not patronise restaurants that serve Shark Fin Soup and Napoleon wrasse. Be aware that any live reef fish have often been caught using sodium cyanide – poisonous to you and to the reefs.

Buy your dive gear from manufacturers that contribute to the welfare of the ocean. Contact the company directly if you are unsure.

If you see pictures showing animal harassment or articles that are ecologically offensive, please write to the publisher. They exist because you pay to see or buy their products so tell them when they are wrong.

Research and educate others on the issue of captive dolphins and whales.

Increase your knowledge of the environment, above and below water, by attending (marine) ecology programmes. Participate in eco-tourism and research diving expeditions.

Use operators who employ local people thereby providing them with education and training, as well as bringing direct and indirect benefits to their communities.

When you have the opportunity to meet local people, talk to them about environmental issues that affect the area, while ensuring you show respect for their traditions and culture. All grassroots efforts start from just one or two people having an idea.

Never throw anything into the sea and set an example by not removing shells, corals or fish (alive or dead). If you collect rubbish while diving, be careful it hasn’t already been adopted by local marinelife such as an octopus in a broken bottle.

Report environmental damage, or practices that could be damaging, and encourage responsible behaviour such as the use of permanent moorings, even if it means a longer surface swim.

Donate time and/or money to conservation efforts at home and overseas. Support Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) such as Marine Parks.

Tell others about your experiences, good and bad; never be afraid to lead by example.

Remember: More than seven-tenths of the world’s surface is covered by water; we need it for our very survival. All education, for yourself, for children, for anyone, is an investment for the future.

“In the end, we will conserve only what we love,
we will love only what we understand,
and we will understand only what we are taught.”
Baba Dioum, Senegalese Conservationist