Leaving Lombok and our great crew of surf guides was sad, and after 6 hours of travelling both by car and boat without lunch it would have taken something pretty special to cheer us up. To which we arrived at our destination in Nusa Lembongan and realised we had found paradise!
The first few days were nice and small which allowed us to get used to the different waves and take a bit of a break from all the surfing in Lombok. With an infinity pool directly in front of the most consistent break on the island, a lot of our time was spent there enjoying the warm water and watching the waves, waiting for the perfect time to paddle out. Some of us even managed to pull out that book we had ‘intended to read’. Life was perfect!
After a few days of trying the different spots and exploring the island and many different restaurants, the boat captain and myself made the call to go on the search for the giant manta rays. Speaking to the other boat drivers and the less fortunate tourists in hope of seeing them, we knew we would be lucky to see them as only one had been spotted in the past week. In the past luck had been on our side and we’d had some incredible experiences diving with them, so I just hoped that luck would continue.
After a beautiful boat drive from one island to the next along the cliffs, we arrived at Manta Bay. There was one boat there looking, and as we saw the divers getting ready to dive on we raced across to where they were, the boat driver confirmed that they had spotted 2 giant Manta’s swimming. The boat drivers are masters at spotting them when swimming either near the surface or the ocean floor. A mad scramble ensued as we grabbed goggles, snorkel and flippers ready to jump in. We were lucky, everyone in the group got to swim with them, and they hung around long enough for us to take a bit of time to watch them swim. They are truly incredible creatures, and for several people on the trip it has been one of the best experiences of their life. Our boat driver Toni was suitably happy and asked if we were ready to go, but I suggested we search for a bit longer. We saw a few more, and what an experience it was, their wingspan close on 2 meters as they appear to almost ‘fly’ through the water, but you’ll have to watch the video coming out soon to see more.
That wasn’t it though, and we dived two more spots, Luke convinced that it was the best day of his life and the most incredible thing he had experienced. With fun waves that afternoon, it was an easy highlight of the trip.
Check in soon for the big swell that blessed us on our last days in Nusa Lembongan.
Chris