{"id":8860,"date":"2015-08-18T07:51:26","date_gmt":"2015-08-18T06:51:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/petitesbullesdailleurs\/?p=8860"},"modified":"2019-06-10T15:04:38","modified_gmt":"2019-06-10T13:04:38","slug":"sekotong-bay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/en\/sekotong-bay-20150818\/","title":{"rendered":"Diving in Lombok: Sekotong Bay"},"content":{"rendered":"

Leave on a tropical island far from everything<\/a>It's good to be in the water. But to immerse yourself in a tropical sea, it's better... For me, happiness is under water! This time, it happens in Lombok, Indonesia, near Bali...<\/p>\n

New underwater adventures<\/h2>\n
July 6, 2015. Today is a big day: I'm going back under the surface!!! My new bubble pool :\u00a0Sekotong Bay<\/strong>in the southwest of Lombok (the island that faces the eastern coast of Bali).<\/p>\n
I don't want to do it anymore. I have been on a small island for two days,\u00a0Gili Asahan<\/a>and I finally recovered\u00a0 my bag<\/a>\u00a0of travel, \"forgotten\" by Emirates in Dubai<\/a>... Inside, there are a few indispensable things for my underwater and photographic excursions: my diving equipment and elements for the waterproof housing of my camera.<\/p>\n
The fishes and nudibranches have to be careful... I'm coming !!!<\/p>\n
$\"The$ <\/a>
The diving boat of Dive Zone. (Gili Asahan, Lombok, Indonesia, July 2015.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Photographing the coral<\/h2>\n
The bay of Sekotong and the \"gilis\" (islands) of southwest Lombok are still little known, little visited, few dives<\/strong>. Here, I was told, the bottom is less damaged by dynamite fishing, tourist traffic and water heating (which makes the corals bleach) than in the northern gilis (Air, Nemo, Trawangan).<\/p>\n
My verdict, after several days of diving: yes, there are beautiful sites in Sekotong Bay, with coral in great shape!<\/p>\n
$\"Swarm$ <\/a>
Swarm of glass fish around a coral spud (Sekotong Bay, Lombok, Indonesia, July 2015.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t $\"Sekotong$ <\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tCrown of crinoids.\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t $\"Sekotong$ <\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tGorgon and diver.\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n
But at first, the photographer that I am is a little disappointed by the visibility under water, very bad<\/strong>\u00a0- and it doesn't get any better as the days go by. There is a lot of plankton and particles in suspension, which make the water \"foggy\" and do not make my task any easier, as far as pictures are concerned...<\/p>\n
But by dint of perseverance - I spend my time readjusting the angle of my only flash and playing around with the sunlight - I end up getting good pictures. It must be said that there is no lack of photogenic subjects: large coral tables, giant sponges, delicate gorgonians, swarms of glass fish...<\/p>\n
$\"Coral$ <\/a>
Glass fish wreath around a coral spud (Sekotong Bay, Lombok, Indonesia, July 2015.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t $\"A$ <\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tUn bateau passe au-dessus d’un buisson de gorgones. \n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t $\"Play$ <\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tPlay of light above the coral. \n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n
$\"The$ <\/a>
The shadow of a diver looms behind a delicate fan of yellow coral. Sekotong Bay, Lombok, Indonesia, July 2015.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
$\"This$ <\/a>
This sponge-barrel is 3 meters high! (Sekotong Bay, Lombok, Indonesia, July 2015.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
$\"Coral$ <\/a>
Coral table. (Sekotong Bay, Lombok, Indonesia, July 2015.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Small animals<\/h2>\n
As far as fauna is concerned, we did not meet many \"big\" fishes, except some turtles, napoleons and big star fishes. But on the \"small\" side, there is a lot to enjoy.<\/p>\n
So, I went a little crazy with the macro lens...<\/p>\n
$\"Nemo,$ <\/a>
Nemo, the clownfish, opens the ball! (Sekotong Bay, Lombok, Indonesia, July 2015.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
$\"This$ <\/a>
This nudibranch plays acrobats! (Sekotong Bay, Lombok, Indonesia, July 2015.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
$\"Impressive,$ <\/a>
Impressive, seen up close, this small hairy sponge crab (Sekotong Bay, Lombok, Indonesia, July 2015.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
$\"A$ <\/a>
A nudibranch with the appearance of a pink rabbit. (Sekotong Bay, Lombok, Indonesia, July 2015.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
$\"Good$ <\/a>
Good kisses of the fish-toad. (Sekotong Bay, Lombok, Indonesia, July 2015.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
$\"When$ <\/a>
When the cuttlefish bristles ... (Sekotong Bay, Lombok, Indonesia, July 2015)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t $\"This$ <\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tnudibranch\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t $\"A$ <\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tUn syngnathe prend la pose… \n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n
$\"Nudibranch$ <\/a>
Nudibranch in white livery with black edging. (Sekotong Bay, Lombok, Indonesia, July 2015.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
$\"This$ <\/a>
This amazing nudibranch full of growths, which sports two false black eyes, is called \"Bornella Anguilla\". (Sekotong Bay, Lombok, Indonesia, July 2015.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
$\"A$ <\/a>
A big belly for a tiny pygmy seahorse... Soon babies! (Sekotong Bay, Lombok, Indonesia, July 2015.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Diving, diving, diving<\/h2>\n
Five days fly away like a string of bubbles towards the surface... I dive every day, too happy to find the underwater weightlessness and the small fascinating world of the coral ecosystem... \ud83d\ude01<\/p>\n
$\"My$ <\/a>
My guide Rheyn graciously strikes a pose, Indonesian style... (Sekotong Bay, Lombok, Indonesia, July 2015.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
The sites accessible from Gili Asahan and the nearby Lombok Coast are usually gently sloping reefs, down to sandy bottoms or littered with coral debris. The islands of Sekotong Bay offer quite a bit of different spots, which always allows a B plan when there is too much current at one place ...<\/p>\n
Overall, these are sites accessible to divers of all levels<\/strong>. Nothing amazing underwater (we are not at Komodo<\/a> nor to Sipadan<\/a> nor to Raja Ampat<\/a>), but I would still describe the dives at Sekotong as \"nice\" (especially when you go to the gorgonian sea fans filled with pygmy seahorses), that is to say, at the level of what one can usually expect in Indonesia. It is worth diving there during a visit to Lombok, but I will not make it a diving destination in itself (maybe I am getting picky, too?).<\/p>\n
Anyway, Sekotong is an interesting area to explore. The \"gilis\" of the area are really superb, quiet and authentic on the \"earth\" level.<\/p>\n
$\"Oil$ <\/a>
Sea of oil, on this day, in Sekotong Bay. (Lombok, Indonesia, July 2015.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
$\"Here,$ <\/a>
Here, the beaches are rarely crowded ... (Sekotong Bay, Lombok, Indonesia, July 2015.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Some practical information<\/h2>\n
In this summer 2015, there are (to my knowledge) only\u00a0two dive structures located in Sekotong Bay itself<\/strong> :\u00a0Dive Zone<\/a> and the center Odyssea Divers<\/a> of the Cocotinos Hotel.<\/p>\n
I opted for Dive Zone (which has recently joined forces with a well-known Indonesian structure, Two Fish Divers, which also has centers in Bali and Manado) and I stayed at\u00a0 Pearl Beach Resort<\/a>\u00a0on Gili Asahan. This accommodation is a partner of the dive center, which has its own annex on site. (There are other possible accommodations on Lombok itself or the surrounding islands, but it is less convenient to go diving every day).<\/p>\n
The resort in question consists of a handful of comfortable bungalows (made of hardwood) and simpler ones (made of bamboo) set in a beautiful garden facing the sea. The place is beautiful and very quiet (I regret that the management and the food are not at the same level, as far as I experienced during my stay... but it can be improved).<\/p>\n
$\"Pear$ <\/a>
Pearl Beach Resort, Gili Asahan. (Lombok, Indonesia, July 2015.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
$\"View$ <\/a>
View of Pearl Beach Resort Beach, Gili Asahan. Lombok, Indonesia, July 2015.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
$\"The$ <\/a>
The garden at Pearl Beach Resort in Gili Asahan. (Lombok, Indonesia, July 2015.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Finally, Dive Zone is also the only dive operator to bring people to the site The Magnet<\/a>. It is a spectacular rock, beaten by waves and currents, off another bay, Belongas Bay, about an hour's drive from Sekotong.<\/p>\n
Only divers considered as experienced (with more than 100 dives) are accepted, as the conditions can be sporty, even difficult. I cannot recommend caution enough, more than elsewhere, on this very particular site. The reward is that you can meet big animals... I will tell you more about it, since I went there.<\/p>\n
Update: the article about my dives in Belongas Bay is online!<\/strong> To read here :
\n\u2192 The Magnet: adrenaline rush<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n
\ud83d\ude09<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Being away from it all on a tropical island is great. But immersing yourself in a tropical sea is even better... For me, happiness is underwater! This time, it's Lombok, Indonesia, near Bali...<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8907,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tpgb_global_settings":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[289],"tags":[88,106,290,291,292,563,26,295],"class_list":["post-8860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-voyage-indonesie-lombok-bali-bangka-juillet-2015","tag-pratique","tag-hotel","tag-lombok","tag-sekotong","tag-gili-asahan","tag-dive-plonger-indonesie","tag-indonesie","tag-plongee"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/glassfish-02.jpg?wsr","tpgb_featured_images":{"full":["https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/glassfish-02.jpg?wsr",1500,1000,false],"tp-image-grid":["https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/glassfish-02-700x700.jpg?wsr",700,700,true],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/glassfish-02-250x250.jpg?wsr",250,250,true],"medium":["https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/glassfish-02-390x260.jpg?wsr",390,260,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/glassfish-02-770x513.jpg?wsr",770,513,true],"large":["https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/glassfish-02-780x520.jpg?wsr",780,520,true],"default":"https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/wp-content\/plugins\/the-plus-addons-for-block-editor\/assets\/images\/tpgb-placeholder.jpg"},"tpgb_post_meta_info":{"get_date":"18 August 2015","get_modified_date":"10 June 2019","category_list":{"category":[{"term_id":289,"name":"Indon\u00e9sie : Lombok + Bali + Bangka - juillet 2015","slug":"voyage-indonesie-lombok-bali-bangka-juillet-2015","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":299,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Un mois de voyage et de plong\u00e9e en Indon\u00e9sie, sur trois \u00eeles diff\u00e9rentes : Lombok, Bali, Bangka (Nord-Sulawesi).","parent":0,"count":6,"filter":"raw","term_order":"19"}],"post_tag":[{"term_id":88,"name":"Pratique","slug":"pratique","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":93,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":30,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"},{"term_id":106,"name":"H\u00f4tel","slug":"hotel","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":111,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":28,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"},{"term_id":290,"name":"Lombok","slug":"lombok","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":300,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":4,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"},{"term_id":291,"name":"Sekotong","slug":"sekotong","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":301,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":2,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"},{"term_id":292,"name":"Gili Asahan","slug":"gili-asahan","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":302,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":2,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"},{"term_id":563,"name":"Plonger en Indon\u00e9sie","slug":"dive-plonger-indonesie","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":568,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":86,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"},{"term_id":26,"name":"Indon\u00e9sie","slug":"indonesie","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":26,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"Entre oc\u00e9an Indien et oc\u00e9an Pacifique, au c\u0153ur du Triangle de Corail<\/a>, l'Indon\u00e9sie est \u00e0 mes yeux la plus belle des destinations pour la plong\u00e9e sous-marine. Impossible de se lasser de cet archipel immense, s'\u00e9tirant sur trois fuseaux horaires. Je vous emm\u00e8ne explorer ces fonds d'une richesse extraordinaire, de Bali<\/a> \u00e0\u00a0 Sulawesi<\/a>, de Komodo<\/a> \u00e0 Raja Ampat<\/a>, de Born\u00e9o<\/a> aux Moluques<\/a>...","parent":0,"count":182,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"},{"term_id":295,"name":"Plong\u00e9e","slug":"plongee","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":38,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"La plong\u00e9e sous-marine est votre passion ? Moi aussi. Ici ou ailleurs, de la Bretagne \u00e0 l'Indon\u00e9sie, je vous emm\u00e8ne sous la surface faire des bulles et d\u00e9couvrir les merveilles de l'oc\u00e9an. Plongez \u00e0 travers l'\u00e9cran !","parent":0,"count":171,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"}]},"author_name":"Corinne Bourbeillon","author_url":"https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/en\/author\/cbourbeillon\/","author_email":"corinne.pbda@gmail.com","author_website":"https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/corinne-bourbeillon\/","author_description":"Journaliste, plongeuse et\u00a0photographe sous-marine, Corinne adore faire des bulles avec les\u00a0poissons\u00a0! La beaut\u00e9 du monde et\u00a0de\u00a0l'oc\u00e9an lui ont inspir\u00e9 ce blog. \r\n\r\n En savoir plus<\/a>","author_facebook":"","author_twitter":"","author_instagram":"","author_role":["administrator"],"author_firstname":"Corinne","author_lastname":"Bourbeillon","user_login":"cbourbeillon","author_avatar":"","author_avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7542464a0f3c6a1baf2af7786ad5764b10f9d60908fb1278a969310cf533aedd?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","comment_count":29,"post_likes":0,"post_views":0},"tpgb_post_category":{"category":"Indon\u00e9sie : Lombok + Bali + Bangka - juillet 2015<\/a> ","post_tag":"Pratique<\/a> H\u00f4tel<\/a> Lombok<\/a> Sekotong<\/a> Gili Asahan<\/a> Plonger en Indon\u00e9sie<\/a> Indon\u00e9sie<\/a> Plong\u00e9e<\/a> "},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8860"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8860\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8907"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

Small animals<\/h2>\nAs far as fauna is concerned, we did not meet many \"big\" fishes, except some turtles, napoleons and big star fishes. But on the \"small\" side, there is a lot to enjoy.<\/p>\nSo, I went a little crazy with the macro lens...<\/p>\n

Diving, diving, diving<\/h2>\nFive days fly away like a string of bubbles towards the surface... I dive every day, too happy to find the underwater weightlessness and the small fascinating world of the coral ecosystem... \ud83d\ude01<\/p>\n