Nekton

Bali beckons many and among those are divers. But just off the east coast is a complex of three islands that few take the opportunity to see. Here the currents run strong and the corals are healthy and varied. For divers, it is a great place to do all kinds of diving, from wild drifts to sedate searches. It is also home to seasonal infestations of Mola, or oceanic sunfish. Strange and shy, this huge creature is a pelagic beast and a rarity for the reef dwelling scuba diver to discover.

And so it was off to Lembongan, under the helpful eyes of Michael Cortenbach and his Bali Hai Diving Adventures staff, that I recently went in search of giant sunfish, devil rays and whatever else the ocean would dish up.

Nusa Penida is the largest of a three-plex of islands off Bali's southeast coast. Rugged and inviting, it is a tough place to live, with little interior water. So people populate the coasts for the most part and leave this big island to the gods. It sees little in the way of tourism. But the tree-lined beaches and quiet villages that flank the island's sandy shores sit next to some of the richest reefs in the world.

On the west end, the eerie white limestone coastline of Penida rises high and straight up from the sea in rugged foliage-covered cliffs. From shore you can see nearby Bali's volcanic Gunung Agung ascending high into the clouds. The island's wild terrain has been the inspiration for many fables and myths. Many Balinese believe that this island is the source of black magic, and that those natural disasters like floods and draughts are caused by the giant demon king, Jero Gede Macaling, who comes from Nusa Penida. As a result of these beliefs, Balinese are very careful about what they say to the people of Nusa Penida.

But demon rays are a delight to divers. The coastline is home to a very large family of manta rays that can be seen from the air swimming along in the current lines near the cliffs, feeding and winging through the sea. There's even a mystical and rather famous white manta that I have seen leaping from the water on the way to Bat Rock. Others have videoed this great creature.

Given the proper sea conditions, Manta Point east of Penida's famed Arch Rock, can be enjoyed by all levels of divers, including snorkelers who can watch giant devilfish coast gracefully below them. During certain times of the year, groups of manta rays gather at the reef area surrounding this large rock to visit the cleaning stations, mate, have young and do all those things manta rays do, like feed floating into the current with their immense mouths opens.

There is a "flyway" of sorts that they follow, sort of like deer on a forest trail. They will come in along this invisible path, normally into the current, and hover over a series of cleaning stations. Look for the small cleaner wrasse and butterflyfish that like to preen these animals.

Manta Point is near Bat Rock, next to a smaller outer rock along this wild cliffline. The top of the massive rocks are home to fruit bats, flying mammals resembling small foxes that roost on the islands by day and fly to the mainland at night to forage for fruit and other edibles.   Their passage at dusk looks like Mother Nature's version of a Dracula movie.
At times, mantas literally line up in a long parade around the outer edges of the rocks, many of them breaking the surface and slapping the water with their wings.   They are big and small and colored in the spectrum of everything from almost pure white to light gray with brilliant white underbellies to jet-black with just a speck of white on the mandibles.

They can be found in groups of six and more, swimming in circles, doing somersaults and generally having a wild time, which is mating behavior.   A spotting like this cannot be guaranteed every day at Manta Point, but they are consistently seen along the Penida cliffline, so keep trying and you may get lucky. There are actually many sites along this cliffline that beg for exploration, so if it is calm, see if your operator is keen for some adventure diving.

Nusa   Lembongan   is a small    but popular   daytrip destination just northwest of Nusa Penida. Once solely a surfer's haven, the   bungalows and   small hotels around Mushroom Bay (at the island's southern end) now   offer   accommodations   that   attract a broad spectrum of travelers, including divers. A few dive services have set up shop on the island, so diving here is now both easy to organize and comfortable.

Sandwiched in between Penida and Lembongan is tiny Nusa Ceningan.   A   short bridge   spans the narrow channel between Lembongan and Ceningan and the nearby village is full of fishermen and seaweed farmers who work the local waters.

Th e place to find the sunfish is at Jurassic Point. As one famed guide put it, "This may be the best dive of your life, the worst dive of your life or the last dive of your life." Currents here can be very strong, but the wild, roiling action with lots of stuff rushing by can make it worthwhile. The strong tidal and inter-island currents from about 18m   down make   the   waters unpredictable.   One hour   they   can be   calm   and

unmoving, and the next a 4-knot blast can grab you and take you on the ride of a lifetime. Down- and up-currents and upwellings from deep below all add to the excitement of this amazing full-speed roller coaster ride. Add occasional temperature drops of 10�C and this dive has a chilling effect unmatched anywhere in the world.

So why bother to dive in this place. This is where the sunfish really like to hang out. In an area from 25 to 45 meters along a ledge wall is where they can be seen, sometime in small groups but normally alone getting cleaned by bannerfish and angelfish. It is quite sight to see as they hang vertically in the water and let the fish rummage all over their broad yet narrow bodies.

Mola-molas come near the reef only briefly, presumably to mate and preen. At this time, clouds of bannerfish and even French angelfish come to clean the parasites from their bizarre bodies.

My faithful guide Selamat seemed even more eager to spot one than I was. As we floated down along the wall at Jurassic Point, passing whitetip sharks, giant bull rays and blue-spot stingrays, Selamat kept an eye out into the blue. Sunfish are big but also narrow and if you don't see them sideways, you may not see them.

Sunfish

The oceanic sunfish, or mola-mola, is normally a pelagic creature, meaning that it lives most of its life adrift in the currents of the open ocean. They feed on planktonic matter and jellyfish are a favorite food. Their body length can exceed 9 feet and their height from bottom dorsal to top can be double their length. They reproduce in the hostile environment of the open ocean by releasing millions of eggs. They have been seen floating on their sides on the ocean's surface with birds pecking parasites from their cartilaginous sides. Their fins and stubby tail are made of rough skin similar to a shark's.

This fish looks like nothing else. Its tiny mouth, huge dorsal fins, minimal tail and set back eyes make you wonder what God was thinking when He created the ocean sunfish. These animals are rarely seen near the coral reef, preferring to drift with the ocean currents in pursuit of their favorite food, the purple jellyfish.

Mola-molas come near the reef for a brief time, presumably to mate and preen. At this time, clouds of bannerfish and even French angels come to clean the parasites from their bizarre bodies.

They come into the reefs of Lembongan Island, Gili Topekang, Tulamben Dropoff, Amed Wall and the Liberty wreck. They are most frequently seen at a Lembongan's Jurassic Point across the Bali Straits. In these wild and cold waters they are ther e to mate and experience the reef, especially during late August and early September, but are seen from June through November as well.

They typically stay in an area swept by unpredictable currents and punctuated by cold ocean upwellings but they don't like the currents so it is best and safest to look for them at slack tide.

Sure enough, an excited yell through his regulator alerted me to a cleaning mola up ahead. We slowed our approach and watched as busy bannerfish and Emperor angelfish pecked and preened this giant disk of a fish. As we got too close, it decided to shy away and after I fired a few shots from my camera, it headed out to open sea. But to our delight, the call to clean overrode the call to flee and it circled and returned. We watched as it enjoyed the attention of the cleaners until out bottom time told us to leave it in peace.

During the course of a week, we saw molas at Pura Ped, Crystal Bay, Toyapakeh and back at the Jurraisic Point.

The highlight for me actually took place on the boat, however. I had heard stories about the molas leaping from the sea and even saw a video, filmed from below, of a mola making a leap from the sea. Then, while

Other good dives around this area include the extremely deep pass that separates Nusa Ceningan from Nusa Penida. The corals at the start of the dive lead up to a wall where the current briskly sweeps you toward the open sea. Near Toyapakeh there are small caves cut into the reef that are home to cleaning stations, big eels, huge soldierfish school that turn the entrances bright red and beautiful soft corals. In the blue, look for high-voltage action and the chance to see big dogtooth tuna, groupers, bull jacks and sharks. The wall is adorned with soft corals, tubastrea corals and sea fans.

Crystal Bay is protected and relatively shallow, offering enjoyable conditions for divers of all levels. The bay has two entrances and a large rock sits in the center. Be careful when diving this central rock or along the outside edge of the bay as the current can be strong and can sweep divers out along the outside wall into very tricky diving conditions. An experienced guide is helpful to prevent a disoriented diver from taking a wrong turn and getting swept away.

When near the drop-off, look for larger creatures like eagle rays, dogtooth tuna, sharks and an occasional bumphead wrasse. Schooling surgeonfish are abundant in some spots. Sunfish can be seen here as well.

Inner Crystal Bay is pretty tame and has some splendid large coral formations that are havens for marine life. Large schools of glassy sweepers form living walls under many of the overhangs. Bottom-oriented basslets can often be seen swimming upside-down along the overhangs.

Pura Ped at western Nusa Penida is actually my favorite site as one of the most diverse areas in the world for fish and invertebrat e life. Many forms of marine life occupy the waters of Bali. The same holds true for Nusa Penida, and this site is no exception. This reef slopes down to about 50m, but you don't have to go very deep to see some magnificent stuff.
Pura Ped makes a superb drift dive. Currents can be strong, so enjoy the ride but don't forget to bring your safety sausage. These currents have produced some

Occasionally, a manta ray or a school of barracuda will sweep in from the blue along the gradual slope that empties into the deep straits. Reef whitetip sharks sleep under table corals by day and forage for food at night. Green moray eels peek their heads from the crevices, and groupers and sweetlips are common along the shelves. Divers have even encountered a half-dozen sea snakes on a single dive.

Lembongan and its neighboring isles are a real treasure for divers above and below. At night, the island is quiet and there are some nice places to eat. Try the pizza at the Bali Hai Bungalows or sip a sunset drink at the new restaurant at Sunset Beach. A trip to the island of the Demon King may create its own demons that constantly call for your return. This was certainly not my first trip and won't be my last, although it may have been the most rewarding to date. Like me, you may find it is a call you may not be able to resist.

Tim Rock attended the journalism program at the University of Nebraska - Omaha and has been a professional broadcast and print photojournalist for 30 years. The majority of those years have been spent in the Western and Indo Pacific reporting on environmental and conservation issues. He has won the prestigious Excellence in the Use of Photography from the Society of Publisher's in Asia. He also lists many other awards for documentaries, television shows including producer of ACE award finalist Aquaquest Micronesia, photography and writing. He works as a correspondent for numerous Pacific Rim magazines. He is the author of 6 Lonely Planet/Pisces series guides including The Diving and Snorkeling Guides to South Africa and Mozambique, Chuuk-Pohnpei-Kosrae, Palau, Bali & Lombok, Guam & Yap