Tulamben Drop-Off

Stayed at the excellent economy hotel Paradise and dove with Aquamarine both years we were there. Had time to do a couple dozen solo shore dives stretching from the small coral garden right out front, through the River site, across and down the Drop-off and sometimes all the way to Alamanda. The Drop-off was partially smothered by the winter mudflow event in 2003 down the Agung volcano, but I still loved the exposed parts on top and the deeps down to 120. You can find anything here, from herds of Bumphead parrotfish to black-tip reef shark forays to lots of pygmy seahorses and especially, in 2003, hordes of lionfish in the afternoon. Perhaps the most impressive thing I've seen is turning off my night-time torch at 100 feet near the bottom of the spur closest to the hotels and watching the flashlight fish ascend the wall. Scorpion fish, the occasional frogfish, bumblebee shrimp, squat lobster, even ghost pipefish have been seen here by my sons and I. My favorite route is to start in the protected lee of the drop-off, especially during new moon tides, head down to the big seafan at the 30 meter corner, spend lots of time there and then come back via the river site all the way to the coral garden. If tides allow, my 2nd favorite route is to enter at the same spot, cross the wall at 60 and head right on to Alamanda, catching the tidal change back across the Drop-off reef top to the River site and if air remains, even back to the coral garden.

The Drop off at Tulamben is very near the USS Liberty Wreck. You can see it from the entry point. While it is not the Liberty, it is still a nice dive. If it is really crowded at The Liberty Wreck, then diving here can be a good thing. Good macro Photography can be had here.