Macro Magic @ PJ and Seraya with Mr. KC Tseng and Ms. Lim Soo Yang:

 It all started on a fine October morning with KC, Soo and Putu, dive guide extraordinaire, heading off to Tulamben for the first leg of their Macro Magic dive trip. Already excited after their recent four day Mola Mola and Manta expedition, they expected something special from their trip to North Bali . Bali ’s ever present sun greeted them all the way as they drove up the coastal road towards their first stop, Tulamben.

The plan for the trip was to dive on the first day at Tulamben, then the next head of to PJ in Seririt, North Bali, and then on the final day to dive at Secret Bay in Gili Manuk. The trip would take three days and the idea was for KC and Soo to get as many photos of Bali ’s superb macro life as possible. We had already boasted how good the diving was, so it was now up to Putu to deliver the goods. KC and Soo were already eager to meet with elusive Mimic Octopus that we had been talking about for so long.

They started of with the first days diving at Tulamben, taking in the sites of Seraya Secrets and the drop off. Seraya Secrets is definitely building a reputation as a quality site for macro life, with a host of interesting life being found there. KC photographed this beautiful Decorator crab during the day which can be seen with all its decoration in full view. This site is also a fantastic place to find harlequin Shrimps although they can be a little hard to find. At night the divers stayed at Tulamben Wreck Divers where they were welcome to the usual friendly service from Tony, Wayan and the crew. This place is an excellent choice for people looking for quality accommodation without having to pay a fortune.

The next morning the divers headed of to PJ. A quality days diving in Tulamben had increased their hope of seeing some spectacular macro life in PJ. PJ is located just west of Lovina is a very difficult spot to find. There are no sign posts or no dive shops so you really need to have someone who knows where it is. PJ is situated about 500m from the main road, and the dive site is just a short walk from the beach. There are absolutely no facilities here yet so we have to bring everything with us. We were able to get some of the local people to source us some fresh water to rinse the cameras with afterwards. There were many local children taking their daily bath in the sea close to the sight who were fascinated by the divers going into the water.

 When you walk in from the beach, you immediately start to see marine life everywhere. For the untrained eye, the site looks like a huge bed of soil sprinkled with sea grass here and there, a little rubbish, and these weird small corals lying all about. In actual fact, the site hosts hundreds of different species of marine life. The site is very shallow for the most part but it does slope of when you get around a hundred yards from the shore line. The shallows are a great place to meet with the Mimic although they are very shy.

Over the three dives that KC, Soo and Putu did in PJ, they saw too many things to list, but here are a few: Mimic octopus, many other kinds of octopus, multiple cuttlefish, pipefish, frogfish, dragonets, sea hares, nudibranchs, filefish, bristle worms, shrimps, so many crabs, snake eels, and many things that they did not know the names of.

"Within the first 5 minute of our dive at PJ, we saw this lemon colour forgfish. What's interesting about this particular frogfish is that it was almost sprinting across the sea bed, (at frogfish pace of course!) and was probably shouting 'Get out of my way!' '"

KC TSENG

"Our dive guide spotted the mimic octopus with his razor shape eyes. For the next 10 minutes, we were entertained by the amazing mimic skill of this creature in the shape and colours of flounder, stingray, starfish, coral, and even once looked like crocodile fish we thought."

KC TSENG

"It's weird and ugly however decorated with beautiful and striking blue rings. Guess the emperor shrimp was able to find plenty of snacks on this unique Sea Hare that found at PJ".

KC TSENG

The three divers, after hours of underwater time, left PJ and journeyed to Permuteran where they stayed overnight at Aneka Bagus. The evening was spent gleefully checking out the hundreds of photos that they had already taken. The prize possession being all the shots of the Mimic Octopus.

The next morning they set off for Secret Bay in Gili Manuk. The drive is about one hour from Permuteran. We have had varying reports of the quality of Secret Bay over the last year so we were very interested to see how the diving was. Two dives in Secret bay did produce some very fine marine life. The frogfish were there as always along with scores of nudibranchs, dragonets, and snake eels. The diving as a whole did not really match that what they had seen in PJ or Tulamben although it was definitely worth a look. For future, it will be better to stay in PJ for the two days as it offers so much more than Secret Bay . Let’s hope it stays that way.

 After the dives, the divers headed back to South Bali and the end of their trip. KC and Soo arrived back in Sanur with a lot of quality photos from their eight dives. The highlight for them and Putu was definitely diving at PJ and finding the Mimic. Already, they have planned their next trip with Blue Season Bali to revisit PJ. Keep an eye out for their next report.