This week in Nusa Lembongan… It is meant to be the wet season and in the past, January and February are months when the rains come, but not this year. We have had some very hot sunny days and with no rain, it means that the water has been super clear this week. We have had an average visibility of  20 meters at most of our dive sites. 

Even at the manta dive sites, where visibility is usually a little less then the other dive sites, we have been having an average of 15 – 20 meters. The manta rays have not been around lately in their normal numbers, but these clear waters gives divers the better chance to catch one of these beautiful creatures flying by.

Although the north coast of Nusa Penida is known for its clear water, with the change of the season that we had last month, the currents also change. During this current change there is a lot of mixing water around Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan; causing visibility to drop to below-average distances. This lasts around 2 – 3 weeks.

Normally after this change of current, we also then get the rains which also effect the visibility in the around. Rain does not overly disrupt the clear water, like it does in other dive locations in the world. With the lack of rivers that we have around the islands, little runoff comes from the islands during heavy rain and with the little that does flush out of the mangrove area, the currents move these particles away quiet quickly.

With the healthy reefs that coat the north coast of Nusa Penida, there is very little sandy areas to get stirred up during heavy rains, winds and waves, this leaving our waters mostly clear. But with no rain over the last week, the waters have been super clear.

All this clear water has helped our dive guides find some cool things under the water. They have seen many turtles on dives, mantis shrimp, nudibranch, boxer crab, anemone crabs, Orangutan crabs and manta rays.