POSTCARD From MENJANGAN, BALI: a Freedive Day

One of my favorite places to dip in the water in Bali is Menjangan. Kenapa? Karena laut yang bening, air yang tenang dan gugusan karang yang indah. Menjangan seringkali mengingatkan saya akan Wakatobi, dengan karakter bawah laut yang berupa wall, serta gugusan karang yang memenuhi wall tersebut.

One of my favorite places to dip in the water in Bali is Menjangan. Why? Because of the clear sea, calm waters and beautiful coral clusters. Menjangan often reminds me of the Wakatobi, with underwater characters that consists of the wall, as well as the group of corals that fills the wall.

Blue day at Menjangan, Bali

Jika biasanya saya selalu datang ke menjangan untuk scuba diving, kali ini cukup berbeda. Tanpa tabung dan bcd, kami menikmati menjangan dari sisi lain: freedive. Saya memang baru belajar freedive di Apnea Culture, masih terus latihan dan belum lulus (hehe). But anyway, karena ada Ferry yang jadi buddy saya, kami freedive "tipis-tipis" saja di menjangan, sambil melatih kemampuan kami.

If I normally came to Menjangan for scuba diving, this time is quite different. Without the cylinder and bcd, we enjoyed Menjangan from the other side: freedive. I was just learning to freedive in Apnea Culture, continued training and has not yet passed (hehe). But anyway, since there is Ferry to become my buddy, we freedive "slightly" only in Menjangan, while practicing our ability.

Ada beberapa spot freedive yang menyenangkan di Menjangan, keterbatasan waktu (hanya one day saja dan tidak menginap di Menjangan) membuat kami hanya dapat mengunjungi tiga spot, ini dia:

There are some fun spots in Menjangan freedive, time constraints (only one day and not staying at Menjangan) made us can only visit three spots, this is it:

CORAL GARDEN

Saya terkejut melihat kondisi Coral Garden yang sangat berbeda. Perubahan suhu secara ekstrim sejak Februari 2016 lalu membuat karang-karang cantik di Menjangan (dan banyak area lain di Indonesia) perlahan kehilangan warna (bleaching), menjadi putih dan kemudian mati. Sebagian besar karang sudah rusak karena bleaching, area ini tidak terasa seperti spot yang sama yang selama ini jadi salah satu favorit spot saya untuk scuba dive.

I was surprised to see the condition of Coral Garden which is very different. Extreme temperature changes since February 2016 made a gorgeous coral reefs in Menjangan (and many other areas in Indonesia) slowly losing color (bleaching), to white and then die. Most of the coral has been damaged by bleaching, this area does not feel like the same spot that had become one of my favorite spots to scuba dive.

Namun kami dihibur schooling fish yang mampir ke area ini, rombongan ikan ini membentuk "formasi" yang beragam, mulai dari donat (yes, seperti donat) di dekat dasar laut, hingga jam pasir saat berada di dekat permukaan, kamipun dengan senang "bermain" bersama schooling fish ini.

But we are comforted by schooling fish making their way into this area, the groups of these fish form a "formation" is diverse, ranging from donuts (yes, like a donut) near the bottom of the sea, until the hourglass when near the surface, we also are happy to "play" together with these schooling fish.

SANDY SLOPE

Disebut Sandy Slope karena memang areal ini dipenuhi pasir putih di dasar, dan kemudian menurun membentuk lembah di bawah air. Karena kami di sini untuk freedive, area yang dipilih adalah area dangkal berpasir putih. Saat matahari cerah, Sandy Slope sangat cantik dengan warna turquoise yang terlihat dari permukaan.

It is called Sandy Slope because the area is filled with white sand at the bottom, and then declining to form the valley under water. Because we are here to freedive, the selected area is an area of shallow white sand. When it's sunny, Sandy Slope is very pretty with a turquoise color that is visible from the surface.

Kami bermain-main dengan pasir putih yang halus, di area ini tidak banyak koral, namun kita dapat menemukan gugusan koral dengan berenang ke area luar. 

We play around with fine white sand, in this area there is not a lot of corals, but we can find the coral reef by swimming to the outside area.

POS 2

Going down!

Saat perubahan suhu membuat Menjangan "sakit," karang-karang memutih dan perlahan mati, salah satu area yang masih tetap sehat adalah Pos 2. Area dengan karakter wall ini dipenuhi karang-karang sehat di sepanjang wall. Di sini kami dapat latihan turun dan naik perlahan sambil bermain bubbles :)

When the temperature changes make Menjangan "sick," the corals turn white and die slowly, one area that still remain healthy is Pos 2. The area with the character of wall filled with healthy corals along the wall. Here we can exercise descend and ascend slowly while playing bubbles :)

Playing with bubbles

It's nice to have a different experience in Menjangan. Tanpa tabung, kami menikmati laut Menjangan. Is it better? Well, I should say different, I'll always love scuba dive, but this freedive thing also grab my heart and attention.

It's nice to have a different experience in Menjangan. Without the tube, we enjoy Menjangan sea. Is it better? Well, I should say different, I'll always love scuba diving, but this freedive thing also grab my heart and attention.

Remember one thing: Never Freedive Alone

Have a fun splashy days folks!

@marischkaprue - #DugongInTheMaking

Photos by Ferry Rusli

NOTES:

MENJANGAN

Taman Nasional Bali Barat, Bali

West Bali National Park, Bali

GETTING THERE

Dari Denpasar sekitar 4 - 5 jam perjalanan dengan mobil, jika berangkat pagi-pagi sekali (jam 5-6 pagi) maka bisa ditempuh dalam waktu 3 jam
From Denpasar about 4-5 hours away by car, if leaving early (at 5-6 am) will be taken within 3 hours

BOAT RENT

Biaya boat rent untuk snorkeling sekitar Rp. 500.000,- dengan durasi 4 jam (additional Rp. 100.000,-/ jam tambahan), kapasitas kapal up to 10 person.

The cost of boat rent for snorkeling is around Rp. 500.000, - with a duration of 4 hours (additional Rp. 100,000, - / additional hours), the capacity of the boat is up to 10 persons.

FREEDIVE COURSE

You can take a freedive course at Apnea Culture, Jakarta based, kelas dan latihan kolam di Jakarta (ada jadwal rutin latihan juga), contact via their Instagram to know more
You can take a freedive course at Apnea Culture, Jakarta-based, classroom and pool training in Jakarta (there is a regular schedule of exercise as well), contact via their Instagram to know more

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