DIVE HAPPY

The Liberty Shipwreck is one of the most famous dive sites in South East Asia. It's just one of many great dives in Tulamben, Bali

Indonesia has long been on of my "must-dive" destinations, but I still haven't managed to visit the country. Part of this is that every time I think about Indonesia I find it pretty overwhelming - with over 14,000 islands and scores of world class diving spots, it's quite hard to work out where to start first. Bali, however, is an obvious choice - it's one of the most popular tourist areas in Indonesia but still retains a lot of its rugged charm if you get away from the main Kuta resort area. So I've been told, anyway.

Several friends of mine have told me about diving in Bali over the last few months, and the Liberty shipwreck continually crops up as a place to visit. You can walk in straight off the beach to go see the Liberty, and it's a haven of marine life at whatever depth you decide to explore it. Besides the Liberty, there are numerous other sites to explore in the Tulamben area, and if you get very lucky, you might get to see the legendary Mola Mola, or sunfish. (Pictured here).

Recently another friend of mine, a very experienced divemaster who's worked in both Indonesia and Thailand, recommended Tulamben Wreck Divers to me. It's run by Tony and Dot Medcraft, who used to run the Exmouth Dive Centre in Exmouth, West Australia (where the whale sharks regularly visit). From having a look around their well put together website at tulambenwreckdivers.com, it's clear that they have a lot of experience in catering for divers and have some very reasonably priced accommodation and diving packages available, along with the reassurance of courses and dives being conducted to Australian dive industry standards. More generally, the site provides a good starting point for getting orientated about what's around Tulamben dive wise and what to expect.

Bali is still suffering from the aftermath of the second wave of bombings last year, with few tourists going to the island - the actual security risk is very small though, and the locals, as ever, need tourists to come back to start regenerating the local economy. You have to keep an eye on the news, certainly, but there are plenty of reasons to go to Bali, and I'm certainly hoping I'll be going to Tulamben before the end of the year.

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