Michael McFadyen's Scuba Diving Web Site
Home · Contact Me · Sydney Reef Dive Sites · Sydney Shipwrecks · NSW Dive Sites · Australian Dive Sites · Overseas Dive Sites · Dive Accidents and Incidents · My Yachting Adventures · 4WD Trips · Weather · Search 14 October 2024 17:15
Navigation
Home

General
About Me
My Diving
FAQ
Downloads
Web Links - Dive Clubs
St George Scuba Club
Some of my Best Photos
Contact Me

Dive Sites
Sydney Reef Dive Sites
Sydney Shipwrecks
Sydney Dive Visibility, Swell and Temps
Kelly Talking on ABC Sydney about Shipwrecks
NSW Dive Sites
Sydney Shipwreck Summary
NSW Shipwreck GPS/Marks
Australian Dive Sites
Overseas Dive Sites
Aircraft I have Dived
Old Bottles
Free Shipwreck Books

Dive Related Equipment
Shearwater Predator and Heinrichs Weikamp OSTC 2N
Uwatec Aladin Dive Computers
Apollo AV1 Underwater Scooter
Bauer Compressor
DIY Oxygen Stick - Nitrox
GoPro HD Hero Video Camera
My Camera Setup
Purchase of New Dive Boat
My Dive Boat - Mak Cat
My Old Dive Boat - Le Scat
My Dive Gear
GPS and Diving
Make Your Own Car Tank Rack

Marine Life
Rarer Sydney Marine Life
Bare Island Pygmy Pipe Horses
Bare Island Sea Horses
Bare Island Nudibranchs
Bare Island Marine Life
Encounter with Southern Right Whale and Calf

Other Dive Info
How Weather Affects Diving in Sydney
Visibility and Wave Averages in Sydney
Waves and Diving
Diving Weather and Sea Conditions
Tide Tables
Dive Accidents and Incidents
Dive Book Reviews
Site Map
Noel Hitchins 1951-2005
Lloyd Bridges - Mike Nelson in Sea Hunt
My Yachting Adventures
Below is a list of links to the main pages about my yacht, Catlypso and My Yachting Adventures:
  • Purchase of Catlypso
  • Details about Catlypso
  • Cleaning/Repairing Catlypso
  • My Yachting Adventures.
  • Login
    Username

    Password



    Forgotten your password?
    Request a new one here.
    Michael's 4WD Trips
    Click here for a list of my Four Wheel Drive and Camping Trips.
    Home Brewing
    Click here for an article about Home Brewing.
    Sydney Dive Site Hints
    "Shiprock is a fantastic dive with prolific fishlife at most times"
    Liberty Muck, Tulamben, Indonesia
    Michael McFadyen's Scuba Diving - Liberty Muck, Indonesia

    In September 2012 Kelly and I did a week long liveaboard dive trip in Indonesia which went from Bali to Komodo and back. We went on the MV Mermaid II. Click here to read about the boat.

    The following week we travelled to Tulamben where were spent another week diving the north-eastern coast of Bali. We used Tulamben Wreck Divers, click here to read about the town and dive operation. This is one of the dive sites we did during the second week. There are literally hundreds of dive sites located within a few kilometres of Tulamben.

    Liberty Muck is a dive site located adjacent to the wreck of the USAT Liberty. Click here to read about the ship and the wreck. An approximate GPS mark for the dive spot is 8Âș 16' 30.8"S 115Âș 35' 34.1"E (using WGS84 as the datum).

    Satellite Photo
    A satellite photo from Google Earth that shows the location of the dive site - the site is near the boat and you enter from the shore straight opposite it

    As with virtually all dive sites that you do here, you gear up at the dive shop and then walk to the actual site. Meanwhile, your dive gear is transported by porters (on their head or on a scooter). From the Tulamben Wreck Divers shop you walk across the road and down the access road that leads to the car park for diving the wreck. A short walk down a track from the car park takes you to the beach where the wreck dive starts.

    While the wreck is about 45Âș to the left, this dive straight out and down. The beach is composed of small and large rounded rocks. This makes it a little difficult to enter the water and great care needs to be taken to ensure that you do not twist an ankle. Once in the water you put on your fins and only swim out about five metres before descending.

    Ocellate phyllidia Ornate ghost pipefish
    Soft coral crab A very strange looking crab

    The depth straight away is about four or so metres and within a few seconds you have left the rocks behind. The bottom here is black sand. There are a number of ridges that run at right angles to the beach and in between there are gullies. All of this is black sand. On the ridges there are very small outcrops of coral, perhaps growing on rocks from the shore. The gullies are generally free of coral, but this does not make them boring at all.

    You swim out and normally follow one of the ridges to the deeper water. We generally went to about 24 to 28 metres before stopping. From here we gradually ascend, zig-zagging as we go. Sometimes you might head across the gully to the next ridge and then back again or sometimes just go up the ridge or the gully.

    Mimic octopusHermit Crab
    The amazing mimic octopus Hermit crab
    Mimic octopusOrangatan Crab
    Is this an orangatan crab without its"fur"?Orangatan crab

    While most of the dive is spent looking at the small coral outcrops, even on the sand there is much to see. On this dive we saw mimic octopus, a very rare creature indeed. While you do not need a guide on these dives, the advantage of having one, at least for the first dive, is that they know where the special creatures live on the reef.

    We also saw a couple of ornate ghost pipefish, many different species of crab, shrimp and nudibranch. There are also garden eels up in the shallower parts (6 to 8 metres), but you will only see them at less busy times of the day.

    Eventually after an hour or so you end up low on air and back near the shore, so a swim into the shallows and eventually you can stand up and struggle out over the rocks. It is a bit easier I think exiting as you are walking slightly uphill.

    GobyTryons risbecia
    A goby A pair of Tryon's risbecia

    This was brilliant dive site, as good as any dive you would ever want to do. The visibility was probably 20 to 25 metres and the water temperature was about 27ÂșC.

    Click here to return to the list of sites we did at Tulamben.

    Copyright © Michael McFadyen 1990 to 2024
    Non-commercial use of an article or photograph is permitted with appropriate URL reference to this site.
    Dive shops, dive operators, publications and government departments cannot use anything without first seeking and receiving approval from Michael McFadyen.
    This web site has been wholly thought up, designed, constructed and funded for almost 30 years by Michael McFadyen without any help from the Australian Dive Industry.
    Website created 1996!