Alex Mustard in Bali: Part 4
Read Alex Mustard’s account of his stay at Tauch Terminal Tulamben Resort.
Our penultimate destination was Tauch Terminal Tulamben, or TTT to its friends. If you want to focus on your diving in Bali, there’s no better place to stay than in Tulamben. And if you’re staying in Tulamben and want to be as near to the action as possible, then TTT is the closest resort to the USAT Liberty wreck. It’s an easy choice. You can dive the coral garden right in front of the dive centre, which is managed by Robert Bennier, or join one of the wide variety of trips arranged each week to explore Bali’s other dive sites.
There is no doubt that diving is central to life in the 19-room TTT resort. In fact, the dive centre is on the beachfront directly between the reception and the dining room. Now that’s what I call having your priorities right.
Being accustomed to dive-a-holics, the dive staff are experts in making sure you get as much quality diving as you want. You’ll want to make the most of their free Nitrox afterall!
But there’s more to TTT than diving. The resort has a nice pool, a new spa and a cozy beechfront bar where divers gather to make the most of happy hour and swap tales from the day. Despite its German name, TTT attracts guests from all over the world. There were divers from several European countries, Singapore and Australia staying there during our visit.
Having already been to other parts of the island, we were keen to concentrate on the USAT Liberty Wreck and the coral garden while at TTT. And we were richly rewarded. The Liberty Wreck is usually best dived early in the morning, as the visibility usually declines quickly during the day. It’s also much quieter before the day-trippers arrive. It’s also an excellent and spooky night dive, although I would also suggest night diving on the coral garden and the river at the east end of Tulamben Bay, as they’re both rich with critters.
Perhaps the highlight of our dives on the Liberty was an early morning encounter with a Mola mola. It was lovely to meet this gargantuan fish in the warm waters of Tulamben, without the hoards of Mola tourists you now get in Nusa Penida. We had a lovely 10-minute encounter. Of course, Nusa Penida offers the most reliable Mola mola sightings, but the USAT Liberty is just one of those sites where you can always see something special.
While staying at TTT, we also had the chance to have dinner with Jeff and Dawn Mullins, authors of “Reef, Wreck and Critter” a guidebook to underwater photography in the Tulamben area. TTT’s restaurant happens to be their favourite place to eat in the area, and I was keen to pick the brains of two such knowledgeable locals. It was particularly fascinating to hear about the seasonal shifts in the critters they’ve observed over the years. Jeff first dove Tulamben in 1980, and they continue to run u/w photo courses and organise personally tailored diving for photographers in the Tulamben area.
