Photographer Matt Oldfield spent his New Year 2005 15m beneath the surface at Seraya, Bali.  He travelled there courtesy of Bali Hai Adventure's Michael Courtenbach, who's company now manages the diving at Seraya.  The article below was written for FiNS Magazine and will be published in July 2006.

Everyone who has dived Bali has heard of Tulamben.  The Liberty Wreck and the reefs surrounding this famous site tempt thousands of divers each year into the water, mainly to experience the fantastic fish life and atmospheric remains.  However, the Tulamben area has a lot more to offer than this busy site.  Only 3km away, nestled in beautiful Muntig Bay is one of Bali's hidden secrets - Seraya.

Bali has long been known as a destination for great reefs and chance encounters with big fish, such as the Mola Mola at Nusa Penida.  After muck diving became more popular, entrepid divers began to explore Bali looking for different sorts of encounters - with the weird and wonderful macro world.  Secret Bay at Gilimanuk led the way, with divers combining trips to the reefs of Menjangan with the mucky shallows of Secret Bay and its hidden residents.  Other divers began to explore around the popular areas of Lovina and Tulamben and it wasn't long before their attention turned to the black sandy beaches at the foot of Gunung Agung.  Here several rocky spurs separated by stretches of sand and pebbles provide shelter for an incredible array of critters - from frogfish and seahorses to harlequin shrimps and a huge variety of nudibranchs.

Seraya’s beach dive is not the world’s prettiest.  The expanse of sand and rocks are not particularly attractive, but perfect for photographs – the dark of the sand provides a wonderful backdrop for the incredibly coloured life!  Small sponges, patches of hard and soft coral and in the deeper sections, carpets of waving hydroids are all there is to break the dark monotony.  However with a bit of searching, it soon becomes apparent why so many people make trips to this site.  Frogfish and seahorses hide amongst the sponges and hydroids and nudibranchs seem to be everywhere – a long-term resident of the area has found over 150 species on the beach just off the resort.  If you are a fan of unusual crustaceans, Seraya will keep you busy for many dives.  Hidden amongst the pebbles in the shallows, boxer crabs are easily found and photographed and there are several resident pairs of harlequin shrimps.  These beautiful animals can be found wandering the sand patches or holed up on a rock, slowly eating their way through a meal of starfish.

During the day Seraya’s beach dive holds enough surprises for most divers.  However it is at night that the place really comes alive – jump in the water with the resort manager and you are unlikely to want to surface!  Hundreds of small crabs and shrimps emerge from hiding to feed, and octopus and bobtail squid start their hunt.  However it is the rare and unusual that drags most divers away from their thoughts of a sunset drink – Seraya is one of the few places easily visited by divers where the incredibly rare and elusive tiger shrimp is easily found.  Heading down to 15m a search of small patches of sponge and hydroids soon reveals the stunning tiger shrimps, often in groups of two of three.  Although quite shy, they soon get used to the torches of the divers particular if caught in the act of feeding on a brittle star.

The resort at Seraya is the perfect base to dive from.  Currently there are 4 villas and 4 maisonettes, all over-looking the sea or with views of the volcano, ensuring the resort is always peaceful and perfect for groups of divers looking to book out a place for themselves.  Each room is beautifully built, with teak furnishings, marble floors and an outdoor bathroom, showing the attention to detail that has gone into the construction of the resort.  A small restaurant serves a fantastic mix of Western and Indonesian food, massages are available to soothe away the stresses of the day, and the convenient dive centre is located right on the beach, with only a 10m walk to the waters edge.  With all things considered, Seraya is perfect for the lazy diver! 

The resort is very much aware of the need to conserve the area for the future and have set up a fund, contributed to by visiting divers, to help educate the local fisherman about sustainable fishing practices, as well as set up a series of fish attractors off the beach.  They also hope to use the fund to establish a no-take zone stretching from nearby Batu Niti to beyond the Tulamben wreck several kilometers away, preserving the area for both visiting divers as well as the local communities who depend on the rich seas for food and livelihoods.  Just off the resort itself, a coral growth experiment has also been set up, using an electric current running though a large metal frame to encourage the growth of coral colonies.  Seraya is here to stay and the resort is making every effort to ensure the marine environment not only remains unaffected by divers, but will continue to get better and better in the future.

Bali has been known as a divers’ paradise for many years.  However, it still has secrets hidden away, sometimes only minutes away from some very well known sites such as the Liberty wreck.  With a little exploration, a visitor might just stumble upon the incredible life found at Muntig Bay – the tiger shrimps are waiting!

Take a look at the Seraya gallery here.