There are several good dive sites on Menjangan Island and the main ones are shown on the map below:
Menjangan Island Dive Site Map
Diving Indonesia: Bali – Menjangan Island Dive Sites: Anker Wreck
This wooden shipwreck at the northwest corner of Menjangan is variously described as the Anker wreck or Slave Ship (Kapal Nedak in Bahasa Indonesia) and is either an 19th century Dutch ship that sunk during WWII or one that sunk much earlier during the Dutch colonial era while supposedly carrying Balinese slaves to Batavia, as Jakarta was called then.
The Anker name appears to come from the large rusty anchor that is in 6m of water at the start of the reef wall, but rumor has it that because the majority of the wreck is in between 35 to 50m most dive guides do not want to go there, so the anchor is all they have actually seen of the wreck…
I think this may well be true, because that is all I have seen of it too – but that said, what I have read & heard about the Anker wreck makes me want to dive it and when I do I will update these pages.
Diving Indonesia: Bali – Menjangan Island Dive Sites: Eel Gardens
At the western end of Menjangan Island is a shallow area called the Eel Gardens.
Notable for its dazzling white sand, the Eel Garden is a pleasant dive in itself and an excellent place to do a deco stop.
A good dive plan is to be dropped in by your boat on the northwestern tip of the island, in the area near the rusted anchor of the Anker wreck.
Then make your way west exploring the steep wall which is rich in growth and offers much to see.
At the most western point where the wall turns to the southwest the area is, in my experience, the best part of Menjangan Island.
Following the reef wall until it turns southeast is where you should make your way up into the shallows.
The dazzling white sand will tel you that you are in the Eel Garden and then the game plan is to see if you can sneak up on the large colony of garden eels…
Diving Indonesia: Bali – Menjangan Island Dive Sites: Pos I
Pos I refers to the ranger station at the southwest tip of the island.
The dive site is directly in front of the ranger station and is a pleasant area with quite a lot to see and is a good way to round off a days diving at Menjangan.
The site is sandy slope which has a good variety of hard & soft corals and goes down to about 30m.
The shallow water under the jetty is often overlooked, but is well worth checking out as it is host to a variety of critters including ornate ghost pipefish.
With it’s clear waters and pleasant reef slope, Pos I is also a good snorkeling spot and the ranger station is usually where the guides arrange for you to have lunch.
Diving Indonesia: Bali – Menjangan Island Dive Sites: Pos II
This site on the southeast corner of Menjangan is another very pleasant dive that is both rich in marine growth and reef fish.
The site consists of an extended sloping wall along which there are actually various other sites, but the dive guides refer to the general area as Pos II…
The wall starts at about 12m and extends down to 40m and then slopes off in to the blue.
Between 20m and 25m there is a profusion of gorgonian fans, plus lots of triggerfish (watch out for their nests… they can be very aggressive), fusiliers, trevally etc and the occasional small shark.
Where the reef slope extends out in to very deep water is supposed to be the best spot at Menjangan to see larger sharks & manta rays at certain times of the year.
Diving Indonesia: Bali – Menjangan Island Dive Sites: Coral Gardens
About half way along the northern coast of Menjangan Island is the site known as the Coral Gardens.
It consists of a steep sloping wall that goes down to over 40m and is rich with an assortment of hard & soft corals, gorgonian fans and sponges. Schools of fusiliers are a regular presence in the area and you will also see numerous trevally & snappers.
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