It is now 3 March … one month left to cover Indonesia and Thailand … i spent way more time in Philippines than i expected, but there always seemed to be one more island and reef to explore.
Map please >>>
There are lots of Gili islands, actually ‘gili’ means island in one of local languages. But when people talk about 'Gili Islands' they are usually referring to the 3 just off the coast of Lombok. Lombok is the island just east of Bali. 3 Gili islands: Gili Trawagan, known for partying, Gill Meno, very quiet, and Gili Air, something in between. I chose Gili Air.
Ketut was kind enough to let me leave most of my ‘baggage’ there and just take a couple bags with me. He also arranged for me to be picked up at 7am in Ubud and shuttled to Padang Bai to catch Wahana Fast Boat to Gili Air. At Padang Bai i was ‘tricked into’ buying a return ticket. But that is another story. When will i learn?
i was concerned about the Fast Boat ride considering my luck with rough seas, but it was a beautiful calm day. You could ride on top of the boat, … no railings required.
Arrival on Gili Air in a little over an hour. Only sand streets here, like Caye Cauker in Belize; and no motor vehicles, only bicycles and horse-drawn carts. Just like Mackinac Island ! It’s very hot and my driver said he only makes his horse work 1/2 day… i liked that :)
He took me to Segar Village, which isn’t really a ‘village’, that’s the name because it has several bungalows around a garden on their property, across the sand road from the restaurant which is 2 feet from the sea, which is ‘snorkelable’ :)
That little building is the 'reception desk'
I sat at a table looking over the calm seas and realized that after 2 months, i’d FINALLY found my ‘paradise’
It was around noon, and i was early for check in so i relaxed while they prepared my room, My bungalow is the one on the right.
Nice big room, with interesting wood slats part way up the wall for decoration, private bath and shower, and TWO fans :)
And cows grazing out my door.
I was in the water right i front of my ‘village’ by 3pm. The ‘Gili’s’ are known for their great snorkeling. but WoW, i was not prepared for what i saw. Nothing but rubble, dead, and destroyed coral. i had heard that they had dynamited the reef… they thought that was a good way to get some fish without having to ‘work’ at it. But i guess i didn’t think that they would have destroyed the ENTIRE reef. At some point, after they saw the destruction, wouldn’t you think that SOMEONE would say, ‘hey, maybe this isn’t such a good idea’ …. hard to believe, but it seems that a lot of these small poor countries/people only think about today and don’t consider how their actions will impact the tomorrows … how sad :(
But the good news is that the fishes don’t seem to mind. i was happy to see pretty much every fish that i have seen since i’ve been here. And that’s a lot.
And … i even managed to meet a few new ones … amazing that i can continue to see new fishes that i’ve not seen before. This is an Orange Band SurgeonFish. Very striking, it really caught my attention with that bright orange.
i love the 'eye lashes'
i just caught a quick glimpse of this Double Banded SoapFish. i don’t think i’ve ever seen any SoapFish in my underwater travels. Soapfish are nocturnal hunters, some are seen in the open during the day and others are more shy and stay under cover of the reef. Maybe that is why i’ve not seen them before. They have a soapy toxin in their skin that releases when stressed to deter predators. That’s where they get their name :)
Also met this Axil Spot HogFish - Juvenile.
Amazing 2 bright white dots on a tail that is otherwise rather pinkish
Also noteworthy was a Mantis Shrimp, although i’ve seen one before, it is still an unusual find.
So, inspite of the depressing destroyed reef, it was a productive 2.5 hour snorkel. The water here was warmer than i’ve been in, but there were still a lot of cold ‘spots', and there was a good current to move you along.
I just ate at our ‘house restaurant’ the first night rather than start searching so late. I sat in one of these great structures, i don’t know what to call them, but they are nice because you are on the beach, but up off the sand, and sitting on nice soft cushions, with a table. Great design for sea-side ‘dining’.
In the morning i rented a bicycle, it was a 'road' bike with those skinny tires. NOT the best design for riding on sandy streets. If you stick to either side of the road, the sand is pretty hard from the cart tires. But the middle is where the horses are trotting, and constantly keeping it fluffy. Fluffy does not work with skinny bike tires…. it stops you immediately, and you literally end up dragging the bike out of it. I am not a good biker :( i think i was at some point in my life, but i was a disaster on those streets… people walking in my way and not moving, and me not being able to go around them. Gili Air is a small island, 5.8 sq miles, and you can walk-bike around it; so off i went. i was fine until i got to the other side of the island, which is less populated, and thus has less traffic and the entire street is fluffy sand. It was miserable, in the heat of the day, dragging my bike through quick sand.
Back home around 1pm and in the water by 2pm … i mentioned that the water was warmer … i could have used some of that cold water, but there was none to be had today. i snorkeled out front again, but went in the opposite direction. It was one of my shortest snorkels. My left shoulder has been bothering me (normally it’s the right one), and after 30min, i couldn’t hold the camera out in front of me with my left arm. I had to quit. I think it was because of my bike ride and being so tense and fighting with the handle bars.
But before i quit i saw 2 more new fishes :) Both ButterFly fishes. i will be anxious to count how many different ButterFly Fishes i will have met by the time i leave.
This one is a Spot Nape ButterFly Fish
This photo shows the namesake 'spot' on it's forehead.... i wouldn't call it 'nape', but what do i know.
And this one i actually had a glimpse of at Pamilican Island, but i never saw the whole fish, i just noticed the same black blotch on it’s back. It was nice to see the whole fish. It is a Saddled ButterFly Fish
A short snorkel, but a 'productive' one.
i had booked 3 nights here. Immediately when i arrived, i wanted to say longer, but i had already booked another 3 nights on another island. i wanted to stay another night here. i finally got in touch with my next ‘home’ and was able to arrive a day later … yeahhhhhh !
Since i had a bicycle, i rode to the West side again to watch the sunset, but i knew to stop at a one of the bars BEFORE the sand got too thick :)
They do a nice job of SunSet-watching here, with those bean-bag like chairs, with an added benefit that when you sit in them, the back ‘springs up’ for some support … and the candles … nice
On the way home, i saw this NON-island cat, a rather 'snooty' fellow, but i had my ‘cat fix’ for awhile.
Stopped at a restaurant on the beach. Nice atmosphere and a great Green Papaya Salad, but the fish was overcooked and dry. Down the road there was a good band playing and i stayed for awhile until it turned into ‘no-talent-open-mic-night’ … time to leave :)
On the boat over, i sat next to a couple who said the ‘west’ side of the island was good snorkeling, (the ‘east’ side is known for snorkeling). The next morning i decided to take my bike to the west side, but before the quicksand, and check it out. Bad decision. i can’t tell you how far out into the water i went, almost to the next island, i think, and the water was still only up to my knees :( …and i saw nothing, ok a few small fishes here and there, that i tried to entertain myself with. And i saw another SnowFlake Eel … there are a lot of them everywhere i go.
On the way back, in even shallower water, i saw this Narrow Stripped PufferFish. i’ve seen this fish several times before, but have never seen it with it’s tail all fanned out. It was pretty yellow, with blue edges.
i amused myself following it around for awhile and called it quits. Maybe i was in the wrong spot on the 'west' beach, but i was done. 30minutes, that definitely was my shortest snorkel, ever.
i got back to ‘my’ side of the island and went way north, stopped at a Dive Shop and asked where to snorkel. I started up there and drifted back ‘home’.
The water was much clearer here and warmer. They said it was dynamited 20 years ago, i don’t understand why ‘something’ hasn't grown yet. Especially the soft corals. Alona Beach was demolished by a typhoon 3 years ago and there are lots of soft corals there now. Maybe the water is just too warm?
There was a school of SurgeonFish; they reminded me of the Blue Tangs that i would see in Belize and Roatan. There was a Convict Tang among them, obviously with an 'identity crisis'. Nice to see so many fishes :)
Somebody decided there was something good down there to eat, and they all wanted some … then they were gone !
This solitary baby Cat Fish wouldn’t leave me alone. There are usually hundreds of them scouring the ocean floor working as a team. Maybe he was trying to ask me if i knew where his family was.
There were a lot of fishes feeding in this pile of rubble. Literally rearranging all the broken pieces of coral. I later looked it up … they are called Rock Mover Wrasse, and they were living up to their name !
Another new fish … a Three Spot AngelFish … you’ll have to see this one in 2 photos … the front … awesome BLUE-PURPLE lips!
I've been seeing a lot of the Blue Spined Unicorn Fish swimming around....over the destruction :(
Then i saw a very large fish swim by me. I thought it was one of the Blue Spined UnicornFish, but i didn’t see any ‘blue spines’. Then i realized i was looking at the tail, and i should have been looking at the head. I finally noticed it’s ‘horn’ … it was HUGE and so prominent, … impressive. It is a Hump Back UnicornFish.
WoW ... he was impressive ! The horn-like appendage between their eyes begins growing when a young fish reaches about 13 cm (5 in) in length, and tends to be a little bigger on males. They are generally not aggressive to each other, but when they do fight they use sharp scalpels by their tails as weapons, not their horns.
This area had a lot of sandy patches in between the dead corals, so it wasn’t so depressing looking. I was glad i had another day to come back here. But i think that will be enough. i need to keep moving and hopefully see some healthy corals.
I was intrigued by the amazing coloring and pattern on this Parrot Fish. With my limited resources available, i am not able to identify it.
Another interesting SunSet … and then realized i was looking at Mt. Agung on the Island of Bali. It is a respectable mountain at 9,900+ feet. It was hidden in the clouds last night; but standing strong and prevalent tonight !
There was a one-man band playing at the restaurant right next door to my place … great bluesy music.
My last full day and i did get up rather early, skipped breakfast, and was in the water by 9am. i was amazed at how warm the water was, and their barely was a current. i walked north and got in the water again.
Another new fish ! It is a Coral RabbitFish.
'She' had really pretty coloring and a faded black streak through her eye. And, a little DamselFish buddy
I was hoping to see that HumpBack UnicornFish again, and i did, but a younger one, with no 'horn' yet
Gili is known for turtle-sightings; and i’ve seen one or two each time i’ve been out. This one i watched for 15+ minutes while it rooted around in the coral and bit off pieces to eat.
and came up for air several times
Here is a video. i was amazed at how hard they have to search for food.... food that doesn't look like it is nutritious enough to keep a turtle alive. The video maybe a bit boring to some, but i sure enjoyed watching it. You can also view on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ZPzsFMyum0w
i finally came across some pretty coral !
and a lot of fishes like it too; including these two Raccoon ButterFly Fish. As i've mentioned before, ButterFly Fish mate 'for life' ... if you see one, the other one isn't far away.... i like that :)
and a pair of Panda ButterFly Fish, taking shelter
I've seen the Panda before, but never could get a good photo. Today wasn't much of an exception. Sometimes i take dozens of photos and can’t decide which one i like best. Unfortunately, these were down kind of deep, i dove and took dozens of photos, and none of them are very good .grrrr :(
a shy guy...
and yet, i got this photo of these 2 Bi-Colored AngelFish that i’ve been chasing for weeks … you just never know what you will get when you take that shot :)
Finally giving up on the Panda, i moved on and spotted this Blue Spiny Lobster in a crevice
i was getting ready to go in and i saw a guy diving down and taking a photo of something i couldn’t see. i started visiting with them. We had about a 30min conversation while snorkeling talking about fish and places.
We visited longer and realize we had drifted out pretty far over the wall when we looked down. And we saw this quite large Eel. None of us had ever seen it before, so we named it a Leopard Eel.
He shared the photo below with me. He used his flash, i rarely use mine … i’m going to experiment with it and see if i can get better photos. He has the same camera as i do, just one model newer, … or maybe i need to upgrade :)
I enjoyed snorkeling with someone who is as enthusiastic as i am :)
They are also staying at the Segar Village and mentioned to me that we had Monitor Lizards on the property…. what? really? …they told me generally where they were.
Later that afternoon, i walked around, but didn’t really know what i was looking for, how big, or where they would be. I finally went up to our restaurant and asked one of the guys if he would show me. So he walked me down to the swampy area that i had seen, oh... they are actually IN the water !
Then, all of a sudden, there was a LOT of BIG splashing in the water. Unfortunately they were on the other side of some trees, but we could see them wrestling with each other. He said he had never seen that before. It went on for quite awhile. They were standing on their hind legs, and holding on to one another, and thrashing back and forth, falling over, and getting back up again. WoW … that was pretty cool.
The photos aren't very clear ... you can see a massive head in this one
and an arm hanging on this one
i took some video, even though it was kind of far away, you can still see what was going on. They were WAY bigger and stronger looking than i thought they would be. I think they could take a person down easily !
In the video, in addition to the splashing, you an also hear the chickens, birds, and the ‘jingling’ of the horses going down the road :) …and at the end you can hear one of them chomping his jaws/teeth … scary :)
Also on YouTube: https://youtu.be/mnsjPOe_LC0
I don’t know, … maybe it is their mating ritual ? Either way, it was pretty cool !
Males can breed at 16" long; females 20". Males will become larger than females, but rarely exceeding 6.5 feet. The largest being from Sri Lanka, at 10.5 feet ... Interesting that in Sri Lanka, they are protected by locals. They count on them to keep down the population of crabs that would otherwise undermine the banks of their rice fields.
They defend themselves using their tails, claws, and jaws; are excellent swimmers, using the raised fin on their tails to steer through water. They are carnivores, consuming a wide range of prey: fish, frogs, rodents, birds, crabs, snakes, turtles, young crocs and their eggs...and will often eat carrion.
That's my story about Gili Air ... would like to go back sometime ... except for the dead reef. So many places to explore. Haven't found 'perfect' yet... that's why you keep going
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