It took two hours to cross the 12-kilometre strait, traversing the Wallace Line that divides the Asian from the Australasian continent. We did not head straight for Waka Nusaon Nusa Lembongan, but cut instead around the side of Nusa Penida, in the hope of snaring some trevalley at the famed Batu Bolong fishing ground. Here the swell began to pick up, and the Blue Marlin swayed precariously, making trawling difficult so that even in these abundant waters our lures failed to attract the promised bounty. Such is the sport of fishing.

Nevertheless, we were compensated for the lack of activity in the ends of our lines with the magnificient views of Lembongan's south rugged south coast. uch is the sport of fishing. We to-ed and for-ed arounf Batu Bolong until around 4pm, then made our way to the resort on Lembongan.

Waka Nusa Resort is situated alongside that of Bali Hai on busy little bay called Tanjung Sanghyiang. In the classic Waka style, bungalows are simple yet stylish thatched affairs free of television and air conditioning. Arriving at five gave us time for a dip in the bay, a rinse under the shower, to be ready to set out again for an eveing trawl at six, that would take us north along the west coast of the island, allowing us toi watch the sun set from the stern as we trawled. Again, we were unlucky, but the calmer seas and the hues of dusk made for a memorable hour. We arrived back at Waka Nusa in time for dinner.

Despite Waka Nusa's isolated location, the resort's restaurant is excellent. We were spoiled with a four-course dinner of soup, followed by lawar (a raw Balinese salad), with squid as a main course and a refreshing seaweed cake to conclude. The next morning we were treated with a perfectly prepared bubur ayam (chicken porridge) and coffee, before boarding the Blue Marlin for the last time. Guests of Waka Nusa who book the Blue Marlin for a morning of fishing would leave at 6am before breakfast, and return at nine, when they are no doubt more than ready to tuck into a hearty morning meal. But given that we were returning to Bali, we ate before departing, and not until 8am did we set out across the strait, then trawled south along the coast of Bali from Gianyar to Sanur. On this day, the sea was much gentler and there were none of the scary swells of the sort we had encountered around Batu Bolong. Still though, despite our diligence in checking the lures and chasing schools of jumping fish over which gulls hovered, we were unlucky. But aboard the Blue Marlin, fishing and catching are different things. Sitting at the stern, checking lures and monitoring lines, or taking a break to survey the view from the upper deck is just as much about fishing as is hauling in a silver trevalley.... or so we told ourselves when we docked, bounty-less, at Benoa at noon

WATERWORLD
Fortunately, the unseasonally sunny weather continued to the following day when we were scheduled to board Waterworld's Putri Nyale for another morning of fishing. As early as 8am we were already donning sunglasses to cut the glint of the sun off the water as we sat in deck chairs outside Waterworld's Tanjung Benoa headquarters. Tanjung Beno, the peninsula that runs north of Nusa Dua and fingers into the Benoa Harbour, is separated from the Benoa Marina by a narrow waterway that feeds the harbour into the Lombok Strait. This separation is cultural as well as physical, as the two marinas harbour approaches to boating and to the sea in general that are leagues apart.

top: Putri Nyale
below: Bali Echo crew and the fish with a nose aboard the Putri Nyale

next page

[top]
[welcome page]

copyright © 1999 Bali Echo. All rights Reserved
site design by : Access Bali Online