There are many dive sites along the north coast of East Timor that can be reached by road.
K57 is abut 57 kilometers east of Dili just short of Manatutu. Some
call it Jim's Crack but that seems a crap name for such a great dive
site.
There is a long beach and a good wall that begins just as you enter the water if you turn to the right.
There are 4 or 5 narrow crevasses letting in sunlight making beautiful silhouetts of the corals.
Big gorgonians, brown daisy corals, and a huge variety of unusual stuff makes for a spectacular dive.
There are the corals that look like cherry trees in full bloom. Bright
purple fans and several types of gorgonians are mixed in with the
sponges.
There are so many sponges that we usually break a few off to take home to use in the shower and to wash the car. (Not really!)
There was a shark and a turtle and one manta was seen jumping into the air from shore after the dive.
A big napolean wandered around for a while and a barracuda went past.
There were some fantastic angel fish in the mix and the large schools
of fusilears that seem to be at most dive sites.
The visibility on the first dive was above average which was a big
bonus. On the second dive at the west end of the beach, K56, the
visibility was not good but Wayne found a most unusual nudibranch that
was green with pink spots.
We
stopped at km22 at a little restaurant there for a few beers and some
fried rice. It is run by a local woman that has remained open throughout
the turbulence that has swept the country over the last few months.
She is a pretty good cook and the beer is cold. We finished of the last
of her Tiger Beer and she had to dip into her stock of Chinese beer
which isn't too bad.
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