Watusi Woman - Water Logged Sailor

Mt Agung Bali, in all her glory

North Bali - Lovina

We live our lives on a boat in the water and when we're on land we still seek out watery adventures. Lovina Bay offered us a lovely calm anchorage as well as easy access to the north Bali region with its waterfalls, hot springs and Hindu temples.

stunning hindu temple by Lovina bay

private residence

traditional hindu dance

Funky Place treehouse, live music and shishka pipes

Getting on shore was easy here thanks to a gently sloping beach to run the dinghy up. And 'Muscles', the local guy who hangs out at the beach alot. He'd offer to help pull the dinghy up and before you could say yes he had it up past the high water line on his own. Turns out his nickname is Pitbull. Like pitbulls, he is a solid mass of muscle but has a gentle way about him. Perfect choice to hire him as a driver for a day to check out the local watery places in the area.

First stop was some morning markets to stock up on some fresh fruit. Having Pitbull with me meant I had a personal translator, bag carrier and traffic warden all wrapped up in one. When he put his hands up to stop traffic for me to cross the road nobody argued.
There are several waterfalls close to Lovina so we left it up to Pitbull to choose for us. He took us to a great place where you can choose how many falls and how much walking you would like to do. We chose the short trek that included a guide, swimming, jumping platforms and slides. Mmm, sounds like an adventure park. Off we trekked, past rice paddies and into rainforest, along a track, down some stairs and there was the first waterfall. With a 5 metre high platform to jump into the lagoon at the bottom of the falls🤔. Chris and our 2 mates, Rob and Mick, couldn't wait to dump their gear and jump right in. I volunteered to video them from the sidelines 😁.

Next thing I know, they're all climbing the steps on the other side of the lagoon, up to the top of the falls. One by one, they slid down the waterfall and into the water beneath. Scary to watch! And I wasn't going to be sharing their exhilaration. Not a chance! I opted for a baby slide and was more than happy with that.

The next platform to jump from was a 10 metre drop and, as far as I was concerned, only mad dogs and Englishmen would take that on. Well, Rob happens to be one of those. An English man that is, not a mad dog. He stepped up with some hesitation, got advice from a guy who'd never actually jumped, then took the plunge. Definitely a mad English man! You're guaranteed a heap of fun whether watching or jumping.

We headed up a bit further and found the spectacular Aling-Aling waterfall, much higher than the first and no sliding down this one. This waterfall was a sight to behold. Even standing back at the viewing point we were getting wet from the mist of water rising from the pool as the water plunged into it.

rice fields along the path to the waterfalls

Aling-Aling waterfall

All this adrenalin and excitement was hungry work so we trooped back to the car and had Pitbull take us to a local warung for some lunch. Hubby asked for a menu and was told "Only Babi Guling". Babi Guling it was then, and most delicious too. The pork was served up pretty much every way you can cook pork. There was roast pork, curried pork, pork soup, pork intestine and pork crackling. Just a small portion of each served on a plate with rice. Delicious. And a bargain at just $2.50aud a serve.

With sated appetites, we headed to the Banjar Hot Springs. Because sitting in hot water on a hot day makes so much sense. These famous hot pools have a sulphur content and a temperature just right for relaxing and healing the body. The hot water itself is natural and was discovered hundreds of years ago but the pools were actually built by the Japanese when they occupied Bali during WW2. They built the pools for the exclusive use of their military who had a camp close by. The lush tropical gardens all around them make for a tranquil, peaceful place to chill out in a hot bath.

Two of the pools have water gushing out of the mouths of Balinese dragons. With a total of 13 dragon heads, there are plenty of showers for everyone. The smallest pool has 3 metre high showers, well, just pipes coming out of the wall, that give your head and neck quite the intensive massage.

Banjar Hot Springs

Lovina is known for its dolphins and sunrise boat trips are a big tourist attraction here to see the dolphins in their natural habitat. I'm not a fan of chasing the dolphins around the bay in one of 50+ boats trying to corral them in their 'natural habitat' so us tourists can watch them play. That's an aspect of Lovina we chose to skip.

We sailed off the next day for Menjangan Island which is 1km off the most north western point of Bali. This is a marine and national park zone and I have to say that it's hard to beat as a snorkel/dive spot. I jumped in the water with our very own biologist, Alison from SV Tregoning, and what an absolute treat we found. The visibility was 20+ metres with a coral drop off just perfect for divers to explore. The sheer variety of fish was incredible and Alison identified over 100 different types. There were also plenty of big schools of fish. If I hang around underwater long enough with her I'll be able to say more than "there's lots of pretty fish".

blue-spotted pufferfish

black blotched porcupinefish

green turtle. Just for you @luuetang

pinktail triggerfish

With a couple of snorkels under my belt, we paid a visit to Menjangan Island to see the deer. The island is named after the deer that migrate to and from the island by swimming the 1 mile channel to Bali. Opposite the island is the Bali National Park which covers about 10% of Bali. It is a sanctuary for the deer and also monkeys, wild cattle and boar, leopard cats and many species of birds.
Our time on Menjangan Island was cut short by an incoming storm that forced us to retreat back to the boat in haste. No-one likes a wet cabin on a boat.

Until next time, Watusi Woman - marine biologist in the making?, out.

Lovina beach