Getting up close with dolphins at Lovina

Moch. N. Kurniawan and Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Lovina, Bali

It was 5 a.m. at Lovina Beach, Buleleng, north Bali, and it was still cold, the wind making it chilly enough to sleep under a warm blanket.

The sun had not yet arisen but there was already a crowd of people waiting on the beach near dozens of small wooden boats.

Those people were tourists who wanted to experience the much- talked-about dolphin watching at sea as well as witness the sunrise.

"Ready to go Pak (Sir)?" asked a local boatman, Komang, who was about to take us to see the dolphins and welcomed us aboard his boat at about 5:45 a.m.

Dozens of four-seat traditional motorboats took the tourists out to sea to view the dolphins.

After about twenty minutes' cruising in Lovina bay, the boat stopped, and we were silent for a while.

"Hey, look the sun is rising," a friend said while pointing to the east.

Shortly after, three dolphins began to reveal themselves some distance away, jumping in and out of the water.

"Pak, Pak there are the dolphins," said Komang, while heading his motorboat toward them.

The dolphins were quite shy, sometimes teasing us by jumping near to our boat, but then remaining submerged for quite some time, which left us wondering where they were heading.

Suddenly, they revealed themselves again elsewhere, yet again drawing our guide to steer the boat to get closer to them.

After dolphin watching, Komang took us to the nearby coral reef where we could watch colorful fish swim around.

Several other boats also headed directly to the coral reef after the dolphins cruised westward to Celukan Bawang.

It took us some five minutes to reach the coral reef where we could really look down through the calm and clear waters.

At first, it seemed there was no life there but suddenly groups of fish swam under our boat as if to prove that they existed.

"Wow, that fish is beautiful ... look, son, the fish are getting closer to my hands," a father of an Indonesian family in a nearby boat exclaimed when he spotted a group of bright red, yellow and blue fish.

The family fed the fish with bread crumbs, a good way of drawing them toward their outstretched hands.

We tried the trick and it worked just fine. The fish did not eat the crumbs directly but as they gained more confidence, they made for the sinking crumbs in no time.

Many foreign tourists preferred snorkeling to get a closer look. As the sun rose higher, the water became warmer, so that the tourists didn't have to be worry about the cold anymore.

Benoit from France and Kate from Canada, who had just enjoyed the dolphin performance, told The Jakarta Post how much they liked it.

"We seldom see such a show; we loved it. Although we had to wake up very early, it didn't matter for us. We just wanted to see the dolphins," he said.

Meanwhile, Kate said that she was captivated by the dolphins, particularly as they were in a group.

"But I didn't expect as many visitors as this," said Kate, referring to some 30 boats involved in the dolphin watching.

Black sand Lovina beach is part of a 144-kilometer-long stretch of sandy beach in Buleleng from west to east that does not have a rocky foreshore or other barrier.

Not many beaches in the world are so long, without interruption.

Lovina means the "love" that is contained "in" the heart of all people. The name was given by the last Buleleng king, I Gusti Putu Djelantik.

At the area, visitors can enjoy not only the gorgeous Lovina beach but also good roads, plentiful electricity, cheap yet good hotels and restaurants.

Hotels close to the beach charge tourists only Rp 80,000 (US$9) to Rp 300,000 per night, which is much cheaper than at Kuta and Sanur, in southern Bali. Rooms charged at Rp 150,000 per day, for example, included bed, hot water and air conditioning, but no telephone or television.

Some critics say that Lovina beach is not really beautiful because of its black sand, garbage problems and lack of telephone lines.

But not everyone fully agrees. "The beach is much quieter than those in Kuta and Nusa Dua. We like it here better," said Frenchman Marc Forgeau who was in Bali with his wife and two sons.

"The problem is that there is too much garbage everywhere. It would be much nicer if the local administration could keep Lovina clean."

It may be true that black sand is not as beautiful as white; nobody can change that, but Lovina has its own strengths.

Tranquility, dolphin watching, coral reefs and long continuous beach views are an important attraction for tourists.

Austrian sisters Barbara and Christina Held told the Post that they loved the atmosphere at Lovina beach, especially when compared with other beaches in Bali.

"Everything is quieter, friendlier and more natural here. I don't need too many creature comforts here," said Barbara.

"I just want to enjoy the sunset and black sand. I just want to relax."

Although this was their first visit to Lovina, the Held sisters have visited Bali every year since 1995.

Unfortunately, the uniqueness of the beach is often only known about via word-of-mouth recommendation rather than through official promotion leaflets on Bali.

Small wonder, then, that Lovina Beach has failed to draw as many tourists as Kuta and Sanur beaches in southern Bali.