When we passed Negara we headed off the main road to Pengambengan, which is a little fishing village tucked away from the rest of the world. When we entered the port, the fishing boats were all at anchor as the tide was out:
We noticed that the boats were anchored in pairs
On enquiry we were told that the boats are considered to be a couple, male and female. When they head out to the fishing grounds around Ulu Watu, they work the net, strung between them as a couple. One will take the net out at right angles to the other and then when fully stretched will come back in a wide arc to close the net.
When we arrived, a truckload of ice was being loaded into a small boat to be taken out to the fishing boat:
After about an hour or so, the crew were arriving in groups. Each group collected at a particular point on the warf and were taken out to their boat by a smaller tender boat:
We walked to the end of one arm of the warf where there were a group of men collected around their motorcycles. We discovered that these men were not crew, they were the long arm of the owners of the fishing boats and were there to ensure that the crew got onto the boat.
With all the boat crew aboard the boats that were going to sail out all that was required was the boat captain. There was a delay in their arrival because the crew were advised that the schools of fish were nearer to the port than Ulu Watu and therefore it would not be necessary to leave early.
So the crew remained on board and occupied their time as best they could. The crew of the boat closest to us did just that by playing music as loud as they could but listening to it in silence. It was somewhat reminiscent of John Bertram boat on the America’s cup challenge, going out to do battle to the sound of “Land of Under”.
The appropriate time to start seemed to approach with the rising tide. Quite by surprise, twelve outrigger engines that flanked the sides of a pair of boats like cannon, roared into life:
Almost instantaneously the engines of all the other boats with crew on board did the same. Amid the cacophony of revving engines, exhaust fumes, blaring music, captains orders, a sense of order and discipline seemed to pervade the harbour. Each pair of boats patiently waited its turn to head down the channel to the open water:
Within a few minutes, all the boats that were going out for the night had left and were now specks on the horizon, leaving behind the empty silence of the harbour
We then watched in silence as a Balinese woman came to place an offering at a pillar where her husband had fallen and injured himself. She released a small chicken that wandered about somewhat surprised as to its newly found freedom, only to be caught again further down the wharf by a passing fisherman. The fate of the chicken shall remain unknown as we headed onward.
It was around 6:30 at night when we arrived at the “Menjangan Resort”, which is a large Eco-resort within the grounds of the 190 sq. km. Bali Barat National Park. We were not going to stay here but the Dive Centre was based in the resort. We thought that we had better report before the diving commenced the next day. The track to the centre of the resort passes through some of the most beautiful natural forest on mainland Bali. It was dusk, so we spotted deer, after which the island is named and saw some wild fowl.
Hiking in the Bali Berat National Park is quite a treat. There are two very well run organisations that manage hiking in the National Park, The Department of Forestry and local Labuan Lalang village Guide organisation, the latter is trained by the Department of Forestry. Either will appoint a guide. Of some considerable note in the National Park is Mr. Wahyudi who works for the Department of Forestry. I had been out on a bird-watching hike in the National Park in 2000 with Mr. Wahyudi, hoping to see the elusive Jelak Bali (Bali Starling):
I recall that what he cold not spot with his naked eye, was not worth seeing, even through a telescope. We did spend a wonderful two hours tracking a Sacred Kingfisher:
While driving through the National Park, our conversation drifted to the fate of the Jelak Bali apart from being put on the 200 rupiah coin. There was a rehabilitation and breeding centre in this National Park, one of the last native habitats for this unfortunate creature:
Perhaps largely due to lack of funding, which in turn is a direct result of our collective apathy, this centre is in trouble. What is to become of this amazing creature is sadly in the lap of the gods.
The dive centre was closed so we headed onward to Pemuteran, had dinner at a Warung on the way and checked into our home-stay by nightfall.
No comments:
Post a Comment