Diving Indonesia: Maluku Province – Ambon & the Twilight Zone
On the western side of Ambon’s superb natural harbor is one of the best, and certainly one of the strangest, muck diving sites in Indonesia – christened the Twilight Zone back in 1995, by American dive explorers Burt Jones & Maurine Shimlock – if ever a dive site was aptly named this is it!
The Twilight Zone
The site was actually discovered the year previously by Monique Walker from Germany, who had arrived in Ambon early for a dive charter on the liveaboard Cehili and decided to kill some time while the boat was waiting for the rest of it’s passengers to arrive by diving the “aviation jetty” near the village of Laha.
Monique was joined later that afternoon by Deb Fugitt, whose dive charters on the SMY Ondina first introduced me to diving in Irian Jaya and the Mollucas. Deb subsequently published this short article on the still to be named site.
Diving Indonesia: Ambon & the Twilight Zone – Real Muck Diving!
Twilight Zone - real muck diving!
Bob Halstead, the godfather of muck diving, once defined it as diving that takes place at any site which does not have beautiful underwater scenery.
The Twilight Zone would definitely satisfy that criteria because underwater it resembles a cross between Steptoe’s Yard and a critter menagerie.
The site is the general area around the aviation jetty at the village of Laha, on the northwest side of the harbor, close to Ambon’s airport.
The main purpose of the jetty is for fuel tankers from Pertamina, the Indonesian national oil & gas company, to deliver aviation fuel to the airport – hence the name…
Fishing boats moored at the Twilight Zone
However the area is also home to a small fishing fleet that plies the rich waters around Ambon, shipping the prepared catch to Bali, and over the years a considerable amount of general junk has been thrown off the jetty and the fishing boats.
The junk consists of a mixture of everything from car tires to filing cabinet drawers and has formed a cozy habitat for the denizens of the Twilight Zone.
The diversity of the Twilight Zone can be attributed to a troika of organic nutrient sources. Firstly there is the fresh water run-off from the stream that empties into the bay nearby, and secondly there are the currents & cold water upwelling’s from the deep waters of Ambon’s harbor.
Twilight Zone fish carcasses...
But the bulk of the organic nutrients come from the fish carcasses that are simply thrown over the side of the boats after the catch has been cleaned & filleted for shipment to Bali.
When this happens the “bottom feeding” inhabitants of the Twilight Zone emerge and descend on the fish carcasses. If you are underwater during one of these feeding frenzies you will notice a sudden decrease in visibility and what appears to be an underwater sandstorm…
If you investigate you will find a large swarm of catfish devouring the remaining flesh on the fish carcasses and the feeding action is so intense that they throw up the surrounding black volcanic sand into the sandstorm which drifts down into the depths!
You will also see moray eels darting in and out of the catfish swarm, risking a daylight foray to make sure they got their share of this sudden bounty from above- it is quite a sight!
The Twilight Zone
Diving Indonesia: Ambon & the Twilight Zone – Diving in the Zone…
There are usually five or six fishing boats tied up side by side at the aviation jetty which creates a canopy over the main area and induces the feeling of continuous twilight you experience when diving there during the day.
Schooling Silversides at the Twilight Zone
Most of the boats are running their generators and so there is the constant rumble of diesel engines above you adding to the overall eeriness of the sight!
Underneath the aviation jetty there is a large shoal of silversides that seems to continuously migrate their way between the columns and then out underneath the fishing boats in a brilliant flowing stream.
Diving the jetty around noon on a sunny day means that it’s time to swap the macro lens for wide-angle, and we are talking fish-eye wide.
The overhead sun means that its rays shine through the gaps between the boats and the jetty, creating intense columns of light and dappled patterns on the volcanic sand.
Twilight Zone Moray Eels
The silversides seem to get particularly active at this time and it really is a sight to behold as you sit in the shadows, the diesel engines throbbing above your head, as the silversides stream back and to through the columns of light and underneath the fishing boats.
There are literally dozens of moray eels in the junk underneath the fishing boats and every opening seems to be occupied by at least one moray – but often two or three will be co-habiting.
Morays are typically nocturnal and if you dive the Twilight Zone late in the afternoon, try settling down quietly in front of the main junk area and if you wait patiently you will witness a very interesting sight.
As the light fades one head after another will pop out of the junk and when I conducted this exercise I was able to count over 20 different eels contemplating their night time activities and getting ready to go out foraging!
After dark the site transforms again as the fish & critters active during the daytime settle down for the night in their hiding hole and the nocturnal predators emerge.
Extra care needs to be taken at night as there are so many potentially stinging & poisonous things to kneel on such as stonefish, a profusion of scorpion fish including many of the Ambon variety.
There are also a LOT of urchins around the junkyard area and of course the morays…
Underwater at the Twilight Zone
Diving Indonesia: Ambon & the Twilight Zone – Wait, there’s more!
Purple Rhinopias at Laha 2
There is a second pier just on the small headland that sticks out into the bay and affords the protection to the Twilight zone.
The area is also well worth investigating, but the absence of the general junk and it’s closer proximity to the strong currents of the bay, seem to make it a less “target rich” environment to the aviation pier.
Around the headland is the site referred to as Laha 2 and the sloping sands here are well worth investigating, as its possible to find the highly sought after Rhinopias in the area.
Although care needs to be taken with the fairly strong currents in this area.
Red Rhinopias at Laha 2
On my dives at Laha 2 my guide from Maluku Divers found me not one, but two Rhinopias, but we had to go pretty deep yo find locate them.
At 32m there was a beautiful purple Rhinopias and then nearby at 28m a stunning red one!
Heading slightly further west there is a third jetty and the whole area is referred to as Laha 3 which is also well worth investigating.
Possibly not for everybody, but if you like critters then the Twilight Zone is a must do experience and personally it is my absolute favorite muck dive sight in Ambon – it is just the best!
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