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Melasti

Melasti. This is a site we keep coming back to when we’re on Lombok, especially if we’ve spent a few days on the coral reefs and need a change of pace. It’s a pure muck dive, no pretending otherwise. Drop down onto the sand, often with a slight current nudging you, and start scanning. We’ve found some incredible stuff here: rosy frogfish blending into the volcanic grit, those impossibly tiny pygmy gobies, and nudibranchs in colours you didn't even know existed. Our favourite way to dive Melasti is a slow drift along the bottom, eyes peeled, maybe with a good guide who knows where the resident frogfish usually hang out. It’s shallow, maxing out around 19m, and the visibility averages 16m, which is perfectly fine for hunting macro. Honestly, if you’re into wide-angle, you’ll be bored. But for photographers with a macro lens, or anyone who loves the thrill of discovery, Melasti is an absolute playground. We particularly like it for a night dive, when the critters really come alive – the hunt for a harlequin shrimp or a leaf scorpionfish feels a bit more intense in the dark.