Seraya Secrets is in a bay southeast of Tulamben. From the surface it is only dark volcanic sand and a few coral heads. Underwater it is a macro dive: slow, close to the sand, looking for animals that hide.
Enter from the pebble beach. The slope is gentle, from about 3 m to 30 m, and one part continues toward 35 m. The animals people come for are often at 8–20 m, so the dive can be long and shallow. Current is usually light. Visibility matters less than on a wall, because the subject is a hand-span from the sand.
Small rocks and bits of coral become tiny homes. The harlequin shrimp is the animal this site is known for. At night, octopus come out of the sand. Do not stir the bottom, because the silt closes the view at once.
- Map coordinate
- −8.28607, 115.62252
- Dive type
- Muck
- Entry
- Shore
- Depth
- About 3–30 m. The busiest critter zone is often 8–20 m.
- Water
- Salt water
Marine life
Moray eel
Small morays live in the shallow rocks. At a larger cleaning station, a moray sits still while shrimp clean its mouth.
Fish at the cleaning stations
On the larger rocks there are sweetlips, coral grouper, and wrasse. One station on a ridge, around 35 m, is marked by a school of bannerfish above it.
Blue-spotted stingray
Sometimes half buried in the sand. The moving fin is usually what you notice first.
Macro life
Almost everything people come for here is small and lives in the sand, on a rock, or on a feather star. A good dive is a slow dive. For macro photos, use a macro lens and a focus light.
Harlequin shrimp
Hymenocera pictaThis porcelain-patterned shrimp is the mark of Seraya Secrets. They are often near sea stars, which they eat. They can be in the shallows, around 3–9 m.
Frogfish
From thumbnail-sized to fist-sized. They sit still on sand, rock, or sponge, and only become obvious when they move.
Ghost pipefish
Ghost pipefish camouflage on feather stars or coral rubble. Seahorses are on the small rocks. Both need enough distance that they are not disturbed.
Seahorse
Ghost pipefish camouflage on feather stars or coral rubble. Seahorses are on the small rocks. Both need enough distance that they are not disturbed.
Nudibranch
Many kinds on the sand and on the rocks. This is the easiest part to find when macro diving is new.
Octopus
Includes the mimic octopus. By day they hide. At night they more often walk across the sand.
Scorpionfish
Camouflaged on the sand and on the rocks, including leaf scorpionfish. There are also juvenile lionfish. Do not put a hand or a knee on the bottom.
An animal on this list is not guaranteed on every dive.