The big island to the west of the anchorage in Zonnegat Bay is the volcano Gunung Api.
While it was quite active over the last 500 years during the period of the European invasion, it’s last eruption was in 1988, when 13 people died as at spewed out a flow that reached the ocean on the northern side of the cone. That flow remains as a rock memorial to that event.
As the jungle attempts to grow over the hard rock, in the water the rocks are colonised with a range of vibrant corals. While I was suffering from an ear infection and could not enter the water, the other three spent hours snorkelling along the face of the lava flow while I waited above in the dinghy using a bathyscope to get a view of the corals below.
It appears that the coral is less diverse than patches we have seen elsewhere. One species seems to dominate over a large area, and then suddenly it switches to another species that then dominates. Sorry, no underwater images; our underwater camera is in need of repair or replacement.
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