In the run up to PADI Womens Dive Day 2016 with Two Fish Divers we thought we’d introduce you to the girls in our team, and share their stories of how they got into diving and what they love about it… First up is Team Lombok – Here we’re going to meet Martine and Kate!

Martine is our Marketing Manager in Lombok. Originally from Belgium, she has been in Lombok for over 17 years and this is where she learned to dive. Martine is also our poster girl for South Lombok – you can see her in all of our advertising material, like the photo of the diver and coral below!

Martine started diving on Gili Air (The Gili Islands) in Lombok, fifteen years ago. Her favourite dive site is Orange County in the South Gili’s. When we asked her about her favourite fish or critter; what she loves most about diving and what her most memorable dive was…

Favourite Fish / Critter: “This is a very hard one because I love it all, but I think the Lion Fish because it is beautiful, colorful, elegant but yet still very dangerous.”

What Martine loves most about diving: “I love the silence under water, the feeling of being weightless and being in a different world being able to forget everything. The colors of the corals and the fish. Also the variety of marine life and the fact that every dive is different even if it is the same dive site. I have no specific interest other then enjoying the dive without taking pictures.”

Most memorable dive: “Flying through the Orange County with strong currents.”

Next up is Kate, our instructor in the Gili Islands. Kate is originally from the UK and has been in Lombok for just over a year. Kate learned to dive in 2008 in Pulau Weh, a small island off Banda Aceh, Indonesia. She did her PADI Open Water Course all the way up to Divemaster in the space of 9 months. Diving is addictive! If you’ve seen videos of Lombok on our blogs and Facebook page, they were likely shot by Kate!

Here’s what Kate says when we asked her what she loves about diving…

Favourite Fish / Critter: My favorite thing to see underwater would have to be Octopus. I love how they move, change colour and are just curious creatures. I also really like Shrimps, all kinds of shrimps.

What Kate loves most about diving: “I love just being under the water, I love the peace, weightlessness and serenity. My favorite movie is The Little Mermaid, and has been since I was 5 – I guess that’s how I feel. I love turning around and looking up to the surface hanging just above the reef, and I love the creatures we find down there, I love how weird and wonderful they are and how there is such a variety. I am always finding something I never saw before. My interest is videography, I love the raw shots then cutting, transitioning and adding music to make movies. A while ago my goal was to work for national geographic, travelling the world and catching amazing sites for the world to see.”

Most memorable dive: “Here on Gili Air my favorite dive site is Bat Fish Point, I like it because it is perfect for macro; shallow and flat. However, my most memorable dive was last year in Belongas Bay, the dive site was Gili Sarang, we descended and could hear these noises, like whale sounds so we looked around, the temperature was 20 degrees and then there we saw 6 Dolphins hanging vertical just looking at us. We stopped and looked straight back, we must have stayed there for a good 10 minutes before they moved on, the experience blew us away… Later in that dive we also had the luck of 2 big schools of Mobula Rays. The water was crystal clear and surprisingly enough I did not feel the cold in my long 3mm suit.”

Find out more about what special offers we have going on in Lombok for Women’s Dive Day.

More about Diving Gili Islands, North Lombok       More about Diving South Lombok