Komodo National Park 18th-25th August 2013
Dive Crew on board:
Cruise Director: Fin Dive Master: Seno Dive Master: Komang Dive Master: Jessica
Guests on board:
Day 1: 18th Aug
For this seven day Komodo National Park trip we welcomed on board Ombak Biru sixteen guests from Poland, Russia, Germany, France, Austria, U.A.E. and The States. Once everyone was on board we had lunch and headed north-west to our check dive site of Sebalon Kecil. Those of us that got out to the seamount saw eagle rays floating around in the blue plus schooling barracuda and batfish. On the reef slope morays, scorpion fish, wart slugs and a golden mantis were found. Selamat detang Komodo!
Seen: Eagle rays, schooling fish (barracuda, batfish, twinspot snapper, black-spined surgeons), golden mantis, nudibranchs, raggy scorpion fish, yellow-barred jawfish, blind shrimp and goby partnerships.
Day 2: 19th Aug
In the Gililawa Laut area we dived Crystal Rock first thing in the morning. On the way out to the site in the speedboat one of our guests discovered her first sea krait of the trip…at her feet! Once immersed our divers were surrounded by schooling fish and healthy soft coral at the seamount. Napoleon wrasse passed through as did a couple of whitetip sharks. On the reef, octopus and barramundi were hiding along with juvenile reef sharks under table corals. For the second dive of the day we drifted on Lighthouse Reef spotting our new pair of green and black giant frogfish and played in the current with whitetips and schooling batfish, bannerfish, snapper and surgeons. On Shotgun for the third dive we drifted through the channel hanging around with snappers and GTs in the canyon and watching a manta feed on the surface as bumphead parrotfish passed through. For our night dive we visited Spanish Step in search of huge nudibranchs with some divers photographing slipper and squat lobsters, juvenile porcupine fish and twin-spot lionfish as well as a beautiful large Spanish Dancer.
Seen: Manta, sea krait (in the speedboat!), marbled grouper, whitetip reef sharks, napoleon wrasse, GTs, barramundi, blue-fin trevally, schooling fish (batfish, humphead, sweetlip, midnight snapper, bumphead parrotfish, horse-eye jacks, bannerfish, fusiliers), octopus, commensal shrimps, coriocella, orangutan crab, fire gobies, pair of giant frogfish, porcelain crabs, Spanish dancers, squat lobsters, juvenile blotched porcupine fish, slipper lobster.
Day 3: 20th Aug
For the third day of diving we hit Tatawa Besar in the morning doing a drift dive along the beautiful coral garden. First on stagthorn coral hawksbill turtles could be seen having breakfast while on the blocks schooling harlequin sweetlips and juvenile spadefish could be photographed. Back to Gililawa Laut for the second dive we jumped in at Castle Rock to surround ourselves with fish. Huge schools of banner fish, batfish and surgeon fish led our divers to the point of the current where tons of fusiliers were interspersed with the odd GT. Whitetip sharks drifted about while a couple of napoleon wrasse came in to check out the divers. After lunch it was time to test the guests in current at the Golden Passage. Our groups navigated their way through the channels disturbing sleeping whitetips and hooking onto rocks to check out passing GTs; many spadefish darted around and a red snapper school was split up by the divers. Then most of us went for a walk on Gililawa Darat for a wonderful view of the last dive site and the choice for our night dive. This time our divers dropped in at Komodo Mini Wall spotting sleepy turtles and various crustaceans.
Seen: Blacktip & whitetip reef sharks, GTs, rainbow runners, napoleon wrasse, crocodile fish, octopus, groupers (marbled, slender, peacock, blue-lined), hawksbill turtles, barramundi, peacock mantis shrimp, cuttlefish, schooling fish (spadefish, sweetlip, humphead & midnight snapper, horse-eye jacks, surgeons, banners, fusiliers).
Day 4: 21st Aug
We jumped in at Batu Bolong to wake up in the aquarium of damsels, anthias and chromis reef fish. Large hawksbills were yawning as we videoed them still in their slumber while bright coloured nembrotha nudi’s and scorpion fish were feeding on the reef. Then we went for some flighing lessons on Makasar Reef passing by giant snappers and pelagic unicorn fish. Most of the mantas were seen in the shallows gliding around the blocks getting cleaned by wrasse plus an eagle ray and blacktip shark passed through momentarily. After lunch we chose Honeymoon Rock to spot a family of eagle rays, crocodile fish and reef squid. For a night dive spectacular we jumped in at Wainilu in Dragon Bay spotting a multitude of critters. A couple of mandarin fish were seen but once darkness fell the real show started. Painted frogfish, flying gurnards, inimicus demon walkers, starry octopus were out and about while some extremely colourful nudibranchs were spotted. All guests came out amazed and for a few it was their best night dive ever!
Seen: Mantas, blacktip shark, eagle rays, hawksbill turtles, marbled groupers, raggy scorpion fish, nudibranchs (nembrotha, sap-sucking, miamira magnifica, gymnodoris strawberry), orangutan crabs, wally’s hairy crab, nesting sergeant majors, mantis shrimp, painted frogfish, flying gurnard, pleurobranchs, flatworms, long-armed starry octopus, inimicus demon walker.
Day 5: 22nd Aug
By early morning we arrived in Langkoi, south Komodo to dive twice on Manta Alley. The conditions there were completely different to the north of the park offering green plankton filled cold water. With the current changing between both of the morning dives we had the opportunity to drift both ways through the channel and check out the cleaning stations. On the first dive we bumped into a few mantas but they were very cautious of us leading us to believe that fisherman have been targeting them recently. On the second dive they relaxed to us a little more allowing divers to watch them being cleaned by black-lipped butterfly fish. With up to three at a time on the pinnacles the rays revolved and rotated sometimes gliding extremely close over the heads of our guests for perfect photo opportunities. During lunch the captain delivered the boat to the middle island of Padar for an extremely low viz macro dive. Luckily enough there was plenty of macro to spot including mantis shrimp, a black phase giant frogfish with the highlights being an ornate ghost pipefish on the sandy bottom and a blue-ringed octopus on the shallow reef. Then it was over to Padar for a walk to the Pink Beach through the brush and over the volcanic landscape to watch the sun go down and play Frizz-bee. For those with enough energy it was then time for a night dive at Pasir Putih with a tiny reef octopus, many decorator crabs and marbled shrimp.
Seen: Mantas, hawksbill turtles, bamboo shark, schooling fish (bumphead parrotfish, batfish, blue-lined, sweetlips & humphead snapper, red-tooth triggers), yellow mini sea cucumbers, mantis shrimp, ornate ghostpipe fish, blue-ringed octopus, giant frogfish, nudibranchs, marbled shrimp, octopus, decorator crabs.
Day 6: 23rd Aug
By guest request we removed ourselves from the southern cold green water and headed north for repeat dives on Gililawa Laut’s surrounding sites. We first dived Castle Rock and then Crystal Rock in aquarium-like conditions. Huge schools of fusiliers moved in the blue occasionally being forced into small pockets by GTs and blue-fin trevallys. Whitetips and dogtooth tuna passed through as napoleon wrasse visited cleaning stations and a fat grey reef shark came in again and again to eye-up one group. Once again we were back off to Shotgun but for a bit of a faster experience this time. GTs and midnight snapper were in the canyon and a manta ray was spotted feeding near the surface in the bottleneck. Throughout these dives benthic fauna was also seen in the form of hairy sponge crabs, scorpion fish and nudibranchs. For the night dive we jumped in on Laut’s South Bay to cruise by loads of sleeping green turtles and zooming in on various crustaceans including decorator crabs and squat lobsters. A pair of leaf scorpion fish were also found and one group shared their safety stop with a line of reef squid.
Seen: Whitetip and grey reef sharks, manta ray, bumphead parrotfish, hawksbill turtles, dogtooth tuna, GTs, blue-fin trevally, napoleon wrasse, schooling fish (batfish, black-spined surgeons, banners, horse-eyed jacks, fusiliers), devil & leaf scorpion fish, wally’s hairy sponge crab, green turtles, squat lobsters, decorator crabs, reef squid
Day 7: 24th Aug
For the final day at sea we did two morning dives, one on Tatawa Besar and another one on Makasar Reef. It was strong current at the first site so all guests flew over the dive site and then zig-zagged up the sheltered side of the reef. Turtles were everywhere taking their breakfast from mother nature and cuttlefish, nudibranchs and xeno crabs could be found on investigation. On Makasar Reef it was near slack tide with crystal clear visibility as the guests drifted around for the last time in the Komodo marine world saying goodbye to whitetip sharks, an eagle ray, more nudibranchs with giant sweetlips and unicorn fish on the bombies.
Seen: Hawksbill turtles, cuttlefish, nudibranchs, schooling fish (spadefish, sweetlip snapper), whitetip sharks, eagle ray.
We then headed over to Rinca for the Loh Buaya Komodo dragon walk. Then, all of a sudden we were out of time and it was time to return to Labuan Bajo. We cruised through the park while the sunset over the tropical landscape and had our final dinner together once moored up.
Thank you to all those on board Ombak Biru, Komodo Dancer this trip. You have made it a very enjoyable experience for one-and-all, hope to see you again soon.
Special thanks to photographs provided by Cole, Christian and Jessica!
