Komodo National Park 7th-14th July 2013

Dive Crew on board:

Cruise Director: Fin                 Dive Master: Gede                  Dive Master: Komang

Day 1: 7th July

                This week we had fifteen guests from Europe and America diving with us on a Komodo National Park itinerary. Racing against the sunset we got to the island of Sebalon Besar for our check dive. It was an easy drift on the right shoulder for our guests to check their weights and equipment and at the same time dive with small reef fish and nudibranchs.

Day 2: 8th July

                Crossing over the border into the NP we dived Tatawa Besar for our first dive site. The northerly current gave us a slow drift along this fabulous reef and presented many swirling fish out in the blue, which is unusual here. Twinspot, black and sweetlip snapper were present and blue-fin trevally were seen hunting anthias. Later in the dive guests were able to get close with hawksbills eating their soft coral breakfast. For the second dive we headed north-west to Gililawa Laut for signature KNP dives at Crystal and Castle Rock. Medium currents packed in the life from sea kraits and puffer fish to tuna and reef sharks. A particular highlight was the density of fish witnessed on Castle Rock with millions of fusiliers being rounded-up by large GTs and a huge school of blue-fin trevally. On the point of the current whitetips were zig-zagging and even a few grey reefs were seen passing by. The captain slotted the boat in the bay between Gililawa Darat and Komodo Island and then it was time for a sunset walk along the ridge of Darat. By the time we returned from the beautiful hike, where great views can be seen of the bay, it was time for the night dive on Spanish Step. Guests came back onto Ombak Biru with stories of dancing nudibranchs and pairs of Spanish dancers found with emperor shrimps.

Seen: Grey and whitetip reef sharks, black-marbled stingray, GTs, hawksbill turtles, schooling fish (blue-fin trevally, bannerfish, fusiliers, sweetlips, spadefish, red-tooth triggers), dogtooth tuna, barramundi, Spanish dancer, emperor shrimp.

Day 3: 9th July

                On this morning we powered down the Linta Strait to Horseshoe Bay on the south side of Rinca Island. Here we braved the wind and choppy seas to do some macro diving. First of all we hit the ‘must do’ site, Cannibal Rock. Here the guests saw an array of different coloured giant frogfish, fire urchins with their zebra crabs and colman shrimps and schooling snappers and sleeping whitetips. For the second dive we drifted around Rhino Rock and bumped into a couple of large cuttlefish. After that dive it was time for lunch and a visit to the beach for our first Komodo dragon encounter. Certain areas of Horseshoe Bay were protected from the easterly wind so the Yellow Wall of Texas was a good drift option. Guests went around the corner at depth to see tons of fish life and most of the broccoli coral out feeding. Some were lucky enough to see turtles and a lonely fully grown bumphead wrasse. It was then time to leave the south for an anchorage in Padar Island’s south bay. Here we did a night dive on Pasir Putih to find shrimps, morays, a large cuttlefish and a couple of huge slugs; one a dendrodoris and the other a possible unrecorded sea hare.

Seen: Whitetip reef sharks, giant frogfish, nudibranchs, sea hare and flatworms, fire urchins, zebra crabs, orangutan crabs, commensal shrimp, hairy coral crab, mini yellow sea cucumbers, bumphead parrot fish, morays, schooling fish (red-tooth triggers, surgeons, fusiliers, blue-striped snapper, goatfish).

Day 4: 10th July

                With no movement over night we woke up in Padar to an extremely still bay. Our first dive just after slack tide was W Reef with guests fining between the three pinnacles bumping into a large marbled ray, whitetips and schooling black-spined surgeon and red-tooth trigger fish. Then it was up into Current City for a dive on Makasar Reef with the manta rays. The groups saw several rays each along with turtles, reef sharks and bumphead parrotfish. A reef dive was chosen for the third of the day at Honeymoon Rock. Here we saw schooling spadefish, a munching hawksbill turtles and millions of reef fish. A particular highlight was a group of scribbled filefish feeding and the shear amount of different butterfly and angelfish that are present in that area. At sunset we dived in at Wainilu to see mandarin and picturesque dragonets along with baby cuttlefish, frogfish and decorator crabs.

Seen: Whitetip reef sharks, marbled ray, giant frogfish, schooling fish (spadefish, banner fish, red-tooth triggers, black-spined surgeons), mantas, bumphead parrot fish, hawksbill and green turtles, frogfish and decorator crabs.

Day 5: 11th July

                Back up in GLL we did a morning drift dive through the Gililawa plateau, channel, fishbowl and ended up on the coral garden. Here divers saw brightly lit glassfish pinnacles surrounded by white sand, schooling midnight snapper and barracuda along with a few GTs, whitetips and sleeping bamboo sharks. After the fishbowl many turtles were waiting for us in the glorious soft corals in the shallows. Then it was down into Current City for a mid-morning dive at Batu Balong. Guests saw billions of reef fish covering the walls and slopes with the occasional napoleon and grouper appearing out from the blue, plus this was the first time in a while we were able to travel around the whole pinnacle. Back to GLL we dived around the Lighthouse corner watching a huge school of black-spined surgeons and midnight snappers swirl around in the blue. On the reef slope whitetips were awoken from their afternoon nap and female ribbon eels and octopus were seen hunting.

Seen: Whitetip, blacktip and bamboo sharks, GTs, napoleon wrasse, schooling fish (midnight, sweetlip & twinspot snapper, surgeons, banners, horse-eye jacks), nudibranchs, octopus, porcelain crabs, xeno crabs

Day 6: 12th July

                For the morning dive we drifted between Komodo Island and GLD to wake up with turtles, blacktips and a mobula manta ray in the channel. In the latter stage of this dive there was a mass of bait fish on the coral garden being attacked by juvenile trevallys and tuna while a male whitetip circled in the excitement. Tatawa Kecil was the choice for the second jump with guests seeking shelter from the current behind boulders with schooling fish such as sweetlip, midnight and humphead snapper. In the shallows turtles, rays and barramundi were seen enjoying the brief moment of slack tide as we did our safety stop. After lunch we jumped in a choppy sea to snorkel the north side of Mauan in search of mantas and the elusive dugong but came back empty handed. On Makasar reef for the third dive guests searched the shallow coral gardens finding turtles, reef sharks, an eagle ray and a feeding marbled stingray. Then it was back to GLD for dark dive on Mini Wall. Highlights of this dive were orangutan and decorator crabs, sleepy green turtles with one of them surfacing with us at the end and a feeding bamboo shark.

Seen: Mobula manta ray, whitetip and blacktip reef sharks, bumphead parrot fish, GTs, hawksbill and green turtles, hunting trevally and tuna, huge shoal of bait fish, marbled stingray, schooling fish (midnight, sweetlip, twinspot & humphead snapper), mantis shrimp, decorator and orangutan crabs, bamboo sharks, bobtail squid

Horseshoe Bay, South Rinca