With the wind in our hair and the sunshine beaming, the Jaya set sail on 18th May for another 3 day 3 night adventure in the Komodo National Park. Joining us on the trip were Chris and Nisha from UK, Colleen and Steve from US, Alex from Belgium, Beth from UK, Georg from Germany, Amanda from US, Marc from France and Jit from India. Also on board were Jo, Marcel, Mickey and Carl and crew Ahmed, Suleaman, Heri, Marwan, Dullah, Ahmed and Mala.After a quick orientation of the Komodo Liveaboard and introductions, we headed straight out to Sabayor to make our check dive. On the way, we heard reports from another boat that a whale had been spotted near to Sabayor, so we were all on eager look out. Unfortunately we did not see it, but we had a lovely sunset dive regardless. After this we travelled straight up to the North of Komodo and got to know one another on the journey and learnt a few new card games too, courtesy of Steve and Colleen.
We had 3 dives planned for the next day and jumped straight in with everyone’s favourite, The Cauldron. The vis was clear and the current mild enough to explore the whole site, with a short ride out of The Shotgun at the end. After that we headed to Castle Rock, where the sheer amount of both large schools of fish, and smaller reef creatures had everyone amazed. This is a site when there really isn’t a dull moment and the giant trevally, naoplean wrasse, nudibranchs and ribbon eels certainly proved this. Chris, for one, tagged this as his best ever dive. We then made the decision to sail out to the west of Komodo to enjoy a little solitude in our own secret bay. We made our third dive of the day here, which had a lot to live up to after Castle Rock and The Cauldron, but it proved to be a really nice taste of something different. Here we were looking for smaller creatures – nudibranchs, cleaner shrimp, flounders and juvenile fish. The conditions were very relaxed, but the tempo quickened when the groups found what can only be described as ‘the biggest clam in the world.’ Jo, who is a big lover of clams, was particularly blown away by its size and beauty. And, in keeping with the giant theme, Carl was nearly accosted by a huge giant trevally shortly afterwards. Once the diving was done for the day it was time to hit the beach for a cold beer, a game of Frisbee and a beach clean up too. During this we got a glimpse of Marcel’s turbo beach cleaning skills as he filled one bag by himself in less time than it took 5 people to fill one. We’ll be entering him for an extreme beach cleaning tournament ASAP.
We woke early and crossed the bay to Batu Moncu where we had a great morning dive with sharks, bumpheads, ribbon eels and schools of batfish. After then we went over to Crystal Bommie which we hit around slack tide. The vis was incredible and the soft corals leapt out from the reef at us. As well as all the usual suspects, napoleon wrasse and schooling trevally, we also found baby sharks sleeping under a table coral. Then it was time for lunch and a dive at Karang Makassar. We kept our fingers crossed for mantas and even said a little prayer to the sea gods, but they weren’t playing ball today and one manta was spotted by just one of the dive groups. Unfortunately this is the way it happens from time to time, but it was still a lovely dive with huge unicorn fish, marble and blue spotted rays. After that it was time for a little relaxation time on the boat before a lovely night dive at Siaba Kecil. There we spotted small Papuan cuttlefish, plenty of nudis and flatworms, decorator crabs and a motionless snake. The jury is still out on whether the snake was alive or dead – some say it moved, others thought it had popped its clogs – maybe it was a ghost snake?! The night ended with some games, a couple of drinks and a beautifully clear night perfect for gazing at the stars.The final dive for this 3 day 3 night section of the trip was planned at Batu Bolong and we got there early enough to avoid the crowds and see the beauty of the site. Chris finally got his turtle wish, which was great for his last dive and everyone else loved the scenery. Nisha had fun too, snorkelling on the surface and playing in the currents with Marcel. After this it was time for a leisurely cruise back to Labaun Bajo where Georg, Chris, Nisha and Marc were leaving us. We stopped at nearby Bidadari for a while and also got a final farewell from a pod of dolphins that cruised along with us for quite some time. Thanks to all of you for joining us on this trip. We hope to see you again very soon.
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