Komodo Liveaboard trip report - July 19th, 2013

Blog post 16th-19th July
After spending a relaxing afternoon at Kanawa Island, returning guests Maria, Ola, Per, Christian, Alex, John, Collette and Galen were met by the Jaya coming from Labuan Bajo with new guests Louise and Troels from Denmark, Harry from the USA, Diana from Singapore and Andrea from Canada. A check dive at North Point revealed (amongst other great macro life) a zebra moray as spotted by Andrea. Good eyes Andrea! Upon surfacing we were all treated to a magnificent sunrise which continued as our Komodo Liveaboard made its way to the north of the Park.

A quick change of schedule meant that we were able to dive The Cauldron, one of the most exciting sites in Komodo. And what a dive! The gentle drift into the main bowl of the Cauldron rewarded us with five or six white tip reef sharks whilst another was spotted swimming inside the Cauldron itself. A quick visit to the ‘Fishbowl’ was like swimming in a real life aquarium with big schools of snapper and trevally high above the divers heads. But the best was yet to come. As we climbed out of the Cauldron we looked overhead and saw a school of cownose rays swimming in formation. What a way to end the dive!

Perhaps the most famous dive site in the park, Castle Rock was up next for us to explore. As soon as we dropped a huge Napoleon wrasse was just sitting there waiting for Ola and his huge camera to take plenty of photos of.  No camera shyness there! A swim out to the perimeter of the site put us among several white tipped sharks who surrounded us for the majority of the dive. All of a sudden a huge ball of fusiliers came cruising past with a school of hungry giant trevallies soon following. The divers all enjoyed the show confirming the fact that Castle Rock is one of the best dive sites to encounter and appreciate this type of hunting and feeding behaviour.

The final dive of the day took place at the Golden Passage, a dive site situated between two islands which gives the divers a ride of their life. Whilst the current picked up, a huge hawksbill turtle was seen drifting along as well as a couple of sharks on the plateau. The shallow reef at the end of the dive is a great way to slow down and look for some smaller creatures. One group was lucky enough to see a shy octopus who delighted us by changing colour and texture before our eyes.
We all took a dinghy ride to a nearby island where we had another of our ‘Extreme Beach Clean’ competitions and later relaxed on top of a small hill whilst viewing a beautiful sunset.

After an early journey to the centre of the Park, all divers were ready to explore the amazing Batu Bolong, an underwater pinnacle teeming with fish life and where coral covers every square inch of the rock. Giant trevallies were spotted playing in the currents at the edges of the pinnacle and intrepid guides used all of their spotting skills to find the famous ‘raver nudi’ (nembrotha purpureolineata). Back on board divers compared notes on what they had seen during the dive. Logbooks are easily filled after just one dive at Batu Bolong!

Makassar Reef was up next with expectations riding high in the hope of seeing some of the famous Komodo Mantas. A strong drift kept everyone on their toes and at least one manta was seen by each of the four dive groups. The beautiful soft coral garden at the end of the dive gave us a chance to get our breath back as well as giving us an opportunity to look for some green turtles nestling amongst the coral.

During a short snorkel at a nearby island, John was surprised (or was it other way round?) to see some baby sharks whilst Maria and Ola made friends with a pilot fish! As we had some free time we decided to give the guests an experience they would not forget. The Jaya detoured to Kaaba Island to watch one of nature’s truly wonderful spectacles. At sunset each evening, thousands of flying fox bats leave the island to seek out their next meal. The bats flew directly over the boat with some even having a close call with the masts! Even though it was getting late the day was not over as we still had another great dive planned that evening.

As always, the night dive at Wainilu did not disappoint. This dive site really is a macro lovers heaven. Dwarf lionfish, flatworms, cool nudis, moray and snake eels, cuttlefish and octopus were all highlighted by the divers torch beams. Alex and John (diving with Marsel) even had the privilege of seeing a frogfish walking across the reef. This is rare during the day so they were super lucky to have seen it at night!

And so it came to the final dive of the trip at Pulau Tengah. As the current was not strong we were able to swim completely around the pinnacle thus showing the divers both the wall side of the site as well as the staghorn and table coral covered plateau. One group had some luck on the plateau when a school of six baby sharks was discovered sheltering underneath a table coral. It is always amazing to view these predators of the future when they are so small and heartwarming to see that Komodo has a healthy population when other shark numbers are threatened worldwide.

The last activity for all the guests was to visit Rinca Island with a chance to trek amongst the Komodo Dragons. Several of the huge lizards were seen impressing everybody with their size and power. We then hoisted the sails and journeyed back to Labuan Bajo where we bid a farewell to our new friends with a promise that we’d see them some time in the future.

-Wicked Diving Komodo