Cannibal Rock?

[jjmochi]

Hi

Just back from our liveaboard to Komodo on Mermaid I and we ended up spending only 1 day in the south with all 3 day dives at Manta Alley. I asked what about the other famous sites in the area and cruise director Celso told us Cannibal Rock (which they list as a top 10 dive site in the world in their itinerary) was dynamite bombed ~1 month ago so the area is very damaged. Just curious if anyone who has gone to Komodo recently has dived the site / know if other boats are still going there?

Thx

 

[Cali_diver]

What a bummer... I think @Dan was there recently. We have been there right after a fisherman cyanide bombed Cannibal and there were dead fish all over the site so I am not surprised. The illegal fishing usually happens during times when the swell makes it hard for LOBs to get down there.

On a side note, there are so many dive sites in Horseshoe bay that are amazing. Some better than Cannibal (IMHO) so I am surprised they didn't at least dive those, unless the whole bay was destroyed. It doesn't make sense unless the boat couldn't make it due to some other reason.

 

[JohnN]

What a bummer... I think @Dan was there recently. We have been there right after a fisherman cyanide bombed Cannibal and there were dead fish all over the site so I am not surprised. The illegal fishing usually happens during times when the swell makes it hard for LOBs to get down there.

On a side note, there are so many dive sites in Horseshoe bay that are amazing. Some better than Cannibal (IMHO) so I am surprised they didn't at least dive those, unless the whole bay was destroyed. It doesn't make sense unless the boat couldn't make it due to some other reason.

Leaving for Komodo in 5 weeks. My bucket list trip, delayed a year because of Covid

 

[Dan]

I was in Horseshoe Bay (HSB) on 27 July, but skip Cannibal Rock because of poor visibility (greenish water). Read on if you are interested in more detail of our experience in HSB & Southern Komodo on that day.

Originally we plan to dive in Manta Alley before spending 2 days in HSB. As we came closer to Manta Alley, the swells with white cap waves were pretty bad, we decided to skip Manta Alley & headed to HSB.

We anchored in Torpedo Alley bay that morning & expecting to see Komodo dragons parading on the beach, but none was seen. Later on I found out from Komodo NP ranger in Loh Liang that it was mating season. So those Komodo dragons were busy doing their things in the bushes.

Our first dive of the day there, was in Crinoid Canyon to see the awesome wall being lightened up by the morning sun. When we got there, however, the water looked greenish, but we were already there, so we did the dive. The visibility was so bad, we decided to skip the rest of the diving in HSB and cruised to Padar, which was still having bad visibility, but not as bad as in HSB.

The cancellation price for the sucky diving that day was the awesome hike up to Padar summit, seeing 3 different color beaches around Padar (pink, black, white) from the summit. Something that everyone visiting Komodo should do!

 

[Cali_diver]

HSB is always iffy (and usually quite cold) this time of year. If you really want to experience the amazing dives of Rinca then you need to dive it in the off season. We spent 3 full days there and didn't want to leave in Jan. 2020. Water was warm and viz was good! One of my favorite dives is the night dive at Torpedo. It is an amazing muck dive.

 

[Dan]

Hi

Just back from our liveaboard to Komodo on Mermaid I and we ended up spending only 1 day in the south with all 3 day dives at Manta Alley. I asked what about the other famous sites in the area and cruise director Celso told us Cannibal Rock (which they list as a top 10 dive site in the world in their itinerary) was dynamite bombed ~1 month ago so the area is very damaged. Just curious if anyone who has gone to Komodo recently has dived the site / know if other boats are still going there?

Thx

Sorry to hear about your short trip to Southern Komodo, skipping Cannibal Rock & hearing the site was bombed out (this is the casualty of the site being closed for 2.5 years. I saw the same in Tulamben, the local wiped out Bumphead parrotfish & Brown marble grouper and lots of coral ruins in Sangalaki, Kakaban & Maratua too. Really sad situation. I’m hoping now Indonesia is open, those fish bombing would be less & less often as the local would get income from tourism). At least you dove in Manta Alley!

On 22 July we met Mermaid 1 in Moyo. They were on the way back to Bali, while we were on our way to Komodo. I spoke to Celso (he was the cruise director when I was on Mermaid 1 back in 2014) & some of the DMs then. They gave us a good tip about diving with Whalesharks under a bagan in Teluk Saleh, which we did on our way back to Bali on 3 August. Did you do that?

 

[Dan]

HSB is always iffy (and usually quite cold) this time of year. If you really want to experience the amazing dives of Rinca then you need to dive it in the off season. We spent 3 full days there and didn't want to leave in Jan. 2020. Water was warm and viz was good! One of my favorite dives is the night dive at Torpedo. It is an amazing muck dive.

Did you see Torpedo rays (which is the site is named after, as back then, there were quite common to see them there) then?

 

[Dan]

Leaving for Komodo in 5 weeks. My bucket list trip, delayed a year because of Covid

May the good visibility & calm weather of southern Komodo be with you then!

 

[Cali_diver]

Did you see Torpedo rays (which is the site is named after, as back then, there were quite common to see them there) then?

I did see them. They were really fun to see!

 

[Mr.Poseidon]

I did see them. They were really fun to see!

HSB is always iffy (and usually quite cold) this time of year. If you really want to experience the amazing dives of Rinca then you need to dive it in the off season. We spent 3 full days there and didn't want to leave in Jan. 2020. Water was warm and viz was good! One of my favorite dives is the night dive at Torpedo. It is an amazing muck dive.

I’m with Cali on this one. Torpedo Alley is one my favorite muck sites. I hope this is not the case.

Im off to Komodo in 2.5 weeks.