Komodo Dancer Captain's Logs

[Dancer Fleet]

Komodo Dancer Captain’s Report June 25 – July 5, 2013

For this ten day Komodo National Park adventure Komodo Dancer was pleased to welcome onboard an all-American team brought together by Jeff Jones from Weaver’s in Colorado. For the first day we left Labuan Bajo harbor for Sebayor Kecil for our first dive. With fabulous conditions, we enjoyed the 2 ½ hour cruise and looked forward to the critters that were waiting for us underwater. Scorpion leaf fish were seen lying in ambush on table corals, while cuttlefish blended into the reef slope. On the sand rays swam by, including a juvenile eagle ray, and mantis shrimp went about their business. One was particularly brazen by walking around in the open overturning rocks and punching our pointers.
Sightings: Scorpion leaf fish, cuttlefish, peacock and banded mantis shrimps, eagle ray, blue spotted and ribbon tailed ray.

June 26th
During the night, Captain Bapak Kasim moved the boat over to Gili Banta, north west of Komodo Island. Here we enjoyed a pleasant day of diving with good visibility, 28C water and sun all day long. We calmly cruised around the soft coral reef of K2 in the morning with divers coming back with stories of the amazing amount of different clownfish and anemones that can be seen in this area. On the West Corner dive site we swam to the point of the current with some guests getting lucky with a manta and others with large dogtooth tuna. Schools of surgeonfish were feeding in the planktonic upwellings and other species were spawning in the shallows. Then it was back into the bay for “flying lessons” on Star Wars. Those that could maneuver in the current saw pygmy seahorses, while others drifted by colonies of bright purple anthias. The night dive at Circus seemed to exceed our guests expectations spotting stargazers and snake eels free swimming, along with juvenile morays, bobtail squid amongst all kinds of shellfish and flatheads.
Sightings: Cuttlefish, spine cheek anemone fish, nudis (nembrotha, chromodoris), manta, mating dogtooth tuna, spiny porcelain crabs, Wally’s hairy crab, orangutan crab, pygmy seahorses, spawning two-toned wrasse, stargazers, snake eels, bobtail squid.

June 27th
Macro diving was the order of the day starting with Fuzzy Bottom in the north east of Sumbawa. The visibility was down due to the recent strong currents as a result of the full moon but critters such as thorny seahorses, Pegasus seamoths and blue-winged lionfish were still spotted. On Rocky Bottom for the second dive, our guests experienced “nudibranch heaven” with many people seeing new varieties for their first time, with a particular highlight being pairs of chromodoris bollocki. As viz was reduced in the bay, we opted for a dive at Tanjung Sai with silt bottom and bright corals. Here stick shrimp and black-phase frogfish were found hiding in the black coral bushes along with lots of nudibranchs, scorpion and crocodile fish. Even with currents still pushing in the Bima Bay we did a repeat dive on Fuzzy Bottom for the night/drift/muck dive. Conditions had actually calmed down so we managed to pick out clown frogfish, long-armed starry octopus, moray and snake eels, and tons of different crustaceans.
Sightings: Blue-winged lionfish, clown frogfish, black phase frogfish, thorny seahorse, Pegasus seamoth, gilded and banded pipefish, long-armed starry octopus, ribbon eel, crocodile fish, raggy scorpion fish, nudibranchs (chromodoris, nembrotha, thuridilla, flatworms), juvenile barramundi, juvenile pinnate spadefish.

June 28th
During early morning, Komodo Dancer cruised over to Sangeang Island for the next day of adventure. The first two dives were on Deep Purple and Hot Rock providing awesome topography, an amazing array of corals and wonderful marine life. Schooling barracuda and snapper were seen on the deep sections of the first dive, while in the sand and reef ribbons eels, nudi’s and scorpion fish were resting. On the second dive the groups meandered around coral bombies covered with all types of soft and hard coral. Hiding crabs, shrimp, nudibranchs and pygmy seahorses were found and in the blue surgeon fish and snapper were swirling about. Then it was time for a stroll through the village of Bonto to see the simple life of 150 people. It was a humbling experience for our guests to see Indonesians living in such a different way than we are used to. Bonto Reef at night was a blast, with our groups slowly drifting over black sand and finishing on very busy coral pinnacles. Many different, very pretty nudibranchs were feeding on hydroids and pleurobranchs also made an appearance. Boxer crabs, Spanish dancers, red reef lobsters and a huge octopus were found on the reef section completing a wonderful dive.
Sightings: Ribbon eels (juvenile & male and female adults), pygmy seahorses, schooling fish (barracuda, twinspot and blue-lined snapper), nudibranchs (Spanish dancer, chromodoris, nembrotha, thuridilla, tergipidoris, faceinidae, scyllaeidae, neon dragon), xeno crab, soft coral imitator crab, boxer crabs, pleurobranchs, reef octopus.

June 29th
Over night, Captain Bapak Kasim delivered the Komodo Dancer to the northern island of Komodo, Gililawa Laut, home to Castle and Crystal Rock. We jumped in on Castle Rock first during some decent current, which allowed us to watch shark, tuna, and trevally action. For the second dive on Crystal Rock, the current was “less manic” so our groups were able to fin around all areas of the reef spotting an eagle ray, baby whitetips, frisky tuna and hunting goat fish, juvenile napoleons and emperor snapper. Then it was off to Gililawa Darat for the third dive through The Passage, a panoramic walk and a night dive on the Spanish Step. Guests came out from The Passage dive a little shell-shocked due to the medium current pushing through the channel. Whitetips were spotted sleeping along with GTs and schooling sweetlips and spadefish. For those with enough energy, we walked up to a viewpoint on Darat and walked along the ridge. This gave us a tremendous view of the bay and the water pouring through the channel we had just dived. On Spanish Step for the night dive, divers saw the mandatory largest nudibranchs in the world along with their emperor shrimps and on this night they also has cuttlefish keeping them company.
Sightings: Whitetip and grey reef sharks, GTs, blue-fin trevally, dogtooth tuna, schooling fish (horse-eye jacks, black, blue-lined and twinspot snapper, banners), crocodile fish, nudibranchs, golden-claw swimming crab, sea krait, Spanish dancers, emperor shrimp.

June 30th
We powered down the Linta Strait in record time due to a strong lowering tide and woke up in Langkoi Bay in the morning. We then proceeded to dive twice on Manta Alley exploring the site completely by drifting from west to east on one occasion and even swimming a figure of eight around the outside pinnacles, which is hardly ever done. Waters were warm and blue so the manta count was a bit low, but most managed to bump into a few of them. However, the site was covered in billions of orange and purple anthias with bumphead parrotfish feeding in the shallows and napoleon wrasse cruising around the channels. The next dive was Cannibal Rock in Horseshoe Bay on the south of Rinca Island and proved to be of great entertainment for our divers. The current was low, so allowed us to corkscrew around the seamount spotting nurse and whitetip sharks, schooling blue-lined snappers and loads of macro fauna. On the fire urchins zebra crabs and commensal shrimp pairs were resting, black and grey giant frogfish were hiding on the reef and sea apples were feeding. For the night dive we jumped in on a windy Torpedo Alley and were surprised with the contrast of surface to underwater conditions. The dive was so tranquil with the group investigating the giant sea pens for shrimp and squat lobsters. A baby tiger mantis was found peering out from the dark sand bottom and a dragon shrimp was seen clutching onto a green wire coral.
Sightings: Mantas, hawksbill turtles, dogtooth tuna, GTs, blue-fin trevally, nudibranchs, napoleon wrasse, bumphead parrotfish, giant frogfish, fire urchins, Colman shrimp, zebra crabs, sea pens, dragon shrimp, tiger mantis.

July 1st
First thing in the morning we jumped on the tenders and headed out to see the Komodo Dragons on the beach. This proved to be good timing, as the males were attempting to mate with one of the females. Eagles were flying high as it was blowing about 20 knots, so we headed north for calmer conditions. Our first stop was Secret Garden at Padar for a coral garden and wall dive spotting mantas, a whitetip and a performing black giant frogfish. We then headed into Current City for the rising tide on Makasar Reef. Even though the drift was pleasant there were not many mantas about, but a few were spotted. To seek shelter for the night from the strong southeasterly winds we anchored at Wainilu in north Rinca and went for a night dive in search of critters. A huge tiger mantis was found along with fishing frogfish, enemy ghost demon stingers and crustaceans galore.
Sightings: Manta rays, whitetip reef shark, feather-tail stingray, giant frogfish, schooling fish (red triggers, blue surgeons, emperor snapper) spadefish, mantis shrimp, flatworms and nudibranchs, blacktip reef shark, bamboo shark, common stingray, warty frogfish, reef squid, demon stingers, tiger mantis.

July 2nd
A full drift dive on Shotgun was the order of the morning during a slow falling tide. Schooling black and twinspot snapper swirled on the shallow reef while a manta and two mobulas were waiting for us in the current. To finish the soft coral garden was bathing in the morning sun to highlight yellow trumpet fish, schooling goatfish and turtles having a bit of breakfast. For the second dive of the day Tatawa Besar provided a good drift over the beautiful soft coral garden and finished with the group watching large cuttlefish tend to their eggs in the hard coral. On the way south through the Linta Strait we dived at Honeymoon Rock again with schooling fish with mantis shrimp, nudibranchs, cowries and an eagle ray. One of the requests for the trip was to find mandarin and picturesque dragonets, so we jumped in for a sunset dive at Wainilu to search for the little buggers. The highlight of the dive was undoubtedly the frogfish and not the mandarin fish!
Sightings: Manta ray, mobula manta rays, schooling fish (barracuda, black, twinspot and sweetlips snapper, spadefish), barramundi, GTs, hawksbill and green turtles, nesting cuttlefish, eagle ray, mandarin fish, picturesque dragonets, warty frogfish, clown frogfish.

July 3rd
The Linta Strait was very choppy in the morning due to strong winds, so we dived in Gililawa Laut again, much to the pleasure of our guests. The first dive was timed for a changing current on Crystal Rock. This allowed some to fin out to the third pinnacle to watch fifty to sixty GTs hunting, while on the other two pinnacles whitetips and grey reefs were seen cruising around. Sweetlips and humphead snapper were schooling to the side of coral bombies and large napoleon wrasse came into investigate the divers. Shotgun was the choice for the second dive, so once again we drifted through the channel and ended up on the soft coral garden. Most of the guests came out of this one absolutely amazed by the beauty of the dive. In the afternoon we jumped in on Castle Rock to be surrounded by schooling fish. Tons of fusiliers being hunted bounced from the reef to the blue, rainbow runners intercepted swarms of banner fish while most of the divers were followed by inquisitive batfish. This dive made us feel like we were accepted by the marine animals as we were completely engulfed by huge numbers of them, a truly memorable experience. For the night dive, divers searched Komodo mini-wall and found sleeping turtles, decorator crabs and juvenile sweetlips snapper.
Sightings: Grey and whitetip reef sharks, schooling fish (rainbow runners, sweetlips, black and twinspot snappers, banners, batfish, surgeons, horse-eye jacks, fusiliers) sweetlips snapper (ribbon, oriental, diagonal lined, giant), GTs, dogtooth tuna, rays, sea krait, various groupers, hawksbill turtles, crustaceans, cuttlefish.

July 4th—Independence Day
For the final two dives of the trip we chose Lighthouse Reef in Gililawa Laut and Makasar Reef in Current City. The first dive at Lighthouse Reef was bathing in the morning sun highlighting the wonderful mix of hard and soft corals. Various species of nudibranchs were found and whitetip reef shark juveniles were seen snoozing under the table corals. For the second, and last dive in Komodo National Park, we drifted on Makasar Reef, coming across a manta ray, large green turtles and whitetip sharks with mating scars. This dive once again finished on a glorious coral garden lit up by the sun where we said our goodbyes to the underwater world.

Within a couple of hours we were once again loading ourselves back onto the tenders, this time for the dragon walk on the north of Rinca Island. Five adult dragons were hanging around the ranger kitchen area, and you could tell it was mating season because you could see couples lying on each other. From north Rinca we sailed through the sunset back to Labuan Bajo, Flores for our final dinner together.

A ‘Big Thanks’ goes out to the Weaver’s crew for putting this trip together. It has been a pleasure to have you all on board, and we hope to see you soon in the near future.

Your dive crew: Cruise Director Fin, Dive Masters Seno and Gede

Thank you all so very much!!
Thanks also to Mark and Frank for the photographs

 

[Dancer Fleet]

Komodo Dancer Captain’s Report July 7 – 14, 2013

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 out 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.


July 8th
Crossing over the border into the National Park 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 sweetlips 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 northwest 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 zigzagging 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 Komodo Dancer with stories of dancing nudibranchs and pairs of Spanish dancers found with emperor shrimps.
Sightings: Grey and whitetip reef sharks, black-marbled stingray, GTs, hawksbill turtles, schooling fish (blue-fin trevally, banner fish, fusiliers, sweetlips, spadefish, red-tooth triggers), dogtooth tuna, barramundi, Spanish dancer, emperor shrimp.


July 9th
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 colored 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.
Sightings: 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).

July 10th
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 finning between the three pinnacles bumping into a large marbled ray, whitetips and schooling black-spined surgeon and red-tooth triggerfish. 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.
Sightings: Whitetip reef sharks, marbled ray, giant frogfish, schooling fish (spadefish, banner fish, red-tooth triggers, black-spined surgeons), mantas, bumphead parrotfish, hawksbill and green turtles, frogfish and decorator crabs.

July 11th
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.
Sightings: Whitetip, blacktip and bamboo sharks, GTs, napoleon wrasse, schooling fish (midnight, sweetlips & twinspot snapper, surgeons, banners, horse-eye jacks), nudibranchs, octopus, porcelain crabs, xeno crabs.


July 12th
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 baitfish on the coral garden being attacked by juvenile trevally 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 sweetlips, 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.
Sightings: 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, sweetlips, twinspot & humphead snapper), mantis shrimp, decorator and orangutan crabs, bamboo sharks, bobtail squid.


July 13^th - Horseshoe Bay, South Rinca
Today was about picking the best dives to end the trip with so off we went to Castle Rock. There we saw schooling fish of all sorts, in particular blue neon fusiliers being rounded up by trevally. Groupers were cruising about while reef sharks glided through the current. For our final dive we went back to Tatawa Besar for a tranquil time on a gorgeous reef with and huge abundance of fish life. Then it was off to Loh Buaya for the Komodo dragon walk on Rinca. Seven lizards were seen in total mostly hanging around the ranger station. It was good to see fully grown Timor deer and macaque monkeys in the bush too. With the final excursion finished on this trip it was time to head back to Labuan Bajo port for our final dinner and a birthday celebration.
Sightings: Whitetip and grey reef sharks, GTs, groupers, crocodile fish, morays, schooling fish (trevally, horse-eye jacks, snapper, fusiliers, spadefish).

A big thanks goes out to all those on board this trip. You all participated to make this a very enjoyable trip for yourselves and for us. Hopefully see you again soon!

Dive Crew on board: Cruise Director Fin, Dive Masters Gede and Komang

 

[Dancer Fleet]

Komodo Dancer Captain’s Report July 16 – 26, 2013
Komodo National Park Itinerary

This trip was special from the outset as we had sixteen Mexican divers on board Komodo Dancer for the ten-day Komodo National Park itinerary. We left Labuan Bajo port at 13.00 and cruised west slowly to our check dive destination of Sebayor Kecil. We jumped in to check weights and equipment, but also had fantastic dive. Guests returned saying that they have never seen so many of these fish and coral ever before. The divers found scorpion leaf fish hunting on table corals, a tiger mantis shrimp looking us up and down from the sandy bottom, and a juvenile eagle ray gliding about in the blue. On the wall section bumphead parrotfish were seen along with millions of anthias, chromis, and damselfish. Salemat detang Komodo!
Sightings: Eagle ray, scorpion leaf fish, tiger mantis shrimp, bumphead parrotfish, spine-cheek anemone fish, many-spotted snapper.


Day 2: 17th July
Our first full day of diving was in Gili Banta starting with the site K2. Here were we experienced great underwater conditions, warm water, good visibility, and low currents. On the first dive we introduced our group to many new underwater animals that they had never seen before spotting Sulawesi banded pipefish, hairy squat lobsters, and commensal shrimps. The shear amount of different anemones and clownfish is amazing, let alone new nudibranchs and mini sea cucumbers for them to work out. The next two dives were at Good Day’s Slope and Star Wars where we searched for pygmy seahorses and found more crabs and shrimps hiding away. For the first night dive of our trip we jumped in at Circus and found stargazers, a white v octopus, many crabs and shellfish, flatheads and snake eels. This was a good day’s introduction to the aquatic life of Indonesia.
Sightings: Sulawesi pipefish, hairy squat lobster, peacock mantis shrimp, nudibranchs (nembrotha, wart slugs), mini sea cucumbers, commensal shrimps, pygmy seahorse, cuttlefish, schooling fish (banners, surgeons), scorpion leaf fish, stargazers, white v octopus, flatheads, snake eels.

Day 3: 18th July
Sumbawa Island and the northeast town of Bima was our destination for the third day. With good conditions in Bima Bay we introduced our Mexican divers to a bit of mucky critter diving by jumping in at Rocky Bottom and Fuzzy Bottom. All saw an array of new nudibranchs they had never seen before, and other creatures for the first time such as thorny seahorses, dragon sea moths, juvenile barramundis and banded pipefish. Then we came outside the bay for better visibility where our guests fell in love with the diving at Tanjung Sai. With the pretty soft and hard corals against the dark sand, along with all the fish life and critters, it made for a beautiful dive. So beautiful in fact that we opted for a night dive there too. On the day dive we saw large Spanish mackerel passing through while razor fish and long-nosed hawkfish were hiding in the black coral bushes. On the night dive a green turtle and freckled frogfish were the highlights, while at the end reef squid were photographed feeding on small fish.
Sightings: Estuarine stonefish, Sulawesi pipefish, nudibranchs (various chromodoris, various phylidia, various flabellina), raggy scorpion fish, flying gurnard, thorny seahorse, dragon sea moth, porcelain crabs, log-nosed hawkfish, juvenile many-spotted snapper, juvenile barramundi, juvenile emperor angelfish, Spanish mackerel, razor fish, tiger shrimp, white-banded cleaner shrimp, frogfish, green turtle, feeding reef squid, decorator crabs, squat crabs, squat lobsters.

Day 4: 19th July
Overnight the boat was delivered to Sangeang Island by Captain Bapak Kasim. The wind was blowing strong, but we had just enough cover on the east to dive Deep Purple and Hot Rock. These sites amazed the guests, as they had never seen this type of bright soft coral and never before dived on black sand. So many things were found by the guides, for example different colored ribbon eels, various nudibranchs (including a t-bar species), loads of soft coral crabs and zanzibar shrimps and pygmy seahorses. There were such a high abundance of different styles and colors of anemones that the area was renamed “Anemolandia’. After lunch we cruised past the lighthouse in the north on our way to Bonto Village. Once there we had a humbling walk around the residents’ unprivileged way of living and a night dive on the reef in their bay. The night dive produced some good finds, with ornate ghost pipefish, skeleton shrimp, various flabellina nudi’s, Spanish dancers, boxer crabs and decorator crabs.
Sightings: Ribbon eels, nudibranchs (Spanish dancers, various chromodoris, nembrotha, thuridilla, flabellina, facelinia, flatworms), ornate eagle ray, dogtooth tuna, porcelain crabs, blue-fin trevally, snapper (midnight, sweetlips, twin spot/red, blue-lined), ornate ghost pipe fish, skeleton shrimp, boxer crabs, decorator crabs (fire coral, sponge and soft coral decorations).

Day 5: 20th July
Back inside the Komodo National Park we stopped at Batu Monco for a day’s diving on the points and in the bay gaining shelter from the prevailing southerly winds. We drifted at Big Nose to bump into a couple of mantas, bumphead parrotfish, lots of reef fish on the wall and some amazingly bright white anemones. For the second dive we had a very tranquil drift within the bay on Coral Garden flying over amazing formations of pristine hard and soft corals. On Small Nose for the third dive of the day we had to seek shelter from the current pushed out into the Sape Strait spotting GTs, tiger mantis, nudibranchs and sleeping whitetip reef sharks. It was back to Coral Garden for the night dive, which the guests drifted over spotting morays starting their night activity and a feeding octopus.
Sightings: Manta rays, blacktip and whitetip reef sharks, bumphead parrotfish, peacock mantis shrimp, octopus, GTs, tiger mantis shrimp.

Day 6: 21st July
This time on the northeast corner of Komodo Island we dived around Gililawa Laut, with the first site being Castle Rock on slack tide. This gave the guests an opportunity to fly around in the blue with millions of fusiliers and schooling surgeonfish while they watched reef sharks glide past and below them. Also on the reef was a napoleon wrasse at a cleaning station and dogtooth tuna bolting through on the hunt. As a drift dive we jumped in at Lighthouse Reef for the second dive of the day watching schooling fish, sharks and we got lucky with a single manta passing by. An afternoon dive on Crystal Rock brought the current that Komodo is famous for with guests getting a bit of a workout to stay on the reef along with a small group of four bottlenose dolphins. On the sheltered eastside banner fish and fusiliers were schooling at the point of the counter current with GTs and whitetips playing around. On the safety stop a large hawksbill turtle was found munching away on some late lunch while crocodile needle fish hunted on the surface. Mini Wall was chosen for the night dive so the guests left with energy could go and wake up green turtles. Hairless orangutan crabs and a Spanish dancer were also spotted on the wall.
Sightings: Grey, blacktip and whitetip reef sharks, manta ray, bottlenose dolphins, giant frog fish, napoleon wrasse, dogtooth tuna, hawksbill turtles, horse-eye jacks, GTs, blue-fin trevally, marbled grouper, schooling fish (surgeon fish, humphead snapper, fusiliers, spadefish, banners), crocodile fish.

Day 7: 22nd July
The first dive today was a wake up dive for our guests dealing with current on the pinnacle of Batu Bolong. You could hook in on the columns of coral to watch GTs, whitetips and napoleon wrasse navigate the up, down and side currents, truly amazing! On the sheltered side of the main pinnacle it was an aquarium of reef fish, which was a nice relaxing end to the dive. Then it was off to visit the mantas at Makassar Reef. Our three dive groups all saw many mantas, sometimes up to six at a time. Most were being cleaned by black-lipped butterfly fish and others were playing in the light drift. Blacktips and turtles were also spotted on this one. A fast drift over the brilliant reef at Tatawa Besar was on the menu for the third. Once the drift slowed down our groups watched large cuttlefish, xeno crabs and nudibranchs do their stuff on the reef and there was also a little shark show from black and whitetip reef sharks. Captain Bapak Kasim then delivered the boat to the north of Rinca for a night dive at Wainilu. All sorts of critters were found with the highlights being a flying gurnard, demon walker scorpion fish and a pair of painted frogfish.
Sightings: Whitetip and blacktip reef sharks, manta rays, hawksbill turtles, marbled grouper, GTs, blue-fin trevally, schooling fish (sweetlips snapper, chub, sergeant majors, fusiliers), raggy scorpion fish, cuttlefish, nudibranchs (chromodoris, thuridilla, nembrotha), flying gurnard, demon walker, painted frogfish.


Day 8: 23rd July
For the eighth day of the trip we chose the north area of Komodo Island due to windy conditions on the south. Here we took advantage of some surprisingly slack tides in the morning to fully investigate the reefs of Shotgun and Crystal Rock. First of all we drifted through the channel passing whitetips, beautiful reef walls, schooling GTs and some guests got lucky with a passing manta. On the pinnacle for the second dive we swam out to the second and third seamounts to find ourselves surrounded with trevally in hunt formation, napoleons in the blue, and tons of tightly packed fish on the main pinnacle; the surgeon fish, humphead snapper and sweetlips snapper made for a thick wall to see through to spot your buddy! In the afternoon we opted for another drift, this time with a little more power, through The Passage. There were a few whitetips, turtles and lots of giant sweetlips snapper action, plus the guests had fun hanging on in the channels watching the show surround them. After a feeding manta visited the boat on the surface, it was time for a walk up to a panoramic viewpoint for guests to absorb the untouched scenery of “the land that time forgot”. For a night dive DM Gede took out a small group to show them Mexican dancers and their emperor shrimps at Spanish Step on the west side of Gililawa Darat.
Sightings: Manta ray, whitetip reef sharks, hawksbill turtles, giant and harlequin sweetlips snapper, GTs, dogtooth tuna, barramundi, schooling fish (black-spined surgeon fish, humphead snapper, fusiliers, trevally, sweetlips snapper), Mexican dancers, emperor shrimps.

Day 9: 24th July
By staying in the north we avoided the strong southeasterly winds and chose Castle Rock to revisit. This place is a magnet for sea life and even on slack tide the guests were absolutely engulfed by fish. Groupers were swaggering about the reef and napoleon wrasse cruised by while loads of fusiliers danced in the blue with GTs and dogtooth tuna. Looking under table corals many whitetips were found resting along with one large bamboo shark. The second dive was at Lighthouse Reef as our guests requested a coral garden. Here we rocked side-to-side with the surge above the pristine coral garden. Hard and soft corals combined with bright sandy pathways all mixed together with amazing reef fish; a photographer’s paradise! Then it was time for Shotgun again, with a little more current this time. This got everyone’s heartbeats up as we passed through the bottleneck whizzing past whitetips and a single large manta. Then for the night dive we repeated Spanish Step spotting Spanish dancers, emperor shrimp on sea cucumbers, an octopus and feather star squat lobsters.
Sightings: Whitetip reef sharks, manta ray, GTs, horse-eye jacks, tuna, barramundi, groupers, schooling fish (humphead, sweetlips snapper, fusiliers, banner fish, red-tooth trigger fish), halimeda ghost pipefish, Spanish dancers, emperor shrimp, octopus, feather star squat lobster.


Day 10: 25th July
For the final day we dived on Makassar Reef for a spectacular “goodbye” to Komodo’s underwater marine life. With rising tide just starting, it was perfect for mantas to be playing around the cleaning stations. Guests hung onto rocks and rubble and waited for the three-meter plus rays to fly over the top of them. A truly great last dive to the ten day trip. We then went off for a walk at Loh Buaya to photograph the largest lizards on the planet and then had a sunset cruise back into port.

Komodo Dancer’s crew and dive operations would like to thank Jorge for bringing this great group together for us to dive with. It has been nothing but a pleasure and we hope to see you again...soon, so we can visit the south!!

Dive crew on board: Cruise Director Fin, Dive Masters Gede and Komang

 

[Dancer Fleet]

Komodo Dancer Captain's Report 28th July - 4th August 2013 Dive Crew on board: Cruise Director: Fin Dive Master: Gede Dive Master: Komang Day 1: 28th July The itinerary for this trip was Komodo to Bali in seven days with a mixed group traveling from Canada, the U.S., Germany and Malaysia. During this week the plan was to dive Komodo National Park, East & North Sumbawa and Bali. Our first day started with a cruise west to our check dive destination, Sebayor Kecil. Guests checked their weighting and camera housings while spotting scorpion leaf fish, tiger mantis and anemones with commensal and squat shrimps. Seen: Scorpion leaf fish, tiger mantis shrimp, squat shrimp, feather star shrimp, nudibranchs & wart slugs, morays, blue spot ribbon tailed rays. Day 2: 29th July By 6.30am the captain had moved the boat to our first site, Shotgun in the Gililawa Laut region. With a falling tide we jumped in to drift through the changing topography of this amazing site. First guests investigated the glassfish pinnacles on the sandy plateau, with some very good photographic results, then watched the schooling snapper and trevallys in the crack, drifted over the fishbowl and blasted through Shotgun. Everyone came out exhilarated and ready for more. The second dive of the day was on Castle Rock in a changing current with all three groups being surrounded by various species of fish. The GTs were out hunting fusiliers with surgeon fish the whitetips cruising around in the chaos. After a calamari and beef lunch we jumped in at Crystal Rock to play around in the saddle between the main pinnacle and the smaller seamount. This pressed most of the schooling sweetlip and humphead snapper to the reef with a few napoleon wrasse chasing each other around. Bigger stuff such as the jacks and reef sharks came through occasionally and a “new to the area” pygmy seahorse was spotted on a sea fan. After a short break it was onto Gililawa Darat for a hike up to the panoramic view point and a stroll along the ridge. Guests were rewarded with an amazing sunset of orange and blue. With no time for rest it was then back on the tenders for the night dive on Spanish Step. Our divers shared the darkness with octopus, Spanish dancer nudibranchs, various shrimp and crustaceans. Some even came across minute reef squid and others a giant cuttlefish. Seen: Whitetip reef sharks, hawksbill turtles, GTs, napoleon wrasse, schooling fish (midnight snapper, bumphead parrot fish, banner fish, horse-eye jacks, blue-fin trevally), marble grouper, pygmy seahorse, ribbon eel, sea krait, Spanish dancers, emperor shrimp, octopus and various crustaceans. Day 3: 30th July For this day we planned three dives and the Rinca Dragon walk. Our first dive was in the middle of the Linta Strait at Batu Bolong diving with millions of anthias and damsels. There were also napoleon wrasse approaching divers from the blue and large hawksbills were feeding on the reef. The safety stop here is amazing; with the morning sun and thick schools of reef fish it has to be one of the highlights of this site. Then it was off to Makasar Reef for a drift dive, which most people on board described as “flighing lessons”. Unfortunately there were no mantas to be found but we bumped into whitetips, bamboo sharks and plenty of green turtles on the shallow soft coral garden. The activity for the afternoon was a trek on north Rinca at Dragon Bay to see the largest lizards in the world. We walked to the nest area and up to the view point over the mangroves with most of the lizards being found next to the ranger station. At one point in time a few dragons suddenly leapt up and all the photographers got a little scared, which was fun to watch…from a distance. For the third dive we did a sunset/night dive on Wainilu spotting mandarin and picturesque dragonets at the beginning and razor fish, flying gurnards and a painted frogfish during the darker latter stages. Seen: Napoleon wrasse, hawksbill & green turtles, mapper pufferfish, nudibranchs (nembrotha, leopard, taringa) pleurobranchs, whitetip reef sharks, bamboo sharks, painted frogfish, razor fish, mandarin fish, picturesque dragonets. Day 4: 31st July Back up in the north we had a morning dive on Castle Rock for the sharks, tuna and groupers. Turtles and napoleons were present again along with ribbon eels and scorpion leaf fish. Then it was back to Shotgun which was most of the guest’s favourite dive so far. This time the current was reduced so we had time to meander around the reef and visit all sections of the fishbowl and cracks with schooling fish inside. Large GTs were playing in the surface current while sweetlips and twinspot snapper were at the cleaning stations. As we moved further west along Komodo Island’s north shore we stopped off for a drift dive at Batu Monco. On the wall section many reef fish and a couple of eagle rays floated by and the reef provided crinoid shrimps, a variety of anemone fish and their hosts and a couple of turtles. Our camp for the night was the north bay of Gili Banta so we did a night dive at the Circus. Most guests managed to spot stargazers, snake eels, flathead crocodile fish and demon walkers. Seen: Whitetip reef sharks, bamboo shark, GTs, napoleon wrasse, eagle rays, hawksbill turtles, marble groupers, schooling fish (banner fish, fusiliers, twinspot & midnight snapper), dogtooth tuna, crocodile fish, zanzibarica shrimp, xeno crab, pygmy seahorses, stargazers, anemone crab, crinoid shrimp, demon walkers, snake eels, flatheads, lionfish. Day 5: 1st August We arrived at Sangeang Island and volcano at 6am and dived Deep Purple on the east coast at 7.30am. The deep topography here shows off completely encrusted walls with corals and plenty of fish life all with a black sand backdrop. The next two dives were on Hot Rock, the “underwater wonderland” of brightly coloured soft corals. Whip corals offered xeno crabs and zanzibarica shrimp from green to orange while the reef had fans with pygmy seahorses and leather corals with black cowries and eggs. In the blue schooling fish such as humphead and twinspot snapper were swirling in the slack while dogtooth tuna passed by. These two dives were rainbow coloured macro heaven all with the added entertainment of the sulphur vents from the still active volcano; some guests even heard her rumble underwater! Then it was off to Bonto Village Reef for a black sand night dive where guests photographed a multitude of different nudibranchs. Bobtail squid were about, a juvenile painted frogfish, an ornate ghost pipe fish was found hiding in hydroids and on the reef various crustaceans were present. This was one amazing night dive that even blew the minds of the DMs. Seen: Ribbon eels, pygmy seahorse, dogtooth tuna, nudibranchs (chromodoris, nembrotha, flabellina, armina, triton), mantis shrimp, soft coral crabs, common black cowries with eggs, xeno crabs, commensal shrimps, octopi, boxer crabs, Spanish dancer nudibranchs, ornate ghost pipefish, bobtail squid, mating sea hares. Day 6: 2nd August Overnight Ombak Biru traveled twelve hours to the small island of Satonda for a macro dive on Black Magic Rock. Even though the corals here cannot be compared with those in Komodo the small life on the reef is quite amazing. This reef proves to be feeding ground for yellow barred jawfish and a cradle for many juvenile species such angelfish. On the deeper rocks spiny lobsters were found in crevices and ribbon eels twisting and turning from their burrows. Spine cheek anemone fish were happy to pose for photographs (which was great because most are shy) and some guests got to spend some time with a juvenile pinnate spadefish complete with the orange border. Once again it was time to move on, this time for a slightly longer journey to Bali. Seen: Pygmy seahorses, ribbon eels, juvenile pinnate spadefish, crinoid shrimp, barrel sponge squat lobster, yellow banded jawfish, shrimp gobies, spine cheek anemone fish. Day 7: 3rd August After motoring for twenty two hours to the Lombok Strait we reached Padang Bai for our final two dives of the seven day trip. Mola mola were on the menu so we decided to dive at Gili Mimpang and then Gili Tapekong. Both of these sites attract a lot of life due to the mixture of cold and warm currents. On the first jump we hung out in the depths around cleaning stations waiting and waiting but nothing came out of the blue to be cleaned. On the second dive still no sunfish were seen but a huge array of marine life. Schooling oriental sweetlip and humphead snapper swirled on the corners, baby whitetips nestled under bombies and large dogtooth tuna bolted through sizing our divers up. Seen: Schooling fish (banner fish, sweetlip, humphead & midnight snapper, surgeon fish), whitetip reef sharks, dogtooth tuna, cuttlefish, nudibranchs, blotched stingray. Thank you very much to everyone on board this trip. We hope to see you again soon on a Deep South Komodo National Park trip.

---------- Post added September 23rd, 2013 at 03:41 PM ----------

Komodo Dancer Captain's Report Aug 18 − 24, 2013

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.

 

[Dancer Fleet]

Date: 27th August - 5th September 2013 Komodo National Park



Dive Crew on board:
Cruise Director: Fin Dive Master: Seno Dive Master: Komang
Dive Master: Jess



Day 1: 27th August
Fourteen guests from Malaysia, Switzerland and the States were welcomed on board the Komodo Dancer for this 10 day trip around the beautiful Komodo National Park. After enjoying a leisurely lunch with harbor views we set off north west where we started our dive adventure with a check dive on the stunning reef slope of Sebalon Kecil. Heading out to the sea mount a lone Eagle ray could be spotted and during the dive an array of batfish, spadefish and several raggy scorpion fish were seen. Back on the reef a multitude of shrimp such as mushroom coral, commensal and boxer shrimps could be seen hiding in the anemones or in other nooks and crannies. Selamat detang Komodo!



Day 2: 28 August
For our first full days diving we decided to head into Current City where we found excellent conditions to dive the south east side of Batu Bolong. We were greeted with fantastic viz which enabled us to enjoy the huge variety that this dive site has to offer: napoleons, white tips, GT’s, hawksbill turtles and different types of trevallys, scorpionfish and sweetlips as well as beautiful nudis could be seen. For the next dive we headed over to Tatawa Besar where we were in for a speedy drift dive. All sorts of schooling fish were out and about and our divers could enjoy sweetlips, spadefish, fusiliers en masse. Along came several turtles and some white and blacktip reef sharks were also mingling in the current. Many guests could enjoy an octopus out for a walk and everyone agreed that this definitely is one of the most colourful reefs in the national park. Dive 3 was done at Makassar Reef where we went out looking for Mantas and even though they couldn’t be seen on this occasion everyone truly enjoyed the experience of flying over this moon landscape! Many guests spotted reef sharks and even bamboo sharks could be found hiding under coral bommies. All usual suspects like the unicorn fish and titan triggerfish were also around. The night dive was the highlight for many: Wainilu – where one can see all sorts of weird and wonderful creatures: demon walkers, painted stingfish, pleurobranchs, nudis, snake eels out hunting and a starry night octopus kept us company.



Day 3: 29 August
The third day will be without a doubt one of the most memorable diving days for our guests as we saw everything that Komodo has to offer: Mola mola along with many Mantas, reef sharks, hawksbill turtles, a school of humphead parrotfish and several marbled and potato groupers were seen by all on our first two dives of the day at Manta Alley. What an experience! To top it off we were also treated to an array of colourful nudis (nembrothas and chromodoris), blue spotted stingrays, flounders, zanzibarica shrimps and plenty of schooling fish such as sardines, sweetlips and midnight snappers were all around us. On the way to our third dive site in Nusa Kode a humpback whale was spotted breaching right next to the boat. Dive number three was done at the stunning dive site that is Cannibal Rock. Here we were greeted by a multitude of critters and nudis (dragon, nembrothas and chromodoris) as well as a huge painted frogfish swaying in the surge. Zebra Urchin crabs and red sea apples and a huge number of yellow mini sea cucumbers were to be found all over the reef. Another highlight on this day was our night dive at Torpedo Alley. From Orang Utan crabs to bubble coral shrimps, ladybugs, snake eels, decorator crabs, a torpedo ray and: an ornate ghostpipe fish! What a day’s diving this has been… Komodo at its best!


Day 4: 30th August
For day four we stayed in the Deep South where we started the day with a repeat dive at Cannibal Rock and we weren’t disappointed. With slightly better viz we could really enjoy the huge amounts of schooling fish while the current allowed us to also focus on the macro such as Coleman Shrimps, Zebra Urchin Crabs and many different types of nudis (nembrothas, chromodoris, roboastra tigris, dragons and discodoris). Then our journey took us to Padar where we dived the Secret Garden where we looked for Macro and found creatures such as squat shrimps, Ribbon eels and ornate Ghostpipe Fish along with lots of raggy and devil scorpionfish. Also present was a lone Manta ray and a few Mantis shrimps could be spotted dotting across the reef. Back on the boat we decided that we have not had enough exercise so we went on a leisurely hike to Pink Beach where we enjoyed a stunning sunset. Our night dive was also done in Padar at White Sand and there we were in for a surprise finding the solar power nudibranch. A school of Razorfish floated along the reef and other nudis and Pleurobranchs were out in numbers.


Day 5: 31st August
After a couple of great days diving we decided to say goodbye to the colder green waters of the South and head north to the warm blue waters of Gili Lawa Laut. Starting off with Castle Rock we found all the usual suspects such as the Whitetips, GT’s, Napoleons, Hawksbill Turtles and several Dogtooth Tuna present. The current allowed us to really explore the entire area and on the seamount slopes we found huge schools of Bluefin Trevallies, Sweetlips, Black Spine Surgeonfish, Bannerfish and even some Bonitos made an appearance. We followed this with a dive on Lighthouse Reef where we encountered a medium current that brought out some Whitetip Reef Sharks, schools of Spadefish and we had quite fun hooking ourselves into the current to take photos of our resident Giant Frogfish. Next up was a drift dive through the Golden Passage where we came across some Barracudas and several large Whitetip Reef Sharks hunting in the current. Hiding in the shelter of the reefs we found Spadefish and schools of yellow Snappers. Scheduled for the night dive was Spanish Steps where we were lucky enough to spot not one but three large Spanish Dancers with one of them performing its famous dance for us. On some of the Dancers Emperor Shrimps could be found hiding in the skirts. Several Snake eels were out and about as well as a large Conga Eel searching for that night’s dinner.



Day 6: 1st September
Day six started off with Crystal Rock where most of our divers were lucky enough to see a Dolphin pass by! During the dive we had perfect conditions to head out to the seamounts in the west where we could observe Whitetip Reef Sharks and GT’s lazily cruising around looking for some suitable breakfast. In the valley many Bluefin Trevallies and marbled Groupers were mingling with schools of Oriental and Harlequin Sweetlips and a couple of Napoleons also put in an appearance. In the shallows we came across several raggy Scorpionfish and Hawksbill Turtles and for those of us that spent some time on the plateau in the east we found Crocodile Fish and a very playful Octopus.


Shotgun was up next. Here we decided to split our guests into two groups: those who wanted to do an action dive through the Shotgun and those who preferred a more relaxed photo dive in the beautiful Coral Garden in the South Bay. Both dives were thoroughly enjoyed by all guests and those who braved the Shotgun could see huge amounts of GT’s, Jacks and black-spined Surgeonfish in the Canyon and several Whitetips cruising in the Cauldron. In the calmer waters of both sides of the Shotgun Leaf Scorpionfish, Hairy Squat Lobster and Bumphead Parrotfish could be seen. In the afternoon we moved east to Sebayur Kecil where we looked forward to a tranquil dive in the bay watching a Cuttlefish guarding her eggs, Leaf Scorpionfish gently swaying on coral blocks and lots of schooling fish surrounding us. Bida Dari was our last destination for the day where we waited until dark to descend into the “amorous” water to be able to listen to the mating calls of groupers and watch Platydoris mate. Stonefish and Devil Scorpionfish were also present but were enjoying the night in solitude…



Day 7: 2nd September
After a long journey west, we arrived in Gili Banta in the early hours of the morning and headed straight for Westpoint for our first dive saying hello to a Bamboo Shark still asleep under a coral block. More active at this time of the day proved to be a very cheeky and playful Mantis Shrimp, Ribbon Eels, Banded Sea Kraits and a Spiny Lobster was also poking his antennas out from under a rock. Also out for a walk was a beautiful Chromodrois annae and a blue Dragon Nudi. Being awake now we decided to go on a dive at Rollercoaster which turned out to be a very tame ride. Conditions were exceptional with a gentle current taking us all the way round the site from the east to the west side of the point where along the way we passed some Eagle Rays and Dogtooth Tuna. The incredible viz allowed us to completely enjoy this truly stunning wall dive. For the rest of the day we stayed in the bay area where we did a relaxing dive at K2 looking for small creatures such as Squat, Peacock-tail and Commensal Shrimps as well as Leaf and raggy Scorpionfishes. The night dive at Circus was a full success coming across several Stargazers and Lionfish having little Silversides for dinner. In fact, the water was so filled with them that our divers had to fend them off trying to get into hoods and every possible orifice. Many Flounders were out and about as were all sorts of Eels such as Zebra Morays and Snake Eels. Fire Worms were making their way across the sand and some of us were lucky spotting Bobtail Squid. All agreed that it was a fantastic day and night spent in Gili Banta!



Day 8: 3rd September
Having left Banta during the night we headed east again to do a dive on the northern tip of Komodo Island at Big Nose. A gentle current took us past the stunning wall where we spotted Whitetips towards the slope with the sea fans carrying Pygmy Seahorses. Here we found pink and purple fans with altogether seven pygmies while several Banded Sea Kraits slithered past us and thousands of little anthias and chromis filled the crystal clear water with colour. At Castle Rock we got a bit more action with many Reef Sharks, GT’s, marbled Groupers and Napoleons all out on the hunt. Big schools of Bluefins and Horse-eyed Jacks were seen everywhere and mixed yellow Snappers and Sweetlips making the reef feel alive. On the safety stop we passed the minutes watching a Leaf Scorpionfish and keeping an eye out for the many raggy Scorpionfish on the main rock. Then it was a case of Shotgun “reloaded” hunting for rare nudibranchs, hairy sponge crabs and good photo opportunities on the glassfish bommies. In the fishbowl chub, midnight snapper and GTs were present and a few turtles greeted us on the coral garden in the latter stages. The night dive was held at Mini Wall in Gili Lawa Darat and those who went came back with some fantastic pictures of Decorator, Spider, Hermit and Orang Utan Crabs as well as Octopus, Cuttlefish and some sleepy looking Hawksbill Turtles



Day 9: 4th September
Today was our last full day of diving so we decided to start the day with a bang and return to Crystal Rock where one is guaranteed an exceptional dive pretty much all the time. One of the most stunning reefs in the Komodo area it offers everything from the many schools of Bat- or Spadefish and Sweetlips via Napoleon, Crocodile and raggy Scorpionfishes to Octopus playing on the reef shelf. On we went over to Tatawa Kecil which with its dramatic drops, overhangs and swim-through provides perfect topography for many Scorpion and Lionfish hiding and in the current we saw Bumphead Parrotfish and schools of Horse-eyed Jacks and Midnight Snapper mingling around. At Honeymoon Rock we concentrated on Macro finding many Coriocellas and a couple of beautiful Chromodoris. A very curious Mantis Shrimp peeked out of his hole posing for the cameras. On the east wall we flew past the ridges as the current picked up for a few minutes and GT’s and Bluefin Trevallies could be seen. The highlight of the day was the night dive at Wainilu though and since this was going to be our last night dive of this trip we were thrilled that we saw a huge variety of creatures such as Demonwalker, , Stingfish, Carinate and Golden Mantis Shrimps, Skeleton and Decorator Crabs, a Dorid Nudibranch and Bobtail Squid. What a fantastic finale.



Day 10: 5th September
For our last two dives of this trip we headed back into Current City where we dived two of the signature sites of Komodo National Park: Tatawa Besar and Batu Bolong. Starting with a drift dive in Tatawa early in the morning we spotted many schools of Sweetlips and Spadefish. Turtles and Cuttlefish were also up having their breakfast while raggy Scorpionfish were lazily swaying in the current. Those who looked for Macro found Xeno Crabs and Nembrotha Nudibranchs and swimming past being very interested in our guide was a Banded Sea Krait. After a hearty breakfast we went on to Batu Bolong where we found a Napoleon passing by and GT’s playing in the currents. Dragon and Nembrotha Nudibranchs were seen by some keen eyes and as usual the dive site proved a huge success as the final dive of this trip by being the aquarium it is.

This has been an amazing trip with so many unforgettable dives to be had and will surely be remembered for a long time to come. We wish all our guests many more fantastic diving.