Luko
Contributor
Trip report of 4 days stay in Labuan Bajo and dives on Komodo NP., beginning of august 2010.
Coming from France, my SEA holidays typically starts with an overnight in Changi Village, nearest stop to Singapore airport, munching on those excellent crunchy fried baby squids and butter prawns, then the not less usual insomnia around 3AM rears its ugly face before taking an early morning AirAsia.com flight to, this time, Bali and continuing to Labuan Bajo with NAC Nusantara Air Charter.
From the landing experience with NAC, we either missed to crash on the starboard wing ...or the landing strip at Labuan Bajo airport is severely tilted. :shocked2:
Labuan Bajo itself is a lovely harbor, bordered with a strip of dusty stores sitting at the foot of steep hills and blessed with magnificent sunsets.
We had booked a stay on Bidadari island located twenty minutes out of the Labuan Bajo, operated by Reefseekers who met us at the airport for the transfer on the island.
I wont write much on Reefseekers operation, as I have already published my rants in a former post you may be interested to read. (Look for "Who's been on Angel Isle?" thread in this forum)
I have to say Bidadari is a near to idyllic island, boasting an eyeblowing public beach, anyone can access from Labuan Bajo, providing you hire a fishing boat in LBJ.
Reefseekers have built 6 luxurious bungalows on the island, guest can stay for 150USD per night, breakfast included. The bungalows also include a restaurant which is more remarkable for the length of the menu than the taste of food. The dive packages cost about 80USD per two tank day trips, the local fisherman style dive boat lands on the beach to pick up the island guests, it then slowly motors for a two hours ride to the Komodo dive sites. There was no shore diving around the island organized at the time I was, hence do not expect more than 2 dives a day.
First day diving was around Rinca island, closer than Komodo island, and after the dives a stop on the island and the occasion to trek Rinca spotting for dragons for a 20USD supplement.
The first dive was on Penga which was amazing of colored gorgonians below breaking waves in the shallows. I remember having said on the surface they could leave me in the shallows for an hour with my camera and my fisheye lens.
Second dive was supposed to be a muck dive in Wainilu, disappointedly, we only found a clown frogfish, some scorpionfish and a bunch a catfish digging below a bommie. Thats where more experienced guides would have been a real boon.
From 3 PM for one hour we took a visit to the rangers station at Loh Buaya on Rinca island, home of komodo dragons, actually easier to spot on Rinca than in Komodo.
Actually we met more dragons lumped around the rangers houses than while we were trekking Rinca mountainous and dry grounds. Interesting experience though less fearsome than what the TV documentaries always try to show : one of my personal myths was crumbling down.
On day 2 we discovered that fabulous site called Batu Bolong while our boat was drifting away, engine broken down. I wont write the full story once more.
Batu Bolong is a steep slope protected by a small rock, on both sides of the rock, ripping currents are raging, going any directions you can imagine : the usual plan is moving forward until you see the fish swimming heads up, you know its time to get back and swim to the other side, if you dont want to end down 20 meters below your position, far away from the reef protection. When to get close to the current borders this is where the big fish is, giant trevallies hunting for instance.
Batu Bolong slope is home to outstanding corals, and on the fish side : whitetips, turtles, napoleon wrasses, jack schools, plus all sorts of coral fish you may know, but what impressed me most was the density of small fish hovering around each patch of coral. :cool2:
On day 3, I was impressed with the flashy orange soft corals on Tatawa Besar. As the current was continuously sweeping us, we had to drift along the slope, that was again a frustrating experience for photography, it was hard to stand still and impossible to shoot twice the same scene. :amazed:
The afternoon dive was back on Batu Bolong, and for myself a way to focus on the marvellous dapple light on the shallows. I particularly like the shallows on the afternoon when its lit from behind the scenes. For a photographer, I found it very difficult to shoot since corals are home for a cloud of basslets and other reef fish, hence you have to back and thread a frame through that moving biomass. :crazyeye:
Conclusion :
I would claim that from what I have seen in only 5 dives, Komodo hosts the best coral diversity I have ever seen anywhere else.
We missed the famous manta ray cleaning station dives since our boat had engine problems, this is where the big fish factor was missing for me.
Also the macro dive didnt come out as good as I thought it would be, but then again its a matter of guide experience. I have no doubt Komodo is also a critter heaven.
Personally I can't wait next time I will be going back Komodo NP waters. :banana:
(more images -> see gallery linked to my signature)
Coming from France, my SEA holidays typically starts with an overnight in Changi Village, nearest stop to Singapore airport, munching on those excellent crunchy fried baby squids and butter prawns, then the not less usual insomnia around 3AM rears its ugly face before taking an early morning AirAsia.com flight to, this time, Bali and continuing to Labuan Bajo with NAC Nusantara Air Charter.
From the landing experience with NAC, we either missed to crash on the starboard wing ...or the landing strip at Labuan Bajo airport is severely tilted. :shocked2:
Labuan Bajo itself is a lovely harbor, bordered with a strip of dusty stores sitting at the foot of steep hills and blessed with magnificent sunsets.
We had booked a stay on Bidadari island located twenty minutes out of the Labuan Bajo, operated by Reefseekers who met us at the airport for the transfer on the island.
I wont write much on Reefseekers operation, as I have already published my rants in a former post you may be interested to read. (Look for "Who's been on Angel Isle?" thread in this forum)
I have to say Bidadari is a near to idyllic island, boasting an eyeblowing public beach, anyone can access from Labuan Bajo, providing you hire a fishing boat in LBJ.
Reefseekers have built 6 luxurious bungalows on the island, guest can stay for 150USD per night, breakfast included. The bungalows also include a restaurant which is more remarkable for the length of the menu than the taste of food. The dive packages cost about 80USD per two tank day trips, the local fisherman style dive boat lands on the beach to pick up the island guests, it then slowly motors for a two hours ride to the Komodo dive sites. There was no shore diving around the island organized at the time I was, hence do not expect more than 2 dives a day.
First day diving was around Rinca island, closer than Komodo island, and after the dives a stop on the island and the occasion to trek Rinca spotting for dragons for a 20USD supplement.
The first dive was on Penga which was amazing of colored gorgonians below breaking waves in the shallows. I remember having said on the surface they could leave me in the shallows for an hour with my camera and my fisheye lens.
Second dive was supposed to be a muck dive in Wainilu, disappointedly, we only found a clown frogfish, some scorpionfish and a bunch a catfish digging below a bommie. Thats where more experienced guides would have been a real boon.
From 3 PM for one hour we took a visit to the rangers station at Loh Buaya on Rinca island, home of komodo dragons, actually easier to spot on Rinca than in Komodo.
Actually we met more dragons lumped around the rangers houses than while we were trekking Rinca mountainous and dry grounds. Interesting experience though less fearsome than what the TV documentaries always try to show : one of my personal myths was crumbling down.
On day 2 we discovered that fabulous site called Batu Bolong while our boat was drifting away, engine broken down. I wont write the full story once more.
Batu Bolong is a steep slope protected by a small rock, on both sides of the rock, ripping currents are raging, going any directions you can imagine : the usual plan is moving forward until you see the fish swimming heads up, you know its time to get back and swim to the other side, if you dont want to end down 20 meters below your position, far away from the reef protection. When to get close to the current borders this is where the big fish is, giant trevallies hunting for instance.
Batu Bolong slope is home to outstanding corals, and on the fish side : whitetips, turtles, napoleon wrasses, jack schools, plus all sorts of coral fish you may know, but what impressed me most was the density of small fish hovering around each patch of coral. :cool2:
On day 3, I was impressed with the flashy orange soft corals on Tatawa Besar. As the current was continuously sweeping us, we had to drift along the slope, that was again a frustrating experience for photography, it was hard to stand still and impossible to shoot twice the same scene. :amazed:
The afternoon dive was back on Batu Bolong, and for myself a way to focus on the marvellous dapple light on the shallows. I particularly like the shallows on the afternoon when its lit from behind the scenes. For a photographer, I found it very difficult to shoot since corals are home for a cloud of basslets and other reef fish, hence you have to back and thread a frame through that moving biomass. :crazyeye:
Conclusion :
I would claim that from what I have seen in only 5 dives, Komodo hosts the best coral diversity I have ever seen anywhere else.
We missed the famous manta ray cleaning station dives since our boat had engine problems, this is where the big fish factor was missing for me.
Also the macro dive didnt come out as good as I thought it would be, but then again its a matter of guide experience. I have no doubt Komodo is also a critter heaven.
Personally I can't wait next time I will be going back Komodo NP waters. :banana:
(more images -> see gallery linked to my signature)
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