Komodo Trip Report

[dirtfarmer]

[QUOTE="Clernix, post: 7812395, member: 139919]

Just curious how much are you paying?

Do you have any concerns?

What I am about to say is probably going to really get me flamed but I went to Tulamben and dove the Liberty and was not impressed.

That being said again Indonesia blew my mind. Komodo and Raja were the best I have dove in my thirty years of diving. Crap I just dated myself.[/QUOTE]

The LOB is about $170 day of diving, they say 3 dives day but I'm hoping for a night dive on a few days.
SJ is about $145 day 3 dives a day, and I get a discount for returning customer and my own gear.

My LOB concerns are many, bedbugs, crappy food, crappy guides, boat full of newbies, rain on me sleeping on deck, storage of my gear, not going south ( due to a lame excuse) I have many concerns but it's a short trip so I can grin and bear it for another trip to south komodo which holds my favorite sites.

I wont flame you for not being impressed with the Liberty. I dive Tulamben for Muck/Macro and it's really good there. Others might flame you, or if it was Lembeh you were dissing many would flame you.

Indonesia rocks and it doesn't matter how old you are! Last year in Raja I was diving with a woman in her mid 70's and she's my new hero.

 

[billt4sf]

I have to agree with you. I love diving Tulamben for the macro life except the liberty wreck. I go to tulamben once a year and have always avoided diving the wreck after doing it once. Too crowded and way overrated. Didn't think there was anything to see.

FWIW I am i Amed now and we did two days (four dives) on the Liberty and would be happy to go back for more. Keep in mind we are now not in the High season. The trick is to go EARLY. We entered the water at 6 - sunrise. Once you get out of bed, it's a great way to spend the day. Both days, there were maybe 20 divers on the beach when we left at 9:30am. I have seen it with hundreds at mid-day in high season, and you're right - that is WAAAAAAY too many.
- Bill

 

[Zog]

Just got back from doing a Komodo liveaboard myself (Ambai). It was fantastic! And yes, they did night dives much later than most other places I've traveled to. Great for diving, but didn't leave us enough time to have beers at night. Ha! Next time, Raja.

 

[Luko]

I love diving Tulamben for the macro life except the liberty wreck. I go to tulamben once a year and have always avoided diving the wreck after doing it once. Too crowded and way overrated. Didn't think there was anything to see.

We may agree that too many divers is a crowd however, having dived Tulamben regularly for the past 6 years I managed not to be diving a jacuzzi, and most of all I don't understand what your last sentence mean? "anything to see" ? Maybe I need to add up a 1000 more dives to get so jaded.

As for what to see : I guess there's a wreck, corals and gorgonian all around, a dozen of bumpheads in the morning, schools of sweepers living in the deeper eastern part of the bow, a couple of dragon shrimps on some of the black corals, sometimes Denise, sometimes Bargibanti pygmy seahorses living in the gorgonians, Phyllodesmium Rudmani, Lizardensis and Poindimiei crawling on the deep black sand bottom, but yeah... apart from these you maybe right to think there's "anything to see;".

Any ophtalmologist scheduled, btw?

 

[dirtfarmer]

Any ophtalmologist scheduled, btw?

On my way to Tulamben right now! I have my prescription mask so I should be able to see something of interest. And I'll definitely let the board know.

 

[clownfishsydney]

The Liberty wreck is just a small part of the diving at Tulamben. You should only dive it at 6 in the morning and 3 or 4 in the afternoon, that way you avoid the day-trippers from Denpasar/Kuta. Last trip we spent almost 3 weeks there, never got bored once, even doing 3 dives a day.

 

[Dan]

What I am about to say is probably going to really get me flamed but I went to Tulamben and dove the Liberty and was not impressed. Keep in mind I had just dove Komodo and Raja but I did two dives on the Liberty and packed my bags up and went back to Kuta and finished my trip on the beach. I had toured Bali a bit including Ubud, Sorong. Tulamben and Kuta. Kuta was a mess just like everyone says but it was interesting.

That being said again Indonesia blew my mind. Komodo and Raja were the best I have dove in my thirty years of diving. Crap I just dated myself.

Where is my matches when I need it? Just kidding

You should try to dive in wee hour (5am), before all the tourist divers mucking up the water & when the brown-marbled grouper & bumpedhead parrotfish just weaking up & looking for breakfast. I even saw Raja Ampat Denise Pygmy there & the only place that I saw 5 ghost pipefish.

 

[Dan]

Manta Alley is as far south as it gets! But I'm wondering about Horseshoe Bay? It includes Cannibal Rock and Yellow Wall etc. I ask because I'm going on an even more budget LOB in Nov which is a southern trip, but the boat you were on looks a bit nicer. And the boat I'm on only has one bed in the cabin so to avoid paying for a whole cabin I'm sleeping on deck. (Really hoping for a not full boat so I can have a cabin). Then I'm heading to Scuba Junkies for another 8 days! And before Komodo I'm diving Tulamben for a week! I can hardly contain myself.

Raja Amat I love too! It's just that Komodo is much more affordable.

When you are in Horseshoe Bay, check out the south Rinca beach side for Komodos playing & swimming on the beach.

 

[highdesert]

When you are in Horseshoe Bay, check out the south Rinca beach side for Komodos playing & swimming on the beach.

Just curious what dragons 'playing' looks like ...

 

[Dan]

Chasing one after another, one riding on top of another. I took a cool video of them. When we went to the beach, they came out of the bushes expecting handouts. The DM used a stick to keep them away from us.