kimmymore:
Thanks Silent Running for yoru tips. Appreciate it.
Just a question - which were some of the more divable sites up north? I am still doing my research...wouldn't hurt to suggest good sites to the op of Ari Jaya. What and how strong were the currants?
Any website for the Ikan Biru?
Thanks a mil
Kim
Hi Kim, you're welcome. The sites I mentioned above are all at the Northern end of the park, I think Banta might even be outside, North West of it. Satonda was also great, lots of good critters-saw Inimicus there-it's definitely outside of the park. But it should be easy to figure out where the good sites are, as you just keep going South until you hit the green water with bad visibility and then work your way back up. I'm sure your Capt. will know this stuff.
As for currents, every site we dove had ripping currents on at least one side of the site and thats usually where all the fish are. I would recomend you bring a good pair of gloves, so you don't use up all your air trying to fight the current. Watch out for the currents on Banta Wall, very fast and they can suddenly change direction as you go along the wall, but the fish life and soft coral are worth it. The only site we dived that had little current was Pink Beach, near the Komodo Dragon preserve. We dived it as both a night dive and an early morning dive. It was great both ways, lots of Bumpheads and Trevally passing by on their way out to feed in the early morning.
Ikan Biru info is on the Blue Marlin Dive site, I think it's diveindo.com. There's schedules, pictures of the boat and cabins etc...
One other thing, first time I went to Komodo our return flight from Labuan Bajo to Bali was cancelled due to mechanical problems and we got stuck there an extra day. I'm told this is not uncommon. GT Air are notorious for this as they use the same plane to fly multiple routes and don't have enough planes to substitue if one breaks. You might want to pad your schedule with a day on either side if you're depending on GT Air.
But don't worry too much, I'm sure it will be a great trip no matter what. -Andy
