Trip Report: Komodo on Nusa Tara

[fuggler]

From Nov 17-24, we were on Grand Komodo's Nusa Tara. It has three cabins and we got the only one that has side-by-side twin beds (instead of bunk). (I recommend requesting that when you book.) It felt like we had more space. There were 8 Indonesian crew members, including our amazing dive guide, Putu, who is only 23 years old! The schedule was easy to follow: I was awake by 6 (preparing my camera gear and having tea+biscuits), the 1st dive was at 7, followed by breakfast, 2nd dive was at 11, followed by lunch, then a naptime break before the 3rd dive at 3, followed by a snack, a night dive at 7, then dinner.

Our group's main complaints were the redundancy of some food items and the lack of hot shower and/or pressure in all the cabins. The boat also ran out of fresh water halfway through the trip and had to fetch some more from their sister boat. All the crew members were nice and helpful though, and that definitely made up for those minor shortcomings. Overall, I recommend the Nusa Tara for budget-minded divers.

As for the diving... WOW WOW WOW. I had two "double rainbow" moments on that trip. The first was when we saw mantas at Taka Makassar and the second was at my favorite site, Crystal Rock. Imagine a huge wave of fusiliers circling around you and some brightly colored reefs. Truly unforgettable. Water temp was never below 82 degrees but the viz was pretty bad at some sites. My favorite sites were Crystal Rock, Cannibal Rock, Three Sisters, and Yellow Wall. We did Current City at the worst possible time (high tide AND full moon, bloody hell!), but the scariest current dive we did was at Shotgun (hence the name). Our guide said it was 12 knots, which was kind of traumatizing for us because we're from Northern California and don't deal with currents! Komodo is definitely not for the inexperienced diver. We enjoyed some sites during slack tide but like our guide said, "no current means no adventure".


Here are some pictures from our trip:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/underwater-photography/361860-pics-my-komodo-liveaboard-trip.html

 

[chlorpheniramine]

Thanks for the trip report! My wife and I are considering a trip on this boat next year. How many guides were there for 6 divers?

 

[mofongo_max]

Only 1 guide for 5 of us. he was a good spotter but based on the sites we did, I concluded that komodo is better for wide angle. Maybe if we had two guides, I'd feel differently because we would have seen more of the small critters?

 

[Big fish63]

something must have changed with grand komodo. usually you have two guides to four divers- gusti who has been diving komodo for 12 years and wilson who has been living on the boat for 5 (i think). maybe they are getting a well deserved break. when booking maybe check they will be on the boat.
other than that a amazing service for a very good price. we also stopped half way through for some fresh water. no other issues though. showers where fine etc

 

[dugan]

I was planning to book for May (8D 7N) on this ship but as fun divers with a bit less courage, I am rethinking that the currents may be a bit much for us...sounds amazing otherwise!!

 

[jcclink]

Dive sites usually have a semi-slack tide during the day, but its sometimes hard to predict. The captain must be very familiar with the area, which most are. Request they schedule dives at a reasonable current. Granted some current is required for schooling fish, but it doesn't have to be rediculously strong.
Nusa Tara is somewhat of a slow boat. I seriously doubt that you were diving in more than a few knot current. At 12 knots the boat couldn't get to the site (depending on direction) or stay over the drop point long enought to even put one diver in the water. Based on my experience diving the area, I'd go with more like 3-4 knots maybe. But stuff happens. Makes for very interesting dive thou. Reef hook, inflatable sausage & a sonic alert device are manditory for diving Komodo.

 

[dugan]

Thanks .... I appreciate your advice as new to this board...gives me some added courage for what seems like a very nice dive trip during a touring holiday in Bali.