Gregg A. Hollomon to photograph in the intoxicating, this high-current dives of Komodo National Park the large and small pleasures partakes region has to offer.
the Komodo Archipelago is truly an adventure holiday, but most importantly the people are very nice, and the diving is straight out of a Jules Verne episode. My wife and I decided to make a last minute trip to Komodo National Park, before our final departure from Indonesia as a permanent resident. In the planning phase, I soon found that last minute booking of a dive boat is an adventure in itself. My advice is to start at least six months out how Komodo is almost as popular with international audiences as Raja Ampat (especially in the high season from September to November).
Fortunately, a newly built airport in Labuan Bajo Flores now serves daily flights that will drastically shorten the journey from Bali or other Indonesian locations. The town is a small harbor that is loaded with dive operators, light industry, homestays and restaurants. Once you land, it is very easy to get around with the available transportation. Many of the two-star and up hotels offer free shuttle into town.
During our week of diving, I really didn 't have a chance to reflect on all the beauty, diversity and joy the northern have to offer Komodo waters. Most of the diving days were followed by a night dive, even though we were exhausted from the day hours. It was really a situation where you felt not easy to want to miss anything on the encounter exciting just around the corner. Throughout the week we were 16 dives, of which all the variables were pelagics in the topography, currents, special creatures and great feeding. The best dive sites (personal opinion) are Castle Rock, Crystal Rock, Manta Point, and Batu Bulong (hole in the rock).
Checkdive
Our first dive was a slope and flat wall from Sebayur Kecil Island. In 2013, a rogue wave beach and six meter high waves hit the upper reef of mainly large table corals destroyed. Below the five-meter mark, rich life. It was very exciting, a large squid eggs, while two men to see Localization (or females?) Saving it out for supremacy. Furthermore, we found unicorn fish to fill while the upper Bommies sardines hunting, thousands of spectacular glass fish needs water. Masked Rabbit mill at all during this show.
After an absolutely amazing sunset we passed at this same location back down for a night dive. We descend a sandy slope in search of gannets then eastwards fly to another beautiful pristine wall. Purple glowing bioluminescence was everywhere. Jimmy, our guide of Flores, is a particularly good night Spotter. Tucked into a column of the wall was a large solar powered nudibranch of more than 20 cm. As if that was not enough, a companion shrimp was on their backs lurking parasites purification from. Only three feet high is a sleeping green turtle. When my wife States, was this dive of a thousand eyes of cleaner shrimp, banded boxer shrimp, shrimp glass decorator crabs, flatworms and spawning soft corals.
Favorite Dive Site [1945009aus]
My favorite dive of the week was Crystal Rock, north of Gili Lawa Laut. The top of this rock sits on shaft basis and sometimes can be difficult to recognize. The base of the monolith falls to about 35 meters, but most fish effect at less than 27 meters. This site is known for large currents and must be immersed in the slack tide, which only means that you swept up to the depth of the previous can get off-site. Jump in the water and get down quickly. The water temperatures range from 28 degrees Celsius near the surface up to 19 degrees from deep water upwelling.
A fantastic fish bowl Menagerie, the site giant cod and sweetlips offers at the stations while huge swarms of yellow-striped sweetlips cleaning and surgeonfish allows you to incorporate into their ranks.
Around all this action are scattered orbiting mackerel, mackerel and whitetip sharks.
Manta encounter of the third kind
at Manta Point (Karang Makassar), we are bound in a very turbulent water, and began to 17 meters along the bottom to driften- rip. Five minutes later we come across a giant manta rays that Jimmy later said a pregnant woman was. She was in a small cleaning station and floating in the current is only about 60 cm on a small set of rocky coral.
I came in upstream and locked my reef hook on a rock to start the photography session. Before I knew it, she had advanced in my direction further and settled about 30 cm to the right of me. I've never heard of a person, of a manta but crushed the thought occurred to me played a match. After a few moments she pulled away to the side after my sigh of relief. Below we encountered in power five more Mantas with a completely black, like Darth Vader known.
The scariest dive of the trip happened a simple dive at Seiba Kecil his island. Jimmy checks the local conditions, but is not sure which direction the current take us so he jumps into the water to look at the fish orientation. After he is satisfied, we fall on 18 meters down and go with the current. Almost immediately we are met with a very strong current down. All this happened so fast none of us had a chance to get off the reef hook and were basically adheres to small ground debris that hopefully would not move.
The four of us were first through a series of separate meters, and it took some time for each of us alternately forwards to get ahead. I had my BCD completely filled with air, and each time I was moving, I continued facing downwards. We crept slowly along the surface of the slope, hoping that would make current. Once it did, we went flat and then aborted the dive after the safety stop immediately. This dive has taught me a new level of respect for the unexpected; By the end of this 23-minute shallow dive we were all down to less than half a tank of air.
Cautionary Note
Some people say that diving Komodo is not for the fainthearted. I do not agree with this general statement, but certainly all divers should establish an action plan in the event of separation of the guide or buddy. This plan needs to be discussed and understood in detail by the management and others within the group of divers. In addition, I recommend everyone with you on all dives carry a safety sausage, reef hook and Emergency Strobe -. The simple 'beginners dives'
What Komodo makes so vivid underwater, the current flow introducing an abundant supply of nutrients is so divers must only live with it. Live is the key word here
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Fast Facts
Location: Lesser Sunda Islands
size: 1,733km square
arrival Garuda and Wings Air currently serve major airlines Labuan Bajo. These flights are not non-stop from Jakarta and may experience a brief stopover in Bali or Makassar.
What to bring: your own equipment, or at least bring your own diving watch, sunblock and camera
What to do: diving, snorkeling, the Komodo sanctuary on Rinca Iceland Tour
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