Dolphins and Mantas in Komodo!

Liveaboard trip 13/10 – 20/10 2007

Bali - Komodo
INDONESIA

Mermaid I

On request for the afternoon was another dive at Castle Rock. Turned out to be a good choice; we had 10 dolphins hunting together with the sharks right in front of our eyes!

Now, we DID see Pygmy seahorses, nudibranchs and Zebra crabs, but this trip was somewhat focused on the bigger stuff…

We got a good start at GPS Point, with a school of Grey Reef sharks, cruising back and forth in the current. Entering the Komodo National Park and Castle Rock, we found ourselves in a feeding frenzy, with Whitetip sharks, Grey Reef sharks and Giant trevallies making a feast out of a school of fusilliers. Pretty wild!

Next morning, we did a high-voltage dive at Lighthouse Reef. The current was running, so lots of fish hanging out, including around 200 big Tiger Jacks.

At Crystal Rock, we enjoyed huge congregations of Unicornfish, Snappers, Surgeonfish and Rainbow Runners. On request for the afternoon was another dive at Castle Rock. Turned out to be a good choice; we had 10 dolphins hunting together with the sharks right in front of our eyes!

It didn’t stop with the underwater animals. We were lucky enough to see six Komodo Dragons the following day’s walk in the National Park.

We also did a couple of dives in the Komodo Channel. Bumphead parrotfish, Whitetip sharks, lots of turtles and even a few Manta rays.

The serious manta action, however, was at Manta Alley in South Komodo. We usually see quite a few here, but this trip it was absolutely crazy. They were EVERYWHERE! Five to eight big mantas together pretty much anywhere you looked! And for two full hours! Truly amazing!!

With all these memories, we cruised back to Bali, enjoying the sun setting behind Lombok.

 

PJ Widestrand

Video-Pro
Mermaid I

Live-aboard trips to Thailand, Myanmar, Bali - Komodo and the Andaman Islands.


Entering the Komodo National Park and Castle Rock, we found ourselves in a feeding frenzy, with Whitetip sharks, Grey Reef sharks and Giant trevallies making a feast out of a school of fusilliers. Pretty wild!
At Crystal Rock, we enjoyed huge congregations of Unicornfish, Snappers, Surgeonfish and Rainbow Runners.


The serious manta action, however, was at Manta Alley in South Komodo. We usually see quite a few here, but this trip it was absolutely crazy. They were EVERYWHERE! Five to eight big mantas together pretty much anywhere you looked! And for two full hours! Truly amazing!!