Posts Tagged ‘Dive’

The best dive sites in Bali

The best dive sites in Bali.

By Dive Around Bali.

Detailed information on the best dive sites around Bali per region..

Nusa Penida & Nusa Lembongan:

Toyapakeh: A very nice underwater topography made up of great coral boulders and pillars. The fish life is excellent and the deeper areas offer chance encounters with mola mola and other pelagics. Clear and simple, a great Bali dive site!

Gamat Bay: The water of this tiny bay is always crystal clear, and the reef, a steep, rugged slope leading up into the bay, is exceedingly rich in hard and soft corals and fish life. On a bright day this reef simply glows.

Like other sites of Peneeda, currents can be tricky here. Unfortunally, the surface often looks like a washing machine, even if it is just fine under water.

Crystal Bay: There is a white sandy base to the reef, covered with anemones and soft corals. Following the north side of the bay into the corner, at a depth of 12 metres there is a cave, which opens to the sky that has bats asleep in it. Most of the time there are reef sharks inside the cave. From the bat cave continue following the wall (the reef is not particularly rich) looking out for lobsters that have made their home in the hard coral. The bay is vulnerable to swell, creating up and down currents. When the current is present there is the opportunity to see white tip sharks, leopard sharks, mantas and eagle rays.

SD and Ped: These two sites are also extremely popular for their steep walls and prolific marine life. Drift diving along the steep sloped coral encrusted wall with sponges, hard and soft corals, gorgonians and myriad reef fish is awesome. Larger pelagics such as barracuda, tuna and jacks often put in an appearance here.

Malibu Point:?The dive site is small and often tricky to dive if currents are strong but it is one of the better places to see sharks. Also big dogtooth tuna, rainbow runners and mackerel to be found at this spot.

Blue Corner on the northwest of Nusa Lembongan is a very popular drift dive location. The current can be strong here and can try to pull you downwards. The dive starts east off the point where the lighthouse is. Descend to the slope that starts at 10 metres where you are swept in a drift towards the corner in a westerly direction. At the corner there is a vertical wall with a depth of around 30 metres plus. The main reason to dive this site is because ocean sunfish can be seen here from April to September, but there are marble rays, eagle rays and other pelagics. This is big boy country.

Manta point: The name says it all… This is a limestone rock off the southwest coast of Nusa Penida. The above water scenery is dramatic with limestone cliffs that descend straight into the ocean. This is the place for the big manta’s, but if the manta’s are not present, there is noting much to see accept your buddy. Swells can be really big here, so this site has to be dived at the right time.

Amuk Bay: Candi Dasa & Padangbai:

Tepekong: Dive site The Canyon is a striking structure of angular black boulders. Explore the canyon you’ll be able to see an area with huge schools of sweetlips, batfish, snapper, bumphead parrotfish, unicornfish and big-eyed trevally, all of which can nearly fill the canyon. Sharks are relatively common in this area, usually white tip reef sharks and sightings of Mola Mola is possible. It is very rare not to have a current here. (note: this site can ONLY be dived under good conditions, it is probably one of the most exiting sites in Bali but probably also the most dangerous one. It is nicknamed “the toilet”.)

Mimpang: is remarkably varied, combining wall and sloping reefs. The reefs here are amongst of the richest in the whole of Bali, (reminding of the famous sites of southern Komodo and Rinca). The fish life exceptional, including schooling fish, lots of sharks, and even Molas. A very fine diving area.

Gili Biaha: This tiny island is one of the most beautiful of the Amuk Bay sites. A steep drop-off reef, nicely fissured and terraced in places, rings most of the island. There are fascinating smaller species as cuttlefish, octopus, nudibranch, and rich soft corals, gorgonians, and black corals, many with commensals.

The Blue Lagoon is the location that less experienced divers are usually taken to first, as the dive  sites in this area are generally much less exposed to the strong currents   experienced at the other sites. However, don’t let this fool you into   thinking that this is a second rate area – it’s not. with healthy  bommies and  terrific  general marine life. More of a macro than a wide angle area, there are frogfish, leaf scorpion fish, moray eels, scorpion & stone fish,  blue spotted stingrays and lots of nudibranchs. Blue Lagoon is popular with   tourists from Candi Dasa who go there to snorkel.  The more correct name for the area is Tanjung Sari and there are a number of sites to dive, not just the bay in front of the resort. The relative lack of currents and maximum depths of around 1-18m offer a pleasant combination of an uncomplicated dive site but with plenty to see.

Amed:

Amed walls: These sites are actually reef slopes combined with walls at the two sites of quiet idyllic Jemeluk bay. Incredibly rich in fish life and always a possibility for pelagic around. Trevally, dogtooth tuna, spanish mackerel, eagle ray, cruise amongst swarms of smaller reef fish above a gorgonian and barrel sponges covered reef slope and wall that drops to 60 metres.

There is also a delightful easy dive on old artificial reefs that where put there by the local villagers. Early proof of how well very simple artificial reef structures work. These are just concrete pyramids, about three metres high, but have a dense coral coverage and attract an astonishing amount of reef fish and act as nurseries.

Bunutan: This dive site is something special, but has as most important feature the most hallucinating amount of fish imaginable. Clouds of banner fish, surgeon fish and redtooth trigger fish surround you and actually block your view of the reef. Stingrays are everywhere. Cruising white tip sharks and great barracuda are always there. The start of the dive before you descent to 30 meter where there is a deep reef, is in shallow water at a sandy bottom where you swim trough the biggest field of garden eels you will ever see. There are thousands of them. Then there is the big fish show while you drift with the current for a while before you arrive for the last portion on a very rich hard coral reef flat.

Deep Blue: From here on the exploration diving of Amed starts. This dive site is only dived by a very few local dive operators. You will likely be the only divers here. This a drift dive with an amazing diversity and number of fish. Sharks are also relatively common.

Japanese wreck: A little bay where the wreck lies of a small steel freighter. It rests in very shallow water and is nicely encrusted with gorgonians and black coral bushes. The actual dive site is the reef next to the wreck and is also very rich with soft corals, gorgonians and sponges and shallow fields of staghorn and table corals. It makes a calm wonderful dive, although this dive site is very easily affected by visibility.

Gili Selang: This little island looks like it just broke away from the mainland. This is a very nice dive site and covered everywhere with soft corals – probably the healthiest corals in Bali – but also a lot of fish and a good chance to find turtles, bumphead parrotfishes, tunas and whitetip reef sharks. You dive in a very current-swept area, so this dive is only for experienced divers.

Kafe Garam: Amed has some very decent muck-diving that is rarely visited and we would like to keep it that way. You dive from the beach on very fine gray volcanic sand and among purposely-dropped rubbish. Ghost pipefish and mimic octopus, stonefish and even the Ambon scorpion fish can be found here.

Tulamben:

US Liberty Wreck: the federal shipbuilding company in Kearny, New Jersey built The Liberty. She was 120 meters long, 17 meters in beam, drafted 7.3 meters and grossed 6.211 tons powered by a 2500 horsepower steam turbine engine. Early in the morning of January 11th 1942, the Liberty was motoring across the Lombok Strait, bringing war material from Australia to the Philippines. At 4.15 am the ship was torpedoed by the Japanese submarine I-166. Although crippled by the blow, the Liberty did not sink. Two destroyers tried to tow the ship toward Singaraja where it was hoped she could be repaired, however the ship was taking in too much water so she was beached at Tulamben. Over the coming year anything of value was removed.

In 1963, Bali’s highest and most holy mountain, Gunung Agung, erupted creating a powerful earthquake that rolled the ship in to deeper water and broke her at the bow and stern. The Liberty now lies almost parallel to the beach, the shallowest part of the wreck touches the sandy slope at 7-9 meters and the deepest part is at 28-30 meters. It’s a lovely, easy wreck dive that is popular for photographers as it is totally encrusted in anemones, gorgonians and corals. Tulamben’s black sand provides an excellent colour contrast for the incredible variety of marine life. It’s quite difficult to list what you will see on this dive because you will come across just about everything in any Indo-Pacific reef guidebook. The variety is amazing with minute angelfish, nudibranchs, pipefish and gobies through to the areas of garden eels, huge schools of big-eyed trevally, sweetlips, batfish, butterflyfish set against hard coral, black corals, sponges and sea fans. Current is rarely present and at most it will be mild. The wreck is great for night dives, particularly if the moon is full. You may see Spanish dancers, flashlight fish, or sleeping parrotfish and will notice the different behaviour of marine life compared to the daytime.

Drop-off: The Drop Off is an old lava flow from Mount Agung leading out from a temple onshore. It is located at the opposite end of the bay from the wreck. The dive starts off on a steep sandy slope with nudibranchs, flounder and shrimp (be careful with your fins) at 10 metres. There are big sponges with many varieties of shrimp and lionfish and continuing to the right, the slope develops into a reef with very impressive topography, becoming a vertical wall from 15 metres and descending to below 60 metres. The wall has nice, craggy structure and is exceedingly rich. At a depth of 28 metres you will find a sea fan that is almost 2 metres across.

Octopus, Bumphead parrotfish, scorpion fish etc. Are all quiet common here.

Batu Kelibit: Just around the corner from Tulamben bay, this beautiful site consists of steep, coral covered ridges separated by valleys of bright white sand. The best site in the area to see big animals.

Coral Garden: Just in the front of Tulamben resort in 5- 12 metres of water is a delightfully rich little patch reef, which is dominated by hard coral, including some large table and fire corals, interspersed with anemones and sponges. There is a little bit of everything here. Blue ribbon eels are a very easy find here. The black sand slope to the deep makes an interesting area for good critter findings. It also is an excellent night dive.

Seraya secrets: Notorious muck diving site with seahorse, frogfish, harlequin shrimp and a great number of nudibranch species.

Kubu is a small fishing village north of Tulamben that is very rarely dived but is becoming justly more popular. There are two dive sites and the coral reef is extremely rich with an abundance of fish life.

There is more diving in Batu Niti that lies about half a kilometer to the east. Batu Niti is a volcanic ridge with a lava flow that drops into the sea. Exploration diving!

Menjangan:

Garden Eel point: is one of the more popular dive sites where coral growth is healthiest. Longnose hawkfish can be found on the gorginians here and whitetip sharks are often seen on the sandy bottom at around 35 meters. The garden eel colony is on a slope in roughly 20 meters of water.

Pos II (park service guard post), off Menjangan’s most southeasterly point, is usually done as a drift dive in the gentle current along the wall. An explosion of colour from the wall of soft coral can be seen here and thermoclines are present where upwellings of cold waters from the deep are met. This often brings in bigger visitors such as mantas and sharks. Just west of Pos II are a couple of caves at around 18 meters that are worth a look.

The Anker Wreck: This wreck is actually named for the anchor that still lies about 6-8 meters from the surface. Follow the anchor chain down the steep slope to the flattened remains of the shipwreck at 35 – 50 meters, which lie across about 60 meters of sand. The Anker is a 25 metre long 19th century wooden ship, that carried ceramics and copper, parts of which can still be seen across the site.

Further Away, North Bali muck-diving:

Secret Bay is located approximately 3.5 hours drive from the south in a small bay called Teluk Gilimanuk where the ferries from Java dock. It is about 2 km across and very shallow with most of it less than five metres deep. Gilimanuk Bay is the only bay off the narrow Bali Strait, where currents can reach 7 knots. This means that it acts as a catch tank for many larval fish and other plankton sweeping between Java and Bali.

Be prepared – you are diving on fine black and gray volcanic sand and rubble and not on a coral reef! This place is a great place for the rare and unusual. On offer are a number of rare jewels for the macro photographer including gobies, frogfish, dragonets, nudibranchs, seahorses, juvenile Batavia batfish and many other organisms.

Night diving at Secret Bay is a truly magnificent experience! You will see some unique creatures that you won’t see on the day dive. This is a shallow dive site with no rich coral growth and limited weed and coral beds. The water can be cold and visibility can be very low due to the dark mud/sand bottom.

Puri Jati (PJ): A relatively new dive site for muckdiving lying west of Pemuteran.

You dive from the beach on very fine gray volcanic sand and some seaweed similar to Seraya, Gilimanuk or Lembeh. There are snails, slugs and seahares and even frogfish among the seaweed. You reach a large flat area with sea grass. There are coconut octopuses, hiding in burrows made with shells and pieces of rubbish. On this flat area (6-10m) you also find seahorses, several types of eels, flying gurnard and with good eyes, some hidden scorpionfishes, mostly lionfishes but also the rare Ambon scorpionfish.

There is also a small river close by where you can take a dip.

For more information on your dive holiday in Bali feel free to contact me at Dive Around Bali.

Michel De Ruyck

DIVE SITES & DIVING AMBERGRIS CAYE BELIZE

DIVE SITES & DIVING AMBERGRIS CAYE BELIZE

Diving Ambergris Caye can be an exhilarating experience when you Dive the islands best dive sites.

This small article will educate you on what dives you will want to be sure to Dive when you Dive Belize, I will list some of the very best dives and some of my own personal favorites that you should include when you visit and dive the island of Ambergris Caye.

No matter where you stay on the island (see my other articles) you should be able to dive all the dive sites I list here.

HAPPY HOURS REEF North Ambergris Caye

Located North of San Pedro Because this site is a little out of the way of most dive operators it gets dived very seldom, which means lots of fish life and no signs of damage caused by divers. We particularly like this site as it has a lot of barrel sponges and is wonderful for macro photography due to the abundant small critters found at this site. Another observation we made at this site is at a certain time of the year we have noticed the coral spawning. This site is currently being studied by Professors from Texas AM University and is part of ongoing studied for the year of the reef..

Experience required: intermediate

Depth: 60-80ft

Location: North Ambergris Caye

Type of Dive: Boat

LOVE TUNNELS North Ambergris Caye

This site is located north of San Pedro and the site got its name as a couple got married in the mouth of this huge tunnel. At a depth of 60ft we swim through the tunnel that comes out on the edge of the drop off at approx. 90ft, due to the unseen approach we have spotted many large pelagic cruising the drop-off, as we exit the tunnel.

As we swim along the drop off you see many varieties of hard and soft corals and the usual juveniles and groupers that are abundant in these waters.

At all times you can see the surface as we swim through the caverns and it is quite safe for all levels of experience, as we near the end of our dive we enter another small cavern that takes us to our exit point, a real exciting dive that ‘s a favorite with our visitors.

Experience required: intermediate

Depth: 60-80ft

Location: North Ambergris Caye

Type of Dive: Boat

M&M CAVERNS North Ambergris Caye

Located north of San Pedro town lies M & M Caverns one of Ambergris Caye’s best cavern dives. The underwater topography is deep spur and groove formations formed by the wave action over thousands of years. It is literally riddled with swim through and tunnels.

As you descend down to 90ft you see a small entrance going up through the reef as you enter you see a small light at the end of the tunnel about 40ft away, it is an awesome feeling as you swim literally through the reef to come out at 60ft then enter another, a totally different dive that’s always a hit with our visiting divers.

Experience required: advanced

Depth: 90-120ft

Location: North Ambergris Caye

Type of Dive: Boat

CYPRUS GARDENS South Ambergris Caye

This is an excellent site for all types of coral species, such as huge Pillar Corals, Elkhorn, Staghorn corals and very abundant with small reef fish and critters. Located in 50ft of water, this has long been one of my favorite sites for the sheer quality of the coral formations and the superb Macro photo opportunities. This site focuses on smaller marine life associated with coral reef and is sure to be a hit with visiting divers not to be missed.

Experience required: novice

Depth: 50-70ft

Location: South Ambergris Caye

Type of Dive: Boat

HOL CHAN MARINE RESERVE PILLAR CORALS South Ambergris

Hol-Chan Marine Reserve 5 square miles of protected habitat, makes for some great diving. One of our favorites is Pillar Coral, a 60ft dive with some wonderful Pillar coral formations, great for photography as during this dive there are resident grouper and Snappers that will follow you throughout the dive. It’s easy to position them around the Pillar corals giving the opportunity for some great pictures.

The site is protected and nothing dead or alive may be removed, gloves are not allowed to be worn in the marine reserve and there is entrance fee to the park which is used to maintain the buoys and fund the ongoing research conducted at Hol-Chan marine reserve.

Experience required: novice

Depth: 60-70ft

Location: South Ambergris Caye

Type of Dive: Boat

HOL CHAN MARINE RESERVE THE CUT South Ambergris

Another great site, this is a cut that allows passage through the Belize barrier reef to the open sea. Starting at 8ft and sloping down to a maximum of 25ft, this is an underwater wonderland with literally thousands of fish, including huge groupers and the biggest snappers you have ever seen.

As you enter the cut there are a variety of small caves which hide huge Moray Eels over 6ft in length. Because this park is in a protected area the animal life is abundant. At the buoy, which marks the maximum you may enter into the channel, there is a small swim through cave which usually has a giant Dog Snapper lurking in the back part of the swim, though he casually watches as you swim through. A very scary looking fellow showing his big teeth, but the slightest movement toward him and he’s off.

This site is used as our primary night dive spot. At night it is totally different: lobsters, giant spider crabs, Stingrays, and on many occasions the odd lemon Shark has passed through. All in all this is one of the best sites for marine life found anywhere in the Caribbean.

Experience required: Intermediate due to strong current

Depth: 30ft

Location: South Ambergris Caye

Type of Dive: Boat

EAGLE RAY CANYONS HOL CHAN

This site although not new has recently become known for regular sightings of spotted Eagle Rays. I recently dove this spot with some friends from Rodale,s Magazine. Steve, one of the dive masters, was guiding the dive and during his briefing guaranteed that we were going to see Eagle Rays, and was quite adamant about it. I asked him if he was sure because we now had some excited divers aboard who were expecting to see Eagle Rays and they would be disappointed if they didn’t. Steve assured me and down we went, sure enough after 15 minutes we saw our first 3 Eagle Rays, 5 minutes later we saw an additional 5 a lot closer this time. In addition to the Eagle Rays, lots of coral formations, spur and groove formation and the usual congregation of juveniles.

This is a Marine Reserve so nothing may be touched or taken, we ask that you are careful with your fins and avoid accidentally touching the reef. If you feel you would like to improve your buoyancy, we will be happy to assist you.

Experience required: Intermediate due to strong current

Depth: 60-80ft

Location: South Ambergris Caye

Type of Dive: Boat

AMIGOS BARGE HOL CHAN

One of my favorite sites, and fantastic for photography, is the wreck of an old barge located in 70ft of water in front of Shark Alley. It was sunk by Amigo’s Del Mar, a local dive operator and is named after them.

As you descend, you are literally surrounded by big groupers, lots and lots of Snappers and GUARANTEED Nurse Sharks. Unlike Shark Ray Alley, where it is only 8ft deep, at the wreck you will be able to get a shark silhouette shot and some great close-ups guaranteed, plus some amazing eye to eye encounters with some big groupers. Its amazing that this wreck has abundant marine life and is covered with coral growth.

This is definitely one of Ambergris Cayes best dives. The Wreck is now located in the marine reserve we ask that you conform to the marine reserve guidelines on all dives conducted in the waters of Belize to preserve and protect our resources for future visitor

Experience required: Intermediate

Depth: 60-80ft

Location: South Ambergris Caye

Type of Dive: Boat

SHARK RAY ALLEY HOL CHAN

This is not a Dive Site but I thought I would include it as it is unique and usually included as a surface interval stop so you can snorkel with the sharks and rays.

This is an unbelievable snorkel site similar to Caymans Stingray City except we have in addition to the resident Stingrays, 15 to 20 Nurse Sharks which means double the action. Located south of Hol-Chan Marine reserve, in only 8ft of water, this spectacular site is the only site in the world where you can interact with both Stingrays and Nurse Sharks.

So unique is this site it attracted the attention of Jean Michel Cousteau and Skindiver magazine, who have featured it on the cover page of Skindiver in 2 issues. Jean Michel told me that they are all female juveniles and it is most likely a nursing ground and kept in the area from years of fishermen cleaning their catch and discarding the scraps to the sharks.

Most dive operators offer a complimentary stop at Shark Alley during surface interval the opportunity for photography is endless.

The Nurse Sharks and Stingrays steal the show but the coral formations and other fish life is worth a mention. I visited Shark Ray Alley many times before I discovered the superb coral formations and dense fish populations. Remember to check them out when you visit Shark Ray Alley.

I hope this short article will give you an idea of some of the excellent dives on offer when you dive Ambergris Caye. Be sure to visit my website for additional articles on Diving Belize

Dive Safe

Gaz Cooper

Best Places To Dive. The World’s Prettiest Coral Reefs, Islands, Holes And Scuba Destinations

Are you tired of snorkeling in the public pool? Well itâ??s about time you got your fins together and went on a real SCUBA adventure. Where can you start? Here are a few suggestions:

Palau, Micronesia

Palau is considered to be one of the most exciting diving sites in the world. There are over 100 dive sites along the 90 mile coral lagoon of Palau. You will find Blue holes, underwater caverns and a colorful variety of exotic marine species. Sharks, turtles, dolphins and rare fish gather at Palau at the crossroads of three of the world’s major ocean currents.

The Galapagos Islands

These magnificent islands rest on the Pacific Ocean, 972 km west of mainland Ecuador. The Islands are a heaven, a garden, an alternative universe for wild life. In a short visit under the sea of the Galapagos you are most likely to discover a new fish and maybe get lucky enough to have it named after you.

The Great Barrier Reef, Australia

The Disney Land of diving features thousands of sites and the largest coral reef in the world. There are over 2900 reefs and 900 islands stretching along 2600 km from Gladstone to Cape Tribulation. A large part of the reef is a protected marine park, but weâ??re sure that you will find a nice enough spot to dive in.

California, La Jolla Cove

The entrance takes quite a few steps down, through a rocky cove and resting sun-tanners. Just beyond the entrance, you will find a large kelp forest and rocky area, beginning in 6 feet of water, and heads out to La Jolla Canyon. This is a great place to see local fish and crustaceans, and maybe even a shark or two. Down the coast is by far the best place to see huge variety of what this cold water haven has to offer. The Cove is protected, so you cannot take anything to keep as a souvenir.

Egypt, The Blue Hole.

In the Red Sea shore of the Sinai Desert, rests the blue hole. Surrounded with Bedwyn merchants, selling everything from diving gear to local food, the Blue Hole is one of the world most famous diving sites. The site doesnâ??t look like much until you realize that the sea floor drops abruptly away from the coastline. Many divers risked their lives in this hole. The tunnel that connects the hole with the open sea is more than 50 meters deep, thatâ??s when nitrogen narcosis begins to influence.

California, Kelp Beds â?? Spring Fall

When the sun is out, and the water is clear, you will feel like you are diving in a cathedral. The beauty and life of these underwater forests are endless. This can be a tough dive, due to the fact that you can get caught up in the kelp. But weâ??re all about adventure, arenâ??t we?

Limitless Adventures would like to invite you to join us on a customized SCUBA diving adventure. Whether you’re a beginner who wants to get certified and complete your first Open Water dive, or you’re an advanced diver looking to further your skills, we take care of everything! Check out www.limitlessadventures.com and explore our best SCUBA destinations: The Great Barrier Reef in Australia, Zanzibar in Tanzania, Southern California, and many more.

www.limitlessadventures.com designs, customizes, and promotes safe and fun adventures all over the world.

Komodo Island Dive Cruise Adventure

Komodo island is an original habitat of the biggest lizard in the earth. Komodo island offers visitors with the beautiful landscape, quite and calm, bring you close with a touch of Nature and beautiful under water scene. The island located between eastern Sumbawa and western Flores lie three tiny grass-covered islands Komodo, Padar and Rinca.

Each islands together form the Komodo National Park, a protected wildlife reserve. This is the home of the giants lizard known as the “Komodo Dragon” it was thought to be a myth until the turn of the century.

Not just amazing while look the giant Komodo Dragon, explore the Komodo’s under water and ecosystems which has well known as the best diving site in the world. Beautiful corals, reefs, thousands sort of fishes to the crystal water and beautiful beach are await to visit. Bali Sea Safari cruises offer luxury sailing program to adventures, exploration and expedition to enjoy the beautiful of the tropical islands a long the Lesser. Sailing with Indonesia traditional Boat, Phinisi Cruises, your journey will be unforgettable moment.

Started this year off with two things: a shiny new engineering degree, and an overwhelming desire to remove myself from the heart of another ridiculous Canadian winter. Having lived on a student budget for the past 4 years, I wasn’t in a financial situation that would allow me to fulfill my desire. Fortunately, I knew my daily sacrifice of a roll of film and relentless praying to the photo contest gods were heard when I received an email from Jason Heller. Apparently, I had been awarded an 11 day trip aboard the Archipelago Adventurer II as a prize from thie 2008 Wetpixel & DivePhotoGuide underwater photo contest at Our World Underwater. In the following few weeks, I also found out about a few more prize trips coming my way from other contests. All of a sudden I had myself the ultimate graduation present – a two month Indonesia/PNG voyage!

After convincing my brother, Kris, to join me, I secured a pair of spots aboard one of Archipelago Fleet’s Komodo itineraries near the end of May. Andy Shorten and Gede Sartana made this process a breeze by doing something important that other liveaboard staff sometimes don’t…..that is, efficiently responding to emails.

In addition to being prompt, they made sure to accommodate my ‘economic’ lifestyle by setting me up with an affordable hotel and cheap domestic flights. The next few months were a bit of a blur. I was busy trying to pay off my new (large) credit card debts, going to scuba shows, and spending quality time with my girlfriend before I abandoned her for the summer. As quickly as the trip was booked, it was time to pack and leave.

After about a month of diving Raja Ampat and a few parts of PNG, the time came to make our way to Labuan Bajo (western tip of Flores). The short flight from Bali to Flores gave a nice view of the ocean peppered with small islands.

We were greeted in Labuan Bajo by the talented photographer and Scuba Diver Australasia field editor, Simon Buxton, who would be our cruise director for the trip. We made our way to the massive Archipelago Adventurer II (second largest liveaboard operating in Indonesia), and within 2 hours we geared up and got in for a check-out dive just off of Tebolon island at a site called “Coral Garden”.

Somewhat typical for a ‘check-out’ dive, it was rather uneventful, but still yielded some interesting nudibranchs and gobies. My uncharged strobe batteries didn’t help my frustration. I came out of the water a bit disappointed, but very quickly my spirits changed drastically.

I wrapped a towel around my waist, pulled off the old trunks, and was planning to take a nice warm shower, when I noticed something tiny skip a few feet across the surface beside the boat. After walking down the side steps to water level, I realized what it was… a juvenile flyingfish (about an inch long), drifting by in the current. I’d only seen a juvenile one other time in 13 years of diving, so I decided that I wouldn’t let the opportunity pass. I jumped into the current bare-assed sans mask to stay with the little guy, knowing someone eventually would come to help me.

Sure enough, Kris jumped in and made his way over with my housed D300 and mask in hand, and was followed soon after by one of the crew in a support boat. I’m glad I took that naked leap of faith, since a few nice images resulted, including this one. Those are clouds in the background, shot from below.

Still in the harbor of Labuan Bajo, we had a night dive at the same site, before a much needed gourmet dinner. The night dive was very productive, and so was dinner… my stomach hadn’t been stuffed like that in recent memory. Overnight, we ‘sailed’ west toward Komodo, stopping midway in the Tatawa Besar region for a pair of frustrating, but beautiful, morning dives.

I say they were frustrating because I had my macro setup when the 2 eagle rays, giant trevally, and school of sweetlips decided to make an appearance in the crystal clear water! Nonetheless, typical for most Indonesian waters, there were still plenty of macro subjects to keep me happy and busy. After surfacing, we continued the trek from Tatawa Besar to Komodo, arriving in time for a late afternoon and night dive at “Pink Beach” and “Sodo Lia”, respectively. On the night dive, one of my strobes “went Caribbean” on me (i.e. worked when it wanted to), so I had to do some ‘macgyvering’ to get it back in proper working order.

I have to commend Archipelago Fleet designers for designating such a large area of the boat for underwater photo gear…the camera area is larger than most liveaboard dining areas, iit’s on the main level of the ship, and is a controlled indoor environment perfect for taking care of your expensive gear. An overnight steam brought us to one of the holy grails of diving, Rinca Island, where we would remain for the next few days.

Visibility was not the best and the water was cold (77 C), but the green nutrient-rich water brought with it a reason for the reef to come alive. Someone even likened the experience to swimming in a tropical fish tank on steroids. In spite of the poor visibility, I couldn’t help but take a stab at shooting wide-angle in such a beautiful area. I gave it my best shot, but came out with somewhat mediocre images, so I opted for the trusty 105mm macro to maximize my productivity while still stationed at this gold mine. As fascinating as the creatures were in the waters around Rinca, the ones on land got very much attention as well.

Monkeys, deer, and boars occasionally made an appearance on shore, but the main attraction was the giant monitor lizards (aka Komodo dragons). Each morning, a few dragons would come to the beach to catch some rays….some from the sun and some from our flashes. In hindsight, it was probably foolish to get as close as we did, but Simon and I found ourselves sprawled out in the sand only a few feet (in some cases inches) from the reptiles. The time came to pull anchor and start heading toward northern Komodo.

We stopped for a pair of manta dives along the way at a site called “Toro Lenkoy”, and had varying success. Our first attempt was uneventful, having only one show up at the end of the dive. However, the second attempt was much more exciting. The current was powerful so our group decided to go with the flow and cross our fingers. My brother and I stopped for a moment for a few quick photos, and were immediately separated from the rest of the group. We drifted on and on, figuring we’d catch up to the group at some point, but came to a split in the current so stopped to decide which path to take.

Before we knew it, there were three large mantas swooping only feet from our heads. We remained at the base of a large coral head as they circled, but they suddenly got spooked and bolted away with the flick of a fin. Confused, my brother and I looked at each other with ‘what the hell?!?’ faces, but immediately realized what had happened…a flock of divers had just poured into the water above us and turned on their hyper-jets toward the mantas to get a closer look.

The sight of this new group scaring off the mantas was quite disturbing, so we called it a dive and started surfacing. After doing our safety stop, and briefly encountering another pair of mantas, we popped up to find ourselves dangerously far away from the ship. Without the sea floor as a reference, the strength of the current was impossible to detect. Safety sausages were inflated and after a few tense minutes, we were spotted and retrieved by one of the two sharp-eyed tenders. We continued the journey north, stopping at Tatawa Besar again.

The current was strong when we entered, making photography difficult. After momentarily being distracted by a beautiful scene of soft corals, Kris and I once again found ourselves separated from the rest of the group. As if the manta dives we just did weren’t enough to complete the trip, a few eagle rays and white-tips came by, and then out of the blue, a 12-foot Minke whale graced us with its presence. Sadly, I was only able to get ‘proof-shots’ of it. Kris and I surfaced expecting others to have had a similar experience, but were surprised to find an empty support boat. Apparently, the current where we stayed had died down, while the rest of the group was whisked away in a torrent, ending up on a beach more than a kilometer down the coast. This is Komodo diving. We stayed overnight near a small island (Gili Lawa Darat) just off the northern tip of Komodo, and did two morning dives close by.

These sites, “Hard to Find Rock” and “Easy to Find Rock”, were stunning underwater pinnacles. Current was minimal since we entered during slack-tide, and had encounters with a small group of pygmy seahorses, large schools of jacks and sweetlips, and a platoon of nearly 100 mobula rays. In the afternoon we moved to Banta, our final dive destination. We dropped anchor in an idyllic bay and got in the water. Not expecting any large animals, everyone setup for a macro dive…then Murphy’s law presented itself in the form of mantas, mobula rays, and eagles rays coming at us from all directions.

That’s the way it goes sometimes, I guess. Again, as frustrating as that was, the macro life in this area made up for it within a few minutes. Before the night dive, a few of us chose to go for a little hike up the hills of Banta, since we’d heard that the view was incredible. What an understatement. The final night dive of the trip did not disappoint. Ghost pipefish, shortfin lionfish, napoleon snake-eels, and several bobtail squid were all waiting for us, allowing for loads of macro photography. After the night dive, we had our final dinner on board, accompanied by the crew playing, singing, and dancing to traditional Indonesian music.

The following morning everyone was eerily quiet, since we all knew the trip was two dives away from being finished. Thankfully, we ended on a high note, since “Tanjung Tanduk Rasa” and “GPS Point!” impressed us all with reefs teeming with life. Eagle rays, cuttlefish, a colony of pygmy seahorses (barbiganti), large schools of various species, and more anthias than you could shake a stick at were the highlights of these dives. By the time I dried off and showered after the last dive, the crew had already washed all of my gear and hung it in the sun to dry, which was a very pleasant surprise. I should note that the level of pampering in general on Archipelago Adventurer II was a few notches above most other liveaboards that I’ve experienced.

Simon Buxton (cruise director), the dive guides, and the whole crew were knowledgeable and well prepared for any issues that needed addressing, including the safe transport of a couple’s bulky rebreather equipment to and from a support boat on each dive, which isn’t often encountered. Thanks to you all, you did a wonderful job. By the early afternoon, we had already made it west to Bali, and were promptly transported by a pre-arranged taxi back to the airport where we all went our separate ways. That marked the end of my first ‘Archipelago Adventure’, but I’m sure it won’t be the last. A big thanks goes out to staff Archipelago Fleet for continuing to sponsor underwater photography competitions and making my trip possible!