Continue...part 2
After loading all the food stuffs and luggage into the boat, we sailed at around 4.45pm to start our diving trip. But before that we have to complete some official paperwork before the boat sails. Once everyone has settled, Linn and Son started to plan our 15 dives throughout the trip...covering the best dive sites considering the current, temperatures, marine life etc...betul-betul semangat...15 dives...larat ke?...hehe
Since we were delayed at Bali for about 4 hours, our checkout dive which was supposed to be in the
afternoon has now became night dive..... or to be specific midnight dive....I have done night dive before but not midnight dive...but since we were eager to dive...we dived anyway even though the time was almost 11.00PM. After a short briefing we boarded a small chaser boat to go the dive site called Cannibal Reef. It was a rather dark night and nothing can be seen around our boat but only a clear sky with millions of stars above...Man BD, Linn and Rosni were really prepared for this trip...actually they brought very expensive lighting system (strobe) and lenses, all nicely attached to their cameras...they are really interested in macro photography....
I must admit that those little nudibranches are very colourful when enlarged...and some have just been recently discovered....Luck must have been with Linn and Man BD when Peter spotted a newly discovered nudibranch called "Melibe Colemani"...that thing really made Man BD and Linn very-very happy....There was a long praise in Linn's FB about the photo of Melibe Colemani...actually it was very confusing to find where the head of the animal is....
The next day we dived at Cannibal Rock where I saw a rather big octopus and plenty of sweet lips...but the water was
cold...25oC...normal around this time of the year.... the place has abundant marine life...now I better start learning more about these creatures because they have their own characteristics...then it will be a lot more interesting when I dive...we surfaced after 65 minutes...
The next dive site is at Manta Alley....but before that, we sailed to Rincha Island where komodo dragons can be spotted on the beach front...previously the authorities allow the visitors to feed the animal but has now prohibited the activities since this will cause the dragons to be dependent on the visitors for food. Again all of us boarded the chaser boat and cruised to the beach front....there were a few komodos already on the beach when we arrived. We were not allowed to set foot on the beach but just watch the lizards from the boat...I must admit that the animals just look at us like their breakfast since they are not afraid at all...in fact one of them swam toward our
boat...scary!!!...Now I can tell the whole world that I have seen living Komodo dragons....After that short trip we went back to the boat to get ready to go to Manta Alley...the main attraction for coming to Komodo... Again after a short briefing by Peter and Son...we boarded the chaser boat to Manta Alley....just about reaching the dive site, Son shouted.... manta...manta...manta....without wasting time, everybody quickly backrolled and descended to the bottom...
Even though the water was rather cold at 26oC, I did not feel a thing...we just descended as fast as possible since I can see a few mantas flying down below...The depth of Manta Alley is about 26.5m and there was slow current and visibility was about 10-15m because the water was filled with plankton...the food for manta rays...I can't really described my feeling at that time...happy was as an understatement.... astounded!!! ...There were about 15-20 mantas flying around us and we were lucky to be able to spot a black manta...The mantas were flying gracefully around us....You can see the video that I shot on the mantas here Manta Ray Dancing.... Not sure if I will ever return to this place again but at least I have seen the animals with my own two eyes at a very close distance....Tired....that how I felt but fulfilled....I did not dive at the Pink Beach in the afternoon and the night dive was cancelled since everyone was so dead tired...The beach is called pink because it contains small particle which is pink in colour. Actually it was broken corals. The boat moored in one of the lagoon for the night...It was very quiet since there was no other people around us...just our boat...all by ourselves...tranquility....We had a good dinner cooked by our chef and soon after that I went to sleep...but not before calling my wife to say everything was alright...(in fact that was my routine everyday during the trip)....[Note: I have to breath pure oxygen for 10 minutes that night to recover from tiredness....]
The next morning we went to Komodo Island, the island where the giant lizard got its name...our boat berthed at the jetty and we set foot on Komodo Island for trekking. We are supposed to trek the hills to find Komodo dragon. Pak Iwan the ranger with the Komodo National Park was our guide. We decided to trek on a medium track for 2 km which will take about one hour. Pak Iwan briefed on the safety aspect before we start our trekking and also told us about the lizard. Komodo can live for up to 65 years, weight about 60kg and grow up to 3.2m. they can eat up to half of their body weight and wait for another month for the next meal. Since the national
park is a wild life area, there are wild goats, deers and many other animals that komodos can prey upon. There are approximately 2800 komodos on Komodo Island and 2400 komodos on Rincha Island. There are another two other islands that komodo can be found. Komodo will die if they are moved away from the island they are born. Even if the lizard from Rinca is moved to Komodo Island, it will die. That is why komodo is not found in any other places and definitely not in zoos around the world. There...I learnt quite a bit about Komodo lizards....
The excitement never really stops on this trip...after seeing the real life Komodos the next two dive sites are considered very challenging...Batu Bolong and Shot Gun....I suppose you must be fit, healthy and full of energy before you can dive at these sites... Earlier when filling up the form before we sail, one of the question asked is whether I have dived in the current faster than 2 knots...my answer was negative...the best current dive I have ever done was in Pulau Tenggol but the current was not that fast...no one requested that I must have a reef hook before I dive...but at these places, reef hook is a must.... One thing that I saw when the boat approached the dive sites was there were many whirlpools. The current was rather strong...around 5 knots per hour (which is 8km/h)
The one thing that I can never forget was Linn who can never stops being an instructor. She pulled me to one side and gave me one-on-one briefing before we boarded the chaser boat. I remembered that she told me if I were sucked downward in a whirlpool, what I should do is to release the weight, fully inflate my BCD and slowly swim upward to ascend, control breathing using CESA (Controlled Emergency Swimming Ascent) technique, i.e. you must exhale and not ascend faster than the bubbles ...no need to do a safety stop...sound really scary!!! ...but actually I know that Peter, the other guide was always on the look out for me... hehe...lega...
Well, I have seen schools of jack fish and barracudas in hundreds at Sipadan, but nothing compares in waters around Komodo National Park. At Batu Bolong you have to dive very carefully not to go beyond certain limits or else you will be caught by the strong currents, at Shot Gun, you experienced strong current dive and have to use reef hook otherwise you ended up somewhere else but at all these places, there are plenty of fishes and marine life. At Castel Rock, I swam with a big green Napoleon Wrasse and at Crystal Rock there was a lot of white tip sharks....plenty to see, you just stay in one place and all the fishes will swim pass by you....60 minutes went by without you really realising the time...except that the waters were a bit cold .... 23oC - 26oC.
On the last diving day, the water temperature has improved to around 28oC. However since we need to observe no flight time, we decided to do only 2 last dives at Tatawa besar and Sebayur Kecil. the first dive at Tatawa Besar, we are supposed to do negative descend since the current was a bit strong...however the current was really strong...after only 4 minutes at 9 meters...Peter gave an ascent sign and cancelled the dive there....we have to move a bit further up before we descend again....
I was really amazed at these last two dive sites....the were plenty of corals...I really have to control
my buoyancy....scared if my fin might damage the corals...what I saw was there is a long stretch of corals ..... I think more than 100 meters....I can't even see the sand below....amazing....what a final sent off...cantik betul....Because we were underwater for so long, I have to do a decompression for 4 minutes on top of the normal 3 minutes safety stop...Ros have to do more than 15 minutes decompression...that was how much we enjoyed being underwater there...sampai tak sedar diri....
We packed off that night and the boat slowly sailed back to Flores....we slept on the boat that night and in the morning we had an early breakfast. Because of the low tide, the have to go the jetty by the chaser boat where the bus was waiting for us there to send us to the airport....
Again, the flight was not on time and we only departed at around 11.00AM. We arrived in Bali at around lunchtime where Pak Agus is already there to pick us up. All of my buddies decided to stay back in Bali for another 2 days but I must go home...we had a nice lunch at Mak Beng....special - only one standard menu...white rice, spicy fish soup and fried fish but was very tasty....After that they sent me back to the airport for my flight back home....
Well, next dive trip shall be Oslob and Moalboal in the Philippine.....sardine run and whale shark.....can't wait till August...
After loading all the food stuffs and luggage into the boat, we sailed at around 4.45pm to start our diving trip. But before that we have to complete some official paperwork before the boat sails. Once everyone has settled, Linn and Son started to plan our 15 dives throughout the trip...covering the best dive sites considering the current, temperatures, marine life etc...betul-betul semangat...15 dives...larat ke?...hehe
Since we were delayed at Bali for about 4 hours, our checkout dive which was supposed to be in the
 |
| Pic by Nurul Azlifah |
I must admit that those little nudibranches are very colourful when enlarged...and some have just been recently discovered....Luck must have been with Linn and Man BD when Peter spotted a newly discovered nudibranch called "Melibe Colemani"...that thing really made Man BD and Linn very-very happy....There was a long praise in Linn's FB about the photo of Melibe Colemani...actually it was very confusing to find where the head of the animal is....
The next day we dived at Cannibal Rock where I saw a rather big octopus and plenty of sweet lips...but the water was
The next dive site is at Manta Alley....but before that, we sailed to Rincha Island where komodo dragons can be spotted on the beach front...previously the authorities allow the visitors to feed the animal but has now prohibited the activities since this will cause the dragons to be dependent on the visitors for food. Again all of us boarded the chaser boat and cruised to the beach front....there were a few komodos already on the beach when we arrived. We were not allowed to set foot on the beach but just watch the lizards from the boat...I must admit that the animals just look at us like their breakfast since they are not afraid at all...in fact one of them swam toward our
Even though the water was rather cold at 26oC, I did not feel a thing...we just descended as fast as possible since I can see a few mantas flying down below...The depth of Manta Alley is about 26.5m and there was slow current and visibility was about 10-15m because the water was filled with plankton...the food for manta rays...I can't really described my feeling at that time...happy was as an understatement.... astounded!!! ...There were about 15-20 mantas flying around us and we were lucky to be able to spot a black manta...The mantas were flying gracefully around us....You can see the video that I shot on the mantas here Manta Ray Dancing.... Not sure if I will ever return to this place again but at least I have seen the animals with my own two eyes at a very close distance....Tired....that how I felt but fulfilled....I did not dive at the Pink Beach in the afternoon and the night dive was cancelled since everyone was so dead tired...The beach is called pink because it contains small particle which is pink in colour. Actually it was broken corals. The boat moored in one of the lagoon for the night...It was very quiet since there was no other people around us...just our boat...all by ourselves...tranquility....We had a good dinner cooked by our chef and soon after that I went to sleep...but not before calling my wife to say everything was alright...(in fact that was my routine everyday during the trip)....[Note: I have to breath pure oxygen for 10 minutes that night to recover from tiredness....]
The excitement never really stops on this trip...after seeing the real life Komodos the next two dive sites are considered very challenging...Batu Bolong and Shot Gun....I suppose you must be fit, healthy and full of energy before you can dive at these sites... Earlier when filling up the form before we sail, one of the question asked is whether I have dived in the current faster than 2 knots...my answer was negative...the best current dive I have ever done was in Pulau Tenggol but the current was not that fast...no one requested that I must have a reef hook before I dive...but at these places, reef hook is a must.... One thing that I saw when the boat approached the dive sites was there were many whirlpools. The current was rather strong...around 5 knots per hour (which is 8km/h)
Well, I have seen schools of jack fish and barracudas in hundreds at Sipadan, but nothing compares in waters around Komodo National Park. At Batu Bolong you have to dive very carefully not to go beyond certain limits or else you will be caught by the strong currents, at Shot Gun, you experienced strong current dive and have to use reef hook otherwise you ended up somewhere else but at all these places, there are plenty of fishes and marine life. At Castel Rock, I swam with a big green Napoleon Wrasse and at Crystal Rock there was a lot of white tip sharks....plenty to see, you just stay in one place and all the fishes will swim pass by you....60 minutes went by without you really realising the time...except that the waters were a bit cold .... 23oC - 26oC.
On the last diving day, the water temperature has improved to around 28oC. However since we need to observe no flight time, we decided to do only 2 last dives at Tatawa besar and Sebayur Kecil. the first dive at Tatawa Besar, we are supposed to do negative descend since the current was a bit strong...however the current was really strong...after only 4 minutes at 9 meters...Peter gave an ascent sign and cancelled the dive there....we have to move a bit further up before we descend again....
I was really amazed at these last two dive sites....the were plenty of corals...I really have to control
Again, the flight was not on time and we only departed at around 11.00AM. We arrived in Bali at around lunchtime where Pak Agus is already there to pick us up. All of my buddies decided to stay back in Bali for another 2 days but I must go home...we had a nice lunch at Mak Beng....special - only one standard menu...white rice, spicy fish soup and fried fish but was very tasty....After that they sent me back to the airport for my flight back home....
Well, next dive trip shall be Oslob and Moalboal in the Philippine.....sardine run and whale shark.....can't wait till August...
Below is my diving records at Komodo National Park:
Dive No
|
Location
|
Date
|
Time
|
Dive Duration
|
Water Temp
|
Max. Depth
|
Ave. Depth
|
1*
|
Cannibal Reef
|
27/4/14
|
10.42PM
|
70mins
|
25oC
|
15.9m
|
12.8m
|
2
|
Cannibal Rock
|
28/4/14
|
7.16AM
|
65mins
|
25oC
|
24.4m
|
14.6m
|
3
|
Manta Alley
|
28/4/14
|
12.02PM
|
53mins
|
26.5m
|
17.1m
| |
4
|
Batu Bolong
|
29/4/14
|
11.25AM
|
46mins
|
23oC
|
28.7m
|
16.8m
|
5
|
Shot Gun
|
29/4/14
|
3.14PM
|
60mins
|
28oC
|
22.3m
|
12.8m
|
6*
|
Gili Lawa Darat
|
29/4/14
|
6.52PM
|
63mins
|
24oC
|
18.0m
|
14.3m
|
7
|
Castel Rock
|
30/4/14
|
7.31AM
|
50mins
|
27oC
|
25.6m
|
16.5m
|
8
|
Crystal Rock
|
30/4/14
|
10.40AM
|
61mins
|
29oC
|
19.5m
|
14.6m
|
9
|
Gili Lawa Laut
|
30/4/14
|
3.20PM
|
64mins
|
28oC
|
29.3m
|
15.5m
|
10
|
Tatawa Besar
|
1/5/14
|
7.24AM
|
4mins
|
28oC
|
9.8m
|
-
|
11
|
Tatawa Besar
|
1/5/14
|
7.24AM
|
57mins
|
28oC
|
19.8m
|
10.4m
|
12**
|
Sebayur Kecil
|
1/5/14
|
10.32AM
|
59mins
|
28oC
|
25.9m
|
15.2m
|
As per the readings from my loyal Suunto Zoop
Note
Note
* - Night Dive
** - Decompression dive - 4 minutes
