 Diving in Komodo |
The islands east of Bali are called Nusa Tenggara and belong to the ring of fire which stretches from Sumatra to the Maluku islands in the east. The most important destination from a diver´s point of view is the island of Komodo situated in the narrow strait between Sumbawa to the west and Flores to the east. Komodo is one of the oldest national parks in Indonesia. Inside the park borders are the three bigger islands Komodo, Rinca and Padar and also many small cays and submerged reefs. In April 2004 we took part in a trip on board of Ciska to this new destination on the itinerary of this strong and reliable live aboard.
We started our trip in Sape, in East-Sumbawa, from where it is only a short short journey to the dive sites of Komodo. On our way back we followed the northern coast of Sumbawa back to the Gili Islands near Lombok.
Komodo National Park is one of the oldest national parks in Indonesia. Originally it was founded for the protection of the famous Komodo dragons (Varanus komodoensis) which only live ins this area and in some parts of western Flores.
The protection of this outstanding and fragile eco system is far from perfect. There is a lack of funds and manpower to control the park. In the past there has been destruction in some areas caused by dynamite fishing and also shark finning has been a problem. In spite of these threats there is still much to discover underwater and the Komodo area is rated as one of the best diving areas in the world.
Komodo has the reputation for being a diving area for experienced divers. This is true, especially if you want to go there on board of a live aboard. There are many dive sites with strong and sometimes unpredictable currents. Also water temperatures change often and are sometimes far below the usual 28° C you will find in other areas of Indonesia. Especially in the south of the national park temperatures as low as 19° C may occur. It is indeed not a waste of money to buy a 5-mm wetsuit before diving Komodo!
In spite - or maybe because - of these troubles Komodo is offering fantastic underwater experiences for divers. There is nearly a guarantee to see big pelagics (Manta rays, sharks). Also bio diversity in the whole area is outstanding. Critter-lovers und underwater photographers and filmers will for sure find many rewarding motives.
Gili Banta
is situated in the north-western corner of the area, already
outside of the national park boarders. We found beautiful coral, many
nudibranchs and in the end of the dive a really big nurse shark under
a table coral. Water temperatures were far from comfortable (24° C)
and visibility was only 25 m.
Batu Bolong
is a rock of which only the top is looking out of the water.
A part of the rock is shaped like a ear with a hole in the middle. Bolong
means "ear" in the local bugis language.
This dive spot can be dived on the northern or southern side depending
on the direction of the always very strong currents here. As long as divers
stay in the sheltered area behind the rock this is a safe dive. There
are usually big schools of fish and whitetip and grey reef sharks, napoleon
wrasses, tunas and rainbow runners pass by. In case you go too far and
are caught by the current there will be no more fun. There are whirlpools
and really strong down currents will take you away and there will be a
safe assent quite a far away from the place your boat anchors!
We liked the northern side with more interesting rock formations better
than the southern side.
Pantai Merah
the Read Beach is a popular dive spot, not far away from the ranger station
of Loh Liang where all visitors of the national park must register. Visibility
is not always good here but is best during falling tide. We saw several
rays, huge schools of fish and a lot of different nudibranchs. Visibility
could have been better.
The Alley
and other dive sites in the south of Komodo are ideal places to watch
Manta Rays. Here in the south cold but nutrient-rich upwellings are We
saw many Manta Rays, big Groupers and Napoleon wrasses.
Cannibal Rock
is also situated in the South, but already in the south of the neighbouring
island of Rinca. The dive site is sheltered inside of Loh Dasami Bay between
Rinca and the island of Nusa Kode. The unterwater-mount is a heaven for
critter-lovers. It is totally overgrown by feather stars and soft corals
and there are a lot of red and purple sea-apples (Pseudocolochirus violaceus),
a special kind of sea-cucumber. We found two frog fish in 30 m.
This is also the place for night dives. There are many basket-stars, bobtail
squids and different species of lion fish.
Also the other dive spots in this area can be recommended: Crinoid
Canyon, is a wall covered with feather stars and Yellow
Wall with overhangs and canyons is also worth a dive.
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Pillarsteen and Three Sisters
Both dive sites are interesting spots close to the island of Padar between
Komodo and Rinca. Pillarsteen has nice canyons and caves and is more sheltered
than Three Sisters.
The latter one is a dive site which is formed by 3 (actually 4) under-water
mounts, which may be dived all around. There are some exposed sections
but if you swim further on you will always find a sheltered place. We
saw some sharks, big groupers and napoleon wrasses. The mounts are covered
with hard- und soft-corals. We discovered a nice yellow frogfish and a
leaf-scorpion fish.
Seboloh Kecil
is already situated outside the national park boundaries close to Labuan
Bajo. Here we had very good visibility and dived on an under-water mount
covered with hard- and soft corals.
Pulau Sangeang
On the way back to Lombok there are still some very good dive spots on
the way. Plan in some time to dive Pulau Sangeang, an impressive volcanic
island off the north-eastern tip of Sumbawa. Close to the lighthouse we
found on black volcanic sand a lot of critters and there are pigmy seahorses
in the gorgonian fans.
A good map of the Komodo National Park and a description of a lot of other dive sites may be found on the Komodo National Park website. Another good map based on Google Earth can be found on Dirk Krienbuehl´s website.
| Thanks to Sealux, world-famous producer of underwater-housings from Germany, there will be no footage from the Komdo trip. It took Sealux two unsuccessful attempts to repair the remote control of the housing. At last, after I had to sent in the device for the third time they eventually replaced it by a new one. In the meantime I took the "repaired" housing to the Maldives in October 2003 and to Komodo in April 2004 where the housing worked only for about 15 minutes. This is no good reputation for this German company. |
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