SPANISH DANCERS
in
KOMODO!

Liveaboard trip 30/7 – 8/8 2008

Bali - Komodo
INDONESIA

Mermaid I

The King of Nudibranchs, the mighty Spanish Dancer, can be seen in many tropical waters. But rarely as big as we have them here in Komodo National Park – we came across several individuals between 50 and 60 centimeters of length this trip! And, to further please, almost all of them had onboard Imperial Shrimps. Now, those are big Nudis! No magnifying glass required.

As for the Denise Pygmy Seahorse, well, that’s another story. Stretched out (relax, just theoretically...) it might measure a minuscule one centimeter. On a good day. Trick here is to actually get divers to SEE it, not just nod politely...

Even though we were extremely lucky with the smaller critters on this trip, we also got to see bigger animals. Apart from an entire day with loads and loads of Manta Rays at Manta Alley, we had great shark action up at Takat Toko (a.k.a. Castle Rock), north Komodo National Park. I counted more than 25 sharks, while we were hanging up-current, using our reef hooks. As usual at this divesite, the Dolphins showed up, wondering what all these sharks were up to... A lot of fun to watch!

A favourite for many of the guests this trip, was the day at Sangeang Volcano. An unusual seascape, with extremely colourful corals and black lava sand. Since the volcano is still (just a little bit...) active, at several places you can see bubbles coming up from the sand. Very scenic indeed! And the place is full of life – Leaf Scorpionfish, Blue Ribbon Eels, lots of Nudibranchs and, with a bit of luck and a good set of eyes, Pegasus-fish. (However, one diver asked me after the dive why on earth I was pointing out this dead bird to her...?).

Last dive of this Komodo Safari was Angel Reef, at Moyo Island. We got a good selection of photography subjects here: Orangutang Crabs, Pink Squat Lobsters, Pygmy Seahorses, Spaghetti Garden Eels, Giant Spearing Mantis Shrimps and both Black and Blue Ribbon Eels.

As usual, most of the cruising time back to Bali was spent sharing photos, email adresses and a few bottles of wine.

PJ Widestrand

Video-Pro
Mermaid I

Liveaboard trips to Thailand, Burma, Bali - Komodo and Andaman Islands.