MANTAS IN THE BLUE!

Liveaboard trip 13 – 22/9/09

Bali - Komodo Safari
INDONESIA

Mermaid I

In many places, seeing Manta Rays means dealing with reduced visibility. Not so here; we had the chance to dive with these wonderful creatures in warm, blue water, on no less than five occasions. Highlight was probably the dive in the Komodo Channel, where we had seven of the big rays playing in the current.

Even though we were really lucky with big encounters, there was also room for more diminutive findings; at a newly discovered divesite, we tracked down a White V Octopus, Velvetfish, Coleman Shrimps, Demon Stingers, Frogfish, Pegasusfish, Stonefish, Coconut Octopus and a good collection of Nudibranchs, including the rare Raja Thecacera (a.k.a. ”Bunny Ears”). That’s right, folks – all this in one dive!

No Komodo trip would be complete without seeing the (in)famous Dragon, the world’s biggest lizard. On Komodo itself, we saw five of these impressive animals, and our luck continued at Rinja Island, where we had another four, right on the beach!

Back up in the north of the National Park, we did a high-voltage dive at Takat Toko, with loads of Whitetip and Grey Reef Sharks as well as big schools of fish and, as a finale, a Dolphin moving in from the right!

PJ Widestrand

Tourleader and Video-Pro
Mermaid I

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