Komodo: One Big Highlight
Where to even begin when the whole trip is just one big highlight? Pleasant weather conditions, marine life overload and surprising encounters. Strong currents in the right places and no currents where there shouldn’t be any.
Saleh Bay welcomed us with a long interaction with 3 whale sharks feeding underneath a bagan – traditional fishing platform, and occasionally swimming around us. Never a dull moment spending time with the gentle giants of the ocean.
The active volcano of Sangeang also never disappoints. Right under the foot of this active volcano, bubbles arise from the warm volcanic sands and corals thrive. Critter hunting here is just so much fun! Every trip we just never know what surprise Sangeang has in store for us.
As we continued to sail east and entered Komodo National Park, the landscape changed from Moyo and Sumbawa’s dense rainforest canopy to Komodo’s golden savannah hills, rugged volcanic ridges, and dramatic coastline.
Of course a trip to Komodo would be incomplete without visiting the Komodo island itself, and taking a little walk alongside the modern day dragons that roamed this ancient land. We were lucky to see 9 dragons together, lazily laying next to a water hole to ambush an unsuspecting prey.
This time, Komodo really delivered! From everyone’s favorite Batu Bolong with its signature citrus colored anthias bursting out of their colonies while giant and bluefin trevallies patrolled the blue. To a giant school of yellowmask surgeonfish so dense that you can barely see the reef behind them.
In the rugged South Komodo, As if the manta rays knew that the world was celebrating World Manta Day. We were lucky to encounter 20 to 30 reef manta rays, all lined up in the middle of the “alley”, gliding effortlessly in the currents and feeding in the nutrient rich waters. Some guests even witnessed the manta trains and courtship behavior.
This trip has been particularly amazing in terms of macro life as well. We were able to find different species of ghost pipefish, octopus, cuttlefish, nudibranchs, seahorses and frogfishes. It was fun to see our guests trying to outmatch our seasoned eagle eyed dive masters in finding rare tiny critters
The big surprise however came to us on one fine morning in the famous “Shotgun” where we encountered a massive school of Cownose Rays, possibly in their hundreds! We will all remember how they came out of the channel, passed on top of us and “darkened the sky”, leaving all of us in awe! Even our seasoned dive master ended up doing a celebration dance underwater after that encounter.
As the boat gets closer towards Maumere and wraps up Komodo season this year, we will remember this trip as one for the books!
Christopher Pen
MV Mermaid II
Bali-Komodo-Maumere
12-21 September 2026
For more details about Mermaid Liveaboards Komodo cruise check here: https://www.mermaid-liveaboards.com/destinations/komodo/