All Change in Komodo

What a difference a week makes!. Last week we had raging full moon currents giving exhilarating dives. This weeks trip to Komodo on board Mermaid II couldn’t have been more different.

Diving into castle rock there was notably less current than last week. Then the strong currents had led to an abundance of predators circling picking of fusiliers but the large shoal of Surgeonfish and many of the reef fish were sheltering. We still had many hunting Trevalley but the Sharks had moved off the pinnacle. Instead we had large shoals and reef fish all around us giving a totally different but still very rewarding experience.

The biggest surprise was Tatawa besar. Normally a fast drift along the edge of the reef we jumped in to find almost no current at all. This had resulted in a flurry of activity on the reef as all sorts of different fish made use of the slack tide to visit the many cleaning stations. We had time to explore the reef in a different way to how we are used to seeing it. Spending more time to find smaller creatures that would be out of the question during the normal drift.

Crystal Rock however was a different matter. The current was truly raging so after a week of relaxing diving we all got to experience what Komodo is famous for!

It all goes to show that no matter the weather or currents during your trip, and no matter how many times you have already been there is always something new to experience diving Komodo National Park.

Barry Neal

MV Mermaid II
8th – 15th July 2023