Trip Reports
A Kingdom of Giants and Tiny Wonders!
Komodo is a kaleidoscope of colour and scale. Vibrant reefs teem with life, setting the stage for ocean giants: turtles, mantas, and whale sharks cruise effortlessly through the blue, while weird and wonderful critters dwell in the sand below. This voyage offered a true showcase of that duality. From macro marvels on Komodo’s black sand […]
A Passage Through the Heart of the Banda Sea
The full moon brought movement and life to the ocean. Currents pulsed through the reef, and with them, the rhythm of reproduction began barrel sponges released plumes of spawn like underwater volcanos, while starfish arch upwards, releasing fine strands into the current. The water teemed with energy, a living system in motion. Our voyage began […]
Biodiversity Super Special
A 16 day journey. 1200 Nautical miles. One great crossing with extraordinary destinations from Maumere to Raja Ampat through the hottest spots of Alor and Banda Sea. The most anticipated and my favourite trip of the year! Mermaid’s very first sighting of a Dugong in the Banda Islands. It really made one of the best […]
The Color of Komodo
With the exception of Raja Ampat, I can’t imagine that there are any other dive destinations with as much color as Komodo and the surrounding islands. The reefs and all of it’s lovely inhabitants; from Moyo Island off of Sumbawa, to the intrepid water of Komodo, to Sangean’s volcanic reefs, offer an explosion of color […]
Lovely Komodo
Returning to Komodo, after nearly five months on land stretching my legs, was an absolute dream. The reefs were better than I had remembered as they were brimming with life and color. Batu Bolong, one of Komodo’s most popular sites offering one of the world’s best reef dives was exceptionally beautiful this trip. The hard […]
The Ring of Fire Continued
800 nautical miles from Ambon back to Maumere through the Banda Sea and Alor, The Ring of Fire continued. Mermaid I returns from another 12 majestic days, days of unique biologically diverse, rich abundant marine life, pristine and untouched reefs, pelagic sharks and rare macro subjects that flourish from amazing muck dives of Alor and […]
Another great week with wonderful marine life
This week in Komodo was particularly memorable down in the south where we had truly epic ‘manta madness’ in Manta Alley. In clear waters our guests were immersed among over 20 mantas swirling around the cleaning station, and in the alley itself they were joined by a small school of mobula rays. This was one […]
Surreal Place!
This week on Mermaid II we welcomed onboard a dive group from Hawaii who were super excited to immerse themselves in Komodo’s rich waters! At the famous drift dive site ‘Karang Makassar’ we all had a fast ‘flight’ with numerous mantas passing, along with hawksbill turtles. Our guests all loved their first drift diving experiences […]
Komodo Diving Cruise
This week on Mermaid II we had a dive charter group of 20 friendly guests from ‘Ocean Geeks’ dive club in the US. They were all armed with an array of underwater cameras, and eager to get out to Komodo and photograph the incredible marine life! Starting out in the north of Komodo National Park, […]
The Ring of Fire (part 1)
The Hammerhead sharks season is here! One of the most expected trips of the year and yet it was way more than finding walls of Hammerhead sharks! An outstanding adventure from Maumere to Ambon through Alor and the Bandas, The Ring of Fire! Pygmy sized creatures up to the largest living animal on the Planet! […]