This week’s voyage onboard the Mermaid II took us from Maumere in the island of Flores to Mermaid’s home port in Bali through the Komodo National Park, Sangeang volcano and Saleh Bay.
The atmosphere was filled with excitement for what lay ahead as guests got to know each other, while the captain wasted no time starting the engine and set sail straight to Komodo.
This time, Komodo offered spectacular diving with excellent diversity, from world-class muck diving, to exhilarating channel drift dives, manta cleaning stations, beautiful coral reefs and pinnacles. Throughout the trip, we enjoyed nice weather and pleasant currents, plenty of fish actions, finding a myriad of rare tiny critters such as frogfishes, nudibranchs, octopus and cuttlefish, just to name a few.
Taking a break from diving, we stopped by Loh Liang on the island of Komodo to look for the iconic Komodo Dragon. It didn’t take long before the local park rangers spotted 4 wild Komodo Dragons eating a deer carcass right at the beach. A mixed feeling arose as our fortunate guests witnessed such a rare occasion.
Back in the waters again, we stopped by the island of Sangeang and dived right at the foot of this active volcano. Beneath this active volcano, volcanic bubbles rise from the warm black sands, corals thrive, and critters dwell. We were all delighted to find rare critters such as Ornate Ghost Pipefishes, Tozeuma Shrimp, Leopard Anemone Shrimp, rare nudibranchs and more Frogfishes.
Before landing in Bali, we concluded our trip in Saleh Bay, diving under the Bagans – traditional fishing platform, where a large Whale Shark accompanied us the whole dive.
– Christopher Pen
Mermaid II
Maumere-Komodo-Bali
May 3 to 12, 2025