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meanderful · 2 years ago

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Dragons and Mantas and Sharks, Oh My!

Adventure Ahoy!

Though sad to be leaving Bali, we felt a real sense of excitement to be moving on. Through some form of magic (otherwise known as excellent organisational skills), Sam sorted us a 6-day/5-night liveaboard trip into Komodo National Park on a boat that usually takes four guests but, because it was the final week of the season, he bagged the trip for just the two of us for no extra cost. Sidenote for non-divers: a “liveaboard” is a boat with an air compressor, thus allowing for tank refills without the need to return to shore. This cuts out journey time so that you can do several dives per day while journeying through often remote regions that would otherwise be pretty inaccessible for diving. This was the first time Sam and I had ever been on a liveaboard trip.

This is all to say, within a few hours of arriving in the port town of Labuan Bajo on the island of Flores, 700km east of Bali, we somehow ended up on our very own private charter!

A dinghy took us out to where the Busy Girl, our home for the next six days, was moored. She is a compact former-fishing boat, hence the unusually small capacity of just four customers. We were introduced to the crew for the trip—Yunus, our dive guide; Suhar, el capitan; Herman, the engineer; Yoris, the cook; Fian, the dinghy driver; and Grace, a 17-year-old student doing an internship as part of the tourism course she’s studying). And to point out the potentially obvious, a ratio of six crew to two customers is extremely luxurious!

Photos Above: arriving at the Busy Girl for the first time; setting sail from Labuan Bajo's port

We left Labuan Bajo port midway through the afternoon and chugged straight for our first dive site, heading west into the national park. The surroundings were immediately stunning, the water punctuated with green islands here and there. They didn’t look tropical at all, more like very steep, dry moorland peppered with the occasional tree.

The biggest disappointment of the trip was the fact that Sam still couldn’t dive—he joined Yunus and myself for one dive partway through, but it wasn’t at all comfortable for his ears and he could tell they hadn’t healed fully, and so had to sit the rest of our dives out and instead often snorkelled the same sites.

Nonetheless, we quickly settled into life on the boat and ended up having a fantastic time. Given that I was doing three dives a day, the schedule felt pretty jampacked, with most of the time between 6.30a.m.–4.30p.m. each day spent prepping for diving, diving itself, and eating our freshly cooked meals in between. That said, living on a boat was hardly a tough life as we didn’t even have to sort out our own dive gear or cook our own food. So there was plenty of time for napping, drafting up my diving diary, digging deep into the reef fish and creatures identifications books on board, and relaxing on the deck as we glided through the beautiful national park. It was quickly apparent that Yoris was an excellent chef, serving up dishes such as crisp chilli tempe, tofu and caramelised onions in a sweet bean sauce, fresh green beans and beansprouts, various noodle creations, and battered aubergine pieces, to name just a few of his creations. And given that scuba diving is pretty heavy cardiovascular exercise and I was doing three hours’ worth in a day, I devoured Yoris’ creations with great keenness.

Photos Above: Busy Girl in all her glory; her dive setup area and front deck; the kitchen; me studiously working away with the reef identification books at the back seating area; our cabin; fresh juice in the mornings!

Over the course of the six days, we zigzagged our way around the north and central sections of the national park. We were incredibly lucky with the timing and weather. As it was the right at the end of the season, we saw very few other boats (usually, it’s roughly 15 boats moving around together), and I only saw other divers at 3 out of the 15 dive sites. We also only had a couple of hours of rain during the daytime in the entire six days, despite the fact that it’s the rainy season and it apparently rained heavily the previous week. What luck!

Photo Above: one of our mooring spots on day 2, amid the beautiful scenery

Though I kept a (far too fulsome) diary of every dive, as well as notes on other exciting events that happened on the trip, I suspect that reading a detailed account of fifteen individual dives might not make for the most fascinating read. So with this in mind, I’ve put together a condensed “Best Of” for you all below!

Day 1

Dive #1: Sebayur Kecil

We entered the water doing a front stride entry from the Busy Girl. Sam wasn’t able to descend with us, his ears not clearing properly so he almost immediately resurfaced, and Yunus and I continued. I was immediately struck by how different the reef was compared to all my recent dives around Nusa Lembongan and its sister islands, with a completely different variety of corals and colours. Alongside generally marvelling at all the fish life, we saw two Green Turtles and a Blacktip Shark also cruised by a couple of times. We were picked up afterward by the dinghy with Yunus instructing me to unclip my dive gear and pass it up first and then jump up into the dinghy “like a dolphin”. I think I may have quite a way to go before any dolphin will be accepting me into their pod.

Photo Above: front-stride entry into the water from the Busy Girl

Day 2

Dive #2: Tatawa Besar

We were in the water by 7a.m. As a perpetually hungry person, I wondered what diving before breakfast would be like—turns out it’s a delight. Nothing quite like an hour in the tropical 29 degrees water, floating amid the coral and fish life to work up an appetite. And what a dive it was! The first third of the dive was hard work, with a strong downcurrent meaning that we had to constantly kick upwards. The reef was mostly made up of purple-grey sponges and green and yellow soft coral. The current began to ease and we zigzagged back and forth for the rest of the dive slowly getting shallower with each zig and zag. We saw several Green and Hawksbill turtles, foraging, resting, and going up for air. We also saw a huge cuttlefish, maybe half a metre long, flashing like a disco ball—they rapidly change colour both as a camouflage technique and to warn off potential predators so I wonder what we registered as. And then Yunus suddenly excitedly pointed upwards towards the shallow edge of the reef and there was a Reef Manta Ray gliding by! For the rest of the dive, two individuals glided back and forth around us—at one point Yunus turned toward me and his eyes widened in surprise as one of the mantas glided over my head with me completely unaware until the last moment. As we did our five-metre safety stop for three minutes (standard practice for every single recreational dive), the two mantas were feeding at the surface, circling right by us even as we also surfaced.

Dive #4: Golden Passage

This was the first dive that we didn’t enter the water straight from the Busy Girl—Fian took us out on the dinghy to the passage between Gili Lawa Darat and Komodo, where the narrow strait creates a strong current and acts as a sort of funnel for marine life in the area. I noted while underwater that this dive felt a bit like an orchestral overture, with distinctly different movements, changes in pace, and definite flourishes as the topography, coral, and marine life changes throughout the dive. It began with an intense crescendo when Yunus spotted a school of mobula ray fly past only a few minutes after descending (I counted eleven altogether!). Then things were legato for a while as a very light current gently drifted us across a sandy bottom peppered with corals and sponges here and there. As we followed the curve of the seabed around a corner, things began to get even more exciting when the current seriously picked up exactly as another school of mobulae swam by, so that we both hooked a finger into rocks on the seabed so that we could watch them swim by. Shortly afterwards, the seabed dropped away into the blue as the passage between the islands became much deeper and we followed the sloping reef for the rest of the dive. The reef was now intensely colourful, with purple, red, yellowy-green, and blue branching corals amid fan and mushroom corals (I sound as though I know what I’m talking about but I’m pretty sure I’ve made up the names of some of these types of corals). Schools of tiny silvery fish, the size of the circle of my finger and thumb together, floated above the reef like shimmering, buoyant confetti. Just as we did our safety stop, we spotted Sam snorkelling above us. He told me that he had been hanging out with a juvenile cuttlefish for ages, which apparently seemed wholly unfussed about his large presence near it.

Whales!:

We’re just back on the boat after an incredibly exciting hour. Just after showering after the final dive of the day, two national park staff pulled up to Busy Girl to check our paperwork. They let Yunus know that blue whales had been spotted very close to where we surfaced after our last dive just over an hour ago and that they were still around. We immediately pulled on swimsuits, jumped into the dinghy with Fian and Yunus, and headed out into the bay. Within minutes, the whales surfaced, and we could see their backs curved through the water and sprays of water shoot into the air as the exhaled through their blowholes—I’ll admit I was very close to tearing up with happiness. My first blue whales! We spent a full hour following them in a large loop around the bay—with not one single other boat around—and realised that there were three individuals, one of them likely a calf I would guess, based on its smaller size. They surfaced time and time again to breathe, gliding so gracefully that their tail flukes arced through the air behind them. A few times, we tried to jump into the water with our snorkels a short distance in front of where they last surfaced, but every time they were far too fast for us to keep up. Nonetheless, it was an exhilarating, beautiful experience. As we headed back towards the tiny bay where the Busy Girl was moored, the sun was setting behind the islands in front of us, a beautiful, final moment to round the experience off.

Video Above: video credit to Fian, who managed to drive the dinghy at speed at the same time as capturing this video, as we all realised that there were in fact THREE blue whales surfacing less than 50m away from us

Day 3

Dive #5: Castle Rock

That was a crazy dive! Yunus briefed me beforehand about the site and its conditions. As it’s a huge pinnacle rising up out of the seabed until very close to the surface and often has strong currents, the dive had certain technical challenges. Usually, you enter the water with your buoyancy control jacket (BCD) inflated so that you can bob at the surface checking everyone is okay and then all descend together. But for sites with strong currents, it’s safer to do negative entry, rolling backwards off the boat with your BCD deflated so that you drop straight down, ensuring that the current doesn’t zoom you away. As soon as we had done so, battling our way down against the current until we were at about 20m, Yunus then hooked me in with a reef hook (my first time using one), a metal claw that you hook into the rock, connected to a coiling spring that you clip to your BCD, to help keep you in place in areas with high current.

Once we were both hooked into the rock, facing outward into the current and away from the pinnacle, we spent the majority of the dive hanging out in that exact same spot, skydiving through the current streaming at us and watching the seascape in front of us. It was a exhilarating feeling! There were vast schools of Bluestreak Fusilier flashing silver and iridescent violet-blue, and Sergeants striped yellow and black, and gliding among them I spotted a grand total of eleven Whitetip Sharks, several of which were pregnant—including one female that had an almost incongruously huge belly (she was obviously my favourite).

Dive #7: Cauldron (aka Shotgun)

This was one of those dives that really felt like we’d gone on quite the journey. The dive site was in the passage between two islands and is also known as “shotgun” because of the strong current right in the middle of the passage. We dropped down quite close to one of the islands and slowly swam over the sandy bottom, past two Whitetip Sharks chilling at the bottom (they lie on the seabed facing into the current so that they can breathe as the water passes through their gills) until we came to the reef. Yunus spotted FOUR pygmy seahorses amazingly camouflaged as the exact same colour and texture as the little polyps on the purple coral fan that they had made their home. They were absolutely miniscule, about the size of a fingernail, and clung onto the fan with the little curl of their tails.

As we continued to swim, the current picked up and almost like a light switch it became incredibly strong. Yunus hooked me into a large rock on the sandy bottom with the reef hook and I lasted about 30 seconds before the entire rock actually flipped in the strength of the current and we decided to take that as a sign and that rather than hanging out there for a bit we should just enjoy the ride. So we sped along in the current until Yunus signalled for us to swim out of it to the nearby reef, where we zigzagged back and forth for the rest of the dive over the reef.

Sam snorkelled along a very similar route as us and managed to see not only two passing mobula ray but also two separate manta rays that swam close by as they passed him!

Photos Above: a damselfish hiding in branching coral; spot the stonefish!; Sam snaps one of the manta rays as it does a flyby

Day 4

Komodo Trekking:

Good news: we got a lie in until 7a.m.; bad news, the boat needed to start moving at 5a.m. to get us to our first stop on time, so of course by half 5 I was up on deck watching us glide along in the morning light.

At 8a.m. we moored up in a bay and the dinghy took us to the pier. On land (very weird to be on solid ground after a few days on the boat), we met a national park guide who took us on a mini trek to see the Komodo Dragons. As it was early morning, he suggested we start by the beach as they like to go sun themselves early. And sure enough, we immediately saw a huge male sitting amid a few logs on the sand (by which I mean Sam and our guide saw it immediately, whereas I only avoided stepping right on it thanks to the panicked cries of our guide…). Apparently the guide could tell it was male as it was a rusty red/brown colour (the females are more yellowy) and larger than females typically are—this one was easily 2m long. Komodo Dragons have quite the reputation—they can smell blood up to 7km away and kill their prey by biting and then allowing the fatal bacteria in their saliva to kill the animal slowly but surely. This is to say, they are exceedingly patient. They eat any meat, both carrion and prey, and as the island has buffalo, wild boar, and deer, there is plenty in supply—and though they eat about 80kg per sitting, they only need to eat once a month.

Photos Above: an excellent shot by our guide with the first adult male we encountered; the same adult male; going for a wander; another adult male splayed out on the sand; warming up; with our pet dinosaur; the agile juvenile

We continued walking along the beach and saw a grand total of four adult males (highly unusual apparently, as oftentimes visitors may see no dragons at all). We did a mini loop through the forest where we saw no further dragons but did acquire a cloud of mosquitos, and then just as we re-emerged back on the beach we spotted a much smaller (maybe 1m long?) juvenile darting about.

Dive #9: Manta Point

WHAT a dive! We left Sam on the surface snorkelling and descended down to the rubbly seabed. Despite the sand particulate floating around, reducing the visibility to about 15m, within a few minutes we saw our first manta ray—amid the rubble, there were small rocks here and there covered in coral and home to enough fish life as to create cleaning stations for the mantas. This one rocked up and hovered over the cleaning station for a few minutes while fish cleaned its underside, looking for all the world as though it were gracefully flying on the spot. It’s best practice to stay as close to the seabed as possible when diving with mantas (and it also gives you a much better chance of them choosing to swim close to you) so we made sure to stay down and hold onto the small rubbly rocks to help stay in one spot in the current. After a few minutes, we let the current drift us away and for the next more than hour, every time we spotted a manta we would descend to the seabed (in some instants flattening ourselves completely if a manta chose to drift closer to us) and watch it closely for several minutes until either it moved on or we were ready to do so. We definitely saw a few individuals twice—one was entirely black (melanistic) including its cephalic lobes except for a white star on its belly; another was missing one cephalic lobe entirely. I also noticed several individuals appearing to be in the early stages of pregnancy, with tiny bumps. An absolute highlight was watching three manta rays come to the same cleaning station and then slowly drift off in different directions, including one of them swimming over me a mere couple of metres above me (I was utterly flattened to the bottom to become one with the seabed at this point), genuinely blotting out the light for a brief moment. We must have seen at least ten individuals, though likely closer to fifteen. When we surfaced after nearly 70 minutes underwater, we went to pick Sam up. He had helped Grace to snorkel for the very first time, linking arms with her in the water to help guide her as she saw her first ever manta rays. Then, for at least half an hour he had followed one individual on the surface, watching it stop at a cleaning station, glide a few metres beneath him to feed, and generally going about its business totally accepting of the mere human delightedly following it about.

Photos Above: on day 4, we moored up on a nearby island and hiked up the hill for ten minutes to get this beautiful sunset view; returning to the Busy Girl in the fading light

Day 5

Dive #12: Batu Bolong South

Another knock-out dive. We did negative entry and dropped down the wall of the reef. The current was so mild here that we didn’t hook in and instead just put a finger and thumb onto the wall for support and watched the beautiful fluid movement of the sharks. This first half of the dive had particularly spectacular topography, with the huge wall disappearing deep into the blue below us and rising above us to the surface like vast mountain peaks, with canyons and ravines sweeping into the rock—vast formations like this always have the effect of making me feel small and humbled.

We drifted around a corner and out of the current and began slowly zigzagging up the slope of the reef, which was one of the most spectacular I’ve ever seen. It was multicoloured with so many different textures and there was SO much fish life, with the water around us absolutely full of schools of fish darting this way and that. With the iridescent flashing of the fish, the sunlight streaming in, the seagrass and soft corals swaying in the swell, and the brightness of the colours, it was dazzling. To top it all, we heard the sound of dolphins passing by somewhere out in the blue. For the last few minutes, we were accompanied above by Sam who was snorkelling on the surface. I noticed that he curiously kept looking under his armpits, and when we ascended he showed me two absolutely miniscule juvenile Sergeants (circular silver fish with vertical yellow and blue stripes on their body), each no bigger than 2cm, which had taken residence in the space under his armpits. He had fondly named them Doris and Deidre.

Dive #13: Mawan

WOW WOW WOW WOW, WHAT a dive!!! Easily one of our top life experiences.

Yunus and I dropped down to a fairly wide plateau at about 15m, swimming along it with the reef rising upwards several metres to our right and dropping down into the blue several metres to our left. As we swam along, four individual manta rays passed by us. Sam was snorkelling and spotted us below, tracking us for the rest of the dive. After a while the plateau curved around to the right and the bottom became sandier, with little reefy outcrops here and there, which were evidently a series of cleaning stations for the mantas. The next forty minutes were mind-blowingly special. The first really incredible experience came when one huge, (slightly) pregnant female swam in slow circles close to us as she was cleaned, coming so low over me as I flattened myself to the seabed that I could have touched her if I reached up—I definitely teared up into my mask. I looked up afterwards and saw that Sam had caught the whole thing on camera.

We swam a little further on and then things got really wild. Mantas started soaring from all directions and as we were so shallow (about 8m) that the sun lit everything up and on top of that, the visibility was decent, so the whole thing was spectacularly clear. At one point, Yunus and I excitedly counted seven manta rays around us at the same time. They were slowly circling above the various cleaning stations around us and I had somehow parked myself right next to one so as I lay flattened to the sandy bottom, remaining as still as possible, several of them became curious and flew very low over me to experience the bubbles of my exhalations on their wing tips and bellies (though I didn't realise at the time and tried to lessen my exhalations for fear of startling them!). There was something absolutely magical about the experience—instead of being apart and observing the manta rays, it felt as though Yunus and I below and Sam above were all held within the moment, experiencing nature from within the phenomenon. Slowly the mantas started gliding off and when no new individuals swam into the stations, we surfaced after 70 minutes underwater, absolutely high from what we had just experienced.

Photos Above: a male passes by Yunus and myself (if you peer closely, you can see I'm the one with blue fins); a male and female circle together; two mantas right above me; a female about to pass over me

Dive #14: Wainilu

Forth dive of the day! And a night dive to boot. We dropped down to about 15m over a sandy, rubbly bottom with soft pink coral sprinkled here and there, and spent the dive slowly zigzagging our way up. We each took a torch and floated slowly along the bottom moving our beams about slowly. Turns out Yunus has amazing eyes for spotting small stuff at night, pointing out SO many fascinating creatures. There was: a bright orange Starry Night Octopus covered in white-blue spots with all its tentacles furled up beneath it; a long red Short-Tailed Pipefish (a bit like a seahorse only long and straight); lots of really brightly coloured nudibranches (a type of sea slug) including some that were even neon green and blue; a crab whose back was camouflaged to look like rubble; and best of all, an Ornate Ghost Pipefish, a tiny (maybe 7cm), frilly, black fish related to the seahorse. When it came time to do our safety stop, we turned off our torches and then waved our arms and legs about as though we were dancing in zero gravity, watching as bioluminescence sparked around our flailing limbs.

Day 6

Definitely sad to be leaving the Busy Girl after an amazing few days. We both had that wonderful feeling of being completely disconnected, having hardly seen a person besides the crew for a week and certainly not having seen anything verging on mass civilisation. And despite Sam’s distinct lack of diving, we had several wildlife encounters that we’ll remember forever—certainly a fantastic first liveaboard experience.

Photo Above: with the WONDERFUL Busy Girl crew, from left to right: Fian, Grace, Yunus, Suhar, and Herman!

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samaraliveaboard · 3 years ago

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Samara live aboard

Samara - Labuan Bajo based private charter phinisi boat for your ultimate sailing experience across Komodo National Park. Phinisi Labuan Bajo

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businessliveme · 5 years ago

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Summer of Cruising

The seas are calling and we do love a good luxury cruise. We pick eight of the cruises that stood out from the rest for us this year as a result of unique itineraries, facilities, and comfort

Ovation of the Seas

The Ovation of the Seas is the third and currently the newest ship of the “Quantum” class, in the Royal Caribbean family. With a length of almost 350 meters, the ship offers space for up to 4,180 passengers, who can find plenty of variety, entertainment and recreation on 16 decks.

The Ovation of the Seas is a ship for all ages, with a special focus on guests looking to enjoy the full range of entertainment on this large cruise ship. The atmosphere is relaxed, the service friendly and very professional, just typically American. Numerous restaurants, bars, lounges and cafes offer a huge variety of delicious food at any time of the day. As on all cruise lines, the Ovation of the Seas offers entertainment for all tastes: from quiet evening tunes to wild party nights at the club – here everyone gets their money’s worth. And to top it, there are 79 cruises to choose from.

Alexa – Indo Yachts

If big cruises or yachts are not your cup of tea, then Alexa, the one-cabin superyacht might just be what you are looking for. Available from as little as three nights, a seven-day charter aboard Alexa could see guests on a romantic cruise from Labuan Bajo in Flores to Moyo Island in Sumbawa, through some of the most pristine and untouched areas of the Indonesian archipelago. During a tour of Indonesia’s exotic wilderness, the yacht’s two sole guests will visit The Komodo National Park and cruise through the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’, with a dedicated crew on hand to cater to their every whim, and almost every conceivable amenity on board. Once-in-a-lifetime experiences include arrival on board via seaplane, beach dining on Wai Nilu beach, on-deck barbecues, spa treatments, swimming with turtles and Manta Rays, and trekking for Komodo Dragons and other native Indonesian wildlife. For downtime, a single, master cabin offers 270-degree views out on to Indonesia’s beautiful scenery from a king-size bed, with uninterrupted viewing granted from her adjoining private balcony aft.

Gypsy Mekong Kingdoms

A river cruise is one of our indulgences and the Gypsy has shot right up pioneering a stylish new way of exploring the Mekong River with modern boats, bespoke itineraries and a playful, artistic spirit, and we are proud to announce the maiden voyage of Gypsy, an ultra-exclusive two-cabin river cruiser, between the ancient Laos capital of Luang Prabang and Thailand’s Golden Triangle, in May 2018. A private tailored three nights, four days cruise from Luang Prabang to the Golden Triangle and two nights, three days return cruise for up to four passengers are on offer. And both Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp & Resort and AVANI+ Luang Prabang can, of course, be added to the journey. Meticulously designed to accommodate the modern-day lifestyle of the most discerning wanderlust souls, the 41-metre, two-cabin vessel epitomises a fine balance between playful mingling and reflective solitude. With ample indoor and outdoor living spaces to comfortably accommodate families or small groups, Gypsy also features a communal mid-ship lounge, bar and dining area, as well as a separate veranda style lounge with an al fresco panorama deck at the bow of the boat.

Queen Mary 2

We chose Queen Mary 2 for a special reason – the renowned English National Ballet goes on board for the first time ever, in a very exclusive voyage that celebrates the world of dance. This Transatlantic Crossing will offer an up-close and personal perspective of the elegant magic the English National Ballet create on stage – and the effort that goes into it. Guests will be joined on board by six ballet dances including Lead Principal Erina Takahashi and First Soloist James Streeter, watch their morning ballet class and drop in on afternoon rehearsals. Guests can also take part in dance workshops throughout the week with a fantastic opportunity to experience the joy of dancing and learn from professionals. There will also be insight talks, offering a fascinating understanding of the dedication and exhilaration of the dancer’s life, along with dance-themed films and documentaries. Queen Mary 2 is a remarkable flagship that places value on luxury, comfort, and service. This special cruise sets sail from Southampton to New York.

Crystal Esprit

The all-suite Crystal Esprit mesmerizes guests by sailing to destinations that are difficult to reach and often accessible only by private yacht. From the Dalmatian Coast and Greek Isles to the Seychelles and West Indies, each itinerary is thoughtfully planned to ensure vacation time is best spent exploring cultural delights. On the West Indies Yachting Explorer itinerary, you will garner front-row access to indulgent islands like St. Barts, Saba and Nevis, places where large cruise ships are typically precluded from docking due to size. Crystal Yacht Expeditions boast 6-star service with 90 staff catering to just 62 guests in 31 butler-serviced suites.

Independence of the Seas

We love Independence of the Seas for its fun and activities-led features. The phenomenal features onboard include the FlowRider® surf simulator, a rock-climbing wall, ice-skating rink, cantilevered whirlpools, Royal Promenade, mini golf course, and much more. The Sky Pad, which made its debut on Independence, is all about providing passengers with a unique, high-tech immersive experience on board. A virtual reality bungee trampoline activity, Sky Pad’s nine-tonne yellow globe looks like a modern art sculpture. Water parks are one of the most popular activities on board for families and the H2O Zone has been replaced by a bigger Splashaway Bay water park. Two racing waterslides called the Perfect Storm have also been added. The ship travels on the Caribbean and Mediterranean routes this year.

U by Uniworld

For anyone looking for a fun, eclectic and hip cruise, the new U by Uniworld gets our votes. The river cruise which begins in Amsterdam, you’ll have three days to spend in the laid-back and forward-thinking Dutch hotspot, along with stops in Haarlem, Cologne, Koblenz and Frankfurt. You’ll spend several nights out on the town — Amsterdam After Dark is a prime example. And you’ll get your fix of famous artwork, incredible scenery and a look into Europe’s history and culture. Whatever your travel personality, this cruise is sure to please. Uniword is sailing into the next generation of cruising with the launch of U by Uniworld, a new take on river cruising for the experiential travel generation.

Wind Star

A sleek, 4-masted sailing ship, Wind Star accommodates 148 guests and features four decks and a gross tonnage of 5,307, making the small vessel seem like your own private small ship. Wind Star teak decks are wide open — quite unusual for small ships. Guests will find hidden nooks for private moments giving them a feeling of being on their own private veranda. All staterooms have ocean views, queen beds, flat-screen TV with DVD player, and Bose SoundDock speakers for Apple iPods. The Owner’s Suite includes a sitting area. Wind Star offers two primary dining venues. Amphora restaurant offers gourmet, course-by-course cuisine in the evenings and Veranda restaurant offers casual buffet and full-service dining for breakfast and lunch.

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boat-komodotour · 11 months ago

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Lamborajo 2 Luxury Phinisi Boat Labuan Bajo, Private Boat charter Labuan Bajo - Komodo Island. 8 Cabin with ac and ensuite bathroom

#boatkomodotur #labuanbajo #boat #komodoisland #indoflorestrip #travel agent #travel #wonderfulindonesia #bali #flores

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krispykings · 7 years ago

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Honoured to be back on this amazing boat with the most wonderful crew ever gathered. If anyone wants to charter it go to http://www.lostparadisecharters.com or to the Lead Pirate extraordinaire Damian Young. (at Labuan Bajo, Flores - Indonesia)

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sailingtripindonesia · 2 years ago

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Sailing Trip Komodo | Komodo Boat Charter

Sailing Trip Komodo dan Paket Tour Labuan Bajo Wisata Pulau Komodo di Indonesia dengan harga murah fasilitas pelayanan terbaik. Booking paket tour Komodo dengan wisata sewa kapal phinisi Labuan Bajo. Dapatkan segera harga promo 2022 dan nikmati penawaran dengan program menarik lainnya. Pulau Komodo merupakan sebuah pulau yang terletak di Kepulauan Nusa Tenggara, berada di sebelah timur Pulau…

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putrawijayatours89 · 3 years ago

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Manta Mae Liveaboard | Boat Charter Manta Mae

Manta Mae Liveaboard Banda Sea – Komodo – Raja Ampat Indonesia Phinisi Boat Charter Launched in 2014, the Manta Mae is a 31-meter Phinisi ironwood schooner. Manta Mae Liveaboard Phinisi is the essence of an ancient romantic tradition fused with modern design and technology. The keel was sculpted on the beach at Bira from a single rare Ironwood tree found in the jungles of Kalimantan, and shaped…

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myangelan · 3 years ago

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Getting Labuan Bajo liveaboard with strangers is typically a more economical way for solo travelers and couples

#Labuan Bajo Liveaboard #Komodo Boat Charter #Komodo Boat Trip

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fadingfartconnoisseur · 7 years ago

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Diving in Komodo: Dragons, Dolphins & Mantas

Komodo National Park is located in the Lesser Sundra Islands in Eastern Indonesia. Most famous for being home to the largest lizard on Earth, the Komodo Dragon (for which the park is named), there is also another reason why explorers have flocked to this archipelago for decades.

The scuba diving in this part of Indonesia is some of the best in the world. Sitting well within the coral triangle, the seas here boast the richest marine biodiversity found anywhere, with healthy corals, abundant fish life and large pelagic like manta rays, eagle rays, shark and also sometimes dolphin and pilot whales.

NOTE: Don’t miss our Diving In Komodo video at the bottom of this post!

An Eagle Ray Flying Along The Ocean Floor in Komodo

Dariece and I were in Komodo National Park back in 2009 on our first year-long trip and while we did get to see the dragons, I didn’t end up doing any diving. Since leaving the area, I heard countless people ask me “You went to Komodo and didn’t dive?!”.

This year I finally had the opportunity to return to these fabled islands and experience the underwater world of Komodo National Park.

I was contacted by The Ministry of Tourism of Indonesia back in June and when they told me about the trip that they had planned, I was beyond thrilled to be invited. The Trip of Wonders 2017 took 10 bloggers and online influencers to 3 of Indonesia’s Best Dive Locations, Alor, Komodo and Raja Ampat.

Komodo was our second stop of the trip and as I sat in my plane seat, gazing out the window at the scattering of emerald islands in the sea, my friend Justin leaned over and told me that this is the best dive location he had ever been to. Coming from a guy who’s done over 5000 dives and is on a mission to see the top 100 dive sites, this was a big statement.

I couldn’t wait to land and get in the water.

There are no hotels or towns on the islands in the National Park as they are protected, so visitors have to either stay in Labuan Bajo (the gateway to Komodo) or join a live aboard dive boat. Our trip was on the latter and I highly recommend the experience.

Our Liveaboard Boat in Komodo National Park

In this post I’m going to not only tell my story of the incredible diving trip in Komodo, but also give you all of the logistics, costs and itineraries so that if you want to plan a similar trip, you can easily do so.

Getting There

We flew from Alor to Labuan Bajo (LBJ) in Flores where we met up with the liveaboard boat. The journey to get from Alor to LBJ was easy enough, but most people won’t likely be travelling from Alor as it’s rather off track. I’ll include my itinerary as well as the more common routes that you’d likely take if you were to visit Komodo.

I’ll also include the ferry routes to get to Komodo as many people reading this are likely on a longer Indonesian trip.

Flights

My Route: Alor to Komodo

We flew from Alor to Kupang and then onward to Labuan Bajo. The best flights to take this journey are with Wings Air as they typically only have a quick 20 minute stop over in Kupang and cost as little as $75 one-way or $140 return (prices vary).

Bali To Komodo

Garuda Indonesia, Indonesia Air Transport (IAT), Merpati Airlines, TransNusa, Sky Aviation and Wings Air (Lionair) all fly from Denpasar to Labuan Bajo (Komodo Airport), providing daily non-stop 1 hour flights between them costing around $80 one-way or $150 return.

Jakarta to Komodo

Garuda has daily non-stop 2.5 hour flights from Jakarta to Labuan Bajo for around $175 one-way and $350 return depending on the season, while other airlines like PT Nam and Swirijaya Air will have a stopover in Bali.

Boats

The port in Labuan Bajo is located in the middle of town and you can walk from there into town within 5 – 10 minutes.

From Sape (Rp 56,000)

There are twice daily ferries from Sape in Sumbawa that arrive in Labuan Bajo at around 4 pm, while the journey from Labuan Bajo to Sape leaves at around 9 am. Both directions cost Rp 56,000. There’s also a speedboat that runs three times a week, takes only 3 hours and costs Rp 130,000 per person.

The Goats With Some Friends on a Ferry to Flores in 2009

There are also some companies that do 2 night / 3 day trips from Lombok to Flores for Rp 170,000. You generally sleep on mats on the deck. We were on one of these boats in 2009 and while they’re not comfortable and everyone seems to smoke, they’re an adventure. You can also rent cabins on these boats for around Rp 2,600,000.

Bus

There are great bus and boat combos that can get you to Labuan Bajo as well. When we were in Indonesia in 2009, we opted to be as independent as possible and tried to book everything separately. This turned out to be a mistake. Not only did we waste time and energy bargaining (and getting ripped off) for transport all along the way, it also ended up costing us more than the VIP bus / boat combo.

To book the combo ticket, you’ll have to head into a tour office on whatever island you’re on, and ask about VIP Bus / Boat Service to get you to Flores. From Gili Islands and Lombok, the journey will be around 24 hours and will likely cost you around Rp 350,000-450,000 including all transfers and ferry tickets.

The Accommodation

While most serious divers will probably want to join a liveaboard to get the most of the islands around Komodo National park (like we did), there are also cheaper options like staying in Labuan Bajo and heading out on day dives to the closer sites. I’ll list both options below.

Livaboards

There are numerous dive shops in Labuan Bajo that can take you out to some dive sites in Komodo, but without a doubt the best way to experience the diving in the National Park is to join a liveaboard.

These massive ships often have numerous cabins for sleeping, comfortable chilling areas and even air conditioning sometimes.

We joined the Embun Laut boat and as it was my first liveaboard, I don’t have much point of reference, but I thought it was pretty amazing. There were a few very small and very basic cabins, but all had AC and there was plenty of room to chill out and relax on the upper 2 decks between dives (the boat had three levels).

If you want to get on the same liveaboard that we took, you can check them out at CND Dive, but there are also a lot of different companies to choose from. Shop around to find the best deal for you.

Note: One huge bonus of the Embun Laut livaboard is that we had Condo on our team. This 57-year-old legend has been diving in Komodo National Park since 1987, has over 10,000 dives under his belt and he helped discover and map many of the dive sites in the region. With Condo, we knew we were in good hands.

Liveaboards in Komodo National Park

I did some research and found that the prices of Livaboards in Komodo vary greatly, but many of them are a great value. Our boat had very basic rooms, while some other ones look like they’re quite a bit more luxurious.

Embun Laut with CND Dive (Our Boat)

Our boat was really large with nice chillout areas on 3 different levels – 4 if you include the roof of the top level where I chilled out and watched the bats fly overhead. Most of the rooms were pretty small, but they were pretty comfortable (although the bed didn’t have sheets or blankets). I was pretty comfortable sleeping here and it was great to have aircon in the rooms.

You generally have to charter the full boat (max 10 people) which will cost $5,460 on a 2 night 3 day trip (like we did). Divide the total by 10 and it works out to be $546 per person for 3 days including transport to the dive sites, 3 dives a day and all food and non-alcoholic drinks.

Calico Jack

You can hop on the Calico Jack for $3,760 on a 12 day trip including a cabin, all food, beverages and diving. That works out to be around $313 / day, but if you facter in the cost of the transport, accommodation, food, drinks and diving, it’s not so bad.

La Galigo

This 33 meter long dive boat can take passengers on a 7-night dive trip in Komodo for around $3,300 including everything that the Calico Jack includes. The La Galigo dive boat looks like a pirate ship in the water and has some beautiful and comfortable rooms.

Best Hotels in Labuan Bajo

There are numerous hotels that are right in Labuan Bajo and some of them also have a resident dive shop, but because the town is so small, it’s not necessary to only stay in dive hotels as you can simply walk to the nearest dive shop to organize your diving. Here are the best hotels in Labuan Bajo based on traveller ratings and ratings on Booking.com.

Dragon Dive Komodo Hostel (Click here To Check Prices)

☞ Check The Latest Prices For Dragon Dive Komodo Hostel

The rooms here cost around $75 per night depending on the season and are quite comfortable looking. They also have dorms for just $12 per night. The hostel offers daily dive trips to Komodo as well as snorkelling and other tours.

Ciao Hostel (Click Here To Check Prices)

☞ Check The Latest Prices for Ciao Hostel

This place has a beautiful view over the islands and they have dorm beds starting at under $10. They can help arrange diving and other trips into Komodo National Park and they have excellent ratings on Booking.com.

Puri Sari Beach Hotel (Click Here To Check Prices)

☞ Check The Latest Prices for Puri Sari Beach Hotel

This boutique style hotel has beautiful rooms and offers free airport transfers with most bookings. They can also help arrange diving and other trips into the park and for the same price as the more basic Dragon Dive Komodo Hostel, you get a good breakfast included.

Diving in Komodo

Okay, now we get to the best part. The diving in Komodo is incredible. We saw manta rays, eagle rays, sea snakes, countless turtles, sharks, crocodile fish and clouds of reef fish so thick that they nearly blocked the sunlight on some dives.

I’m going to list all of the dive sites that we went to as they were some of the best, but I’ll also list some of the other dive sites that we missed out on, in case you visit Komodo on a longer trip or end up doing more dives.

Our Dives

Manta Point (Aka Manta Alley)

This shallow, easy dive would be pretty uneventful if it wasn’t for all of the Selachimorpha (shark) species swimming around. There are plenty of eagle rays and reef sharks here, but of course the main reason this dive site is so popular is the presence of the massive, slow-moving manta rays that often gracefully fly by.

A Massive 6ft Wide Manta Ray at Manta Alley Dive Site

We were lucky enough to see three manta rays on two separate dives here, as well as an eagle ray, reef sharks and a few turtles. The highlight of this dive is without a doubt the manta sightings which will go down as one of my best favourite experiences of all time.

The massive creature with a six foot wingspan flew right at me before banking left and disappearing into the shadows. Amazing.

Batu Balong

This massive drop off dive was probably my favourite of the Komodo trip. We went down to around 28 meters and looked up at a massive coral crusted cliff. Dozens of turtles were grazing on the corals to our right, while sharks and tuna swam by in the shadowy blue waters to our left.

This dive site is known to have some of the strongest currents in the region and it is considered to be one of the most dangerous as well, so make sure you keep close to your dive guide.

Gili Lawa (Night Dive)

We decided to do Gili Lawa as a night dive and as it was my first one, I was ecstatic to get in the water and see what diving is like in pitch black. We carried torches and descended to about 20 meters, where we found reef sharks, squid, octopus and lion fish all trying to get some sleep while we momentarily harassed them with our lights and cameras.

A Squid Attracted To Our Flashlights at 17 meters

Castle Rock

Another one of my favourite dives in Komodo, this one brought us down to around 32 meters on a gently sloping reef. As soon as we got down to the bottom, we saw a massive grey shark eerily swimming back and forth in the deeper water.

There were also about a half-dozen reef sharks swimming around the corals and we saw some large traveli, criolle wrasse, a crocodile fish and an enormous school of banner fish that must’ve been 1000 strong.

Other Dive Sites In Komodo

Crystal Rock

This sea mount dive maxes out at around 35 meters and is located between Castle Rock and Gili Lawa dive sites. You can find morays, stonefish, crocodile fish, day octopus and giant lionfish as well as yellow-ribbon sweetlips, surgeonfish, and anthias.

The Cauldron

This 20 meter super fast drift dive is located in a channel between Gili Lawa Laut and Gili Lawa Durat. The currents can reach 3 knots here and they fire divers over rich corals and glass fish. You can spot rays, sharks and crocodile fish here as well.

Wai Ni Loo

This is one of the best macro dives in Indonesia so it’s best to have a good lens to capture the many small reef animals that call this dive site their home. There are also plenty of porcupine fish, triggerfish, scrawled filefish, and giant pufferfish.

Bonsai

This dive site is easy for the boats to spot because it’s marked by a massive, lonely mangrove tree that’s perched alone on a rock in the sea. Below the surface you’ll find swim-throughs, overhangs, caves and valleys going all the way down to 35 meters depth.

This is where many fish species including napoleon wrasse, large emperor sweetlips, hawksbill turtles, giant puffers and grouper sometimes seek shelter.

Things To Know About Diving in Komodo

While there are some advanced dives in Komodo (as well as some advanced planning needed to make the most of your trip) it’s really not too difficult to plan a trip here. Here are a few things to keep in mind.

The Best Time of Year For Diving in Komodo

While you can dive in Komodo year-round, the best time to visit Komodo for a dive trip is from April to June, during the dry season. This is the period of time just after the rainy season and the fish life is most-abundant in these months.

The rainy season starts in November and carries on until March and while diving is still possible during this time, visibility and dive schedules can be limited due to weather, although it only usually rains for around 2 hours per day.

July and August are the best months for spotting mantas as this is when the cooler seas promote massive plankton blooms, attracting the winged beasts from the deeper waters.

The worst months are probably January and March when there is heavy rainfall, stronger currents and often choppy surface conditions. It’s still possible to dive during this time, but it may not be as enjoyable as in the high season.

Dangers of Diving Komodo

The most dangerous thing in Komodo, like many of the best dive locations in Indonesia, is the sometimes unpredictable current. If you go with a reputable dive shop, dive well within your certification limits, and stick close to your dive guide and your group, you’ll be absolutely fine.

Specifically Castle Rock and Batu Balong can have strong currents, so make sure you listen to your dive guide and only visit dive sites as the conditions permit.

There is no hyperbaric chamber in Komodo or Labuan Bajo at the time of writing, but there are talks of adding it into the hospital that was built in 2016 in LBJ. The lack of decompression treatment facilities is all the more reason to dive within the limits of your dive tables and stick close to your group.

Dive Insurance For Komodo National Park

We have used and recommend World Nomads Travel Insurance in the past and can honestly recommend them for pricing and service. There are a great insurance company for long-term travellers and adventure travellers because they cover a lot of activities (including diving) and you can apply while you’re already on the road.

Here is some information from the World Nomads website:

Scuba Diving & Travel Insurance

If you want to scuba dive on your travels, we totally understand why. But if you’re not properly trained before you dive into your underwater adventure, the risk of serious accident can be substantial. That’s why, to be covered you either must:

be certified, that is, hold a valid scuba diving licence

dive under qualified and licensed instruction if not certified

dive no deeper than your dive license allows and/or your policy allows

What we cover

Recreational scuba diving is only covered when you choose the right plan or adventure sport option when buying your policy . Then, if something goes wrong there’s cover for:

Overseas medical expenses for sudden illness or serious injury

Medical evacuation to the nearest facility for treatment

Treatment in a decompression chamber if required

Repatriation home if something serious has happened

To get a free travel insurance quote from World Nomads, just enter your information below:

The best way to avoid getting the bends with no decompression chamber nearby is to dive well within the limitations of the dive tables and start the day with your deepest dive, progressively getting shallower with each dive that follows. It’s also a good idea to dive with a dive computer. I use and recommend Aqua Lung i200.

Non-Diving Highlights of Komodo

While the diving is world-class in Komodo, it’s not the only thing that draws thousands of people to these remote islands in eastern Indonesia. There are also plenty of above the water activities in the region.

Seeing Komodo Dragons

There are Komodo Dragons on a few of the islands in the National Park, the most common (and the place where the dragons tend to be the largest) is on Komodo Island, but another popular spot and where we went, is Rinca Island.

These are the largest reptiles in the world and they can be spotted lounging in the sun or slowly walking around the desert-like landscape. Some visitors have even had the opportunity to see them munching on massive buffalo that they’ve hunted and killed.

Most people will book a trip to Komodo as a day trip, or a trip added on to a liveaboard dive trip. Prices for a full-day tour from Labuan Bajo including lunch, transport, park entrance fees and a bit of snorkelling are usually around $140 – $175 USD per person.

Watch The Bats at Sunset

There are some tours that can be organized from Labuan Bajo that will take you out on a boat to see the massive bats fly out of their caves at dusk. It’s quite a sight and worth a trip. The bats are enormous and there are so many of them that they cloud the skies.

If you’re on a liveaboard boat for a few days, they’ll likely park somewhere that you can see the bats, but if this is something you really want on your itinerary, you should confirm with your operator.

Sunrise and Star Walk at Gili Lawa

I highly recommend getting up early (no matter how much you hate mornings) to check out the sunrise on the top of the hill on Gili Lawa. If you’re on a liveaboard, the trip is quite easy. You can wake up at 3:30 in the morning, take a small boat to Gili Lawa, hike up the hill for 30 minutes and then wait for the spectacle to begin.

Should You Go Diving in Komodo?

The answer to this question is yes. 100%. Whether you’re an experienced diver or you just completed your open water course, Komodo has diving for all levels. It’s hard to explain exactly how incredible the diving is in this part of the world, but you’re basically swimming around an aquarium that seems to have too many fish in a confined space.

But the space isn’t confined, it’s the entire Savu Sea and the coral triangle will blow your mind at every turn, at every dive site. This isn’t even to mention the breathtaking topography above the water.

Komodo National Park was listed as one of the New 7 Natural Wonders and when you see it, you’ll understand why. From the massive dragons and mantas, to the sunrises and sunsets over the rippled hills, Komodo is the durasic park of our world.

Go there. Put it on your bucket list. Post a picture of the islands up on your wall. This is one of the mose beautiful regions on Earth.

Don’t Miss Our Diving in Komodo Video!

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