Tag: Indonesia

Komodo National Park

Last year Dom and I had the opportunity to work in Komodo National Park. It is a stunning place, the best place I worked so far.

KOMODO NATIONAL PARK

The 29 mostly uninhabited volcanic islands of Komodo National Park present a very dramatic landscape. It is a pleasure for the eyes. Savannah and sporadic trees cover the tall rugged hillsides. The hills drop down to the strikingly white beaches contrasting with the surrounding green mangroves.

Komodo National Park lies off Flores Island, between the provinces of East Nusa Tenggara and West Nusa Tenggara. The dry climate and lack of rain for most of the year make cause this area to be much more rugged compared with the rest of Indonesia.

This area is nicknamed “the dry tropics”. From April to November, the rainfall is almost non-existent. This particular climate makes for totally unique settings.

Apart from a few fishing villages and communities, the Komodo Dragons are the most notorious inhabitants of the National Park. They are found on the two larger islands, Komodo and Rinca. Every year, a large number of intrepid tourists from all over the world is attracted by these aggressive and rather ugly huge lizards. As a fact, they are the largest lizards in the world.

The National Park was founded in 1980, initially to protect the Dragons. Later on the Government. also aimed to protect the abundant marine life by forbidding fishing within the Park. In 1991 Komodo National Park became a UNESCO World Heritage.

SCUBA DIVING

Nowadays, scuba diving is considered the main tourist attraction of Komodo National Park. Dive shops are literally growing overnight in Labuan Bajo. Komodo is home to some of the best scuba diving in the world. It offers many different dive sites and an abundance of marine life that is not common in any other area.

Many of the dive sites can be dived on day trips. Others are too far and can only be dived from liveaboards. Many species can be seen. From Sharks to Mantas to schooling Jacks, Barracudas, Sweetlips, Batfish and tiny critters just to name a few. There are many possible encounters when scuba diving in Komodo.

DIVING CONDITIONS

The conditions in Komodo can be very extreme and challenging. Some of the dive sites are not suitable for beginners or inexperienced divers due to the very strong currents. However, strong currents are what make the marine life here so unique.

Soft corals have a close relationship with strong currents, for they need this environment to grow. Big fish love strong currents too. It is their favourite playground. If there were no strong currents Komodo National Park would not be what it is!

Strong currents here are due to two factors. A rather shallow sea bottom (maximum depth reaches approximately 90 mt.) and the position of Komodo and Rinca islands create a long narrow channel between them. These two agents cause strong tidal currents, for there is a great amount of water channelled through this small passage at falling and rising tides. Of course, they are not strong all the time. Sometimes you might go to a dive site and find ripping washing machine currents, then go back another day to the same site and there will be no currents!

Some dives can be an adrenaline burst full of excitement. It needs to be said that sharks and Mantas are huge fans of strong currents. Komodo is blessed with good visibility most of the time.

DIVE SITES

The many dive sites are located in the North, Middle and South of the National Park. The South area is mainly dived by liveaboards due to the long distance from the mainland. However, the best dive sites are located in the North and Middle and they are easily reachable on a day trip. Every dive site has something special to offer but some are more special than others.

North:

Crystal Rock, Castle Rock and Cauldron are not to be missed. They are all advanced dives due to strong currents. Big chances to encounter big fish! Giant Trevally, White Tip and Grey Reef Sharks and occasionally Mantas.

Middle:

Batu Bolong – advanced dive, on a lucky day you might spot the magnificent Napoleon Wrasse and White Tip Sharks.

White Sands and Airstrip for Mantas, Tatawa Besar and Siaba Kecil for a fun-filled drift dive hovering above a pristine colourful coral garden, Waenilu for critters lovers. These are all dives suitable for beginners as well as experienced divers depending on the day conditions.

WHEN TO VISIT

We were in Komodo from June till the end of December. The conditions were good all the time. Mantas populate the waters from October to June.

Visibility from March to November reaches 25-30+ meters. During the rainy season December to March, it can drop to 7-10 meters.

Water temperatures range between 25-29C.

The busiest months are July, August, October and November.

HOW TO GET THERE AND WHERE TO STAY

Labuan Bajo is the gateway to Komodo National Park.

It is easily reachable with daily flights from Bali (Garuda airline, Lion Air and Wings Air).

The town is in continuous growth and a new airport was opened in June 2014. Works are still going on at the airport to make it an international hub.

The area is expecting a great number of tourists coming. Labuan Bajo offers a good choice of accommodations ranging from backpackers to high-end.

For divers that want to enjoy more peace and experience exclusive Komodo, Angel Island is the perfect destination.

Angel Island Resort on Pulau Bidadari

There are two other private island resorts:

Komodo Resort on Pulau Sebayur

AIRLINES

Garuda airline

Lion Air and Wings Air

Have you ever dived in Komodo? Share your experience in the comments if you did!

19/05/2015
Lembeh

Lembeh is a small Island in the North Sulawesi province of Indonesia. The best way to get there is to fly to Manado and then reach the Island.

I heard so much about diving in Lembeh from different sources and I was craving for diving there. I love small critters and taking photos. Apparently Lembeh is the world capital of muck diving and an underwater photographer’s paradise.

I could not leave Indonesia without diving there, so I booked a 3 days diving holiday with Two Fish Diving Resort in Lembeh. I have to say they are absolutely fantastic!! The resort is located on its own private beach on the island of Lembeh and it is extremely well run.

Guests are well looked after above and below water. They offer very good all inclusive packages and the food is simply delicious! It is definitely a bargain and I highly recommend it.

I have to say that I had great expectations for diving in Lembeh. I was so excited and could not wait to see for myself what this place had to offer underwater. I did 3 days of diving, 2 dives a day.

It was absolutely magnificent! It certainly exceeded my expectations. I saw the most incredible critters I have ever seen including the hairy frog fish. It was my diving paradise…

The photos say everything. I should have booked more days but I was out of time. It means I will have to go back to Lembeh with Dom, it was actually a pity not to have my buddy with me. Nonetheless I absolutely loved it!!

Then it was time to get back to Bali where I was going to catch the plane that would have taken me to New Zealand to join up with Dom. More exciting times ahead.

03/02/2013
Did We Find Mantas in Nusa Lembongan?

Nusa Lembongan is a very small island in the south of Bali. It can be easily reached by ferry from Sanur in only 30 minutes.

After Tulamben we drove back to Sanur and the next day we headed to Lembongan.

Reason why I wanted to go there, besides having heard it is a beautiful island perfect to chill out, was because until then I had never ever seen a Manta Ray!!

There is a dive site close to the island called Manta Point and it is almost guaranteed to see a Manta Ray every dive. I was craving for seeing a Manta. I had only seen it in pictures and videos or heard stories from other divers. I always seemed not to be in the right place when Mantas were seen.

I remember last year in Pulau Weh coming back from a dive, a group of divers saw five mantas and we didn’t even see the shadow of them! (and we were in the same dive site!).

Dom was lucky to see a few when he was working on one of the liveaboards in Koh Lipe, now I wanted to see them. Or at least one. It was also still Mola Mola season (Sun Fish) and there was good chances to spot them here.

After a short ferry ride we arrived in Nusa Lembongan and headed straight to Drift Divers, a dive shop that was recommended to us by a couple of diving instructors we met in Pulau Weh, and booked the dives for the next day.

It was October and low season so there was not many divers around, but the owner of the dive shop agreed to take us to Manta Point and Crystal Bay (this one is the dive site for Mola Mola). Awesome all sorted!

Now we needed accommodation which wasn’t difficult to find since a friend of the shop owner sorted us out with a room at a very cute resort on the beach called Linda Bungalows and a motorbike. We had a room at the top of the building with awesome views over the surf brake.

Massive waves could be seen every day with brave surfers riding them. We learned later that that particular surf spot is called “Laceration Point”, only for the very experienced surfers.

The beaches of Nusa Lembongan are being used as seaweed farms. The locals work hard to grow and harvest seaweed which is then sent to the main cities or exported internationally to make beauty and health products.

The locals, mainly the elderly population, work very hard in the seaweed farms, all day long. If they are not harvesting with their feet in the water, they are sorting out the crops sitting under the hot sun.

The next morning we woke up nice and early to join the dive trip. I was very excited but I tried not to expect too much since I might have been out of luck again.

After about a 30 minutes boat ride we got to the dive site, Manta Point. Our guide told us we were going to stay shallow, max 10 meters and look for Mantas.

We hit the water and descended. The water was quite refreshing, about 22C. It was the coldest I have ever been diving! Dom and I were wearing two wetsuits and it still felt quite chilling. After about 15 minutes into the dive one Manta passed over our heads.

That was it, I thought. Finally I saw a Manta and I wasn’t as excited as I thought I would be (maybe I was disappointed cause it was only one and it passed by rather quickly!). Then another… and nothing else. I was almost disappointed now but then… I couldn’t believe my eyes! Six of them (I mean S I X!) all together came towards us and just danced and played on top of our heads for about twenty minutes!!

That was absolutely magical, awesome and almost unreal. I was there, at last, with these beautiful creatures. It was overwhelming and I was so happy I could experience it with Dom. There we were Dom, I, another diver, our guide and six Mantas. An exclusive treat, I’d say. I was happy.

When we ended the dive and went back to the surface, we noticed at least another five boats but none of the divers saw the Mantas. That was a lucky dip!

We headed to Crystal Bay and half hour into the dive we spotted a Mola Mola. Unfortunately it was quite far away, but at least we saw it. It was an amazing lucky day! We didn’t do any more dives afterwards. We were happy to have seen what we had come to see.

We spent the following days chilling out, exploring and drinking cold Bintang. We stayed in Lembongan for a week and then headed back to Bali. Dom had to catch a plane to get back to New Zealand and I was going to travel Indonesia for another month and a half before joining him in his Country.

02/02/2013
Bali

Bali is quite an incredible place! It looks almost straight out of a fairy tale or something along those lines. This is the first impression I had, coming from a long time spent in Pulau Weh and Sumatra.

After finishing work at Rubiah Tirta Divers, Dom and I decided to explore a different part of Indonesia and head to Bali for some chilling out time and scuba diving. Same country but definitely a mission to travel from one place to the other.

We traveled all day long. We got on the 8am ferry from Pulau Weh to Banda Aceh, then we flew from Banda Aceh to Jakarta and finally from Jakarta to Bali. We arrived in Bali at about 9pm. Luckily I had already booked us a guest house to avoid having to wonder looking for a late at night.

We headed to Sanur, which is a short twenty minutes drive from the airport and it is not as crowded as Kuta. The owner of Bali Senia Hotel upgraded us to a superior room, so we got quite a treat.

Comfy big bed, hot water and room service! Wow, coming from the basics of Pulau Weh this was proper luxury! The hotel would also be our base in Bali while we traveled around.

Luckily we were able to leave most of our luggage there and travel just with the bare necessity: our diving gear, camera, toothbrush and a couple of changing clothes.

The next day we went walking around Sanur checking out the area and the local beach. It was definitely a different world from Pulau Weh. Much more touristic, Hindu temples everywhere with offering to the Gods and a strong smell of incense filling the air all around (which of course I loved!).

It was almost like a different country! Not to talk about their traditional local dish: Babi Guling, which is suckling pig stuffed and infused with a spicy concoction typically involving turmeric, coriander seeds, lemongrass, black pepper and garlic, and traditionally spit-roasted. Mouth watering!

Unfortunately I didn’t have the pleasure of tasting it since the few warungs (local eateries) I checked were sold out or only made it to order for big groups! Well, I will have to go back to Bali to have a taste of this delicacy.

We made a point of eating loads of pork dishes while we were there, to make up for the pork free time we had in Sumatra. Our hotel restaurant made very tasty pork chops!

One thing that really impressed me about Bali was its traditional style dress. Bali is an island with strong traditions and religious ceremonies and their clothing is definitely one of the strongest traditions they have.

On a normal daily basis men and women wear colourful sarongs with a shirt (men) or blouse (women) but when it comes to attend an important ceremony or go to the temple, the Balinese wear their finest traditional clothes with the drape normally made out of Batik which is a traditional cotton fabric painted with beautiful patterns.

They even dress statues and buildings with their textiles!

Balinese food is simply delicious. I fell in love with Sambal, the traditional Balinese sauce made of shallots, garlic, lemongrass, lime, chilly, fish sauce, coriander and coconut (or vegetable) oil. Simply delicious, especially with a freshly barbecued fish.

The scenery in Bali is fantastic and ever so different. From green and lush rice terraces to volcanoes and mountains that during the dry season take a very dramatic arid look.

Bali is a fantastic place but to truly appreciate it, one has to look beyond the huge number of tourists and Australian expats that nowadays populates the “Island of Gods”.

01/02/2013
A Day in Pulau Weh

I’m stoked! It took me ages to learn editing a video but finally here we go!!!

This is a short movie of a “typical” non working day in Pulau Weh. We did quite some of this stuff especially when our dive master Kieran was there together with his amazing friends Amy and Owen whom they also became good friends of Dom and I.

Suvi joined the crew for a few weeks while she was on holiday on the island.

Awesome times! No need of further explanation, just enjoy the video and work it out for yourselves.

Special thanks to Dom for choosing the music. It could not be more appropriate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItEVTpSMQfA

31/01/2013
Diving in Pulau Weh

“From Birth, Man carries the weight of gravity on his shoulders. He is bolted to the earth. But man has only to sink beneath the surface and he is free” Jacques-Yves Cousteau

The incredible underwater world

Diving itself is a wonderful, magical activity. I simply love it. Get me started on it and I can go on talking about it for hours. It fulfills me, calms me and relaxes me.

Once I am underwater everything else disappears, nothing else matters and I feel free. Freedom, this is what diving is to me. Not to mention the overwhelming feeling I get when I come across the beauties of the underwater life.

I love being a scuba diving instructor. I love diving in some of the most spectacular places and bringing new divers into this fantastic world. It can be a little frustrating at times, but the personal reward I get from it is priceless. The smile on the face of students back from their first dive, make my day.

Dom and I freelanced at the local dive shop on Iboih Beach, Rubiah Tirta Divers. It is a local family business started back in 1970 by Mr. Dodent and now run by his three sons: Yudi, Isfan and Iskander.

We worked most of the time but if we didn’t have any student we could go fun diving which was a bonus since not many dive shops allow their instructors to do so. The relaxed atmosphere of the Island was pretty much reflected at work as well.

I worked and fun dived in several places in south-east Asia and I can say Pulau Weh has definitely something special about it.

Diving conditions in Pulau Weh

The diving is quite diverse, with the Indian Ocean to the east of the Island and the Pacific Ocean to the west, both contributing to the bio-diversity of the marine life. The variety and the quantity of marine species found here is outstanding.

There are colourful fish simply everywhere you look! It also helps that the visibility is always good, normally around 25 mt. and rarely dropping below 15.

Diving is good all year round but when the water starts to get cooler around end of September beginning of October, that’s when the big creatures of the sea come out the most.

Schools of Mobulas (Devil Rays) and Manta Rays can be easily spotted together with slender Black Tip reef Sharks.

Currents are very challenging in almost every dive site around the island. Not for the inexperienced, I would say. We found ourselves on many dives having to perform some “underwater rock climbing” in the middle of ripping “washing machine” style currents.

All for the great of good and a proper adrenaline rush. Loved it! Only five minutes boat ride from the dive shop there is a dive site called “Arus Palee”, literally translated into English as “Bastard Current”. This dive site definitely keeps up to its name!

Diverse dive sites

My favorite dive site is “Tokong” a massive pinnacle of volcanic rock surrounded by a variety of colourful fish, black tip reef sharks, devil rays and the occasional manta ray.

It is also known as the moray eels world capital, in fact they can be found hiding into every hole. Everywhere there is at least a moray eel. Here is where I took most of my underwater pictures in Pulau Weh, it is a paradise for underwater photography lovers.

Pulau Weh is also a great place for deep diving.

There is a particularly exciting deep dive, the Sophie Rickmer Wreck. It is a 134 mt long World War II cargo ship that lays at a maximum depth of 60 mt with the top starting at about 37 mt. We dived it a few times, the only downside was the long decompression time on the way up.

Unfortunately I was unable to take photos of it since my underwater housing can only make 40 mt. I absolutely love wreck and deep diving, so the two combined together were a total high!

We had some pretty awesome unforgettable times! Every time I go diving somewhere else now, no matter how good the place is, I always think of Pulau Weh.

17/01/2013