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24 Apr 2009 (464 days ago)
Leaping manta rays, swimming with wild dolphins, plenty of turtles, unbelievably clear waters, strong currents, spring tides and full moon! These were the highlights of another wonderful trip in the Komodo Islands.
This time round we flew straight into Labuan Bajo 
from Bali and we visited Rinca, the park headquarters where we saw very docile but very large sleeping Komodo dragons. It was hot, hot, hot but it was great seeing the islands so green. We normally come in August time when the islands are already brown and dry. The trees were with heavy foliage and lots of bird life. A dawn chorus drifted across the water each morning to accompany breakfast.
The southern end of Rinca was very remote but heavily wooded in comparison to the north, with dramatic cliffs where layers of rock and earth have clearly been squashed into wriggly patterns. The big Indian ocean has worn these cliffs and large rockfalls are blatantly evident. We moored in flat water behind a little island cradled by an arm of land on the end of Rinca. Absolutely gorgeous scenery and as we sailed in during the late afternoon, manta rays flung themselves out of the water doing loop the loops and dolphins arched their fins through the still waters.
Snorkeling off a gorgeous beach us non-divers enjoyed lots of colour, soft corals, a good healthy number of fish and a wonderful big squid about 2 foot long, all camouflaged as a coral covered rock. He allowed us very very close and as we waved at him he immediately changed colour, went all purple and smooth as a torpedo and darted backwards, settling again to allow another close look. Gorgeous thing. Tessa thought he was wonderful.
Grannie and grandma spent their time enjoying the beach, strolling and paddling in the clear water and rummaging through all the coral, rock and driftwood thrown up along the top of the beach.
The beaches in this little area were mixed- one had lovely white sand, the next one along was slightly muddy and yet others were completely covered in boulders and pebbles of different sizes. It was strange to see all these different types of beaches in one very small area. Strong currents swept through this channel as the boys found on 1 dive which they abandoned. Spring tides and full moon set the currents going!
We spent 2 nights here. Boys all dived and had a fabulous wall dive full of the colour yellow!
As we sailed across the bottom end of Rinca to the other arm of land that extends down from this large island we saw a long line of leaping fish between us and land. The first thought was dolphins but there were literally thousands of them leaping all along. David and Wouter convinced they were tuna took out the tender to see if they grab one and in the distance, from the boat we could see the tender stop and follow the line. On their return they confirmed that they were indeed dolphins and again, thousands of them and we could see them leaping along the line of water for ages. It was a wonderful feeling to know that there was this amount of dolphins about.
The other 'arm' of Rinca gave us a softer landscape with grass and palms, very attractive, still very dramatic. Here the force of the seas were evident in the amount of rubbish thrown up on the beach. Logs, rocks, rubbish and a phenomenal amount of discarded slippers. A fresh water stream came into the river here and its mouth attracted birds, deer and wild boar, all of whom we saw when we disturbed them as we explored. We also saw the goats scrambling about on the slopes.
The currents were strong here and despite reef hooks, the divers abandoned the dive. Hanging on in a horizontal position was not an option. The currents change rapidly here. Wouter checked all the sites first by snorkeling above them to gauge the currents and make a dive plan. Within the 30 minutes return with divers the current had changed.
We of course, revisited Gillie Lawa Laut, one of our favourite spots. All of us like to hike up the hills here off the long beach and catch the stunning views from the top, especially at sunset. 2 Moorings have been put in since we were last there and this is good news. Noticed however, that a lot of the seagrass here has deteriorated and the coral deterioration since the last visit last year has extended. So many more boats are coming here and anchoring for dives on Crystal Rock and Castle Rock, many more day tourist boats and so I guess the consequences of all that are showing up now.
There were however, amazing encounters here for all of us. The dolphins were there everyday as were many many turtles. They were constantly popping up all round us for breath. The rays were also 'swanning' about around the boat, especially at night.
For me, as I snorkeled on my own just off the beach, just floating above the coral and fish trying to take in all the patterns and colour combinations to use in my paintings, I came upon a fantastic specimen of a Titan fish. A big guy. He was chomping away at the top of a coral and I got quite close to him. He wasn't happy and suddenly came at me like a torpedo. I suddenly thought that it would hurt if he rammed me and I managed to kick him away with my fins. He was a real grumpy chap however,and he tried to ram me 6 times and on 2 of those occasions I actually hit him with my fins as I swam backwards. I eventually got the message and swam well away from him and out of sight. Wouter told me later that they bite. If I had known that I don't think I'd have been giggling into my snorkel the way I was as I kicked him away!
The clarity of the water was excellent and we had bright sunshine to boot so the divers at both Crystal and Castle Rock came back very very happy. 2 dives stood out. Wouter and Ivor(a brand new diver) on the lovely wall along the edge of Gillie Lawa Laut, a drift dive, 6 wild dolphins came up and frolicked next to them, just 4 metres away. This was only Wouter's second encounter with wild dolphins with his thousands of dives, and Ivor was in heaven! As they left the site on the tender, the dolphins leap in front of the bow.
On the same dive site during late afternoon all the boys with Wouter swam with turtles, all calm and seemingly tame and again the dolphins were nearby. The boys said that this dive was their top dive of the trip as the clarity was amazing and this wall extremely lovely to dive.
Because the clarity was so good Wouter and David took myself and Tessa out to Crystal Rock to snorkel. It was lovely to be able to see into the depths but it was like swimming on a water treadmill. Tessa was hilarious, her little arms and flippers going full speed ahead. As we left the site the dolphins came in yet again and everyone hung off the side of the tender to get a glimpse of them rolling about under the water.
With all the diving, snorkeling, hiking, wakeboarding and general eating we did the time flew by and before we knew it the trip was up and we were on our way home.
Our new chef on the trip Jack did a great job keeping us fed with a great selection of delicious dishes. There have been a few other changes in crew. We have a new captain, Septi's brother has joined us and is now working with Septi in housekeeping. Ketut has joined Sam in the engineering department.
Tiger Blue was in dry dock in Bali during February/March. We have changed her propeller to a slightly larger one giving us a bit more speed and efficiency. We also sealed the floor of the top deck halting any more leaks which is great news. Top deck is now funky in green and pattern with bamboo mats giving Tiger Blue a slightly 'hippy chick' feel on top deck. Sunset cocktails are even better now! |
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