Komodo

Posted on August 16, 2024August 17, 2024 by Annabel Thomas

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Scuba Diving in Komodo National Park

Komodo National Park comprises the area’s three major islands: Komodo, Rinca, Padar and many smaller islands, the macro areas of Sangeang volcano and Sumbawa, and the barrier reef of Moyo Island.

Komodo and surrounding islands are located in the straits within the Lesser Sunda Islands between Sumba and Flores. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1991, the islands have a dry savannah landscape with pockets of thorny green vegetation, white and red sandy beaches, and lagoons for swimming and snorkelling.

In addition to the spectacular diving, Komodo National Park is home to the world’s largest lizard, the Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodoensis). Komodo dragons are endemic to eastern Indonesia and mainly found on the islands of Flores and Komodo. In 2021, the Komodo dragon was entered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) ‘Endangered’ list. This means it has a “high risk of extinction”.

Diving Komodo National Park

Being part of the Coral Triangle, Komodo National park offers some of the richest marine biodiversity on Earth.

Liveaboard diving is the most popular choice due to the distance between dive sites. Komodo’s northern sites are sometimes subject to strong currents but offer the chance to see schooling White-tip and Grey reef sharks, large schools of Giant and Blue-fin trevally, Big eye jacks, different species of turtles, even dolphins and dugongs. At quieter times, massive Napoleon wrasse in good numbers and Eagle rays come in from the blue.

In the south is the world-famous site Cannibal Rock in Horseshoe Bay, Rinca, home to some rare nudibranchs, several species and colours of Rhinopias, and a host of frogfish.

There are several Manta aggregation sites where divers can fly with literally squadrons of these magnificent creatures.

Seasons and Dive Conditions in Komodo National Park

Dry Season is April to November and is considered the best time to dive here.

However Wet Season ie: north-east monsoon (December to February) is also Manta Season 🙂 but can have reduced visibility.
Late November usually gives less rough seas but plenty of Manta sightings.

January to March: The northern dive sites become quite rough; consequently some land-based dive centres close at this time. If this is the only time available to you, AquaMarine suggests taking a liveaboard to visit southern dive sites. Our Dive Travel Consultants can help you with this.

Some of Komodo’s dive sites can have challenging currents; eg: Karang Makassar (Manta Point) so AquaMarine advises you refresh or upgrade your skills before heading over there to ensure you maximise your enjoyment.

How to reach Komodo National Park

There are liveaboards offering the round-trip between Bali and Komodo National Park.

Otherwise, coming from overseas, you would fly into Bali or Jakarta and then catch a domestic flight to Labuan Bajo. From there you either join a liveaboard or use local dive centres and resorts to explore nearby dive sites. In addition, there is a dive centre on Sebayur Island which is within the National Park.

On off-gassing days, we can arrange visits to see the actual Komodo dragons: Imagine 3m/10ft and 150lbs/70kgs of lizard! (The largest verified specimen was 366lbs/166kgs…) Don’t let their bulky appearance fool you as they can sprint up to 12mph/20km/h. They can dive to 15ft/4.5m and, when young, use their massive claws to climb trees. To catch out-of-reach prey, they stand on their hind legs and use their tail as support.

If you’re ready to experience Komodo National Park – or elsewhere in Indonesia! please contact AMD-B’s ‘Beyond Bali’ Dive Travel Consultants today on.

As always, they will be more than happy to offer recommendations and make arrangements to suit your preferences!

Cenderawasih Bay

Posted on July 5, 2024July 6, 2024 by Annabel Thomas

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Cenderawasih Bay, West Papua

Located in the Bird’s Head peninsula, Cenderawasih Bay is the location for the largest (1.5 million hectares) National Marine Park in Southeast Asia. Acclaimed as the ‘newest’ dive destination in the region, the bay is more than 300kms wide, and has a 700kms coastline with several rivers emptying into it.

Cenderawasih Bay includes 18 pristine paradise-like islands and combines a coral reef ecosystem with mangrove and terrestrial tropical forests. Here you can find endemic flora and fauna, including the Birds of Paradise.

Diving in Cenderawasih Bay

Diving here is done by liveaboard, usually on trips of 10 days and longer. The resident whalesharks are the primary reason people visit this remote area. They are resident simply because they have a continual supply of sardines that fall from the nets of the floating fishermen’s platforms. These massive, slow-moving fish simply ignore any divers and snorkellers; it really is an amazing and unique experience!

The Cenderawasih region is a remarkable dive destination for large and small animals, beautiful reefs bursting with life, and a dozen WWII shipwreck sites across the bay. One of the most famous wrecks is the Shinwa Maru which lies at 16-34m, a large cargo vessel with two huge holes from bomb damage on its starboard side. Other famous dive sites in this region are Kwatisore Bay, well known for the whalesharks and Sungei Omiand, a muck site with a black volcanic sand seabed.

Cenderawasih Bay is a perfect remote destination for a sailing holiday and one of the best scuba diving destinations in Indonesia.

Cenderawasih Bay Diving Conditions

Diving here is basically good year round however the liveaboard ‘season’ is normally May to October. Heavier rain can be expected July/August and November/December. Surface conditions are usually calm with currents ranging from moderate to strong depending on the dive site. The visibility is 10-30m with the temperature relatively constant at 27°-30°C.

How to reach Cenderawasih Bay

Most liveaboards use the 3 small towns of Manokwari, Biak and Nabire as their embarkation and disembarkation ports. There are daily domestic flights from Jakarta to Manokwari, Biak or Nabire (with stopovers in Makassar/Surabaya and Sorong). Carriers servicing the area are Garuda Indonesia, and Sriwijaya Air. Another option is to fly from Manado to Sorong and take a connecting flight to Manokwari.

For more information on Cenderawasih Bay diving, dive resorts, transfers, and to start your planning, please contact AMD-B’s ‘Beyond Bali’ Dive Travel Consultants today. As always, they will be more than happy to offer recommendations and make arrangements to suit your preferences. Contact us on Tours@AquaMarineDiving.com today!

Alor

Posted on June 14, 2024June 14, 2024 by Annabel Thomas

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The Alor Archipelago

The Alor Archipelago is located to the east of Flores and north of Timor-Leste in the Lesser Sunda Islands. The archipelago holds a wide variety of splendours from fascinating underwater wonders up to the unique culture of the highland people.

Alor is the largest island and lies at the eastern end of the archipelago. It is inhabited by a number of Flores sub-ethnic groups who still preserve their traditional ways of life.

Diving Alor

Alor offers pristine coral reefs. The Pantar Strait is one of the most well-preserved coral reef systems in Indonesia. The total ban on dynamite and cyanide fishing means the whole area has beautiful, colourful and dense coral reefs. Some of the dive sites are renowned for schools of pelagics such as Manta and Eagle rays, sharks, Dog-tooth tunas (Gymnosorda unicolor), and Napoleon wrasses. Occasionally you can spot schools of dolphins and Pilot whales.

The continual flow of ocean currents brings nutrients to invertebrates and small fishes, which in turn are eaten by medium-sized fishes, and so on up the foodchain.

In addition to pristine corals, Alor is also one of Indonesia’s top muck-diving destinations. Sediment on the seabed mixed with volcanic black sand and coral rubble is a perfect camouflage environment for unusual critters.

It really is a treasure hunt for macro photographers!

Alor’s Diving Seasons

Diving is good year-round with average viz of 25-30m however the best conditions are March to December. From May to September is the southeast monsoon (more windy than rainy) when viz may decrease to 15m. However this is when the plankton bloom happens resulting in increased feeding activity. Mola-Mola are usually spotted in September.

How to Reach Alor

The Alor Archipelago is somewhat remote however, Alor’s diving is often integrated into some Liveaboard schedules when crossing from Komodo to Raja Ampat.

And, of course, dive resorts offer attractive Diving & Accommodation packages: There are domestic flights from Jakarta, Surabaya and Bali to Kupang, and from there to Alor.

For more info on Alor diving, and to start your planning, please make sure your AMD-B Travel Consultant is aware of your needs. As always, they will be more than happy to offer recommendations and make arrangements to suit your preferences. Contact us on Tours@AquaMarineDiving.com today!