Kevster
Contributor
Big Trip Indonesia- Part 3 -Komodo & Ambon
Part of a 65 day adventure diving Indonesia.
KOMODO
Next up was a 7 day live-aboard trip to Komodo onboard The Felicia. The trip was organized by Reef,Wreck & Critter based in Tulamben, Bali. The trip was an underwater photography workshop run by Jeff & Dawn Mullins.
All up it cost approx $1900 for a weeks diving, return flights from Bali to LB, 1 night hotel accom in Bali & national park fees. The trip was planned based on the weather & tidal charts to ensure we got the best of conditions.
The Boat
I have been on several live-aboards but they have all been high budget, top notch boats. This was my first budget live-aboard. At first I felt a little uncomfortable. There was not much space.
The Felicia is a relatively new boat (approx 5 years old). We had 11 guests onboard. Max capacity is 12. I shared a small bunk cabin with 1 other, with onsuite toilet,shower. The cabins were small and had a slight odour. The a/c worked well. It was a bit noisy when the generator started and mega noisy when the boat engine started. There was not a lot of space to store clothes, camera stuff in the rooms. Also the water was never really hot in the showers.
The dive deck was also the eating/social area. Again not too much room for camera gear or charging facilities. To get to the cabins you had to walk through the galley area where the crew were preparing food. Seeing the food preparation never gave me an appetite.
All our meals were served outdoors. The upper deck had some sun loungers. The food was average. Some of the meals were ok, but some were poor. Ok enough negative stuff. By the end of the week I was really enjoying being on the boat. All the minor stuff were not really problems, especially as the group we had on board were a great bunch of people. Basically the money I saved doing a budget live-aboard compared to the high budget boats paid for my 10 night stay at Lembeh. Overall I was satisfied with the boat & felt it was very good value for money.
The Diving
The diving was fantastic!!!!
Conditions were perfect. Flat calm seas in the North & an easy steam down to the south. The south was colder and windy at Cannibal rock but surface conditions were still ok. There was hardly any current all week. The trip was superbly planned based on tide tables. The water was also warmer than expected. 28 C in the north & 26 C in the south. On one dive it dropped to 25 C in a thermocline.
The North
3 Days diving. The highlight was definitely Castle & Crystal rock. These sites are great. We had excellent viss at least 30 m. At castle rock I saw two dolphins 4 times on 1 dive. There were several sharks, white tips, black tips, several Napoleon,barracuda, turtles, GTs & tunas hunting smaller fish. There was generally a lot of fish, some really big fish.
The Middle
1 day on the way to the south we dove Batu Bolong twice. This was an average wall dive. Several nudis , a few whitetips, Napoleon.
The South
3 Days diving in the bay at south Rincha. Sites Cannibal rock, Yellow wall, Torpedo alley, Boulders.
The diving here was very different to the North. The viss dropped to 15m and the water was had a greenish colour. The diving here was fantastic. The first dive at Cannibal rock was amazing. There was so much fish and amazing colourful reef. It was a bit like diving in a botanical garden. There were lots of Nudis.
The only real negative things were the guides. The local guides were not great. Only on a few occasions would they try to point out critters underwater. At first I did not mind this. In the north most of the action is big fish, reef so I was more than happy to dive away from the guides. However in the south it was more macro and the guides could have done a lot better.
Unfortunately we did not see any mantas (we did not dive manta alley) and there was no current in the north at the site where mantas are commonly encountered.
We also did not dive the End of the world site at the South of Komodo so perhaps this is a good reason to return to Komodo.
Underwater highlights Dolphins, turtles, sharks (Black/white tips), Napoleons, sea snakes, frog fish, lots of Nudis, sea apples!!!, lots & lots of fish.
Topside highlights – Cruising around the stunning island on flat calm seas & sunny blue skies. Komodo dragons on Cannibal rock beach.
(Safety Tip- Komodo dragons appear further away than they actually are through a 10-20 mm lens!!!!)
Land Based V Liveaboard
Last year I done Komodo with a land based operator. 4 days diving the North & middle of the marine park. Obviously the live-aboard is generally the better diving option but there was not a lot of difference between the stuff I saw in the North. In fact I would say the land based experience was just as good in the North as the live-aboard. It is just a lot more convient to dive from a live-aboard as there are many sites that should be done more than once. The southern sites are really great & this is where the live-aboard really makes all the difference.
I would strongly recommend anyone thinking about diving Komodo to go with a live-aboard option.
Summary
Komodo is an amazing place. I have never seen so many big reef fish & fish hunting action. The reefs are really good & viss can also be great in the North. Travelling around the various islands on an Indonesian schooner is also a great experience. Personally my experience at Komodo was better than my trip to Papua in terms of the diving & in terms of reef diving I would say it is the best diving in Indonesia. The variety between the North & south is amazing. I will remember my 1st dive at cannibal rock for a long time.
Castle rock in the north & Cannibal rock in the south are world class sites.
Part of a 65 day adventure diving Indonesia.
KOMODO
Next up was a 7 day live-aboard trip to Komodo onboard The Felicia. The trip was organized by Reef,Wreck & Critter based in Tulamben, Bali. The trip was an underwater photography workshop run by Jeff & Dawn Mullins.
All up it cost approx $1900 for a weeks diving, return flights from Bali to LB, 1 night hotel accom in Bali & national park fees. The trip was planned based on the weather & tidal charts to ensure we got the best of conditions.
The Boat
I have been on several live-aboards but they have all been high budget, top notch boats. This was my first budget live-aboard. At first I felt a little uncomfortable. There was not much space.
The Felicia is a relatively new boat (approx 5 years old). We had 11 guests onboard. Max capacity is 12. I shared a small bunk cabin with 1 other, with onsuite toilet,shower. The cabins were small and had a slight odour. The a/c worked well. It was a bit noisy when the generator started and mega noisy when the boat engine started. There was not a lot of space to store clothes, camera stuff in the rooms. Also the water was never really hot in the showers.
The dive deck was also the eating/social area. Again not too much room for camera gear or charging facilities. To get to the cabins you had to walk through the galley area where the crew were preparing food. Seeing the food preparation never gave me an appetite.
All our meals were served outdoors. The upper deck had some sun loungers. The food was average. Some of the meals were ok, but some were poor. Ok enough negative stuff. By the end of the week I was really enjoying being on the boat. All the minor stuff were not really problems, especially as the group we had on board were a great bunch of people. Basically the money I saved doing a budget live-aboard compared to the high budget boats paid for my 10 night stay at Lembeh. Overall I was satisfied with the boat & felt it was very good value for money.
The Diving
The diving was fantastic!!!!
Conditions were perfect. Flat calm seas in the North & an easy steam down to the south. The south was colder and windy at Cannibal rock but surface conditions were still ok. There was hardly any current all week. The trip was superbly planned based on tide tables. The water was also warmer than expected. 28 C in the north & 26 C in the south. On one dive it dropped to 25 C in a thermocline.
The North
3 Days diving. The highlight was definitely Castle & Crystal rock. These sites are great. We had excellent viss at least 30 m. At castle rock I saw two dolphins 4 times on 1 dive. There were several sharks, white tips, black tips, several Napoleon,barracuda, turtles, GTs & tunas hunting smaller fish. There was generally a lot of fish, some really big fish.
The Middle
1 day on the way to the south we dove Batu Bolong twice. This was an average wall dive. Several nudis , a few whitetips, Napoleon.
The South
3 Days diving in the bay at south Rincha. Sites Cannibal rock, Yellow wall, Torpedo alley, Boulders.
The diving here was very different to the North. The viss dropped to 15m and the water was had a greenish colour. The diving here was fantastic. The first dive at Cannibal rock was amazing. There was so much fish and amazing colourful reef. It was a bit like diving in a botanical garden. There were lots of Nudis.
The only real negative things were the guides. The local guides were not great. Only on a few occasions would they try to point out critters underwater. At first I did not mind this. In the north most of the action is big fish, reef so I was more than happy to dive away from the guides. However in the south it was more macro and the guides could have done a lot better.
Unfortunately we did not see any mantas (we did not dive manta alley) and there was no current in the north at the site where mantas are commonly encountered.
We also did not dive the End of the world site at the South of Komodo so perhaps this is a good reason to return to Komodo.
Underwater highlights Dolphins, turtles, sharks (Black/white tips), Napoleons, sea snakes, frog fish, lots of Nudis, sea apples!!!, lots & lots of fish.
Topside highlights – Cruising around the stunning island on flat calm seas & sunny blue skies. Komodo dragons on Cannibal rock beach.
(Safety Tip- Komodo dragons appear further away than they actually are through a 10-20 mm lens!!!!)
Land Based V Liveaboard
Last year I done Komodo with a land based operator. 4 days diving the North & middle of the marine park. Obviously the live-aboard is generally the better diving option but there was not a lot of difference between the stuff I saw in the North. In fact I would say the land based experience was just as good in the North as the live-aboard. It is just a lot more convient to dive from a live-aboard as there are many sites that should be done more than once. The southern sites are really great & this is where the live-aboard really makes all the difference.
I would strongly recommend anyone thinking about diving Komodo to go with a live-aboard option.
Summary
Komodo is an amazing place. I have never seen so many big reef fish & fish hunting action. The reefs are really good & viss can also be great in the North. Travelling around the various islands on an Indonesian schooner is also a great experience. Personally my experience at Komodo was better than my trip to Papua in terms of the diving & in terms of reef diving I would say it is the best diving in Indonesia. The variety between the North & south is amazing. I will remember my 1st dive at cannibal rock for a long time.
Castle rock in the north & Cannibal rock in the south are world class sites.
very muck.. nice description though! no dead chickens or dogs or goats? very unlucky for you! 
