In photos: scuba diving at Komodo National Park Posted on 4 April 2013 Tags:Bali, Indonesia, Singapore An hour’s flight from Bali and to the west of the town of Labuan Bajo on Flores Island in Indonesia lies the Komodo National Park. Famed for the Komodo dragon, it is fast becoming a popular scuba diving destination for its incredible marine life. The park consists of two large islands, Komodo Island and Rinca Island (where dragons can be seen) and numerous small islands, many of them uninhabited. The best way to dive Komodo National Park is on a liveaboard, anchoring in sheltered bays at night and moving from one good dive site to the next. We spent 10 nights on the Embun Laut (Misty Sea) completing a circle of the northern dive sites. We were there over springtides and the currents were ferocious – it is not a destination for beginner divers and I’d suggest planning your trip there over neap tides. We did three dives a day and a few night dives. These were the highlights: Sunrise on another perfect day over the Komodo Islands At anchor for the night on our liveaboard Embun Laut (Misty Sea) A typical dive site at Komodo National Park: a protruding rock in the middle of nowhere surrounded by steeply sloping reef. We often had to dive in the lee of extremely strong currents Rich colours of the soft corals and exceptionally clean water at Crystal Rock Resting hawkbill turtle Reef scene at Komodo National Park Signal goby (signigobius biocellatus) Redeye hovering goby (bryaninops natans) Our group looking down on our liveaboard anchored in the bay below Nudibranch chromodoris My personal favourite: the semicircle angelfish (pomocanthus semicirculatus) Hawksbill turtle Hard coral The rare and well camouflaged paddleflap scorpionfish Gorgonian fan Going ashore on a deserted island A goby in its home Featherstars occur in many vivid colours Divers being collected at the end of a dive Coral polyps looking like daisies in a field Bubble anemone shrimp Bluegirdled angelfish Blacksaddle toby peeping out at the photographer. Its pectoral fins make it appear as if it has long eyelashes Lionfish on the hunt At anchor tied to a permanent mooring near a dive site Sunset over the Komodo Islands Dive guide Rama producing music and beer at the end of the day The easiest way to fly to Komodo National Park is through Singapore and Bali so it is worthwhile combining your visit with a few days diving in Bali (which was a pleasant surprise). Our trip was very well organised by Prodive Travel who are now organising regular trips there. If you want to visit and dive the Komodos contact them at [email protected] or visit their website at www.prodive.co.za Related Posts A celebration of the leopard through Rudi Hulshof’s eyes 3 May 2023 May 3 is International Leopard Day. A day we commemorate the beautiful, yet, elusive and... read more Africa’s unbroken forest 28 April 2023 Central Africa’s lowland rainforests cover almost two million square kilometres, an area one hundred times... read more Our favourite images from BigPicture competition 2019 29 May 2019 From the beautiful to the bizarre, this photographic showcase of life on Earth shines a... read more PREV ARTICLE NEXT ARTICLE
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