By James Leo
Despite some initial airline related challenges, our group of 7
made it aboard the MV Black Manta in time for lunch and ready to start our
holiday of a lifetime. After a welcome briefing and some fine local fare, we
enjoyed an afternoon checkout dive, sharing the site with blue spotted rays,
lion fish, pygmy seahorses and a cowfish.
Day 2 which also ended up being one of the best dives of the trip as well as being Charlene’s 300th dive; our intrepid team of underwater explorers were rewarded with more manta rays than you could shake a stick at.
Day 3 started with a dive affectionately known as “Shotgun” because we were supposed to be fired upwards from 13 to6
metres by a strong current. Unfortunately the current
was still asleep, like some of the dive party, and Shotgun became Water Pistol.
During the dive, we encountered a myriad of white tip sharks, as well as stingrays,
turtles and even a baby manta swimming gracefully past. The second dive of the
day at Crystal Rock was amazing. The fish action was truly stunning,
complemented again my many, many sharks patrolling the site.
Day 4 had many highlights, starting with the superb Castle Rock where there were sharks - loads of them. I think a rumour had been started that Steven Spielberg was in town auditioning for extras in Jaws 7. The challenging Batu Balong was Terry's 1000th dive, however the day ended with a very cold night dive which meant he was unable to properly celebrate his milestone for several hours until circulation was restored.
Day 5, the last day on our beloved Black Manta, the morning started with a heart stopping cold dive in Pantai Merah. A gentle dive with beautiful coral, plenty of fish life and the odd blue spotted ray swimming past. Unfortunately, the second visit to the dive site named, "Mantas on the Moon" morphed into simply, "On the Moon" as there were no mantas to be found - clearly they had a better offer that morning. The afternoon was the highlight of our trip as we searched for the infamous ‘Komodo Dragon’ on nearby Rinca Island – we weren’t disappointed. From the start of our walk we warned about ‘drop dragons’ hiding in the trees, likely story, but we were fortunate enough to see a large, 2.5m, dragon hiding in the bushes.
Between dives, we invariably sat on the superb sun deck soaking up the equatorial sun rays while surveying the amazing islands in the Flores sea where clouds were scarcer than an Australian at a teetotal party. It was great diving with so many experienced divers in the group - one instructor, 3 dive masters, a tech diver and a rescue diver.
I can highly recommend diving in Komodo on the Black Manta with a fantastic and helpful crew and with Freestyle Divers. We disturbed nothing in Komodo, taking only photos and memories, except for one idiot who dropped a rock on a stingray to wake it up, ouch.
Day 2 which also ended up being one of the best dives of the trip as well as being Charlene’s 300th dive; our intrepid team of underwater explorers were rewarded with more manta rays than you could shake a stick at.
Day 3 started with a dive affectionately known as “Shotgun” because we were supposed to be fired upwards from 13 to
Day 4 had many highlights, starting with the superb Castle Rock where there were sharks - loads of them. I think a rumour had been started that Steven Spielberg was in town auditioning for extras in Jaws 7. The challenging Batu Balong was Terry's 1000th dive, however the day ended with a very cold night dive which meant he was unable to properly celebrate his milestone for several hours until circulation was restored.
Day 5, the last day on our beloved Black Manta, the morning started with a heart stopping cold dive in Pantai Merah. A gentle dive with beautiful coral, plenty of fish life and the odd blue spotted ray swimming past. Unfortunately, the second visit to the dive site named, "Mantas on the Moon" morphed into simply, "On the Moon" as there were no mantas to be found - clearly they had a better offer that morning. The afternoon was the highlight of our trip as we searched for the infamous ‘Komodo Dragon’ on nearby Rinca Island – we weren’t disappointed. From the start of our walk we warned about ‘drop dragons’ hiding in the trees, likely story, but we were fortunate enough to see a large, 2.5m, dragon hiding in the bushes.
Between dives, we invariably sat on the superb sun deck soaking up the equatorial sun rays while surveying the amazing islands in the Flores sea where clouds were scarcer than an Australian at a teetotal party. It was great diving with so many experienced divers in the group - one instructor, 3 dive masters, a tech diver and a rescue diver.
I can highly recommend diving in Komodo on the Black Manta with a fantastic and helpful crew and with Freestyle Divers. We disturbed nothing in Komodo, taking only photos and memories, except for one idiot who dropped a rock on a stingray to wake it up, ouch.
By James
Leo
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