Here be Dragons!

by Eileen Furr

A trip on Komodo Dancer, Komodo to Bali, Indonesia
12/10/2009

Impossible to imagine a more wonderful dive trip! We had everything you could hope to see in this region: manta, mola mola, an orca breaching within easy sight of the boat, pygmy seahorses, ghost pipefish, murderous nudibranchs (video evidence available from Janine), white tip sharks, cuttlefish, turtles, mantis shrimps, octopus, rays and stunning corals so saturated in colour we needed UW sunglasses. Tatawa Besar Eastern reef and Batu Bolong were outstanding – pristine reefs which were displayed before our eyes in vivid techniclour as we drifted dizzily by. Then for me came the best of all: Cannibal Rock. Poor viz, no sun, yet totally beautiful, stuffed with fabulous corals, multi-coloured feather stars, nudibranchs and fish life so dense you could barely see through the schools. Talk about overpopulated inner cities! This was reef life gone mad. Not the easiest dive for photography but for once it didn’t matter – I have the complete panoramic display locked in my mind’s eye. May not stay there too long, given my ageing brain, but I shall try hard not to overwrite the memory bank.

That was not everyone’s favourite so I have to give more than a nod in the direction of Manta Alley where we were mobbed by manta rays circling and swooping among us as we searched frantically for f-stops and shutter speeds to get the ultimate image of these magnificent creatures. Fortunately there were many able photographers and videographers among us to record the extraordinary experience. Shotgun at Gili Lawa Laut was almost as impressive with a good fitness workout against the current before Gede guided us expertly through a canyon into turtle town and yet more mantas. Cannibal Rock was pushed to second or third best by the majority vote!

On the penultimate day we descended over Pura Ped and almost immediately were alerted to the presence of Roger and a Large Black Plastic Bag. Weird I thought. Then the shape crystallised into a giant Mola Mola, the ocean sunfish - with an additional blob following it to 46 metres. That would be Roger tracking it with his video camera…… and some cracking shots he took too.

In between the excitement sub-aqua we also ventured on land in search of beautiful hilltop views of our boat in the bay at Gili Lawah Darat and of course the legendary komodo dragons on the island of Rinca. Given that no one was Sporting enough to be sacrificed (why else do we pay the NHDC organisation fee, I hear you ask) to provide some action, these turned out to be rather slow moving and ponderous; their poisonous, saliva dripping jaws hazarded the occasional, tantalising flick of their forked tongues but little else. Komodo Athletico were even having a practice footy match on the beach with only a long stick for protection. Though I wouldn’t want to push my luck by camping out overnight….

Our boat, the blue-sailed Komodo Dancer provided an excellent service – Garry, Paul, Gede and Benny guiding us underwater and Sebastian controlling life on board. There was wine every evening and a stunning range of culinary delights that threatened to stretch our wetsuits to breaking point. Martin’s did indeed fall apart and even Wendy’s Sewing skills could no longer save it; if you visit these islands you may see it modelled by a local fisherman or boat handler. Looking as elegant no doubt as its former owner.

There were many personal milestones reached: various dive logs clocked between 200 and 600 dives and all were celebrated in the usual manner: diving naked from the crow’s nest at midnight for the customary night dive, before surfacing to be handed a G&T by Sebastian our butler.

The final dive at Nusa Penida (and my 600th) was marked by hideous currents and not much else. We had already suffered a similar dive earlier in the day so all credit should be given to Blue Boat for fielding a full team in my support. Thanks guys, we won’t forget that one in a hurry!

Thanks to all who sailed on Komodo Dancer and to NHDC for providing the ultimate ‘trip of a lifetime’.