The Adventure Continued to...
Komodo Was Terrific
The Boat
We were on a great boat, the Cheng Ho. We had lots of great food choices...
and plenty of spacious places to lounge..... and read
...and another room to watch movies!
Diving
Diving is done from from one of two 6 m by 2.50 m unsinkable aluminum tenders. You set your gear up once (using air or Nitrox) at the beginning of the trip and the crew of nineteen members takes over from there. Like the Bilikiki, you make a simple back roll to enter the water and come back up the ladder where ever you surface. Guests do about 35 dives on an eleven night trip. (There is no diving on the first day as we will be steaming to our first dive site. Boat photos are courtesy of Kararu Voyages.)
Itinerary
The itinerary was reversed, but I still have it here as traveling from Bali to Bima, taking in North Lombok, Sumbawa and Sangean Island on the way to Komodo Island and the pristine Komodo Marine Park. Officially declared a World Heritage Site in 1991, it is one of the largest protected zones on the planet.
We will now be flying to Bima and cruising back to Bali.
The Komodo region - the islands of Rinca, Komodo, Banta and many other smaller isles and pinnacles - offer divers a huge array of possibilities. This area between the Pacific and Indian oceans and the number and variety of islands in the area, combined with currents of nutrient-rich water, wave action and wind exposure result in a a biological paradise of pristine reef, pelagic fishes and an enormous variety of interesting critters and invertebrates.
Here is a sample of some typical days for our journey of nine diving days.
Tulamben
Famed for its Liberty ship wreck, we will enjoy the incredible view of Bali’s Mt. Agung as well as an exceptional array of very tame marine life. Kararu also takes us to the latest hot spots, such as Seraya Secrets.
Moyo National Park
Here we may just witness one of the whale sharks spotted in the area.
Rinca, North West Sumbawa
We will have the whole day to dive all the magnificent sites. Cruising west we will pass the dormant volcanic island of Satonda where, I am told, the twilight skies hold a rare surprise.
Sangeang & Banta
Sangeang Island, a stunning volcanic island, offers some of the region’s best dive sites. We will spend the morning here, then sail towards the peaceful bays of Banta Island with an enormous array of fish life and exotic above waterscenery.
Komodo National Park
We will visit islands such as Tatawa, return to Gili Lawa Laut and Gili Lawah Darat. Cruising through this spectacular area, both above water and below will prove an unforgettable experience.
South Rinca
We will enjoy another full day’s diving in Rinca’s Horseshoe Bay. CANNIBAL ROCK, one of the Top Five dive sites in the world is located here as well as Larry’s YELLOW WALL Of TEXAS. On top of that we can enjoy one of the best muck sites--TORPEDO ALLEY and there are four more stunning dive sites to choose from. We usually have 5 dives available during our stay in this protected bay. Don't miss the night dive!!
South Komodo & Rinca
Our next morning might begin in South Komodo at Tora Longkoi, home to a famous manta cleaning station. With a 99 percent success rate to witness the mantas, we will marvel at these graceful creatures as they circle around and around. During lunch, we steam to Horseshoe Bay, Rinca Island for the rest of the day's diving. Between dives we can explore by foot or binoculars the nearby beach where wild boars, monkeys and the odd Komodo dragon reside.
Komodo Island
Early in the morning, we will begin our walk of Komodo Island to see the region's most famous endemic species, the Komodo dragon, a large monitor lizard the size of a crocodile found only in this area. Usually a few hours are spent on shore viewing the dragons and we are back in thewater by noon. We will dive at the famous Pink Beach and other exciting dive sites such as Padar in the Komodo Island region as well.
Gili Lawah Laut & Gili Lawah Darat
We begin on the North East corner of the park at Gili Lawah Laut, famous for warm, clear waters, corals and schooling fish, napoleon wrasse, sharks and turtles. A special dinner will be served on board before our final sail home. The crew will wash and organize our dive gear for drying.
Departure day
The ship will arrive at 6:00 AM to our dock. We will be served breakfast and afterwards prepare for disembarkation. At 9:00 AM, you will be transferred to your next destination.
The photo on the left was taken in the Solomon Islands, but I believe these are also found in the Komodo area. I was intrigued by the pattern of the rind of this gorgonian, but a pygmy seahorse kept sticking his head in the photo.
The Adventure Continued...Thailand, February 6 - 25, 2003:
We visited Thailand above and underwater. I have wanted to go to Thailand for a very long time, and we finally have it on our schedule.
Trip specifics:
Presently we plan to leave Los Angeles (or NY/JFK) on February 6, 2003 and arrive in Phuket on the evening of Feb. 8. We will have nine days of diving aboard the M/Y Aqua One in the Andaman Sea and Burma's Mergui Archipelago (weather permitting). We disembark Aqua One February 18 and fly to Bangkok and overnight before our next flights. The land tour continues to Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand (Hilltribe Country) and Angkor Wat--an incredible ancient city in Cambodia, near the Thailand border. (More information below.)
Cost for the boat portion is$3425.00 for lower deck rooms and $3675.00 for upper deck rooms ($3562.00 and $3822.00 respectively if paid by credit card); air from New York or Los Angeles is $1125.00 plus tax. All air must be booked through Poseidon Ventures *in California (1-800-854-9334). Price does not include one overnight in Bangkok when we get off the boat. There will also be a US$150.00 cash payment paid during the trip for the Burma entry fee. The land tour price is $1357.00 for a double room per person or $1772.00 for a single. (*We require a group air booking because flight schedules have been subject to last minute changes. If this happens, we need only notify one agent to take care of everyone. We have booked this trip as a complete package through Poseidon Ventures. Also, if we book as a group we will have more clout should a problem arise.)
M/Y AquaOne
The AquaOne is a nice boat, 35 m long and a beam of 6.5 m, specially built for 16 divers in 8 staterooms, each with private head and shower, piped-in music, reading lights, hair dryer, wardrobe and plenty of storage space. The upper deck rooms are slightly smaller and have windows and the below decks rooms are larger, but no windows.
On the main deck, there is a smallish lounge/dining salon/entertainment area with large panoramic windows; on the upper deck is an air-conditioned lounge that serves as the photography station and library. There is an open-air barbecue/eating area and an open-air sitting area forward. Of course, there is sun bathing on the very top deck accessible by ladder.
Thailand provides the backdrop for the menu with an emphasis on Thai, oriental and seafood. According to their brochure and from what we have learned from Poseidon, the food is delicious and healthy, with three meals and lots of snacks daily. They presently tout a Cordon Bleu Chef on board.
The dive deck provides spacious gearing up and storage areas. Large twin staircases lead down to the diving platform. Diving is done from the deck when moored, and from one of the two 15-foot support inflatables. There are hot towels after every dive and four showers and a toilet are on the dive deck and dive platform. Nitrox is available for Nitrox certified divers at $8.00 per tank, or $15.00 per day with whole trip package for up to 5 tanks per day.
They process E-6 on board and have slide projector and viewers so that we can enjoy the results of our photography. They also have TVs and video systems.
If you want to try something else, you can take up sea kayaking, knee boarding, exploring uninhabited islands or rest on a quiet beach.
The staff is certified to carry out first aid treatment and cell and sat phones allow quick contact with the mainland, including the DAN approved decompression facilities in Phuket.
Boat photos courtsey of Art Travers from Poseidon Ventures.
Destinations
We will dive in the Similan Islands in the Andaman Sea Northwest of Phuket and Burma's Mergui Archipelago further north. Average visibility ranges from 50 feet to over 100 feet, the water temperature is a warm 83 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit and February is right in the middle of the best time of year to dive here.
We will enjoy destinations that may include such great dives as Richelieu Rock and the Similan Islands--a scattering of massive granite boulders almost 50 nautical miles northwest of Phuket. Here it is possible to find everything from small beautiful nudibranchs, rare species of anemones and their anemone fish, frogfish, ghost pipefish, harlequin shrimp, to larger shovelnose rays and potato cod.
The top thirty feet of the pinnacle is a carpet of red, blue and purple soft corals and often, swirling schools of snapper, jacks and barracuda flowing in and out of the canyons between the boulders. Whale sharks and manta rays once common are becoming more rare.
The water off Myanmar (Burma) has long been off-limits for the average tourists, but since 1997, a limited number of permits have been issued and of course, the Aqua One has one. The Mergui Archipelago is made up of hundreds of islands offering a rich variety and even some unique creatures. I can't wait to see dive sites such as Black Rock, Okay rock (I hope that doesn't mean just okay), High Rock, North Twin and Little Torres. If any of you have been here, let me know which is your favorite.
UPDATE (June 27, 2002)
Some friends just got back and plenty to tell me. On sites closest to Phuket, such as Richelieu Rock, there were sometimes dozens of other dive boats. Many sites are in the open ocean and the weather was too rough for them to get to the Burma Bank. They loved all of the diving that they did. Of course, the weather can affect literally any trip, so I am sure that you are not surprised at the possibility.
They said the water was cool, so bring a wetsuit. They noted that the visibility was up and down, but we already knew that too.