Diving around Komodo and Rinca
Most liveaboard trips to Komodo National Park begin and end in
Bali, diving around Lombok and the north coast of Sumbawa along
the way. Volcanoes give way to white sand beaches and coral reefs
in warm water, 28º-30ºC (86-90ºF). Visibility is
excellent at 20-40m (66-130ft). The reefs are healthy and diverse
with large stands of corals and exotic animals. The diving is easy
and night diving is good.
Heading south to Komodo and Rinca islands, water temperatures
drop to a chilly 20º-24ºC (70-78ºF). A 5mm wetsuit
with hood, at least, is recommended. The cooler Indian Ocean meets
the warmer Flores Sea in the Sape and Lintah Straits, creating
one of the richest marine environments in the world. Nutrient-rich
upwellings rise while warmer waters sink dropping visibility to
5-20m (15-66ft). This process creates currents, whirlpools and
thermoclines bringing in scores of fishes and filter-feeding invertebrates.
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Komodo National Park
Reef Scene |
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Pygmy Seahorse |
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Hard Corals |
©Denise Nielsen
Tackett & Larry Tackett |
The reef is dramatic with drop-offs, outcrops, canyons, pinnacles
and boulders, bursting with color. Sea fans, soft corals, sponges,
basket stars, sea apples, and feather stars cover all available
substrate.
The best time to visit Komodo is March to June and late September
to December. July and August are good times to go, but windy conditions
sometimes prevent diving at the exposed southern sites.
Best Feature
Horseshoe Bay, formed by Rinca and Kode islands, is a protected
bay with several world class dive sites like Cannibal Rock, Crinoid
Corner and Yellow Wall. There's a host of unexplored sites too.
Dive Sites
Mentjang Wall
Mentjang Wall, on south Sangiang Island, drops off to 20m (66ft)
and turns into a black sand slope. The wall is beautiful with soft
corals, crinoids and basslets. The slope harbors a fascinating
assortment of nudibranches and other invertebrates.
Banta Island
Banta Island has several terrific sites such as Star Wars, GPS
Point, K-2, and Small World. Small World is an excellent macro
spot with snake eels, ghost pipefish, bubble shells, and stargazers.
Star Wars, GPS Point and K-2 are wide angle spots with big fishes,
sharks and sea fans.
The Gilis
The Gili islands, off northeast Komodo, have sites like ETF Rock,
HTF Rock and Table 4. All have current, loads of fishes and good
coral cover.
Tatawa Besar/Sambal
This site is excellent for wide angle with a gradual reef slope
covered with table corals and masses of orange soft corals. Fishes
include sweetlips, bumphead parrotfish and Napoleon wrasses.
Pink Beach
Pink Beach takes its name from the bits of broken red corals that
litter the beach. The water is noticeably cooler here and the marine
life is excellent. Huge boulders covered with soft corals go to
30m (100ft). Sea apples and toxic sea urchins appear for the first
time. Mobulas frequent the reef.
Pillarsteen
On the south side of Padar island is a series of rock pillars
that extend underwater. The huge rock faces are covered with invertebrate
growth and lead to canyons and caverns. There's good fish life
too.
Cannibal Rock
There are many beautiful dive sites in Indonesia but there is
only one Cannibal Rock. This is a big rock with profuse and colorful
reef life. There are frogfish, Miamira nudibranches, huge basket
stars and bright red sea apples. It's a hub of activity any time
but especially around sunset as the day and night animals switch
places. Baitballs, sharks, tuna, snappers, groupers, eagle rays,
reef fishes - they're all here. Night dives are incredibly colorful.
Yellow Wall
The Yellow Wall is at the southeast entrance to Horseshoe Bay.
It's best dived in the afternoon when the sun lights up the wall
of yellow tree corals that bloom in the current. The wall has many
crevices and a deep undercut at 26m (95ft) where the wall really
turns completely yellow. Everything's yellow-the soft corals, the
nudibranches, and the crinoids-everything.
Ladybug amphipods live on colorful sea squirts in the shallows.
By Denise Nielsen Tackett & Larry Tackett
Boats visiting these areas: | Mermaid
1 | Pelagian |
