- Left – I didn’t
- 21st May 2015
- Miles rode –
Up early and off to the dive centre as I booked two dives for today. There were about ten people on the boat and everyone chilled out as we travelled the hour and half to the first dive spot in the Komodo National Park. The park was founded in 1980 to protect the Komodo Dragon, the worlds largest lizard. The park covers over 1,000 miles sq of sea including about 30 islands.
Jose was my ‘buddy’ for the day with similar dive experience.
The first dive was at the edge of a really small island, maybe 50 metres across, after a small ledge there was a sheer drop and the coral and fish were amazing but it was the second dive that will stay in my memory for ever. The boat took us to a different island where the variety of coral of fish wasn’t as impressive as the first dive but we were looking for Manta Ray’s. Manta Rays are giant animals which can reach up to 9 metres across and weight 2 tons.
We saw the first Manta Ray after only 5 minutes and for the following 50 minutes we saw two of these majestic animals gracefully swim above and around us. I don’t know exactly how big they were but I would guess 3 – 4 metres wing span. They gently flap their wings and slowly glide around as they consume vast amounts of plankton. I was so impressed with what I was seeing.
The dive was made complete when Jose saw a turtle which we followed close up for 5 minutes.
In the afternoon we visited Komodo Island and saw the Giant Komodo Dragons, another wow!
As if we hadn’t seen enough wildlife for one day I spotted 3 dolphins swimming just away from our boat as we returned to shore.
A day to remember that’s for sure.
It’s all about the nature.
