Komodo liveaboard diving trip report / blog

Hi, my name is Jez Tryner and I am an underwater cameraman. If this is your first visit to my Komodo liveaboard blog then welcome and I hope you enjoy it.

If you would like to know more about me and my work please visit my imaging website at Jeztryner.com
Please also check out my Thailand diving blog for the seasons updates there between November and May.
I hope you enjoy it and it proves interesting to you and if you would like to check availabilities on my Komodo liveaboards please contact me for more details or visit www.komodo.liveaboarddiving.net

My apologies for those of you that have been awaiting this seasons update, I have been a little busy but now I am here to finally let you know how the season is going in Komodo.
We have had some rough weather on a couple of trips but that seems to have sorted itself out finally and as I sit here at Moyo island in Sumbawa now it a gorgeous day and the end of yet another cracking trip.
We had our first dolphin encounters of the season this trip and it seems to be as one of the pod has had another baby and is once again teaching her pup the rudiments of fishing and what divers are. Flying through the fish junior appeares to be doing himself no favours in the fishing stakes but you had to admire his enthusiasm and the 10 or so sharks that were following him hoping to pick up where he left off obviously thought he must be doing something right. They were in turn followed by a good 20 or so monster giant trevally that made the water shake with their passing. It’s quite a frightening experience when it first happens as suddenly the whole sea goes crazy and everything is flying in different directions trying to get away from the gang of voracious predators homing in on the smaller members of the community.
The noise as the schools of fish dive for the bottom as junior more playfully than voraciously piles through the middle in the vain hope that something might end up in his mouth followed closely by his mother with that indulgent smile that dolphins can do so well.
As to the other large animals that we encounter on our trips the mantas have hit a whole other level in their numbers and encounters, mainly in part to us discovering their deep cleaning station in 30 metres. I was very surprised at the depth of this cleaning station as all my previous experiences have been in the 15 metres and up area. To add to this is the unusual type of fish doing the cleaning. The cleaners in this instance are a school of blacklip butterfly fish numbering about 50 that fly up from the reef to create a butterfly fish jacket whilst the mantas patiently queue for their turn. We have been having groups of 10 or more mantas waiting their turn on this most unusual cleaning site and it has created some of the best encounters we have had in my 5 years here. We are also seeing other mantas on some of our more northern sites but manta alley still rules the day.
Sangeang island is still living up to it’s reputation as one of the world best kept macro secrets, not any more I guess, with it’s masses of ribbon eels in all stages of maturity and myriad of nudis and pygmies to keep even the most ardent macro lover entertained.
Cannibal rock still remains my favourite and this year so far we haven’t experienced the mind numbing temperature changes that we have come to expect from this world class site. One of my fellow divers asked me this week why it was considered a top ten site as it was all macro life and I struggled to explain that the breadth and diversity of life in this small area far surpasses anywhere else I have ever heard of in the macro category. This year we have a stunning yellow / green lacy Rhinopias, zebra crabs, Coleman shrimps, Xeno crabs, 7 frogfish, 2 of which are arguably the largest I have ever seen and one possibly the smallest, cannibal nudibranchs, Leafish, ribbon eels, pygmy seahorses and each trip something new we have never seen before, if you like macro you will love this site.
Gili Lawalaut is providing us with some top class diving this season also. it’s no secret I am a huge fan of crystal rock with it’s myriad of contrasting coloured corals and huge fans surrounded by sweetlips, this year has produced some beautiful photos as this site just seems to go from strength to strength.
I would like to say I will update this blog as the season goes on but I am loath to make promises that I may not be able to keep as editing the video and photos from this trip alone seems to take up most of my time so I have included some of my favourite shots from this season so far and I will let them speak for themselves.
Best wishes until next time and if you like diving get on a plane and don’t miss this stunning opportunity, contact me for availabilities, booking and last minute deals on our Komodo liveaboards.
I hope to see you soon,
Kind regards
Jez

Weather : Sunny and calm all week.
Seas : Flat as a pancake
Water temp : North(27-8 C) - South (24 C)

Refreshed after a couple of weeks holiday where I hired a bike and drove west into Bali and discovered some awesome deserted beaches and places where we were the only tourists. Anyone that says Bali is too touristy needs to get out of Kuta and see some of the real Bali, it truly is a stunning island.
This week was a Russian charter of only 14 people.
Of course whilst I was off enjoying the sites and sounds of Bali they had a mola mola at angel reef. I always thought it was a good place for a possible visit but so far I had seen nothing. So at least we know it is possible to see Mola mola on out trips after all.
The frogfish at angel reef has moved to somewhere new and we didn’t mange to find it this trip but we had a new ghost pipefish at Sangieng and a real Jacuzzi going in the shallows with the bubbles coming from the volcanic sand bottom.
It seemed to be the week for mating nudibranch also and I also saw my first Xeno crab of the season.
Takat Toko was great this week, just enough current to keep things active the sharks were all in close and personal and we were treated to a great hunting display by the family of dolphins.
I made a decision I am already starting to regret and if you have read the previous posts from this season you will understand. Hooked in at 18 metres I was waiting patiently for my dolphin audience to turn around and find the big mother, she is actually a mother rather than the expletive, right beside me looking straight at me only 3 metres away.
I raised my camera sighted on her smiling persona through the lens started to press the shutter as she cocked her head on one side and found I couldn’t.
2 large strobes were going to blast her with light when I pressed the shutter and I just couldn’t do it. She looked so calm and that big smile that somehow all bottlenose dolphins seem to have just disarmed me.
Yeah I know, right now you either think I am an idiot or a softy, neither of which is particularly flattering so I’ll end here but just say I still feel I did the right thing even if I do regret not having the photo. Tomorrow’s another day.

Trip date and place : 26th July-2nd August Bali to Komodo 7 day safari

Weather : Sunny and calm all week.
Seas : Flat as a pancake
Water temp : North(27-8 C) - South (24 C)

Heading out again with a fun bunch of Australians that had finished a couple of crates of beer before we left port it looked like it would be an entertaining trip and we were not wrong.
After the check dive at Moyo and an eagle ray on the wall we headed for Satonda Island another 2 hours away.
Satonda provided us with some great macro in the form of a clown frogfish, ghost pipefish, juvenile batfish, banded pipefish, some mushroom coral pipefish and a bobtail squid on the night dive.
In the morning we awoke to one of my favourite areas, Sangiang Island, a volcano that last went off only 10 years ago and is regularly smoking.
Diving through the bubbles that rise form the bottom has got to be one of the strangest dive experiences to be had but for some reason critters love this are, from masses of feather stars spread liberally around the sites creating a colour explosion to the multitude of unusual nudis, Leafish and pygmies this place is loved by all and never fails to disappoint.
The next day it’s into the blue for Takat Toko and sharks and masses of fish, this week we were treated to an up close and personal visit with the sites newest resident, a juvenile bottlenose dolphin as mama guided it around the divers she paused occasionally to let junior have a feed from it’s mother, a rare and wonderful experience.
The next day on Komodo island we walked with the dragons, they are all back from their mating season partying in the middle of the island and there were plenty on display walking around.
Cannibal rock in the afternoon was its usual amazing self, I decided to try some wide angle photography on this ostensibly macro site and was rewarded by the worse Vis of the year and a bunch of rubbish photos for my efforts, apart from one very large mouthed frogfish, love this shot.
It was my first visit to Rhino rocks this year and was pleased to find, no scratch that, ecstatic to find a paddle flap Rhinopias in amongst the feather stars on the bottom.
The next day manta alley was not it’s usual line up of mantas and we had a huge surge and no current so we only saw 7 the whole dive, no bad but not good for manta alley,
A great trip all round, great company, some stunning dive moments and a lot of entertainment provided by 20 larger than life Ozzies, looking forward to next week to get some more photos and video to increase the library as this seasons critters are all different from last years, see you soon.

Weather : Sunny and calm all week.
Seas :Calm
Water temp : North(27 C) - South (17-21 C!!!!!)

Arrgh!!! Cold cold cold, more on that later.
We started the trip with our customary check dive at Moyo and I found another group of the very rare Denise pygmy seahorses of which 2 were pregnant and really the only reason they were visible.
Following our usual itinerary we headed East to Satonda for our next 2 dives, Juvenile batfish, Bargibanti pygmy seahorses, banded pipefish and a great selection of anemone fish kept us all amused for a couple of dives.
The next day found us at Sangiang island again, more macro diving, and although it was a little rough around the East of the island we had a great couple of dives seeing numerous ribbon eels, rare nudis and more pygmies amongst the bubbles released from the venting gases through the sand from the volcano, the sand was really hot this week.
Tuesday found us in the blue at Gili Lawalaut.
Takat toko has good days and better days and this day was even better.
Hanging on the ridge on the East side we were treated to a hunting display by the giant trevallies that set the masses of fusiliers swarming amongst us and surrounding us in a fish veil until they would break for the open again only to be chased back to the reef by the trevally and white tip sharks closely followed by a pack of very healthy looking grey reef sharks. Non stop action from start to finish concluding with 5 minutes of dolphin action as one mum taught hers and another female's babies to hunt amongst the fish soup whilst the other mum looked patiently on.
The afternoon found us at pink beach where I found the much sort out after Coleman shrimp nesting in a fire urchin and after a few minutes realised it was not alone and there was a minute one next to it, about 3mm long and nearly invisible, see it??
Wednesday morning we were went dragon walking with me keen to try out my new shooting technique of strapping a camera to a long piece of wood in an attempt to get a close up wide angle shot.
The afternoon we went to cannibal rock, remember the cold cold cold thing, yeah, well it was 21 degrees, that’s cold to me but the life was out in full effect, great nudibranchs including mating Gabriel Tamja, very rare here, a previously never seen bright orange nudi, 6 giant frogfish of varying colours and the Rhinopias were all about.
The next day it was even colder at  manta alley as we experienced an all time low of 17 degrees!!! Too much for me, I searched for Mola mola in the blue but got just too cold and decided it wasn’t worth losing my ears over.
Thurday and Friday found us in warmer waters and much happier for it, concluding another great trip and leaving us looking forward to next time.

Weather : Sunny and calm all week.
Seas : mainly calm
Water temp : North(27 C) - South (24 C)

Well this trip wasn’t great for me to be honest as I my video camera broke, someone stood on my mask and that broke and my computer caught a virus which involved me totally reinstalling all my operating system and software. That aside underwater we had a great time, all the usual suspects and more.
Because it’s been a couple of weeks until I could get my computer back to a place it was happy I don’t have a trip report just some of the photos I took, sorry about that, more next week.

Trip date and place : 23rd - 29th August Bali to Komodo 7 day safari

Weather : Sunny and calm all week.
Seas : Calm
Water temp : North(27 C) - South (24 C)

Bad news for Manta alley, the mantas have gone!
This happens regularly during the middle of the season as the weather changes. Good news for Takat Makassar though as they have all taken up residence there, and even better news the vis is better and the water warmer there and we get to do one more dive at cannibal rock instead of the one at manta alley.
So good news all round really.
The highlights of this trip for me was that as my video camera is still being repaired I had to take photos all trip which meant I got to take photos on some of the sites that I rarely can due to having to film them each week.
Moyo has produced a new resident, queen frogfish, as she’s rapidly becoming known, Debbie, found another of her brood hiding under a rock just near the pygmies I found a few weeks ago. He’s not in the best of positions for photography but he’s a great colour.
Satonda was great with little current and some very co-operative pygmies there also along with the rapidly gaining size juvenile batfish, some ghost pipefish and rumours of a blue ringed octopus, hopefully more on that next trip as we didn’t see it but we now know where it is.
Sangiang was bubbling away merrily this trip and there seems to be a direct correlation to how cold the water is and how many bubbles there are coming out of the sand, this week was a little chilly but bubbling madly.
Spotted were numerous blue and black ribbon eels, about 7 at last count, various nudibranch, a mimic octopus (which I didn’t see), panda clownfish and babies and the wonderfully coloured green leaf fish.
Takat Toko was going off, eagle rays, masses of fish, schooling surgeonfish, jacks, rainbow runner and barracudas, this is the most fishy dive site I ever dived. The noise they make as they evade the hunting dolphins, yes dolphins, grey reef and white tip sharks is quite frightening.
The little dolphin is still being chaperoned around by it’s mother but is growing fast and doesn’t look so little anymore. He’s also really loud under water, you can hear him coming and he’s super cute but I just can't get picture of him!
The highlight of the trip for me still has to be finally finding the purple lacy Rhinopias at rhino rocks, we now have a total of 4 different Rhinopias on this site although we have never seem more than 3 at any one time. I am beginning to favour this site over cannibal rock, I love the frogfish on cannibal but for unusual stuff , rare nudibranch and Rhinopias, rhino rocks is really starting to come into it’s own.
Another site coming into it’s own as we learn it is the new Sumbawa surprise, now boasting 3 common seahorses in various colours, 2 frogfish, nudis, cockatoo waspfish , wonderpus and rumours of Ambon scorpionfish!
Well that’s it for another trip, I have another shore week to pick up my, hopefully, repaired video camera and have little down time,
Bye for now.

Trip date and place : 6th - 13th September Bali to Komodo 7 day safari

Weather : Sunny with a light breeze
Seas : Flat calm
Water temp : North(27 C) - South (25 C)

Well we are back from another trip. The weather was fantastic, no rock or rollin’ this trip which makes everything nicer and I even got sunburnt.
I do have one personal comment to pass before I start.
I just had a week off and happened to see a documentary on Komodo dragons, I thought it would be interesting to watch seeing as how we visit with them each week. It involved some South African guy called Steve Austin, what a plonker!
If you ever see this documentary believe nothing he says in it or the footage you see. Some of my friends are in it and I also know the area so when he has Komodo dragons eating a goat on Rinca beach, rubbish! No goats in that area. When he wrestles the big python after discovering it in a cave, it has lived there for years and is a local tourist attraction and contrary to popular belief Komodo dragons generally do not voluntarily swim, only very occasionally. He, of course, finds one swimming past his boat at cannibal rock, something I have never seen in years, and then proceeds to dive in and swim with it, poor thing was probably just trying to get back to land after being dumped off a boat and then has to suffer the indignity of having some large hairy south African chasing it back to dry land.
Ok sorry, felt the need to get that off my chest I was offended by the sensationalist way he was hyping everything up, the dragons here are amazing and really don’t need to be hyped up.
So back to the trip, it was a warm week, with not much current by Komodo standards, so we enjoyed some great conditions with some new Denise pygmies at Moyo island, masses of new nudis at Sangiang lighthouse with a very active volcanic bubbling bottom in very clear water at hot rocks where we found 2 new leaf fish.
My video camera is back and working, well sort of, I then proceeded to break my focus lock button and the wide angle zoom, after a spot of soldering it all seems to be working again but now I am having white balance issues, not the greatest trip for me equipment wise.
Diving in Gili Lawalaut this trip more than made up for it though, I truly believe this is one of the world’s best sites on a good day. You need a little bit of current to get the fish around one side, keep the sharks active and to bring in the dolphins and when all that come together like this week. Masses and masses of swirling fish being chased by monstrous giant trevallies and white tip reef sharks whilst the larger grey reef skulk around the outside and once every 5 minutes or so a dolphin will fly through the whole melee either hunting or for the pure hell of it, and no, I still haven’t got any decent photos of them.
We have now stopped going to manta alley for this season as it is now just an alley so we are now doing 2 dives at cannibal rock and one at rhino rocks. The Rhinopias have been unseen for 2 trips now but we are determined to finds them again and even if you don’t find them the place is amazing for nudibranchs, I think even better than cannibal rock.
I found some beautiful Coleman shrimp at cannibal rock this trip along with a nice pair of zebra crabs and I finally relocated the brilliant red and grey hairy frogfish, whilst not an actual “hairy frogfish” he has more than his fair share.
Takat Makassar had no mantas this week but loads the week before, that one always depends on the current and we didn’t have enough to bring them into the cleaning stations or to hover along the reef.
All in all a good trip, some noticeable absences, but that’s the way it goes, if it was predictable where would all the fun be?
Until next time…