Komodo Liveaboard: Day 4

Ghost Pipefish
 Day four of our liveaboard found us in beautiful south Rinca. We were the only boat in sight and during breakfast we could see a large school of mobular rays breaching out of the water. The visibility of the water here in the south was a bit worse than up in North Komodo, but better than the forecast we were receiving from the days leading up to today. But it wasn't going to affect our primary goals for being down here which were macro critters, adventure, and dragons...and we got all three.

Orange Cup Coral on the Yellow Wall

   We had a four dive day including a night dive. Our dive sights included Cannibal Rock, Jimmy's Rock, Yellow Wall, and a night day at Torpedo Bay. We found a ton of wild and crazy nudibranchs that Heidi is hard at work identifying. Beautiful shrimp and crabs abounded, but what really shocked me was the color and coverage of soft coral. Yellow Wall definitely lived up to it's name but every site was packed with live coral swaying to and fro with the surge. We dove in current, submerged pinnacle, massive boulders and walls, and a sandy slope all in one area.

Nudibranch laying eggs

  I am so glad that we took the trip south to the less dived area of Komodo. The macro diving was amazing, and the chance for big sightings is still there. We just missed the massive pod of mobular rays, we had a bowriding bottlenose dolphin out of nowhere, and paddleboarding past basking Komodo dragons is not to be missed.

   The night dive wasn't as critter filled as I had hoped, but I have been spoiled in places like Lembeh, Tulumben, and Sugar Beach. Its getting harder and harder to find new nudibranchs and critters but it only makes it more rewarding when we do. I expect a few more dives in south Komodo would continue helping us expand our lifetime nudibranch list.

Translucent Shrimp on a Sea Pen

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