Komodo Liveaboard: Day 5

 I can't believe that Day 5 of our 6 day liveaboard trip has already come. We have covered some distance and seen a lot already. Today the Amalia headed back North a bit to central Komodo for a bit of muck/macro diving with some beautiful underwater reefscapes thrown in.

 We were still on a nudibranch kick from south Rinca so we kept the good nudi vibes going with some fun new finds. Our first dive was a site called Pil'arsteen. We checked out the beautiful 3 sisters dive site next where hunting blue fin trevallys scoured the reef. But it was our third site of the day that really blew us away. Under the waves lapping up against a small island was a muck divers dream. We found robust pipefish, ribbon eels, nudibranchs, relative of mandarinfish, and the ultimate find, thanks to Heidi's keen eyes, the cute, yet deadly blue-ringed octopus. This was a dive site called Wainilu, and would be another to add to your 'must dive' list while in Komodo.

 The diversity of wildlife at Wainilu made us feel like we were back diving in the famous Lembeh Strait. I think Heidi and I could have dove here several more times just for the sheer amount of interesting critters. Nelwan even called this spot the 'Little Lembeh' dive. But unlike Lembeh, here in Komodo you have the opportunity to do a dive like this, and then head right around the corner to go dive with giant manta rays.

  For an underwater photographer Komodo really is a great mix of wide angle and macro photography opportunities. I think we inspired some of our fellow divers on board to get interested in the small stuff, especially the nudibranchs. They were amazed at the range of colors and patterns displayed by these beautiful sea slugs.

Robust Ghost Pipefish

Cousin to Pokemon

Blue-Ringed Octopus

Deadly, Venomous, Cute

Cuttlefish hiding

Blue Ribbon Eel

As I did every day I took advantage of the SUPs between every dive. It was a great way to explore the coastline.