Diving in Komodo National Park!!

What an experience! Komodo is notorious for some of the best diving in the WORLD! We had so much fun diving and can't wait to go back for more! The currents are generally very strong and the underwater life is abundant and diverse. The Indian and Pacific Oceans meet here. The water is a comfortable warm temperature and the visibility is great at 25-30 feet. We did four dives off of Flores Island, in and around Komodo National Park.

We spent a few days getting rid of our sea legs and talking to all of the dive shops on the island. We ran into the lost divers at our hotel and we were glad to see that they were ok. We decided to go with the crew that rescued the lost divers. We choose an easy low current dive for the first day. We loved every minute of it. Diving is so relaxing, it feels like you are floating through space. Each time a fish swam close by I realized how effortless their movements are.

We spent the evenings in Labuan Bajo with David and his family, sharing stories of all of our adventures. It's a quaint little town right on the coast. We enjoyed the slow pace of life there. One thing that was irritating was that our hotel was smack dab in the middle of two Mosques so five times a day we were forced into listening to the prayers over the loud speakers. I think Alex said it best when he said "Religion and loud speakers just don't mix." One evening we took a walk through a back alley and waved to the women and children in the streets. Goats hurried by and everyone stopped what they were doing to smile at us.

The second day we determined that we were prepared for a slightly difficult dive. As the group gathered around the dive master on the deck of the boat, he says "Now, this is the spot that we had some trouble at a few days ago, but all that is over now. You are going to have a great dive here today." Just then Alex and I turned to each other and thought "Oh boy!" This was the exact site where the divers went missing!!! We didn't realize that we were going to be the very next people to dive this site! One of the girls on our boat turned out to be an ABC news reporter who was there to film our experience. We were each interviewed but we are unsure if the story ever aired.

Dive 3 was breathtaking!! I don't even know how to explain the feeling. It's a drift dive so as soon as you jump in the water you immediately go under. The island is in the shape of a triangle and we were swimming in the protected area. The sea wall is at least 100 feet tall and as wide as you can see in both directions. Every color and texture of coral live in these waters. The fish life is copious; there are all sorts of things that we had never seen before. The current was especially strong that day. We were instructed to stay right next to the sea wall and stay behind our guide. Once you start noticing that the fish are swimming up straight, it's time to turn around because the current is too strong. Drift diving is different from other dives because everything is moving by you very quickly. Once Alex and I turned around to find our instructor and he had both of his arms straight out, flying through the water like an airplane. He nodded and gave us a big smile and two thumbs up. All we could think was "Man, I bet he loves his job!" We saw Lion Fish, Stone Fish, Napoleon, Tuna, Scorpion Fish, Puffers, Angel, Clown Fish, etc. There was so much to look at! We have to go back there again. SOON!!!

The next dive was even better. (If you can believe it!) The site was an island about the size of our living room. Hovering at 75 feet, two white tip sharks caught our attention. They were less than 10 feet below us. It was a mother shark and her young and they were asleep on the coral. I could see their gills moving in and out as they breathed. My heart was racing. These weren't the nurse sharks that we saw in Belize, these were the real deal! We hovered over them for about 5 minutes, clinging to the coral to keep us in place. Just when I felt comfortable our guide motioned for us to turn around. There was another white tip shark swimming right above us!! It was exhilarating!! We saw at least 8 sharks. I motioned for Alex to turn around and look up at the sun shining through the water. Just then another white tip swam past the ray of sun on a backdrop of the seawall. It was picture perfect! We really wish that we had an underwater camera but we'll have to freeze that moment in our minds instead.

We stopped to look at some shrimp in hopes to see a seahorse but instead I looked right below me and there was a 10 foot sea snake slithering through the coral that I was near. It was a brilliant blue with black strips. I'm glad that it wasn't interested in me! Alex, however, spotted a foot long tuna who was very interested in him. He decided to reach out to touch it and the tuna took off as quickly as he could. Just then thousands of reef fish ducked in the coral to protect themselves. They keep an eye on what the big fish are doing!

When we got out of the boat we were so excited! I don't think I've ever felt the same excitement! The sensation overcame us and we realized how fortunate we were to be able to see the underwater world in all of it's glory. We were fulfilled because we saw even more than we imagined.

There are so many Indonesian islands to explore. Now we know of some excellent spots to come back to and want to visit many others. It's important to take full advantage of swimming with the underwater life because of all of the pollution and global warming. We are so lucky to experience that and will never forget the majestic seas of Komodo National Park.

Boat Trip through the Indonesian Islands

This was definitely one of the highlights of our trip!! We were able to take a 4 day/3 night boat trip headed east through tiny deserted islands. We were out in the open sea with no other boats around!! We had a crew of 4 men who knew the seas like the back of their hand. In fact, there were no compass or radio on board and when we asked how they knew we were going in the right direction, the captain said "We use the stars to guide us."

Kevin, Alex and I first hit up a grocery store for a few essentials. The caption took a survey of how many beers we would like. I think we had 4 cases of Bintang between us; after all, we would be confined to a boat for the next several days and we don't want to be stuck without our Bintang! There were about 12 other people on board so we all piled into a beat-up hippy van and headed towards the dock. We had only seen a tiny picture of the boat we would be sailing on so we were all a little curious about the accommodations. Along the way, our driver stopped to pick up a few essentials for the trip; we made a ice run at an ice factory, loaded up about 20 cases of Bintang on top of the van, and picked up two chickens for our eating pleasure.

We had a great group. There were several Belgiums, some Slovakians, and an adorable British family. David and his family are traveling for 14 months and had visited New Zealand, India, and most of Southeast Asia. Charlotte is 9 years old and Adam is 7. We had a blast hanging out with them and hearing about all of their amazing adventures. It just goes to show ya that just because you have children doesn't mean that you can't travel. The kids remember ever detail of their travels. They learned much more this year that they ever could in a classroom. They truly are an inspiration.

Day one was fantastic!! We sailed off into the horizon as the sun set behind us. We had an incredible view of the vast sea. The temperature was comfortable and the company was friendly. At meal times we would all gather around the bottom deck and sit indian style around the food. There was always plenty to go around. We slept on the top deck of the boat with the sea air brushing our faces as we sailed through the early morning hours.

We awoke to the sun rising as we peered out over the edge of our ship. There were small deserted islands to the left and right of us. We anchored in a cove and swam to shore to visit a waterfall, swimming hole and snorkel around the island. We encountered a huge school of jellyfish on the swim over which came as a bit of a surprise. We sat out on the bow of the boat to watch the sun set and counted the shooting stars overhead.

That night was sailed through the darkness. We went through several straights and the water was very, VERY rough. At some points I think we were all terrified. The boat was rocking violently from side to side and it was completely pitch black. We had no radio or compass but the crew was confident that they knew these waters well. We had to trust them. The stars were bright that night.

Day two we stopped at a small island and trekked up to the top of a mountain. At the top there is an incredible 360 degree panoramic view of Komodo Island (where the Komodo Dragons live). Our group were the only people on the island and we couldn't see any other boats in any direction. Talk about getting off of the beaten path! We were able to snorkel again at a secluded area. Snorkeling is almost as good as diving because the sea life is so abundant and diverse due to the water currents of the Indian and Pacific Ocean that come together. The water is crystal clear and a beautiful shade of turquoise blue.

Later that afternoon we trekked around Komodo Island in hopes to see Komodo Dragons in their natural habitat. It was the beginning of mating season so the dragons were being a little shy. Our guide took us to the camp kitchen were 2 dragons were patiently waiting for leftovers from the staff. We were amazed at their size. These were small at about 8 feet. They really are descendants of dinosaurs of so many millions of years ago. They are very lackadaisical and sun themselves in the afternoon however they can run very fast when attempting to catch their prey. The saliva in their tongues is very poisonous and there is no cure for the bite. The Australian couple told us that when they were there about a week before, a water buffalo had been bitten. We were hoping to see the poor fellow but he was too far from where we were. The dragons bite their prey and then wait several weeks for the infection to set in before going back to feast.

The next morning we visited Rinca Island which is right next to Komodo. Dragons also live there and we were able to see about 15 of the prehistoric creatures in the wild. Adam and Charlotte took a running count of each dragon that we encountered. When we first arrived at the dock, there was a baby Komodo on the pier to greet us. There were several more at the camp site and they were not bothered by us one bit. We were fortunate enough to see them mating which apparently is very rare. A TV crew from BBC's Planet Earth was also arriving to film mating season. We can't wait to see the episode and remember that we were there that day!

On the boat trip into Flores island, we were informed about a group of divers that were lost at sea. They were all dive masters from Europe and had not taken a local guide with them. They got swept out in a strong current and drifted for 8 hours in the sea with no drinking water or food. Eventually they floated to shore on Rinca but had to fight off Komodo Dragons with rocks. They ate clams and mussels while they waited two days to be rescued. They were all ok, just a little shaken up by the whole experience.

We landed on Flores in the late afternoon and were ready to find a shower and bed. We hadn't had any fresh water on the boat and were sleeping on thin mats on the deck. We will probably soon forget the uncomfortable conditions of the boat but will never, ever forget the magnificent beauty of the open sea and Komodo Dragons and Indonesian Islands.