Komodo Island - The Lost World Was Discovered

It is a remarkable place - a hothouse for evolution and residential to an incredible array of marine life. Of the 500 or so coral species found within the Indo-Pacific, Komodo has 2.0. It harbours greater than 1,000 species of fish and 70 species of sponge. Acre for acre, it is among the most diverse coral reef environments in the world.

My journey started on the 42m Kararu, a standard rigged crusing vessel which serves as an extremely spacious liveaboard. It operates from Bali, a hundred and sixty miles to the west, however the journey to and from Komodo is punctuated by dive websites that are fascinating in their very own right, and serve as a build-as much as the world-class diving at Komodo and its neighbouring island, Rinca. My host was the boat's co-proprietor, Tony Rhodes, a Brit with a straightforward method and a knack for spotting close to-microscopic animals.

On an early dive at a web site called Mentjang Wall, we have been finning along in mid-water when Tony suddenly swooped right down to the reef. I adopted, squinting at the scrappy patch of coral to which he was pointing. At first nothing, then I could make out a tiny brownish nudibranch (of the Flabellinidae family). He had seen it from 10m away! Suspicious, I wondered if he had sneakily placed it there after I wasn't looking, probably inspired by Donald Pleasence's related trick in The Great Escape.

As I was to discover, his spotting expertise have been fairly genuine. While there are many dimensionable creatures to marvel at in Indonesia, the world does tend to attract divers with a penchant for the diminutive. These are wealthy seas, and there's a perpetual battle for house on the reefs. After just just a few days, your eyes turn into conversant in the environment, so that semi-camouflaged critters begin to reveal themselves. Skilled dive guides turn out to be finely attuned to this sort of diving.

Paket Wisata Pulau Komodo Murah Nationwide Park contains the seas across the islands of Komodo, Rinca and Padar, and a few smaller islands. It's a -moistsuit trip: on the northern aspect of the islands, the water is warm, and most people dive comfortably with the thinnest of skins. Cool, nutrient-rich upwellings prevail on the southern side, the place 5mm suits, hoods and gloves are the order of the day.

These islands act like a dam, holding back the warmer Pacific waters, that are then pressured through numerous straits, creating a pressure void alongside the park's southern side. This permits cold water from the Sumba Sea to stand up, successfully changing the water removed by the currents at the surface. With the cold water comes a bloom in phytoplankton, forming the premise of Komodo's super-charged food chain. It's a very, very special place indeed.