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 five hundred or so coral species found in the Indo-Pacific, Komodo has 2.0. It harbours more than 1,000 species of fish and 70 species of sponge. Acre for acre, it is one of the most numerous coral reef environments in the world.
My journey started on the 42m Kararu, a conventional rigged crusing vessel which serves as an extremely spacious liveaboard. It operates from Bali, a hundred and sixty miles to the west, but the journey to and from Paket Komodo Tour Murah is punctuated by dive websites that are fascinating in their own proper, and function 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 simple manner and a knack for spotting close to-microscopic animals.
On an early dive at a site called Mentjang Wall, we have been finning along in mid-water when Tony immediately swooped 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 positioned it there after I wasn't wanting, presumably inspired by Donald Pleasence's related trick in The Great Escape.
As I used to be to discover, his recognizing expertise were fairly genuine. While there are plenty of dimensionable creatures to marvel at in Indonesia, the area does have a tendency to attract divers with a penchant for the diminutive. These are rich seas, and there's a perpetual battle for area on the reefs. After just a number of days, your eyes develop into aware of the environment, in order that semi-camouflaged critters begin to disclose themselves. Professional dive guides turn into finely attuned to this form of diving.
Komodo Nationwide Park comprises the seas across the islands of Komodo, Rinca and Padar, and a few smaller islands. It is a two-wetsuit trip: on the northern side of the islands, the water is warm, and most of the people dive comfortably with the thinnest of skins. Cool, nutrient-wealthy 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 forced by various straits, creating a pressure void along the park's southern side. This allows 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 basis of Komodo's super-charged food chain. It's a very, very special place indeed.
