If you see something swimming by in the video above which looks like an underwater Far Side cartoon creature wearing horn-rimmed glasses, that would be the mimic octopus. Mimic octopus? If you are wondering where you heard that name before, it might be that you read a recent National Geographic article about the discovery of a species of jaw fish which, ironically enough, mimics the mimic octopus. (That’s a lot of mimicry!)

We spent a couple of days at Ankermi Happy Dive Resort in northern Flores diving their world-famous muck sites. Lucky finds included: mimic octopus, long-arm octopus, a dazzling variety of nudibranchs, cuttlefish, yellow and black seahorses, an adult painted frogfish, 4 large harlequin ghost pipefish… it’s like a muck diving miracle.

There were also several extremely small animals we had never seen before such as bizarrely tiny pipefish and micro-nudibranchs. These animals were so small that we actually dove with a magnifying glass. Filming during muck dives is always a challenge as, unlike the jaw fish and the mimic octopus, we don’t have the ability to mimic our surroundings. Despite the challenges, of all our dive videos, this just might be one of our favorites.

Most guidebooks and online resources suggest that the range of the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis) is limited to Komodo, Rinca, Gili Motang, Gili Dasami, and the mainland of Flores just opposite Rinca. So imagine our surprise when we discovered a population of “dragons” here in the Riung archipelago as well.

What?

Apparently, locals have known for some time that large monitors inhabit the shores of northern Flores to the west of Riung as well as some of the offshore islands. Locals suggest the government is only now taking notice of the Riung dragons’ existence. For centuries, colonists and travelers have been passing through Flores and, somehow, they seem to have missed the dragons of Riung. Could that be possible? After 30 years of dragon tourism in Komodo and several years of inflated tourist boat prices, wouldn’t the people of Riung have gotten in on the act?

I did some research online and there are very few references to the Riung dragons to be found. Almost all of the search results lead into Indonesian tour company websites. Many of these sites reference the animal as Varanus riungensis. I searched for this scientific name in several wildlife databases, but found no credible references. The few online pictures claiming to be Varanus riungensis looked exactly like small Komodo dragons, water monitors or smaller land monitors.

However, while we were viewing the flying foxes at Pantai Ontoloe, there was a government boat anchored in the bay supposedly working with Riung’s hidden dragons. Our boat captain told us that rangers of Seventeen Island Marine Park were feeding the dragons to “keep them alive.” I prefer to think that they were baiting the dragons to count them. We asked if we could go watch the feeding, but the captain responded that the dragons were “too dangerous because they weren’t used to people.” Hmmm.

Varanus komodoensis (photographed in Rinca)

I had my suspicions about these Riung dragons. I was wondering if the people of Riung were poaching dragons from Komodo or Rinca and introducing them to Riung in an attempt to stake their claim in dragon tourism. Or perhaps, locals might be showing unsuspecting tourists large water monitors or land monitors and claiming they were a new species.

But it appears that these Riung dragons do indeed exist and they are actually endemic to the area. Although the Komodo dragon page at NationalGeographic.com writes that the animal’s range is limited to the immediate area around Komodo, I noticed a small info-graphic which showed the range extended into northern Flores as well. This caused me to go back and look again. Wikipedia makes vague reference to the newly created Wolo Tado Reserve, which I discovered is a small, relatively unknown reserve inland from Riung. How exciting! When I Googled Wolo Tado, I discovered another article in National Geographic confirming the dragons do exist in Wolo Tado. I guess National Geographic needs to consolidate its own information. I have no idea where tour companies are getting the term Varanus riungensis. If anyone knows, please let us know in the comment section below.

So why did I spend so much time worrying about whether these dragons were truly endemic to the region around Riung? Because this traveler wanted to know if this was just another tourist scam, or whether the twenty-first century could still leave us an area where giant lizards roam wild without a complete tourist infrastructure. It appears there are still many interesting things to discover out there.

After sitting in a car for several days, we’ve decided to mix it up a little and change our mode of transportation. From Riung town, located on the northern coast of Flores, we chartered a boat to take us around the Seventeen Islands Marine Park known for its beaches, coral gardens and interesting wildlife. For $45, our motley group of four was promised a fun day out which included snorkeling, flying-fox spotting, and island hopping with a BBQ on Pulau Tiga.

First off was a visit to Pantai Ontoloe, a coastal mangrove forest which is home to the biggest colony of flying foxes I have ever seen. I can’t even begin to estimate the number of these incredible animals, but it must have been in the millions. Amazing! Every inch of every branch was taken up by bats quarreling over prime hanging spots. Many were up in the air. Circling above us in unbelievable numbers, the furry chocolate-brown creatures blackened the sky. Add to that the deafening noise of their shrieks, and it felt like an Asian remake of that Hitchcock classic The Birds.

En route to Pulau Tiga (with my jaw still dropping), we stopped at a couple of places to snorkel. For those snorkelers coming from Komodo, the marine park may not quite live up to their expectations. The fish and coral life is not as plentiful, and, due to the archipelago’s proximity to a number of coastal stilt-house communities, there was quite a bit of plastic trash floating in the water (at least on the day we were there). That said, the archipelago’s underwater world is much better than anything we’ve seen under water along Thailand’s Andaman coast. Nice patches of colorful soft corals, a small school of bumphead parrotfish as well as our first juvenile crocodile fish kept us happy. We actually spent over an hour snorkeling off of Pulau Tiga while Frans and the boat captain prepared the BBQ.

And the BBQ was worth the whole trip. Frans had gone out of his way to make this an amazing experience. From his own money, he bought two chickens in the market to add some variety to our otherwise seafood-heavy barbecue. After everything was plucked, scaled, cut and cooked, we were presented with a beautiful buffet of grilled fish, squid and chicken as well as veggies, rice, tomato salad, noodles and fruit salad. Yum!

All in all, we had a fantastic day in the Riung archipelago. Besides discovering the biggest bat colony ever, we made another AMAZING discovery… but that will have to wait until our next post.

Mantas seen from the surface while diving off of Makassar Reef. There are only three in the picture, but our boat was surrounded by dozens of them!!!

Known locally as ora, the “Komodo dragons” not only occur on Komodo, but also neighboring Rinca (pronounced reen-cha) and mainland Flores as well as the smaller islands of Gili Motang and Gili Dasami. They are believed to be a relict population of large reptiles that once roamed Indonesia and Australia. The survival of the giant lizard is credited to extreme isolation as well as the unique belief system of the native people of Komodo, who directly linked the survival of the dragons to the survival of the tribe.

Komodo island was, until recently, visited by public ferries, which made visiting the island relatively simple. These days, public ferries no longer stop at Komodo which means visitors must join an organized tour or charter their own boat. (How conveniently expensive!)

One reason it took us so long to visit was our frustration with unappealing cookie-cutter tours which seemed to place greater emphasis on snorkeling and island hopping than actually viewing the dragons. After much research and deliberation, we arranged for our own boat and set up an overnight tour to visit both Rinca and Komodo de-emphasizing snorkeling side trips and allowing us to spend more time viewing dragons. We also requested a 6:00 AM arrival at Komodo to allow us an early morning start for the extended four-hour hike from Loh Liang to Loh Sebita.

As with most two-day trips, because we opted to visit Rinca on our first day, we didn’t get to the island until around 10 AM. Midday heat is not great for dragon spotting, but Mother Nature gifted us with some lucky cooling cloud cover. Within a few minutes, we had spotted a very colorful juvenile daring a quick journey across the ground between trees. (Young dragons like to stick to the trees as they are a favorite snack of the bigger dragons.)

Finding dragons in the wild is tricky business and dragon sightings cannot really be guaranteed. One reason Rinca has become a popular alternative to Komodo is because of its famous (or perhaps notorious) camp kitchen. Although rangers claim not to feed the dragons, large numbers of the animals hang around the kitchen. (Rangers claim it’s due to the smell – yeah, right.)

However questionable camp kitchen practices might be, it is somewhat of a guilty pleasure to see a large number of the impressive beasts lying around mere feet from – well – your feet. The “kitchen Komodos” are used to visitors and don’t usually attempt to take a bite out of travelers, although during our picture session it became quite clear these are not pets. Keep your eyes peeled for quick movements because Komodo dragons don’t need to eat you whole. Even a little bite can be deadly as their saliva is loaded with toxic bacteria. In fact, Komodo dragons hunt larger animals such as deer, wild horses or water buffalo by biting them and then following them until the bacterial infection brings them down. Luckily, park rangers have big sticks to keep the monstrous lizards at bay.

Hiking options on Rinca are relatively limited. We opted for the longer circuit which leads through the forested river beds towards the oft-filmed watering hole up into the palm-studded grassy hills and back down along the mangroves returning to the ranger station. Simply walking through the forested domain of the Komodo dragon is a bit of an adrenalin kick. Every cracking branch or movement in the grass serves to stimulate some primitive lobe in your brain once used to defend yourself from monsters. It’s hard to clear your mind of bone-crushing bites and toxic bacteria as you walk along the narrow paths through forest and knee-high grasses. However, the sight of one of the scaly beasts surging through the brush or eying you from within the forest is worth the limited risk.

Many people have seen the BBC’s coverage on Komodo in the recent Life series. Much of the footage was shot at the watering hole in Rinca, a bizarre place where deer, monkeys, and buffalo mix with dragons on the prowl. As we approached, we discovered the baffling sight of a water buffalo taking a cooling dip in the water right next to a floating Komodo dragon. The buffalo was staring at the dragon as if to say, “What’s that floating in the water?”

We spent more than 45 minutes watching the bizarre scene wondering if the dragon would bite the curious buffalo, but nothing happened. Our guide explained that dragons rarely attack while in the water because the water cools the dragon’s body temperature slowing them down. He also said the dragons usually attack buffalo from behind as they fear the buffalos’ dangerous horns.

Beyond the watering hole, we moved up into the hills. Rinca is a starkly beautiful place which, in the dry season, will best be appreciated by desert lovers and those who see beauty in reds, yellows, and browns. The wild grasslands dotted with palms were straight out of a cheesy 60s dinosaur flick. (The only thing missing was Raquel Welch running by in a fur bikini.) It’s prehistoric and perfect – but rugged Komodo is even better.

Most travel agents and tour guides would have visitors believe that Rinca is THE place to track dragons. But even as we approached Komodo, I began to brush those claims aside. I immediately fell in love with the island. Schools of dolphins accompanied our boat. Wickedly jagged mountains backed a series of pristine white sand beaches. In the distance, we spotted a large herd of Timor deer wading in the sea. It was darkly magical.

We stopped, as do most tours, at Pink Beach to do a little snorkeling. We took in the unusual pink hues of the surreal beach and explored the gardens of soft coral just offshore. In a stroke of luck, the lazy park rangers were off snoozing their day away, so they didn’t come out to collect the extortionate 70,000 rupiah “snorkeling fee.” Or perhaps, they were just sick of tourists complaining about the ludicrous sum. (Komodo has a virtual menu of fees: entry, guide, camera, diving, snorkeling, taxes etc. Soon they’ll be charging you for air.)

We spent the night on the boat near mangroves full of flying foxes. We dined and later slept to a harsh symphony of shrieks and cries. Up early for breakfast, we landed at the ranger station by 6:00 AM and were the first group out for the day.

Komodo’s lush valleys are full of wildlife. Almost immediately, we spotted herds of Timor deer and several wild boar. Twenty minutes in, we  found two very large dragons. (No buildup here.) It became immediately apparent why they are called Komodo dragons. For some reason, dragons grow much larger on Komodo than they do on Rinca or the other islands. The two massive beasts were impressively intimidating. One stomped out of the forest directly at us, its huge clawed feet crushing branches and lacerated the earth along the way. Thomas and I snapped away (picture below) like crazy until we realized these animals can sprint up to 18km an hour – so we jumped behind a tree. The scaly beast’s lengthy tongue shot in and out taking in its surroundings. The second dragon grunted its way over to the first where the two 21st century dinosaurs posed in the sun. Simply awesome.

Equally awesome is the birdlife on Komodo. Several birds of prey – perhaps eagles – soared above. A few meters off the path, we found the huge mound-like nest of the megapode, a strange chicken-like ground bird which spends months building its fortress of a nest. (I guess a ground bird needs a fortress-nest on Komodo.)

Tony and our guide stand atop an abandoned megapode nest

As we climbed towards the mountains, Thomas called my attention to parrot-like sounds in the trees. “Oh my god, are those cockatoos,” he asked hopefully.

“Yes,” our guide answered nonchalantly as if it had never occurred to him that cockatoos might be of interest.

In fact, it was flocks of cockatoos. Perfect, white cockatoos with pale yellow combs… everywhere. (And I thought I was coming here just for dragons.) With megapodes and cockatoos, nature was telling us that we had most definitely reached the other side of the Wallace Line. But that fact had already been confirmed underwater.

Moving up into the steep mountains of Komodo, the lush forests gave way to drier grasslands dotted with palms such as those in Rinca. The views out over the turquoise waters and the surrounding islands were mind-blowing. Along the path we found the grave of Randolph von Reding, a 79-year-old man who went missing and was presumed eaten in 1974 (a reminder that Komodo dragons do indeed eat people). We sat near the grave site with its phenomenal views out over the sea and contemplated von Reding’s demise. It’s a terrible way to go, but you can’t beat the location.

As we moved across the mountains back into the orchid-filled forests towards Loh Sebita, our rather comatose guide suddenly announced that there were exactly 1282 dragons on Komodo. When I asked how he had such an exact number, he proudly answered, “The San Diego Zoo counted them.”

Well, as a native of San Diego, California and a devoted fan of the San Diego Zoo, I’m glad to hear that those ever increasing ticket prices are actually doing some good abroad.

Both Komodo and Rinca are absolutely stunning destinations and a visit to both islands is highly recommended. There is much more to Komodo National Park than just the dragons: stunning coral, phenomenal birdlife, herds of deer wading in the sea, and panoramic views at every turn. That’s probably why Komodo was just selected one of the New 7 World Wonders – and it actually deserves that title.

Melanie, Rolf and Tony enjoy lunch

Back on the boat at the end of our hike on our way to snorkel with the mantas at Makkasar Reef, I asked our boat captain why he thought everyone suggested Rinca as the preferred dragon viewing location – especially since dragons grow larger on Komodo. Hilariously, he admitted that the strong currents on the way to Loh Liang eat up gasoline and that boat captains prefer to go to Rinca to save on gas costs. Well, there you go.

More Info on Visiting Komodo (And Warning)

Tours out of nearby Labuanbajo, Flores are really the most economical option for visiting Komodo National Park. Many backpackers also visit on inexpensive budget boat trips from Lombok to Labuanbajo. Most tours stick to shorter hikes at both Rinca and Komodo. If you want to do longer hikes, you must chose your tour carefully. Tours may promise longer hikes and then break their promises once at Komodo claiming that unexpected time restraints make the longer hikes impossible.

You can also do as we did and charter your own boat with the specific condition that longer hikes be part of the trip. If you want to do the hike from Loh Liang to Loh Sebita, make it clear that the pickup at Loh Sebita is included in the price. You can easily combine a pickup from Loh Sebita with snorkeling with the mantas at Makkassar Reef, which is very close to Loh Sebita. Don’t let captains convince you that a pickup at Loh Sebita and snorkeling with the mantas should dramatically increase the cost of the trip – it shouldn’t.

We went to the national park office in Labuanbajo to ask about other options for visiting Komodo National Park including alternative hikes and staying on the islands. The park office is completely useless and seemed baffled that we should expect any information from them at all. Most of the staff appear to be sitting around reading newspapers or taking a nap.

Once on Rinca and Komodo, we were told that there is accommodation for visitors (prices seemed to change by the minute), but hiking options in the park are VERY limited.

On Rinca, you can do a one-hour circuit, a two-hour circuit, or a four-hour hike to see wild horses (you are not likely to see more dragons on the four-hour hike). Our guide on Rinca was nice and offered information on the dragons, although he did not seem to have good tracking skills. In fact, he walked within a few feet of two dragons without even noticing them.

On Komodo, you can arrange several shorter hikes around the area near the ranger station, a five-hour hike up a mountain, or the four-hour hike to Loh Sebita. If you have a specific plan, you might be able to hire a guide to do that, but don’t come here expecting suggestions and good advice from the staff. Our guide was very unprofessional on Komodo. He seemed most focused on getting from A to B as fast as possible. Other travelers report similar experiences. Insist on going slowly and taking your time with wildlife. Ask the guide if he knows the location of any dragons and insist on visiting them. Our ridiculous guide actually began the hike by asking us if we had enough water for the trip. Two hours into the hike, he asked to drink our water because he “had not had enough time to get some” before we left. Honestly, don’t they have any requirements to be a guide?

WARNING

Unbelievably, fortnightly P & O Cruises are now stopping directly at Komodo National Park. If you show up on the wrong day, you’ll have to share the dragons with 1200 of your closest friends. Seriously, 1200 passengers being dumped on a national park at the same time?! Doesn’t anyone have a brain anymore?

Hip, hip, huray! I’m lucky enough to have just celebrated my 100th dive while here in Komodo, considered one of the best dive spots in the world. It is custom for the 100th dive to be done in the nude. Being a free spirit, I considered it for a moment, but decided a wetsuit was probably best. Knowing that Tatawa Kecil was supposed to be a spectacular dive site, I didn’t want to distract my fellow divers from the natural attractions. (Besides, if I’m going to dive naked, I want all the attention on me, me, me.)

As it turns out, Tatawa Kecil, which Tony described in detail in Komodo, Diver’s Paradise, has quickly become one of my favorite dive sites in Komodo. The fantastic visibility and the mind-blowing array of colorful table corals were the perfect gift from nature for this special occasion.

But beyond the stunning underwater beauty, I’m celebrating the fact that I ever had the courage to start diving. People who know me know that I used to be – well – not the most adventurous person. When I was younger, I was a lot more hesitant when it came to pushing past my boundaries of comfort. Clearly, I have come a long way. Here’s to another 100 dives!

It’s not exactly a secret among experienced divers, but Komodo has some of the best diving in the world. While land-lubbers are more focused on the famous dragons, underwater fans realize that Komodo National Park protects some of the best preserved coral and underwater life on the planet.

Why? As with Nusa Lembongan, deep channels with cold currents from the south seem to be protecting much of the coral from the hot water streams that have ravaged calmer Asian waters to the north. So far bleaching seems to be relatively minimal. Moreover, nature has gifted Komodo with wild ripping currents which make dynamite fishing difficult. (They can blow up the reef, but the strong currents drag all the fish away.)

Beyond natural protection, national park status has preserved Komodo’s underwater treasures. Although poorly enforced, bans on fishing within the park seem to have slowed the overfishing that has occurred across much of Indonesia. The waters around Komodo still teem with life.

We each did a total of 18 dives here, the most we’ve ever done in one location. (In reality, I easily could have done 100 dives here, but diving ain’t cheap, people.) Komodo is blessed with a diverse selection of sites which range from seamounts such as Crystal Rock and Castle Rock to excellent coral-covered slopes such as Tatawa Besar and Siapa Kecil. Wall fans, such as myself, will also be happy with sites such as Tengah (Pengah), Batu Bulong, and spectacular Tatawa Kecil. And the wildlife…

Currents bring in huge schools of fish as well as large numbers of sharks and rays. Wildlife is everywhere and blacktips, whitetips, grey reef sharks, Napoleon wrasse, mantas, marble rays, eagle rays, and bumphead parrotfish are regular visitors. Incredibly, we saw mantas at four different sites, including Makassar reef where large numbers of mantas are commonly found. On multiple dives we witnessed giant trevallies hunting in vast clouds of fusiliers. As if that weren’t enough, we found pygmy seahorses at at least three different locations. But diving these sites can be somewhat challenging.

Komodo is famous for (or rather notorious for) its legendary waters. Quickly shifting tides, eddies, swells, down currents, up currents, and whirl pools can leave divers scrambling for their lives. Many of Komodo’s sites are not really appropriate for newbie divers, although that in no way stops them from coming. Good dive guides are absolutely essential for a quality dive experience, not to mention for your safety.

Because of the extreme conditions, Thomas and I chose to go with very experienced local guides. Both of our guides, Darmin and Vincent, had done over a thousand dives in local waters and were intimately familiar with each site we dove. Dive briefings with elaborate site maps were extremely detailed and included alternatives for dangerous current shifts. Both guides read currents from the surface quite well and moved through sites with ease indicating exactly where to swim to avoid swirling eddies and invisible obstacles. With their help, the currents became an attraction rather than a danger.

In fact, several dives feature the currents. We did an amazing dive through Golden Passage that felt a bit like we were diving white-water rapids. This was Komodo diving at it’s best with washing machine currents and storms of fish in all directions. But even experienced divers get caught off guard. Our dive guide Darmin zigged when he should have zagged and ended up doing a couple of somersaults over some rocks and coral. Ouch! My adrenaline was off the charts all the way through. But challenge reaps reward, the crazy currents whipped up a visual feast of underwater life which simply does not occur in calm waters. We held on to a couple of rocks flapping around in the hurricane currents watching the live version of a Jacques Cousteau’s greatest moments. It was worth the trip to Indonesia for this one dive alone.

Another magical moment occurred at magnificent Tatawa Kecil. Strong but manageable currents kept us close to the northern wall as we moved from the pygmy seahorses up through the cave through some crevices towards the shallow shelf near the surface. As we swam up over the edge of the wall, the mind-blowing panorama of table coral growth came into view. Great visibility with perfect lighting highlighted the incomparable site of layer upon layer of pastel table coral clinging to every bit of rock. Pure, 100 percent aquatic fantasy. (I could actually hear Thomas gasp underwater.) It instantly made it into my top ten list of most spectacular sights on the planet. The above photo DOES NOT do it justice.

But if spectacular coral and pelagic overload don’t do it for you, there’s more than enough to keep macro fans entertained. Wainilu in northern Rinca offered up some posing harlequin shrimp, bright yellow box fish, twig-like pipefish, and a plethora of hard to identify shrimp and crab species. (Night dives must be amazing here.) Tengah (Pengah) also featured a ton of crocodilefish, orangutan crabs, anemone shrimp galore, and several varieties of scorpionfish. Night dives along the wall at Tatawa Besar revealed some stunning giant crab species, decorator crabs, a variety of spider crabs, painted rock lobsters and our first slipper lobster (yay!!!). And don’t miss Siaba Kecil if you are looking for mandarin fish. Half the species we spotted here were not in any of our wildlife guides – now that’s good diving.

In a way, Komodo just might make it hard to dive other locations in the future. It’s so intense, so rewarding that it just might have set the bar too high. What could we possibly do to top it? I guess we’ll just have to shell out some dough for the holy grail of diving, Raja Ampat. But could Raja possibly be any better than this?

Tips for diving Komodo

Thomas and I really shopped Komodo. We went to virtually every dive shop in town to discuss offerings and dive prices.

To be honest, as was the case in Puerto Galera in the Philippines, we were quite underwhelmed by what we found. Several big name operations had people manning the shops who could barely speak English let alone answer specific questions about dive sites or Komodo highlights. One very well known operation told us that Makassar reef featured 16 different kinds of mantas – yikes!!! We hightailed it out of there quickly. (I won’t mention the operator because we are hoping it was just a fluke.)

Considering a splurge, we priced several high-end liveaboards. Since we had arrived late in the season, most liveaboards seemed to be limiting their dives to classic Komodo sites in northern waters, which we could easily reach on day trips. We pushed for options that included southern Komodo and southern Rinca, but offerings were limited and pricey with warnings of rough seas and bad visibility. After doing the math and considering the limited offerings, it seemed that day trips out of Labuanbajo would offer us more bang for our buck. (We’re not looking for fancy cabins, we want to dive, dive, dive!!!)

We ended up going with Komodo Aqua Divers. Business savvy Rennie and knowledgeable dive guide Darmin won us over with what seemed to be the most competent reception in town. Although we did have a couple of boat breakdowns, which caused limited delays, Darmin and second guide Vincent were both professional and clearly very knowledgeable. We loved every dive and grew to appreciate their talent greatly.

During our stay in Komodo, we began to understand that while local operations can initially seem somewhat unprofessional, the dive guides themselves are highly skilled individuals, often with years of training. This presents an interesting choice for visitors to Komodo: go foreign or go local. Seemingly professional foreign-run liveaboards based out of Bali or Lombok (or occasionally relocating from Thailand) get the glitz and the glam right, but what is the dive experience really like? Some foreign dive masters we met had worked several seasons in Komodo, but they lacked the intimate knowledge of Komodo sites and currents that can make or break your experience. We also noticed several high end operations diving in relatively large groups. We can’t help but wonder if they were using a lead local guide to navigate the site with foreign dive masters to handle the large number of people. In iffy situations which require quick decision making, that is not a great setup.

We’ve heard numerous scary accounts of divers being led into down currents or eddies, especially around sites like the Cauldron or Batu Bulong. Although it is difficult to determine how many of these stories are true, we began to wonder how many of these stories were due to guides with insufficient knowledge of the currents rather than currents themselves. We dove several sites with strong quickly shifting currents and Darmin and Vincent navigated the challenges with ease.

We are not stating that local operators are always superior to foreign-run operators. We are simply suggesting that divers need to consider many variables when choosing a dive shop or liveaboard. Komodo is not diving 101 – a good dive guide here is much more important than a fancy cabin or a nice boat – so chose wisely.

So, clever as we were, we packed all of our food items in a plastic bag and suspended it from the central ceiling beam. Little did we know that Seraya’s rats are quite the acrobats. In the middle of the night, we woke up to gnawing sounds. When I aimed my flashlight at the swinging plastic bag, the chewing suddenly stopped. The rat peaked out of the bag, looked around, then shot up the thin string like a rodent performer in Cirque du Soleil. By the time we jumped out of bed, our little rat burglar had disappeared into the grassy roof.

Unfortunately, in the morning it became apparent that the rat’s insatiable appetite hadn’t been limited to food. It also ate through my baseball hat AND my day pack… but not through any of Tony’s stuff, I might add. Rats! To be fair, Tony took the rat business a little more seriously. Anticipating the rat’s moves, he tightly wrapped his belongings into a rain poncho and positioned the parcel on a chair next to the bed from where he could see and hear any movement.

Oh well, that’s nature for you. Look around and you’ll probably discover more critters sharing the room with you – spiders, highways of ants, operatic tokay geckos (and sometimes even snakes).

Just one hour north by boat from Labuanbajo lies beautiful Seraya, a steep, narrow island blanketed in velvety golden grasses dotted with emerald trees. White-sand beaches, mangrove forest and rocky outcrops line the shore. And right offshore, a shallow, well-preserved coral reef surrounds the island.

Yes, Seraya is a rare discovery. Although there are over 17,000 islands in Indonesia, it’s not always easy to find the perfect setup. There are no high-end hotels and no resorts. There are, however, 12 simple bungalows and a small outdoor restaurant on an idyllic bay backed by a perfect white-sand beach. No beach bars, no banana boats, no hordes of tourists.

When we first arrived on Seraya, there were only four visitors staying on the island. Four! Tony was ecstatic. He kept going on about how this reminded him of his early backpacking days in Indonesia in the early 1990s. Pure simplicity and nature. Now, after several days on the island, more and more people have shown up. All very cool, interesting people who sit around the restaurant at night and actually talk to each other. Again, it feels like the good old days.

Besides having found a community of like-minded travelers on a lovely little beach, Seraya has provided us with hours of underwater exploration. The snorkeling here is outstanding. Colorful hard and soft corals around the island as well as fields of sea grass just off the beach have kept us quite busy.

It’s amazing what you can find in the shallow water. From tiny cleaner shrimp and juvenile scorpionfish to crocodilefish and colorful nudibranchs. We even found an amazingly well adapted fish that was pretending to be a piece of dead grass. For those who venture out along the drop off, turtles munch on coral, squid dart out into the blue, and west past the headlands, where the water is deeper, we even came across several sizable blacktip reef sharks and schools of bumphead parrotfish. (This area is for strong swimmers only as currents can sweep you out into the ocean.)

We absolutely love Seraya. It offers a great combination of beautiful nature, easy access and privacy – at least for now. Unfortunately, plans are already in development to add more bungalows, a pier over the reef, and a new dive center. These additions will certainly alter the relaxed mood of the island. (What a shame.)

Another slight draw-back is cost. Although the setup is pretty much geared towards backpackers, prices are not. Twenty years ago, a beach bungalow in Indonesia was $5 a night; today, it’s about $25. For that kind of money, many people don’t want to schlepp their own bucket of sea water to flush their toilet or be without electricity for most of the day.

For us, however, the basic living and lack of electricity or running water were good things. Seraya might be a little too rustic for most, but this is what keeps the party crowd out and allows the island to preserve that romantic castaway vibe we love so much.

We spent hours exploring every inch of the U.S.S. Liberty as well as the neighboring sites of Coral Garden and the Drop-Off. We sat at 25 meters waiting next to small cleaning stations where eels and fish allowed themselves to be cleaned by half a dozen species of cleaner shrimp.

We experimented with ISO, flash output, shutter and aperture settings, and custom white balance to see what would produce the best pictures. And gradually we got better. Underwater photography isn’t easy especially with the limited equipment we carry with us. Staying still underwater while focusing on something that is half an inch long requires some serious effort. Despite the challenges, we have produced our first complete underwater pictorial. Even Jacques Cousteau had to start out somewhere.

While we were in the Philippines diving off the tiny island of Malapascua, we were introduced to one of the weirdest and most wonderful miracles of evolution, the pygmy seahorse. Due to the fact that our underwater camera had been lost in an accident off of Verde Island, we were unable to photograph (or rather attempt to photograph) the tiny little creatures for ourselves, so we had to use an open source photo to introduce this miraculous animal to our visitors.

Here in Tulamben, we’ve had the opportunity to dive the U.S.S. Liberty several times and to visit that ever-so-famous fan at 31 meters to find and photograph these amazing creatures on our own. AND IT’S NOT EASY!

Since we wanted to avoid decompression dives and we wanted to spend 30-40 minutes on the wreck, each visit to the relatively deep fan only gave us about 6 minutes to find and photograph the pygmy seahorses, which measure around half an inch in length (1cm). The tiny seahorses blend in very well with the surrounding fan, and in the early morning light, they aren’t easy to find. By the time we located them, we often only had a couple of minutes to attempt to photograph them – and the tiny little creatures aren’t that cooperative. To add a little extra challenge, there were several small branches of a toxic hydroid that left some nasty stings on my knees and elbows. Ouch! (Honestly, I’m like a magnet for that stuff.)

Despite the difficulty (and the pain), we had a blast observing the seahorses and will certainly go out of our way to see them again and again in the future. We have limited equipment and no external strobe, so our pictures might not make it into National Geographic Magazine. Despite that, we decided to share several of our shots with everyone just because we love these little animals so much. Plus, it’s a great insight into a typical day (or several days) in the lives of Tony and Thomas, travel bums.

When we heard from other travelers that Tulamben was a great place to dive independently without a costly guide, we were thrilled to say the least. For a while now, we have wanted to “waste” some dives to practice our underwater skills, especially our underwater photography skills. But the high cost of diving has so far prohibited such a luxury – at least until Tulamben came along with its relatively cheap and easy shore dives.

Many divers, especially novice divers, express concerns about diving without a guide. They wonder who’s going to show them around, point out animals or solve their problems. The reality is, dive masters are not underwater gods who know and see everything. A much better approach to diving is to actively pay attention to your surroundings, seek out animals on your own, and know what to do in an emergency rather than relying on your guide. And diving without a guide is probably the best way to practice these skills and build your confidence.

Of course, you can’t just foolheartedly don your dive gear and jump in. Certain preparations are absolutely necessary. Back in Kuala Lumpur, we bought a dive computer which is a great tool for scuba divers, but an absolute must for independent divers. Before we dived alone, we also questioned local dive masters about the dive sites in Tulamben and the prevailing conditions. Predictable currents? Good visibility? Easy to find? Even after a thumbs-up on all questions, we decided to do a couple of orientation dives around the U.S.S. Liberty with a local dive guide.

Familiar with the layout of the wreck, we were ready for our first solo TnT underwater exploration. Sure, the first dive without a guide felt a little like driving without a seat belt, but we quickly realized how great it was to determine our own dive. Rather than following a guide at a constant pace, we were able to stop whenever and wherever we wanted.

One morning out, we dived for 95 minutes in shallow water photographing colorful nudibranchs and soft corals. On another occasion, we spent the better part of our dive hanging out with a giant school of bumphead parrotfish and playing with a swirling school of jacks swimming in and out of the tornado-like cloud of fish. We also had time to fully explore the U.S.S. Liberty and its hidden swim-throughs.

In addition to our first two guided orientation dives, we did 12 independent dives in Tulamben: 6 at Liberty Wreck, 4 at Coral Garden, and 2 at the Drop-off. Not only did it cost a fraction of the usual cost of guided dives, it was also a valuable learning experience. We had hours underwater to experiment with camera settings and composition as well as spend much more time observing specific animals than we ever would have on a guided dive.

Beyond the flexibility, diving without a guide and working with our own dive computer gave us a much more personal connection to developing a dive plan and really brought home just how much that extra meter affects dive length. I think we learned more in 12 independent dives than we did in the last 50 guided dives.

We’ll definitely consider more independent diving in the future if conditions are right. Our next big dive location, however, is Komodo National Park. There, strong, unpredictable currents make independent diving inadvisable. In that situation, I’ll be more than happy to follow a guide who knows what he’s doing…

Tips for Diving Tulamben Independently

We rented our equipment from Puri Madha Dive Resort whose dive shop is right on the beach. They charged us IDR 150,000 ($17) for the equipment and IDR 30,000 ($3.50) per tank. This ended up being less than $10 per dive for 3 dives a day. Not too shabby considering a guided dive is $22 and up.

Also, make sure you check out the conditions before you dive independently, and always dive with a buddy preferably someone you have dived with before.

In 1942, the U.S.S. Liberty was struck by a torpedo from a Japanese submarine. Two US destroyers attempted to accompany the damaged boat to a port in Singaraja, Bali, but when it became clear that the boat was taking on too much water, it was intentionally grounded on the shores of tiny Tulamben where the military was able to salvage the cargo. The ship sat grounded for 21 years until neighboring Mt. Agung erupted in 1963. The resulting earthquake pushed the boat into deeper water just offshore creating one of the world’s most rewarding shore dives.

The U.S.S. Liberty is consistently ranked as one of the top dives in the world, but what’s really cool about the site is that it can be equally rewarding for both newbie divers as well as experienced old pros. The hull of the wreck is a feast for the eyes, decorated with hard and soft corals as well as some stunningly colored feather stars and neon sponges.

The site is teeming with large schools of fish including the world-famous school of resident bumphead parrotfish. If you want to see the bumpheads, be suited up and in the water by 6:15 AM because they are out of there before the day-trip tourists arrive. If you are early enough, they will still be sleeping at the rear of the wreck.

Morning divers are also usually rewarded with a massive school of swirling jacks, which is every bit as good as the one at Barracuda Point in Sipadan. Surgeon fish, giant trevallies, sweetlips, batfish, porcupine fish and Napoleon wrasse are common.

In addition to the big stuff, macro diving is also good with several surprises including ghost pipefish, squat lobsters in the feather stars, and a resident population of pygmy seahorses in a tiny, over-visited fan at 31 meters.

New divers can easily explore the site from outside, but there are a couple of fun swim-throughs for more experienced divers as well. Also don’t forget to explore the amazing volcanic sand for more macro discoveries and save some time for an extended safety stop along the coral slope on the way back to shore. We absolutely fell in love with the U.S.S. Liberty.

One of Singapore’s main attractions, which has little to do with shopping, is its world-famous zoo. A far cry from many of the depressing animal parks around the world, the Singapore Zoo, renowned for its design, is a welcome change of scenery. It certainly didn’t take much to lure us wildlife freaks away from the cement jungle for a day at the celebrated park.

What immediately sets the zoo apart is a distinct lack of cages. Free-ranging animals and creative enclosure design immediately make it clear that this is no ordinary zoo. Just as we walked into the zoo-scape, a handful of cotton-top tamarins with white, fluffy Mohawks caught our attention. We moved closer to a lone tree as the little animals scampered down a limb to within inches of our faces – no walls, no bars, no screens.

Suddenly, we heard the high-pitched cries of several siamangs nearby. An elevated wooden walkway led us into the trees from where we could see the spectacle. The surreal hum of the small apes inflating their throat sacks was followed by a banshee-like wail. Like trapeze artists gone wild, the animals chased each other through the tall trees in a daredevil scene of aerial acrobatics. The large enclosure allowed for natural behaviors rarely witnessed in captivity.

After only ten minutes in the park, the uniqueness of the zoo was quite apparent. Although the Singapore Zoo doesn’t have the biggest animal collection, it does have some of the biggest animal enclosures. Lush tropical scenes and well portrayed desert reconstructions reveal how much thought has been put into the park. The white tiger exhibit was a work of art and the free ranging kangaroo exhibit was very impressive.

A few of the primates, such as orangutans and red leaf monkeys, even range across much of the zoo. Trees are connected by ropes and planks and the animals often swing right above visitors’ heads as they move through the park. What keeps animals in the trees, by the way, are thin, electric wires attached to the tree trunks – a kind of cow fence for primates.

While the natural side of the zoo is world class, the animal shows are like rubbing your knuckles across a cheese grater. We could have endured the corny dialog if they had featured more wildlife, but they appeared to be a showcase for bad actors with a few animals thrown in as an afterthought. The only thing we enjoyed about the single show we sat through was that it provided shelter from the downpour outside.

A much better way to spend your time is to hang out in your favorite enclosure, especially during feeding. Mine was a large aviary which boasted some unexpected animal life. From an elevated platform at the center, we watched the entertaining feeding frenzy. A moody black-and-white ruffed lemur chased a group of ringtails, flying foxes battled each other over pieces of mango, and different birds swooped down to claim their share. The only peaceful inhabitants seemed to be the butterflies and a herd of mouse deer grazing below.

We could easily have watched for another hour, but after a long and rewarding day, the zoo closed down at 6 PM, and we headed back to the human zoo called downtown Singapore. For anyone with the slightest interest in animals, the Singapore Zoo should definitely be at the top of their itinerary.

Tips for the Singapore Zoo

For 58 Singapore dollars, there’s a combination pass for 3 parks: the Singapore Zoo, the Night Safari and the Bird Park. The pass is valid for a month and can save you 12 Singapore dollars. A variety of two-park combination tickets are also available. The opening of the new River Safari is scheduled for 2012, so keep an eye out for new combination tickets in the coming year.

Also, if you want to visit the Night Safari, open from 7:30 PM to 12 AM, be aware that public transportation stops early in Singapore. Considering the 40-minute bus ride from the zoo to the nearest metro stop, and the fact that the last metro train runs at 11:30 PM, visitors will have to leave the Night Safari at around 10:30 PM. Of course, there’s always the taxi, but that adds a lot of cost to your safari.

Nope, we didn’t come here to find a hammerhead; that’s just some serious icing on the scuba cake in the lead up to what just might be the best 100th dive ever.

When we arrived here on Nusa Lembongan, I had 94 dives under my weight belt. Plunging into the shockingly icy currents for my 95th dive, I had my blue fingers crossed hoping to see one of the rarest and most bizarre underwater animals around. Adrenaline pumping, it was hard to focus on the stunning coral formations that still survive here in the protectively chilly waters. (Nusa Lembongan has largely been spared from the destructive hot water currents that have devastated coral growth in much of Southeast Asia.)

Heading out along the coral encrusted slopes of Crystal Bay, my Swiss dive guide Debbie suddenly screamed in surprise and manically started pointing towards the surface flailing and gesticulating wildly. My heart leapt with expectation as I looked up to discover… a hammerhead swimming directly over us. What? A hammerhead? That’s not what we were looking for. My otherwise rather stoic guide was ecstatic with delight at what was clearly a very rare sighting.

Rare indeed. Over the next two days, dive masters and instructors around the island would comment, “Oh my god, you guys saw the hammerhead with Debbie. You’re so lucky!!!” And yet, ungratefully, I bemoaned the fact that we had not spotted the phenomenal creature that we had come to the island to find.

And so we dove on, 96th dive and 97th dive were simply perfect. Frogfish, leaffish, octopus, turtles… but I was still eying the open water hoping against the odds for the beast from below.

My 98th dive, a thrilling high-speed drift dive from Mangrove to Blue Corner, felt like Thomas and I were playing the lead characters in an underwater version of the Matrix. Giant barracuda, several elegant eagle rays, as well as a number of sea turtles. But the elusive creature never appeared and, on one of the best dives of my life, I still felt a tiny sense of disappointment.

My 99th dive was proof of just how fixated I had become. I had mantas swirling around my head for thirty minutes – and, somehow, I kept checking behind me to make sure I wasn’t missing something “better.” As I climbed out of the water on that dive of dives, I think I suddenly realize how absurdly over-focused I had become. Perhaps, that was when the dive gods decided to reward me.

An hour later, I sat on the edge of the boat preparing for my 100th dive. Our guides Maria and Nick insisted that tradition dictates that the 100th dive must be done naked. No way in hell was I considering that tradition in these ICY waters. And so off we went, my third dive in Crystal Bay, once again out along that increasingly familiar coral encrusted slope hoping to spot – and THERE IT WAS hovering before us…

… a sunfish, known locally as the mola mola, one of the most impressive underwater animals in existence. Around 8 feet from head to tail and 13 feet from top fin to bottom fin, the underwater alien is truly one of the planet’s most bizarre animals. And a few feet further, a second sunfish. My heart nearly stopped, I was so excited. The two fish gazed at an angle up towards the surface serenely floating in the open blue. And then, for no apparent reason, the two fish whipped their massive vertical fins and shot into the open ocean like two starships making the jump into hyperspace. It was an unbelievable moment.

Because they are deep-sea animals which surface unpredictably, viewing a sunfish is normally the scuba diving equivalent of winning the lottery. But the uniquely steep geography of Nusa Lembongan as well as neighboring Nusa Cenigan and Nusa Penida create the perfect environment for deep-sea fish to surface near land (which also explains our lucky encounter with the hammerhead). Between late August and October, when currents are coldest, sunfish often surface around these three islands’ coral slopes where they can be cleaned by schools of bannerfish. I truly believed this rare encounter with two sunfish was one of the most impressive things I would ever witness – but I was wrong, the dive gods were not done with me yet.

Hyped on my mola mola encounter, I decided to dive again the next day. (Unfortunately, Thomas stayed behind.) The currents were perfect for my 101st dive, a slow drift through the miraculous coral bommies at Toyapakah. Satisfied after the previous day’s sunfish encounter, I was able to focus my attention on a rainbow of hard and soft coral growth. We took our time checking out small caves and cracks and my dive guide Nick found a wobbegong, a flat shark species with a strange head and elaborate markings.

The Toyapakah dive was packaged with another dive at Crystal Bay, my forth. I dove with two Germans and a Frenchman who were desperately hoping to spot a sunfish, unfortunately the currents were quite strong and we had to grab onto the rocky reef out at the cleaning station for fear of being swept out into the open ocean. To give them a chance to see something, we held on to our rocks flapping around like flags in a hurricane, but nothing chose to swim by, so we gave up and began to fight our way back through the currents to a shallower area up on the slope where we could work our way back to the boat.

I had already swum through the shallow coral area on three previous occasions and that portion of the dive had always been about looking for things hiding in the rocks and coral. But after closely examining some anemone shrimp, I looked up to discover a sunfish suddenly hovering right in front of me – but, bizarrely, Nick and the Germans were looking the other direction. I grunted and hollered manically trying to get their attention but nobody noticed me. My French dive buddy gestured behind me and I turned to discover a second, massive sunfish just feet behind us slowly swimming into our group. The giant animal slowly drifted by, its tiny eye staring at us curiously. In a mere 8m (24ft) of water, its impressive vertical fins waved in gentle unison carefully avoiding coral bommies and us; it was like Picasso’s vision of a monstrous mutant ballet dancer. Literally breathtaking, I barely exhaled (a diving no-no) as the two giants hovered around me; I was afraid that the bubbles would scare the mammoth fish away. And then, like a dream that ends too early, the two fish swept over the slope and disappeared into the colder currents of the open ocean.

It was yet a second winning lottery ticket.

Clearly, in Nusa Lembongan, the numbers are somewhat in your favor, but the winning encounters with the sunfish feel just as momentous.

More Info on Diving in the Area

Prime time for viewing the incredible sunfish is between August and October with September being the peak month. Sightings may begin earlier or later depending on shifting water temperatures. Generally, the colder, the better. During warm-water years, especially when El Nino conditions are occurring, sightings may be rarer.

While Nusa Lembongan is currently considered the best location in the world to view the legendary mola mola, sightings are not guaranteed. There seem to be differing opinions on which dive site is best for spotting the sunfish. The most famous and most heavily visited site for viewing them is Crystal Bay, which is why I did four dives there. After around 10 AM, Crystal bay can be overwhelmed with day-trip dive boats from Bali, although I have to admit I rarely felt that crowded under water. Crystal Bay also has exceptional visibility which makes it easier to spot sunfish out in the open water.

Some dive guides suggest that sunfish sightings along the north coast of Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Penida are equally good. They suggest that anecdotal evidence that Crystal Bay is the best site is largely due to the fact that there are more divers there. If you have more divers, you will spot the rare fish more frequently. Having said that, there is just something about the topography of Crystal Bay and the clarity of its waters which feels like a better place to find the mola mola. (But what do I know?)

Regardless of sunfish sightings, the north coast offers some incredible diving. The high-speed drift we did from Mangrove to Blue Corner was literally one of the most exciting dives I have ever done. And most locals seem to agree that Toyapakah is the most beautiful site. In addition, the south coast of Nusa Penida offers not one, but two predictable manta locations. What more could you ask for? (Oh yeah, a hammerhead!!!)

For Thomas and me, our experience diving along the coasts of Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Penida matched or even exceeded our experience at Sipadan. (Admittedly, we had some serious luck here!!!) However, several of the best sites are not appropriate for beginners and advanced PADI certification (or equivalent) is preferable. Currents can be strong, fast, and very unpredictable. We tried to dive Toyapakah on day two and the current reversed before our guide could even finish the briefing. WOW!

NOTE: Our underwater housing leaked during our second dive at Nusa Lembongan destroying our G12. Damn, there goes another camera down the drain. For that reason, we could not photograph or video our encounters with the mola mola. (Oh, the tragedy!!!) We would like to thank fellow diver Joost van Manen for allowing us to use his sunfish picture above. He was right next to us snapping away as we encountered the amazing animal.