KOMODO
25/6 to 1/7/2020
ITINERARY
Join us on a trip to Komodo National Park in cooperation with Manta Trust and the Micronesian Conservation Coalition. In Komodo everything is possible. Turtles , sharks, macro and coral as well as some of most exciting drift and current dives of Asia. But the big draw are the manta rays that can be encountered close up on several sites all over Komodo. Together with Julie Hartup we will study and ID the Manta Rays of Komodo.
And then of course there are the world famous Komodo Dragon - biggest lizard in the world. We will be travelling in style on the luxury SeaSafari VII liveaboard and our itinerary will include the North, center and South of Komodo.
THE REGION
The national park reserve of Komodo Island offers the liveaboard diver just about every type of tropical scuba diving imaginable - from warm, calm and colourful shallow reefs alive with hundreds of colourful reef fishes and crammed with invertebrates, to current-swept deep cool water sea mounts, walls and pinnacles patrolled by sharks, tuna and other big fish.
The variety of marine life that you can see in Komodo rivals the world's best dive destinations. This is close to the world's epicentre for marine diversity and you'll see loads of things here on a liveaboard diving cruise that you just won't see anywhere else in the world. From sunfish, dolphins and eagle rays to pygmy seahorses, ornate ghost pipefish, clown frogfish, nudibranchs and blue-ringed octopus, all are at home amongst a spectacular range of colourful sponges, sea squirts, tunicates and corals; Komodo is a macro and a wide-angle enthusiast's heaven.
One of the key species in Komodo are the Manta Rays. There are several cleaning stations in the area - and we have seen more Mantas here than anywhere else in Asia. In 2018 we had a dive with around 30 Manta Rays, in 2019 we had an entire day with 15-25 different manta rays during the dive.
THE EXTRAS
Julie Hartup will help us understand more about their behavior and how to identify them. Simon Lorenz has photographed Manta Rays all over the world and will share tips on how to photograph and video them. For those interested in learning more about photography Simon will host photography talks and help people individually with their photos. If you have any questions or ideas for your camera equipment before the trip Simon can help you with that as well.
Check out the trip report from 2018 trip to Komodo and the photos below.
Check out the photos from our 2019 trip to Komodo.
supporting manta rays
The Micronesian Conservation Coalition (MCC) and the Manta Trust work hard to study and protect these unique animals.
During our trip we will collect manta ray IDs and count their sightings. Julie will explain their unique biology and behaviour and how to observe it. We will match the collected IDs and submit to Manta Trust and MantaMatcher .
Part of the proceedings of this trip will be donated to support the work of MCC and the Manta Trust.
THE BOAT
SeaSafari VII was built with locally grown timber using Indonesian Pinisi boat building traditions. She is equipped with a state of the art navigation system, security and rescue equipment and technology. All cabins are equipped with personal showers and toilets and natural lighting. There is a cozy restaurant, a romantic lounge area and a several lovely sun decks. Generously designed space to gear up with a fixed site for each diver, several rinse tanks, plenty of surface space and a large camera area. All in all an ideal base camp for the most beautiful dive excursions in Indonesia.
YOUR HOSTs ON THIS TRIP
SIMON LORENZ
Simon is an underwater photographer and journalist who speaks 6 languages, and has dived on 6 continents. Komodo is one of his favorite areas to dive, in fact he did his divemaster training here. He aims to create group trip experiences with special extras, such as diving unusual sites, with unique animals or talks with local experts. A scuba instructor as well as photography teacher he offers additional training during trips. On this trip Simon will hosts talks on Manta Rays and Sharks as well as how to best photograph them.
JULIE HARTUP
Julie is a Manta Researcher and the Founder of the Micronesian Conservation Coalition (MCC). Julie shot to fame documenting a novel feeding behavior of the Guam reef manta rays, targeting reef fish spawning aggregations to feed off fish eggs. Julie trained in the Maldives with the Manta Trust Guy and later became Manta Trust Project Leader for the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Marianas Islands. Julie founded MCC in 2015 that focuses on building capacity within the marine field through education, outreach, field training while expanding her research manta rays and fish spawning aggregations.
