Komodo

Every Manta Ray has a distinctive pattern on its belly, quite like a fish fingerprint. By that the Mantas can be identified, counted and tracked on their journeys. And so far we know surprisingly little about these stunningly beautiful creatures. It’s crazy that there are armies of scientists that care about sharks whereas Mantas have been researched so little. These gracious, noble animals. Everybody who has snorkeled or dived with them knows what I mean.

Meanwhile we are in a Bamboo hut close to the Komodo national park. Allegedly it is the best dive spot in the world. These advertisement lines have to be taken with a grain of salt. Let’s see how beautiful Komodo really is. And whether we get a chance to see Mantas face to face. Please please please! 7 o’clock in the morning our boat chugs into the national park and we jump into the crystal-clear water with our diving gear. Bammm! We hopped into an aquarium. Filled with colorful fishes and many colorful, fully preserved corals. Wow!

On the second dive we swim to the cleaning station of the Mantas. These cleaning stations are places in the sea, where Mantas always return to and wait for smaller fish that clean their smaller injuries e.g. from shark attacks. For us it’s a unique opportunity to see Mantas face to face. And here they are. A few Manta Rays want a beauty treatment today. One of the Mantas passes closely over our heads. If I had an underwater camera, I would have loved to take a picture of the belly. I would have sent it to the Manta researchers via email. The scientists then match the patterns on the belly with a database. And if the same Manta was photographed somewhere else I’d receive an email, where it is hanging out at that time. But we don’t have an underwater camera. So we enjoy the dive and the gliding of the huge fishes through the water. Shortly before we run out of air in our tanks, we get the chance to say hello to a shark and a turtle. Super happy we climb back to the boat and chug to the next dive site.

In the meantime on the boat we have the most delicious Indonesian food for lunch and for better digestion we hang out in the sun on the roof of the boat. And look, there is a fin. There, a back. Dolphins! Okay Komodo, we get it. You have an unbelievably spectacular nature.

The second day remains just as beautiful and diverse as the first. Due to the mix of cold and warm currents the corals here are not as affected by climate change and we enjoy every dive once again. The drift dives are especially fun. It works like that: hop into the current, drifting along the reef, after one or two kilometers downstream the boat will pick you up again.

On our last day we visit Rinca island. More than 1000 Komodo dragons still live on this island. Similar to Sumatra the long reach of tourism is evident here as well. We begin our trek and the animals are lying directly at the rancher’s hut ready for taking pictures, lethargic and sleepy in the sun. Are they fed? Most certainly. In that way every tourist is guaranteed to see a Komodo dragon. In the wild we don’t see any one of them anymore. Well that’s good and bad. The animals can, if they are hungry, attack water buffalos and also humans. A few years ago an Indonesian girl was attacked on her way to school. She had diarrhea and went to the bushes. Death is certain due to the infection of the bite wound.

Komodo dragons are impressive animals, that managed to survive by millennia of evolution. In contrast to the mini elephants or Homo floresiensis. Very sad we climb back to our boat since we have to leave Komodo now. Was it a little paradise? Was it the best dive spot in the world? For us it was.