Komodo National Park – Day 5: Chaotic Currents
KOMODO NATIONAL PARK
Day 5: Chaotic Currents
May 19, 2023
PART I
The long-awaited day had finally arrived. I know what you might be thinking at this point. I’d already seen so much – what other highlights could there possibly be? Well, it’s not diving related per se, but I would be diving headfirst into something.
You see, this day wasn’t just any Friday. No way. On this day, the season nineteen Grey’s Anatomy finale would be out. With the crappy internet signal one gets used to when sailing in the middle of an archipelago, the first thing I did as soon as I got up was fire up my laptop and start the download, expecting it to take a full day. Like this, I’d get to enjoy a day of diving and then finish it off with the pièce de résistance.
Batu Bolong
Until then, it’d be more and more diving. And, to start off, we’d be going to Batu Bolong – one of the best dive sites in all of Komodo. The site is as impressive below the surface as it is above; the sea mount summiting above the water, with a perfectly shaped arch made of rock right next to it. Below, the dive site lived up to its reputation, with every one of us enchanted by the beauty of it all.
We descended to the bottom of the mount, the darkness blanketing the colours of the coral and fish around us. Whilst that might sound close to tragic given the splendour of the landscape, it truly made for a surreal experience, seeing the black silhouettes of thousands of tiny fish and turtles above us against the dark blue backdrop. We did get some action down in the depths as well, with a sea snake dangerously approaching close to me. As it slithered effortlessly around me, I couldn’t help but lay there without moving a muscle, not knowing what was going on inside its tiny, beautiful head. Luckily, it wasn’t as interested in me as I was in it, and it soon swam away without any trouble. So friggin’ cool!
With our plan of circling around the sea mount foiled by the strong currents surrounding the area, we then decided to make our way back, zig-zagging upwards all the while, the reef becoming more colourful and alive as we went up. Here, we got to see a couple of hawksbill turtles and bumphead parrotfish, peacock hinds and coral groupers, as well as shoals of pyramid butterflyfish and fusiliers.
It wasn’t until we reached the very top that we got to experience the real Batu Bolong though – the sea saturated by thousands of red anthias, damselfish, and sergeant majors, with the occasional pinktail triggerfish, sea goldie, yellow trumpetfish, and surgeonfish mingling in between, the reef alive and abuzz. Needless to say, our safety stop here was an entertaining one to say the least, with the three minutes passing by in less than a second.
Taka Makassar
I had gotten used to my routine by now. Dive, eat, study, and wait for the damned bell to ring. Up next would be a dive at Taka Makassar – AKA, Manta Point. Much like Johnny had told us on the Sea Safari VI, Darmin was in contact with the mantas, and they had told him they’d show up. Do they recycle the same jokes over and over, I wonder?
But anyways, fiction apart, the likelihood of us seeing mantas here would be quite high. It’d be a drift dive over a sandy bottom spanning a few kilometres. Whilst we’d only be expected to literally just float and go along the current, we were advised to keep close distance to each other, with some divers sometimes getting lost. Here, along with another dive site called Castle Rock, would be the place where the GPS tracking device attached to everyone’s BCD would most likely be used. I for one didn’t wanna end up using it, especially being a divemaster myself. That said, I can’t say I was anxious so much as excited at the prospect of getting to see mantas again!
I have to admit I expected way worse currents the second we got down. In fact, we took our sweet time ogling a blacktip reef shark that playfully circled around us and a surgeonfish struggling to keep up with the weight of two remoras half its size. Then, things started to get a bit intense as the current started picking up, finding ourselves drifting helplessly at its mercy. Whilst Darmin had told us to enjoy the drifting, Indra seemed to have something else in mind, constantly signalling us to follow him against the current – an exhausting feat to say the least. I swear, I’d kick and kick, using all my tidal volume and muscle power, and I’d barely even move an inch in his direction. The same can be said for Xie Zheng and Hu Kai – two seasoned divers who said they were accustomed to strong currents. Anurag kept up most of the time, occasionally drifting away from us prompting Indra to chase him and drag him along.
On multiple instances, I found myself dreading the dive and thinking about aborting it. The sandy bottom was pretty much featureless save for some patches of coral and big rocks here and there, with a few fish being swept away by the current. And, if that weren’t enough, time and time again I found myself drifting over titan triggerfish territory. Every time, I’d do my best to swim away from them, but, luckily, they too seemed more concerned with maintaining their position in spite of such strong currents.
As time went by, the odds of us spotting mantas seemed slimmer – and, honestly, they were the last thing on my mind by then. In fact, when Indra started banging his tank, I was mostly annoyed by it. But, to keep up with him and not get lost, I kicked as hard as ever, finally reaching him only to find him looking at another blacktip. I swear I could’ve killed him there and then.
Defying the Drifts
By the end of the dive, the current seemed to have ebbed slightly, though by now most of us were close to running low on air. Then, out of nowhere, quite serendipitously, a large shadow in front of us metamorphosised into a manta – a huge one!
All the exhaustion and frustration suddenly gave way to exhilaration and wonder as we stood there facing the fantastic beast. We deflated our BCD’s and laid on the seafloor, holding onto the rocks in front of us trying to not get swept away. As we lay there, the manta started doing the rounds around a cleaning station, the wrasses working their magic. Once again, seeing the magnificent creature left me stunned. But, this time round, there was also something else that had me in awe of them. There was us, holding onto the rocks for dear life, whilst the manta flapped its wings every once in a while, and glided effortlessly against the current. It seemed somewhat illogical if not impossible.
We stood there for some ten minutes before almost everyone was low on air. I would’ve killed to stay there for a couple of hours more, but, with the rest of my life still ahead of me, I decided to indeed join the rest as they resurfaced. Once back on the ship, we had some time to regroup and go over our experience. Turns out, we were the only group that had managed to spot mantas, and, also, the only group to be led against the current – the others delightfully drifting along. Whilst it definitely made for a more pleasant dive, I guess Indra’s way was the one conducive to see the glorious creatures. Or maybe it was just dumb luck – who knows?
PART II
The Shotgun
Yet another thrilling dive was waiting for us. We’d be going to Shotgun – a channel located between the two islands of Gili Lawa Laut and Gili Lawa Darat. Here lies a large basin called the Cauldron, where strong currents from both sides meet, funnelling through the channel to produce a super strong current which blasts through it. Needless to say, the briefing for this one dive was quite exhaustive, with Darmin explaining everything down to tiniest detail.
I think this one dive was the one most people on the ship were excited about, being so notorious amongst divers all around the globe. Having just started my diving journey, I had never even heard of it, let alone travelled just for the sake of experiencing it – though somehow, there I was.
And so, we all found ourselves on the Zodiac ready for another adventure. Upon descending, we were met with a beautiful coral garden and a slope leading down to a sandy bottom – schools of wrasses, sweetlips, fusiliers and glassfish, stingrays and garden eels keeping us amused throughout. As we swam onwards, aligning with the direction of the channel but still far away from it, we could already start to feel the current getting stronger. As we drifted slowly and effortlessly onwards, enjoying the seascape and the marine life surrounding us was an easy task to say the least. We also got to spot a grey bamboo shark!
The Rollercoaster current
After a few minutes, the coral-covered rubble plateau started to slope down – an indication we had arrived at the Cauldron. We descended into the basin and made way around its perimeter where a large crack – the one Darmin had mentioned in the briefing, could be appreciated. Surely enough, there were also the schools of jacks and snappers he said we’d be likely to see there. Then, we continued eastward to the mouth of the channel. It was at this point we’d need to deflate our BCD, with the up-thrusting current possibly shooting us up to the surface if there’d be even a smidge of air in them. I for one had fully deflated it the second we got to the Cauldron, in fear of the nightmare I had back in Raja Ampat coming true.
Facing the channel, we immediately found ourselves being pushed up the rim of the Cauldron and into the channel – the current now so strong we literally shot through it. Here, Darmin had told us to look out for mantas, turtles, sharks, and even dugongs. Animals were honestly the last thing on my mind in between enjoying the thrill of experiencing such underwater velocities and trying my best not to crash into the rocks in my way. I swear, it was pure adrenaline – just like riding a rollercoaster!
As we had agreed during the briefing, we’d reconvene on the northern side of the channel once we’d shoot through it. Instead of doing just that and enjoying the wild ride, Indra had us swim directly there during the Shotgun, meaning we had to swim for dear life against a current that’s named after a friggin’ firearm. Talk about a workout!
That said, our woes and grievances had no place once we had gotten through the channel to get to the China Shop – a gorgeous, pristine coral garden. Here, not only did we get to finally take a breather, but we also got to enjoy one of the most beautiful reefs I’d ever seen, comparable to that of Batu Bolong.
Mulan Echoes on Gili Lawa Darat
That evening, we’d be trading a night dive for yet another terrestrial excursion. We’d be going for a trek on Gili Lawa Darat – the Island Close to Land AKA Komodo’s Fjord. Similar to Padar, this island is covered in golden brown meadows, with scenic views of its hills and the bays below all throughout.
The second we reached the shore, we were welcomed by two deer – or, as Anurag liked to call them, cows. As we started our way up the peak, we were all left breathless, in part cause of the incredible vistas in front of us, but mostly cause of the heat and the uphill climb. We powered on, with Melinda and I singing Mulan’s I’ll Make a Man Out of You to keep us going. Again, I found myself wondering how on Earth I had managed to climb so many mountains and volcanoes and was now finding this challenging.
But, as always, the view at the top makes up for the hardships along the way. Here, apart from the stunning azure reefs below us, we could also observe Sangeang Api – an island with an active volcano at its centre. Once again, we found ourselves witnesses to a gorgeous sunset as we downed a few beers together. I really grew to like these people. Hell, we got on so well we even started promising each other we’d meet up someday – you know, the usual fake promises one makes with fellow travellers they actually like.
After that, we started making our way down, all the while chatting with Dan and Nina about… well, diving, duh! At the starting point, we were quite shocked to see a clump of dry grass hovering in mid-air when Anurag pointed his light towards it, now in pitch darkness. It wasn’t, as I had suspected, Bigfoot – rather a deer entangled in a shrub.
Stay wild,
Marius
Post-Scriptum
Excited at the prospect of tucking myself into bed and finally enjoying the Grey’s Anatomy finale, you can imagine my disappointment when I realised only 20% of the episode had downloaded.