Komodo National Park – Day 2: The Indian Ocean Drift
KOMODO NATIONAL PARK
Day 2: The Indian Ocean Drift
May 16, 2023
PART I
Woken up by the sound of the damned bell and Anurag’s incessant chatter, grogginess quickly turned to crankiness. Nevertheless, I’d be diving in a few minutes, so that didn’t really matter.
We’d be going to a reef next to Tatawa Besar Island, with Darmin warning us that despite the current being mild, it’s never like a swimming pool here in Komodo, and that some might find it challenging even in such conditions. He also told us that it would be a rising tide, meaning we’d be swimming in colder waters brought about by the Indian Ocean, as opposed to the warmer Pacific ones from the north. After he described the dive site, he asserted this would be way more entertaining than the previous one, with the marine life here being much more florid than that of Bidadari.
Sitting on the deck all geared up with legs crossed as I waited for the others to do so themselves – something that would become somewhat of a routine – I found myself looking out at the horizon, wondering when I’d be able to do something like this again. In all likelihood, this would be my last big trip before I’d have to start working again. Would I be able to prioritise myself when I’d be working as a surgical trainee? Or would medicine take over everything else once again? Would I manage to keep up all this? To work and dive and do everything else I had grown so accustomed to over the previous year?
Tatawa Besar
With the rest having finished their prepping, I quickly snapped back to reality – a reality that seemed more dreamlike than the one I had been envisioning throughout. All ready for our dive, with Anurag bracing himself until it was actually time to jump off, we found ourselves on top of the reef, descending slowly to the bottom – this one covered in an exquisite coral garden.
This site kinda reminded me of Melissa’s Garden, with thousands of chromis and damselfish fluttering about the beautiful reef. The marine life seemed quite similar to that in Raja Ampat – with the occasional parrotfish, turtle, or moray showing up, as well as a white-tip reef shark that stood hidden under a rock only to dart out of it the second it spotted us. It kinda felt like watching some sort of documentary as we observed the shark swimming through a titan triggerfish’s territory, prompting the latter to give it the meanest of looks before chasing it away. It’s funny to see a proper shark running away from a smaller fish…
There was one thing I had never seen before, or rather, the adult version of… A broadclub cuttlefish! It did take me a minute to actually spot it, its yellow and brown colour with black and white blotches making for the perfect camouflage. I was positively mesmerised by the fascinating creature – its eight arms and two tentacles used to grasp prey and the giant mantle and fluttering fin around its perimeter used to propel itself. As interesting as they are on the outside, their internal anatomy is equally as astounding, with three hearts pumping the green-blue haemocyanin-rich blood, a cuttlebone made of aragonite used to maintain buoyancy (which finally explains all the washed-up white pellets I’d find on the beach as a kid), and a huge brain making them one of the most intelligent invertebrates, as well as ink and venom glands. Cool, cool. That said, it was their eyes that caught my attention the most. The w-shaped slits staring directly at me gave me the impression that I was looking at the most relaxed creature on Earth, as it hovered motionlessly in front of me seemingly without a care in the world.
I can’t quite say the same about myself, with Anurag going up and down, zigging and zagging and bumping into me at every possible chance. Of course, this would’ve potentially turned into me blowing up had we not had to cut our dive short after some thirty minutes, with Hu Kai ending up low on air.
The Misophonia Manifesto
During the surface interval, I couldn’t quite shake off the bad vibes. So far, out of two dives, both of them were cut short after thirty minutes. One was due to bad planning, the other due to ineptitude.
After a few deep breaths to try and find my inner zen, I thought back to my own diving incidents – of which by then I had racked up quite a few. And so, I decided to cut them some slack and focus on the bigger picture – I was diving again. That was all that mattered. No matter what, I’d be underwater, and that’s cause enough for celebration and gratitude.
That said, I had another few issues above the water. Anurag was annoying the crap out of me. He seemed to have taken a liking to me, clinging onto me like a friggin’ leech above and below the surface, with his clumsiness now infuriating. Oh, and the fact that he adds ‘bro’ after every single friggin’ sentence. Not to mention, he chews louder than a freight train and wouldn’t be caught dead without food in his mouth. No wonder all the snacks on the ship had evaporated by that very same evening. With my misophonia reaching an all-time high, excusing myself to our cabin to study was nothing but a welcome pause from it all.
PART II
Mawan Reef
And so it went; breakfast, studying, and the damned bell. Our next dive would be at Mawan Reef – a coral slope next to an island.
The second we descended – BAM! A huge manta glided right past us, leaving everyone stunned. Whilst it was a short sighting, it invigorated everyone – the dive already a great one. Seriously, I could have ascended there and then and I would’ve been the happiest guy around! This was followed by yet another angry titan triggerfish which Indra had to scare off with his metal rod, a pair of cuttlefish that floated about without a care in the world, and a giant clam that nearly caught Anurag’s intruding finger in a vice.
Right at the end of the dive, we also spotted a black ribbon eel, its head and upper body protruding from a crevice under a rock, as it tried to grasp the tiny fish fluttering about around it. Right next to it was a clump of apparent yellow algae Indra was excitedly pointing at. I couldn’t for the life of me understand what was so special about it until I was a few inches from it, at which point the algae turned into one of the weirdest fish I’d ever seen – a yellow leaf scorpionfish. Sporting black blotches over its golden body, this marvellous being is able to move its hips in such a way that it resembles swaying algae, perfecting its camouflage in order to ambush its prey. Cool, cool…
Whilst this dive promised to be the first uncomplicated one without any casualties, the same can’t be quite said for Anurag who lost his mask on the way up. Having dropped so many things all along my diving career, I wasn’t one to judge.
Siaba Besar
More food, more studying, and more diving. Our third was at Siaba Besar – a bay hidden between two arms of an island providing shelter from the currents. Another name for this dive site is Turtle City – with Darmin encouraging us to slap our divemasters silly if we wouldn’t manage to spot at least one.
Lo and behold, the second we got down, some three turtles could be seen resting on the coral below us. I had to give it to them that the dive site’s nickname was definitely apt, having seen some thirteen hawksbill and green turtles in total! As I was down there, admiring their effortless charm and grace, I thought back to Keith back in Raja Ampat saying he’d become jaded after seeing so many. I could never, ever, say such a thing. Man I love turtles!
It wasn’t just turtles though. A baby stingray resting right next to a baby white-tip, a thousand-strong shoal of anthias, a giant school of barracudas, and one solitary mobula ray were amongst the many creatures we got to admire during this dive.
Night Dive at Wainilu Reef
Another glorious sunset graced our eyes that evening, the unreal oranges and reds painting the clouds over mountains and hills in front of us. Then, with nightfall, it was time for our fourth and last dive of the day – smack right in the centre of Komodo at Wainilu Reef.
The sandy bottom, peppered with hydroids and anemones, left nothing to be desired and once again reminded me of my love for night dives. Apart from the tens of dwarf lionfish we came across lazing about on the seafloor, we also spotted a ton of crabs and nudibranchs. It was also here that I got to witness the funniest and most ridiculous thing I’d ever seen underwater – a yellow-spotted triggerfish getting darting into the tiniest crevice and getting helplessly jammed midway after it got startled. I couldn’t help but giggle, flooding my mask twice over.
It was whilst I was ogling a sleeping trumpetfish and a spearing mantis shrimp half-buried in the sand that I noticed there were no other lights next to me. Turns out, the rest of my group went ahead without me, leaving only a faint glow behind. As I rushed to them, it became glaringly obvious that it was the wrong group of divers I had reached, prompting me to signal Bodo – the divemaster leading this group – about the mishap. He let me join them, knowing I’d have no luck finding the others in pitch darkness. We finished the dive without a hitch, spotting more and more stuff.
Once at the surface, I could hear Indra and Anurag screaming my name at the top of their lungs. They had been at the surface for some five minutes searching for me without success. Little did they know I was still down there having the time of my life, extending my bottom time by an additional twenty minutes.