Diving Komodo National Park aboard Mermaid II - review

I joined this trip at the last minute when another trip fell through, and was so glad I did. This part of Indonesia offers some of the most varied dive experiences you could ever hope to have in nine days, from stunning encounters with manta rays in strong currents to leisurely fossicks on shallow, brilliantly coloured, sunlit reefs and sand slopes followed by superb night dives, rich with remarkable creatures.

GETTING THERE AND BACK

Mermaid II is based at the main port in southern Bali, so is easily accessed from most parts of the world. You'll need to battle your way through crowded Denpasar Airport and find overnight accommodation at either end of the trip, but there are plenty of cheap and very comfortable hotels to choose from and Bali is famous for its hospitality and tourist activities. The Mermaid II mini bus collects guests from their accommodation and delivers them to the wharf.

THE BOAT

Mermaid II is a nice boat with good dining and recreation spaces. Cabins are on two levels and the upper ones are nice and airy. The lower ones tend to be a little cramped and lack windows or portholes, but the facilities are still fine. We were made very welcome on arrival and given a thorough safety briefing.

THE FOOD

It goes without saying that if you're in Indonesia the food will be fantastic, and of course it is. Three main meals a day, a light breakfast before the first dive, morning and afternoon teas with cakes and fruit whenever there's space for them, as well as refreshments on tap and a full bar service. They cater for special dietary needs and you can chose non-Indonesian options from the varied platters if that's what you prefer.

THE COMPANY

It also goes without saying that if you're in Indonesia the crew will be friendly, polite and hardworking. The Zodiac drivers were some of the best and keenest-eyed I've ever experienced. Even in strong currents they seemed to know exactly where everyone would come up and we rarely had to wait more than a few moments to be helped out of the water. The dive guides and the camera man came from various parts of the world and seemed to enjoy the diving just as much as the guests. At least one of them would stay down for as long as anyone else had air.

THE DIVE ROUTINE

The dive deck is spacious with a dive platform just a few steps below at the rear of the boat. Divers are assisted from the platform into Zodiacs in groups of about six plus a guide, and are able to take off both their weight belt and tank before climbing back into the Zodiac if desired. Everyone is welcomed back onto the dive deck into the embrace of their own pre-warmed towel. This might be the tropics but the water can be cool, so what a difference a warm towel makes, especially after a longish night dive! Another comfort bonus was the massages available on board.

DIVES AND MARINE LIFE

Only 12 hours sailing from the bustle and lushness of Bali and we were among the thinly populated, barren islands of Sumbaya. Spectacular landscapes included many volcanoes standing out against the horizon. The first few days were colourful reef dives with plenty of variety for the photographer and naturalist. Day 3 brought encounters with white tipped sharks, turtles, and lazy schools of sweetlips, then on Day 4 shallow dives in a brisk current above a bare sandy bottom yielded my best manta encounters ever. How do they manage to hover so effortlessly in one place while I am being swept away in the current? Luckily there were enough rocks to hang on to for long enough to take pictures.

On Day 5 we went ashore for Komodo Dragon encounters, which were well up to expectations and definitely a must-do. This was followed by dives around Komodo Island in a completely different and uniquely colourful reef environment, brilliant with anemones, sea cucumber, crinoids, fantastic nudibranchs and even ribbon eels. The return trip was similar to the outward journey but on different sites, and included more fabulous encounters with mantas and more delightful reefs. Then the skipper announced that mola mola (sunfish) had been sighted of the southern tip of Bali, and asked if we wanted to cut short our reef ramble and take a look. The current whipping past Crystal Bay was so strong that it took half an hour for the Zodiacs to make the short crossing from Mermaid II into the shelter of the bay. By then it was pretty obvious that 'hang on tightly to a rock at all times' was very sound advice. We descended into calm water then worked our way carefully along the wall towards the point until we were clinging on in the teeth of the current, peering out into the blue. Some claimed to have glimpsed the mola mola on the first dive, but on the second dive we definitely saw it, moving much faster than I would have expected. When we got back to the big boat our trip leader had just been informed that eight divers were swept away from that spot the previous day and were very fortunate to be hauled out of the water by fishermen 12 hours later, many kilometres away. Luckily we had done as we were told and seen the mola mola without being swept away, truly the icing on our cake after a very special dive trip.