coraltriangleadventures

When people ask about our favorite trips we always mention, without hesitation, Komodo National Park. Sure, the park is beautiful and possesses some of the coolest lizards on the planet, but there is something consistent about Komodo; it is always epic! Our recent trip was just that. Epic.

Snorkelers in Komodo

The islands in Komodo are quite unique among almost any that range along the equatorial region in that they are almost devoid of lush tropical jungle. The islands not only reside in a quasi- ‘rain shadow’ (larger and taller peaks on Flores and Sumbawa capture a lot of moisture before it reaches the islands in Komodo National Park), but they also receive heated air from the Australian deserts transported via the trade winds. While Komodo does have a rainy season, the islands tend to have flora that resembles savannahs rather than jungles. Underwater, however, the story is much different. Ultra-lush coral reefs harboring some of the highest levels of marine biodiversity on the planet can be found just about anywhere in the park.

Juvenile Rockmover Wrasse

We began our tour along the eastern edge of the park, visiting several islands that showcase just how amazing the reefs are in this part of the world. On our first snorkel we swam with thousands of tropical fishes as they hovered above the reef to capture plankton as it floated by in the gentle currents, as well as some larger reef inhabitants including turtles and a large bamboo shark. Several snorkelers spent good time with a fairly cooperative juvenile rock-mover wrasse and were treated to a rare sight: foraging behavior and the successful capture of a crab!

Moving into the park, we had great conditions at our favorite places to snorkel, including a nearly perfect snorkel where we had close to 100ft visibility, a slow-moving current that allowed us to stay in the area but brought out all of the planktivorous fish, and plenty of sunshine to light up the reef! Not only is this sight one of my top destinations in the world, it was one of the top snorkeling sessions I’ve had on that reef!

Clown Triggerfish

With a few days of fantastic snorkeling under our belts, we traded our fins for shoes and spent the morning visiting Komodo National Park on Rinca Island. Much like our snorkels, the park offered us the chance to see adults displaying some aggressive behavior towards each other as opposed to our usual encounters where they are lounging around the ranger station. The group also had rare sighting of a juvenile resting on a tree limb, where it remains protected from adults until it grows large enough to defend itself. That evening we did our first of two night snorkels and saw lots of nudibranchs, a couple of octopuses, flatworms, and a long encounter with a coral cat shark that remained exposed on the reef for several minutes before continuing with its hunt for food under the cover of darkness.

Aerial view of Horseshoe Bay

The next day we embarked for Horseshoe Bay at the southern end of Rinca Island. With cooler water temps, we still managed to log a lot of time in the water and saw a huge variety of nudibranchs, fishes, and rare invertebrates like a blue-ringed octopus and basket stars. We also had the chance to visit the beach for some more encounters with awesome Komodo dragons. The next day we moved back towards the north end of the park and visited one of our sites that allows us the chance to ride swift currents in search of large reef fish, and then ‘eddy out’ onto a health reef flat where more gentle currents guided us around the island. Towards the end of our snorkel session, we had a manta hang out with us in the same currents that we enjoyed.

Clown nudibranch laying eggs

The next day we began our cruise westward towards Bali, but still had plenty of snorkeling days ahead of us. Gili Darat and Gili Laut, both on the northeastern tip of Komodo Island, offered us more mantas, another great night snorkel that included egg-laying and mating nudibranchs, and healthy reefs with a such a huge diversity of fishes that we felt like we were in an aquarium!

Our last full day of snorkeling was at Sangeang volcano and like many times before, it delivered on the rare critters! Ornate ghost pipefish, frogfish, nudibranchs, leaffish, and garden eels were some of the crowd-pleasers, with mantis shrimp, cuttlefish, and unusual reef fishes adding to the excitement. For an area that has little in terms of coral reef, this spot was easily one of the highlights of the trip!

Komodo Dragons

On our last day, we decided to try something different. Rather than visit our usual reef, we opted for the chance to snorkel around floating fish platforms called bagans. While there was no reef, no bottom for that matter, it did offer us the chance to see one of the more incredible fish species on the planet: Whale sharks! And we had many to choose from. At our designated bagan, we had two that remained with us then entire time. There were four others nearby, one of them easily 25ft long! Our gamble paid off and we ended our snorkeling adventure on an incredible high note!

Yellow leaffish

Warty Frogfish

Spinner Dolphins

Chamberlain’s nudibranch

Blue-spotted grouper

Blue-ringed Octopus

Ornate Ghost Pipefish

Tambja Morose

Mantis Shrimp

Juvenile Lionfish

Princess Damsel

White-stripe shrimp

We love Komodo National Park and it is and always will be a stable part of our portfolio of snorkeling adventures. Our next departure is in September 2020 aboard the Gaia Love and we very much look forward to re-visiting some of our favorite snorkeling sites in the world!

Trip Report: Snorkeling the Heart of the Coral Triangle, Sept. 23-Oct. 11, 2019

What an epic journey we just completed! Coral Triangle Adventure’s most recent snorkeling trip took us deep into our namesake, the center of the Coral Triangle, known to harbor the greatest diversity of marine life on planet Earth. From Flores through the Banda and Ceram Seas to West Papua, we explored the healthy, shallow reefs of many islands and were amazed at the underwater life discovered each step along the way.

After meeting our intrepid group of snorkelers in Bali we flew to the island of Flores, just east of Komodo National Park, where we boarded our striking liveaboard ship, the MV Pindito, which was to be our happy home for about two weeks. Overnight we sailed along the north coast of Flores under starry skies to Lembata Island and awoke to the sunrise illuminating the living volcano of Lewotolo. A protected bay was a perfect spot for us to snorkel a mushroom coral-laden reef that led to seagrass and a lush mangrove forest. An additional attractive site in this bay found us hunting critters, such as juvenile Flying gurnards, Pegasus sea moths, various pipefish and nudibranchs in black, volcanic sand.

Forward we moved to the island of Pantar and a current-swept channel that was a perfect home for literally millions of Threadfin anthias. At one point we were even able to watch as a pair of Blue whales swam within 200 meters of the very reef we were snorkeling! Next on our journey was the Pantar Strait, flowing between Pantar and Alor. This body of clear, blue water brings just the right gumbo of food and sunlight for its abundant, shallow reef habitats to prosper. During one of our snorkels here we had a charming encounter with local children as they showed off their free-diving skills and showed us their handmade dive goggles.

Moving along to Wetar Island we had close encounters with both megafauna and macrofauna. A large pod of Pilot whales gave us an exciting show while the nearby reefs provided hunting grounds for scorpionfish, ghost pipefish, Fire dartfish, and Red spotted blennies. The incredibly aesthetic islands around Romang, in the southern part of the Banda Sea, was where we marveled at some of the most delicate and healthy corals we’ve encountered in Indonesia – which says a lot! Later that day, as the Pindito began working its way northeastwards, we spent time watching Blue whales feed in the deep waters near Romang. This was by far the closest any of us had ever been to the largest animal that has ever evolved on Earth.

The distant volcanoes of Teun and Manuk (island of the snakes) offered more highlights for us with color-changing Broadclub cuttlefish, massive Bumphead parrotfish, and many, many Broad-banded blue sea kraits (Laticauda semifasciata) that languidly hunted for fish beneath abundant corals. The following stop brought us to Banda Naira, the epicenter of the extremely lucrative spice (nutmeg and mace) trade from the 1500s through the early 1800s. This was also an area that gave us wonderful views of mating Mandarinfish. Onwards and northwards the Pindito sailed, bringing us to the secluded Pulau Koon. Large schools of Lined sweetlips, Orange-spotted trevally, Longnose emperors, various fusiliers, Redtooth and Black triggerfish swarmed along the reef edge in Koon.

The final part of our snorkeling adventure brought us sailing north through the Ceram Sea and into the craggy, tree-laden limestone islands of Misool. This part of Raja Ampat contains some of the most beautiful scenery on Earth and looks as if it should be the backdrop of a James Bond film. Fringing reefs, beginning just inches below the low tide line, surround the hundreds of islands stretching southwest from Misool and we snorkeled many hours in this idyllic area. One of many attractions for us was watching elusive Mobulas hunting vast schools of silversides that swam along the reefs here.

Having covered over 1000 nautical miles, numerous tropical islands, and copious amounts of flourishing coral reefs, we ended our adventure in Sorong, Raja Ampat and flew back to where it all began in Bali. It will unquestionably take many weeks for all of us to digest all the beauty and diversity that we were exposed to both above and below the waterline over the course of this trip. While we may be finished with the snorkeling part of this journey the memories will stay with us for a lifetime.

Aerial view of Turtle Cove.JPG

Palau is where it all started for Ethan and I and every time we return, it reminds us of just how much we love what we do! The reefs looked spectacular as ever and our group of 16 snorkelers enjoyed every minute of our time on sites from the outer barrier reef to the inner lagoon.

We began our 10-day snorkeling tour with a special CTA ‘Rock Island Tour’ in Nikko Bay. Having spent many years exploring this incredibly scenic bay, I took our guests to several of our special snorkeling sites – which looked fantastic – as well as to a few hidden gems including unusual caves, tunnels to all-but-hidden marine lakes, and relics from WWII. It was so nice to visit the ‘old stomping grounds’ and see that the reefs we’ve enjoyed so much are looking, in many cases, even better than they did 20 years ago. After a fun-filled day playing in Nikko Bay, we boarded the Rock Islands Aggressor to begin our seven-day exploration of Palau from the comfort of a truly superb liveaboard.

Purple Dottyback…

We started at the southern end of the barrier reef with a visit to Ngedebus Coral Gardens and Turtle Cove. Both reefs offer an incredible diversity of fish and coral and we had good encounters with both black and white tip sharks, turtles, and a spotted eagle ray. The next day, we spent the morning snorkeling the magnificent reefs around Virgin Blue Hole. Our weather looked good and with the low tide in the afternoon, we snorkeled one of the most dynamic places in the world: The famous Blue Corner! We started at Blue Holes, a series of sink holes that can be accessed from atop of the reef and have huge exit chambers beginning at 30 feet deep. We hovered over the enormous openings and watched as the light bounced off of fish and coral below. With a slight drift to the corner, we made it there in time to see all of the usual suspects that make this site so incredible. Napoleon Wrasse, Black and white tip reef sharks, grey reef sharks, turtles, schools of barracuda, jacks, and, of course, the ever present schools of pyramid butterflyfish and red-tooth triggerfish out in the blue waiting for food to drift by. Was that enough to call it an amazing day? Nope! That night we snorkeled Big Drop-Off and saw octopus, squid, basket stars, and our special blue lights brought out the fluorescence in coral as if the coral was electrified!

Corals fluoresce…

The next morning, we went back to Big Drop-Off to snorkel above the 1000-ft wall during the day. Calm, clear blue skies and seas and a brisk current promised a fantastic snorkel. Upon entering the water, we immediately felt the energy of the reef! Turtles, sharks and thousands of colorful fish greeted us within our first few minutes and we even had a large “day” octopus hang out with us for over ten minutes. We drifted over lush hard and soft coral gardens along with the ever present schools of pyramid butterflyfish and red tooth triggerfish hovering just off from the reef to capture plankton as it passed by. It was indeed one of my best snorkel sessions in many years! In the afternoon we visited German Channel where shallow coral gardens gave way to expanses of sand where we found spotted eagle rays and white tip reef sharks.

A moon jelly…

The following day we planned our morning snorkel around Palau’s Jellyfish Lake. We planned for an early morning venture and it paid off with intimate experiences with hundreds of jellies in view at any given time. For me, I was interested more in the endemic anemones that prey upon the two species of jellies that reside in the lake (the endemic golden jelly (Mastigias papua etpisoni) and the moon jelly (Aurelia aurelia). I was hoping to see them actually capture one but only got as close as to see one that was already ensnared by the anemone’s tentacles. In the afternoon we visited Giant Clam City, and a couple of snorkeling sites near the Milky Way.

Large polyp corals…

With only a couple of days left on the Aggressor, we once again took advantage of the great weather and visited another part of the barrier reef near my favorite island group: Ulong Island. The coral in Ulong channel is simply amazing. Blue staghorn and massive table corals dominate the shallow areas while large grouper, grey reef sharks, and horse-eye jacks in seemingly never ending numbers hover effortlessly in the middle of the channel. After a ‘Rock Island Tour’ amongst the beautiful islands that make up Ulong, we snorkeled at Soft Coral Arch where, you can imagine, colorful soft corals adorn the walls along a partially submerged hole through the rock island. We also visited a shallow fringing reef that gave us great chances to spend time with a herd of young bumphead parrotfish as well as almost every species of butterfly fish that can be found in Palau.

A colorful nudibranch…

Our next couple days were all within the lagoon and around the area of Nikko, German Lighthouse, and Risong Bay. Risong Bay is the one place in the world where snorkelers can reliably see the colorful but ultra-shy mandarinfish. German Lighthouse was a required visit for the scenery (so nice back there!), and Nikko Bay for further snorkeling adventures around WWII wrecks and reefs with an amazing diversity of hard corals.

Butterflyfishes of Palau

The general census from the group was that this was one of their favorite snorkeling trips of all time and I am inclined to agree. We had great conditions for what we wanted to do and we were able to take full advantage of that and see as much of Palau as we could during our 10-day snorkeling tour.

Like last time, we made a poster of all of the butterflyfish species we saw and did pretty well with 24 out of 33 real possibilities (the other few are either too deep for snorkelers or rare). Given the amount of fun we had, you can bet that I am already looking forward to our visit again in 2021!

After a short flight from Port Moresby to Rabaul, located on the northeastern tip of the island of New Britain, our intrepid group of snorkelers boarded the MV Febrina. Shortly after settling in the ship weighed anchor and we sailed towards New Ireland where we woke to spectacular lagoon scenery, surrounded by beaches and thick jungle. For the next two days we explored the fringing coral reefs and sand habitats that grew along this attractive island. The area provided our snorkelers with a special, close up view of several Estuarine seahorses, and those who waited around eventually saw one pair mating!

Clown nudibranch…

Next we headed southwestward, far down the southern coast of New Britain, a locale near Gasmata that rarely (if ever) has seen a snorkeler. A beautiful barrier reef protected a large lagoon with several idyllic islands scattered about. The varied reefs were full of life. Hard and soft corals competed for space to grow while small, vibrant reef fish, including thousands of planktivorous Redfin anthias and Chromis, fluttered all about. While at least a handful of anemonefish species were prevalent on every snorkel, the Bonnethead anemonefish was certainly a highlight seen quite often. This geographically-limited species is now known to be a hybrid and is often found living with Orange anemonefish or Orangefin anemonefish.

Stunning aerial in PNG

Islands within the barrier reef offered sand habitats mixed with coral reef and thus great areas for snorkelers to discover critters. A number of pipefish species ranged in this area along with Raggy scorpionfish, lionfish, flatworms and some gorgeous nudibranchs including the dorid Gymnodoris ceylonica. These amazing nudibranchs occasionally engage in mass movements into shallow water to spawn and we witnessed this! We found double digit G. celonica gathering on a sand slope where they laid eggs and searched for mates. On this same site was a Ribbon eel, Peacock flounder, and many Sap-sucking slugs.

White bonnet anemonefish

The Febrina then sailed northeast, bringing our group to the lush islands within Waterfall Bay, one of the wettest spots on Earth. Yes, there was a pretty waterfall that poured into a shallow, clear river which then entered the bay. Reef-building corals were prolific in this bay and while we drifted on the surface we were treated to the sight of a herd of 30 massive Bumphead parrotfish grazing on boulder corals, Palette surgeonfish, and a few Napolean wrasse.

Before heading back to Port Moresby, we ended our snorkeling trip exploring a tiny, heavenly island, called Pigeon Island, just north of Rabaul. Just below the surface, robust, reef-building corals thrived on top of the reef flat but much of the action was found along the reef crest where a vertical wall dropped into the blue. Hundreds of species of fish were found feeding in this gorgeous spot. All in all, Papua New Guinea offered some wonderful snorkeling and certainly reminded us that picturesque, remote locations still exist on this water-covered planet!

We hope to return here in 2022 (I know, it seems so long from now), but between now and then, perhaps a session in Raja Ampat or Palau?

A kaleidoscope of colors

Wow. That short, three-letter word is probably the most apt term to describe our recent snorkeling in Raja Ampat. Just about perfect equatorial weather allowed us to sail on smooth seas and get up close and personal with the shallow reef life that dominates this remote region. No matter how many times one has been to Raja Ampat, it is easy to be dazzled by not only the biodiversity found here but also the overall health of the marine ecosystem.

Another beautiful…

Our voyage began as we sailed from Sorong to the rugged limestone islands found in long ridges off the southeast coast of Misool. We snorkeled the extensive, shallow fringing reefs for three days, spotting hunting octopus, Banded sea kraits, schools of colorful planktivorous fish, and copious amounts of healthy, reef-building corals. Interestingly, the limestone islands of Misool harbor distinctive reefs from those found more to the north of Sorong. Many, if not all, marine species overlap in both areas, just about 100 miles apart, but the growth forms of the reefs are different.

Colorful corals

After departing Misool we sailed north to the island of Batanta where we were lucky to have some encounters with resident manta rays and observe a beautiful female Broadclub cuttlefish laying a clutch of eggs in just a meter of water. From there our route continued north to the island Penemu and then Alyui Bay on the westernmost tip of Waigeo. Penemu gave us a chance to visit a distinctive marine lake, check out an unusual coil of Diamondback squid eggs, watch Hawksbill turtles and, after a short walk on land, afforded us an impressive view of the rock islands in this area. Alyui Bay is one of those areas that just can’t be adequately described. It’s varied marine habitats offer both incredible biodiversity stuffed into every square inch of underwater substrate and glimpses of incredibly rare species like Halimeda, Robust, and Ornate ghost pipefish, Needle cuttlefish, and numerous Cockatoo waspfish.

A female cuttlefish

From Alyui our group of enthusiastic snorkelers sailed southward to explore the reefs and blue-water mangroves found around the lush island of Gam. Gam became well-known due to it being one of Alfred Russell Wallace’s destinations on his long and arduous expedition around the Malay Archipelago. Nowhere else on Earth do corals grow in such abundance among clear-water mangrove forests and this unique setting made for perfect snorkeling. It was hard to get out of the water here since there was so much to see! Finally, we ended our trip at the island of Friwin, just south of Waigeo’s Kabui Bay. Drifting along Friwin’s limestone undercut allowed us to fly over soft corals, anemones, and massive gorgonians. We then ended this marathon snorkel in an exquisite coral garden dominated by tiered table corals with schools of parrotfish and surgeonfish swimming among them.

All in all, it was a trip after which there was nothing to say but “wow.” Spectacular weather, calm seas, healthy reefs, and an excellent group of travelers made this another perfect Coral Triangle Adventure. We are obviously excited to return to Raja Ampat again and again in 2019 and beyond.