Komodo on the Arenui

Returned a couple weeks ago, finally getting around to posting some pics. Komodo was fabulous - you have everything from black sand muck dives, 150' visibility blue water dives with lush reefs, to some incredible reefs down at Rinca but a little cold. Here are a few of my favorites from the trip:

komodo 2010-5219.jpg by bversteegh, on Flickr

komodo 2010-5286.jpg by bversteegh, on Flickr

komodo 2010-4529.jpg by bversteegh, on Flickr

komodo 2010-4466.jpg by bversteegh, on Flickr

komodo 2010-4440.jpg by bversteegh, on Flickr

manta by bversteegh, on Flickr

komodo 2010-4962.jpg by bversteegh, on Flickr

frogfish by bversteegh, on Flickr

"crowned" pygmy seahorse by bversteegh, on Flickr

nice set.. where did you find the blue ring?

Nice pics,what set up were you using,40D?

Nice pics,what set up were you using,40D?

I think everything but the Manta shot was the 40D (the manta was taken by my wife with an S90). The first two shots (the scorpion fish and the blue ring octo) were taken with the Tokina 10-17 with a 1.4X teleconverter behind a Bare minidome (4" diameter) - the blue ring shot was cropped. The rest were with a 60 mm macro lens.

The blue ring octopus was up on top of the reef (10' deep or less) at a site called GLD Passage in Komodo.

The following three shots were all on the last dive of the trip - Seraya Secrets (Tulaben Bali)

Boxer Crab by bversteegh, on Flickr

Rhinopius Scorpion Fish by bversteegh, on Flickr

Halimeda ghost pipefish by bversteegh, on Flickr

I am off to Komodo/Tulamben in 10 days - very, very excited.

At the top of this trip's bucket list would be a Rhinopius - whereabouts did you find the one in your shot!?

Looks like a great trip; I'm looking forward to it even more now! What w/a lens was your wife using with the s90 if any?

Stephen

Nice shots! Love the pygmy seahorse and cuttlefish. The 3 shots from Seraya are all of very rare critters! I have still never seen a rhinopias or halimeda ghost pipefish.

I am off to Komodo/Tulamben in 10 days - very, very excited.

 

At the top of this trip's bucket list would be a Rhinopius - whereabouts did you find the one in your shot!?

 

Looks like a great trip; I'm looking forward to it even more now! What w/a lens was your wife using with the s90 if any?

 

Stephen

The rhinopius was at Seraya secrets in Tulamben, Bali. That site is in front of the Seraya resort - maybe 2 miles or so from the Liberty wreck. The S90 had the Fix UWL04 fisheye lens on it. The boxer crab was really difficult to shoot - was at the top of the slope in maybe 15' of water - was really surging. And Seraya is a black sand site with really fine silt - one mistake by anyone with a fin and vis is shot for several minutes.

Great shots!

Boxer crabs are so cool! One of my favs and I haven't seen one in a while.

I also just returned from the Arenui. Loved it. What did you think?

Great shots!

 

Boxer crabs are so cool! One of my favs and I haven't seen one in a while.

 

I also just returned from the Arenui. Loved it. What did you think?

I am a big fan of the Arenui. I think it is a great combination of comfort, service, and diving. Alli and Toby are awesome guides - they found everything I asked for except a wonderpus - pretty awesome for a single trip. Komodo is a really interesting destination - so much variety in the area.

Unusual Suspects is a great muck dive - right up there with the best of Lembeh (similar to Jahir). We saw 6 frogfish, coleman shrimp, zebra crabs, pegasus sea moths, seahorses, stargazers, tiger shrimp, octopus and cuttlefish, napolean snake eels - just what I can quickly remember.

Rinca (southern Komodo in the Indian Ocean) is colder (72-75 degrees), but has absolutely stunning reefs (cannibal rock and Yellow Wall of Texas are as good as they get).

Manta Alley is very close to Rinca (but a rough ride around the corner of the island to get there - during tide change, we probably saw 30 plus mantas, there the entire dive.

Crystal Rock and Castle rock (northern part of the area, by Komodo island) are fabulous blue water dives - great visibility, schools of big fish, whitetip sharks