TRAVELS WITH TAM

Diving in Indonesia

Colorful Pink Beach Beauties and the Best Night Dive Ever!

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Day 5 of our Ray of Hope Expedition on The Arenui in Komodo National Park, Indonesia and it brought colorful Pink Beach beauties, and the best night dive ever!

The day started out sunny and beautiful, and the first two dives were spent searching for mantas, as I published last Friday at http://tamtravels.wpengine.com/fab-photo-friday-reef-mantas/. In the afternoon we did a dive at Pink Beach. Pink Beach got its name from its mixture of white and red sand. The red sand came about because of red fossilized Foraminifera…just think to yourself, oh, pretty red shells/shellfish created the color of the sand. It’s easier than learning about Foraminifera!

dive map

Pink Beach, Scuba, Dive Trip, empty nest
Pink Beach…we didn’t go on the beach because Komodo Dragons live there!
komodo, pink beach, scuba
Porcelain Crab in anemone

 

Pink Beach, Scuba, Dive Trip, empty nest
A Gorgeous Leaf Fish at Pink Beach
Pink Beach, Scuba, Dive Trip, empty nest
Little yellow nudibranchs!
Pink Beach, Scuba, Dive Trip, empty nest
Looks like a part of the coral doesn’t it?
Pink Beach, Scuba, Dive Trip, empty nest
A gorgeous Fire Urchin!

 

Pink Beach, Scuba, Dive Trip, empty nest

Sunset at Loh Liang Bay

Night Dive, Scuba, Dive Trip, empty nest
Sunset

The evening rolled around at Loh Liang Bay, and no one in my dive group had the energy to do it. I had missed a night dive and had no intention of missing another, so off I went with my own dive guide! I am so glad I did not miss it…it was the best night dive I’d ever had! What made it so fabulous? The animals, of course!

Pink Beach, Scuba, Dive Trip, empty nest
A Flamboyant Cuttlefish! It was half the size of my hand…and I have a small hand!
Pink Beach, Scuba, Dive Trip, empty nest
This is a Mantis Shrimp! Their “boxing gloves” in the middle are strong enough to break an aquarium!
Night Dive, Scuba, Dive Trip, empty nest
A beautiful Sea Pen…you can see where they got their name. See the little crustacean at the top?
Night Dive, Scuba, Dive Trip, empty nest
Check out this tiny shrimp hanging out next to the anemone!
Night Dive, Scuba, Dive Trip, empty nest
Teeny tiny shrimp on a sea pen!
Night Dive, Scuba, Dive Trip, empty nest
A crab and a shrimp!
Night Dive, Scuba, Dive Trip, empty nest
This is a type of sea cucumber, but looks like a big worm!
Night Dive, Scuba, Dive Trip, empty nest
This tiny Midnight Snapper makes its home in an Australian Hat.

 

Night Dive, Scuba, Dive Trip, empty nest
Flatfish, or Flathead.
Night Dive, Scuba, Dive Trip, empty nest
A Hermit Crab carrying anemones! Nice of her!
Night Dive, Scuba, Dive Trip, empty nest
A tiny Coconut Octopus hiding in a coconut!

 

 

 

 

Fab Photo Friday: Reef Mantas in Komodo National Park

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It is Fab Photo Friday! On Day 4, the Ray of Hope Expedition caught up with Mantas! ROHE’s main goal is always to identify as many manta rays as possible, and records were broken on this trip! Takat Makkasar is a known Manta hangout, so day 4 was mostly spent on this reef. When we were not diving it, we snorkeled it. There were Reef Mantas everywhere. As a matter of interest, only Reef Mantas, or Manta Alfredi, live in Komodo. These mantas are a little smaller than the Giant Manta, or Manta Biostris, and instead of traveling the oceans, Reef Mantas tend to stay within a certain “home” area. Reef Mantas can grow to be 12 feet in wing span, while the Giants can be over 20 feet in wing span. This was my very first time to see Reef Mantas, and I love them every bit as much as the Giants I have seen all over the world.

Ray of Hope, Manta Rays, Komodo, Arenui
ID shot of a beauty!

Ray of Hope, Manta Rays, Komodo, Arenui

Ray of Hope, Manta Rays, Komodo, Arenui
Reef Manta, aka Manta Alfredi
Ray of Hope, Manta Rays, Komodo, Arenui
A Manta Train. They could be on a breeding mission as a female will lead males all over the reef for 24 hours before she chooses a mate.
Ray of Hope, Manta Rays, Komodo, Arenui
Here they come again!
Ray of Hope, Manta Rays, Komodo, Arenui
We witnessed several episodes of these trains.
Ray of Hope, Manta Rays, Komodo, Arenui
Mantas
Ray of Hope, Manta Rays, Komodo, Arenui
Taken on the surface
Ray of Hope, Manta Rays, Komodo, Arenui
From the surface!
Ray of Hope, Manta Rays, Komodo, Arenui
I’m taking photos while snorkeling!
Ray of Hope, Manta Rays, Komodo, Arenui
Green Turtle
Ray of Hope, Manta Rays, Komodo, Arenui
Look at this Green Turtle on this reef! The entire reef is alive with corals and anemones! I have never seen reefs more saturated with life!
Ray of Hope, Manta Rays, Komodo, Arenui
Coming up from dives was breathtaking…in a good way!
Ray of Hope, Manta Rays, Komodo, Arenui
We named this one Hermaphrodite (rhymes with Aphrodite) because of the rather interesting marking on this manta! Photo by Andrea Marshall.
Ray of Hope, Manta Rays, Komodo, Arenui
Gorgeous ID shot by Andrea Marshall
Ray of Hope, Manta Rays, Komodo, Arenui
Cleaning Station for Mantas by Andrea Marshall

It is so interesting to watch mantas being cleaned. Many pelagics require cleaning (as do many fish) in order to clean wounds, and remove parasites. Butterfly fish are avid cleaners, and in some areas, Angel Fish join in. The butterflies nibble parasites, wounds, and other detritus from the ray.

The number of Manta IDs was incredible! Komodo National Park yielded 80 individual identifications on one day, a record breaker! Andrea was thrilled with the productivity of the trip…and we had a wonderful time along the way. What could be better than citizen science and fun?

Ray of Hope, Manta Rays, Komodo, Arenui
80 IDs in one day! A record! Andrea Marshall.

 

Ray of Hope, Manta Rays, Komodo, Arenui

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