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Dive Review of Grand Komodo Diving/Raja Ampat in
Indonesia/Raja Ampat

Grand Komodo Diving/Raja Ampat, Aug, 2007,

by Terry Anderson, TX, USA (Sr. Contributor Sr. Contributor 28 reports with 15 Helpful votes). Report 3613.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 5 stars Food 4 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving 3 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 2 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments Leatherback Turtle Expedition, guided by Save Our Leatherback Turtles founder and director, Larry McKinna, who is a walking encylopedia on the rare turtles. Fourteen people, and tweleve days on the Grand Komodo's MS Raja Ampat, a new, very comfortable dive boat in the beautiful Indonesian traditional style. Superb service, excellent food, lots of smiles--our fourth trip with this outstanding company: www.komodoalordive.com. Owner Reno and her staff are great, and make all arrangements; I went early to visit Java and Tian made all hotel and plane reservations, all at very good prices. DM Hary [and three other DMs] is outstanding, and will take divers into tiny villages to sample the culture. The Trip: Two days in Leatherback area, and one night watching 4 enormous 1000 pounders, 9 footers, laying their 80 eggs, covering them up, and going back to the ocean. Lots of fabulous pictures of turtles, and the local aborigine people, who put on a traditional turtle dance for us to bring them ashore, and then marveled at how they looked on camera. A special night: www.leatherbackturtles.org. Then 10 days diving the Raja Ampat area;only saw one other diveboat. Last time in this area, 2003, we saw 14 new species; this time 9, including sea moth, white nudibrach, black leopard wrass, baramundi cod, and a blue-ring octopus. All that besides the usual epaulette and wobegon sharks, pigmy seahorses, hawkbill turtles, banded pipefish, crocodile fish, scorpion fish, stonefish, lionfish, lobsters, cuttlefish, large schools of barracudas and jacks, and 4 or 5 banded sea snakes, including one 9 footer. Unfortunately, reef sharks are down, so would someone please tell the Chinese to stop ordering shark fins and instead use Viagra... This was a fabulous trip, and it was so educational to dive these waters while learning so much about, and helping, newborn Leatherback Turtles.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 501-1000 dives
Where else diving All over the world
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather cloudy Seas
Water Temp 82-84°F / 28-29°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 60-80 Ft/ 18-24 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions [Unspecified]
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks Lots Mantas None
Dolphins Schools Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 5 stars Tropical Fish 5 stars
Small Critters 5 stars Large Fish 4 stars
Large Pelagics 3 stars

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter 5 stars Boat Facilities 5 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 5 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments [None]
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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