Diving Komodo and Rinca
The Komodo National Park is located about 400km east of Bali, between the islands of Sumbawa and Flores. There are three main islands - Komodo, Rinca and Padar, plus many smaller islands. The most famous resident of the Komodo area must be the Komodo Dragon, but for divers it's more important to note that Komodo National Park is one of the world's most vibrant underwater environments. There are hundreds of species of corals, plus sponges and thousands of fish species, with the chance to see anything from pygmy seahorses to manta rays. Best time to dive is May to October. Water temperatures are highly variable. The south of Bali can have temperatures as low as 22 C, or as high as 28 C. In the northern area, the water is from 25 - 29 C. Long wetsuits are recommended.
The waters around Rinca island are home to some serious currents and weather conditions can be slightly rougher here in the summertime. The marine life though is spectacular with beautiful hard and soft coral reefs, sea horses and turtles in the dive sites to the south of the island. Both on land and in the water visitors will find the island to be a naturalists paradise and slightly less busy than the other islands, making a Rinca liveaboard the perfect choice.
To the south of Rinca island there are a number of excellent dive sites to explore with huge coral reefs stretching out along the coast and further afield. The conditions are a little harder than the rest of the park with slightly lower temperatures and fierce currents. The sheer range of life however is astonishing. The cooler waters mean plankton rich water teeming with life. Rinca is macro divers paradise you can see sea fans in a huge range of colours and if you are lucky maybe a pygmy sea horse on the coral reefs.
Feathered stars, nudibranch and the most lurid coloured sea cucumbers you can imagine are also spread across the reefs. If you are looking for something a little bigger you can see turtles here as well and if you go a little deeper white tip reef sharks. The variety of different critters on display means divers can just sit and watch the action across the reef.
