Today was diving day! After a good night sleep, we made our way to meet the other people on our dive trip. We were diving at 3 dive sites about an hour and a half from Flores.
On the way to the first site, we were treated to fresh donuts! The site was easy to access and good for beginners as the current was weak. The coral was very pretty and we spotted several big lobsters hiding in their holes.
After a short rest back at the boat in we went for our second time. This site was impressive but very strong currents meant it was a little trickier. The dive site was behind a small rock that could be seen from the surface. The water flew past either side of the rock creating whirlpools and downward currents. The variety and quantity of fish was amazing. There were many large napoleon wrasse, huge grouper and super sized trevally. We lost count of the number of turtles we saw. Amazing!
Lunch was served on the boat before it was time to enter the water once more. This time a fast and furious drift dive. The first part of the dive saw us flying along a sandy bottom with little to see. However a few short taps on the divemaster tank and we all headed for the bottom. Clinging on to small rocks desperately trying not to get washed away by the current, we looked ahead into the ocean emptiness. Through the water and flying towards us ... a manta ray! First of all we were fortunate to see a small one about 2m across. However, it wasn't long before a gigantic manta around 4m flew into sight. It gracefully approached moving to within a metre of Darryl and stayed for what seemed like eternity. Wow, truly a beautiful animal. Very exciting!
On the way to the first site, we were treated to fresh donuts! The site was easy to access and good for beginners as the current was weak. The coral was very pretty and we spotted several big lobsters hiding in their holes.
After a short rest back at the boat in we went for our second time. This site was impressive but very strong currents meant it was a little trickier. The dive site was behind a small rock that could be seen from the surface. The water flew past either side of the rock creating whirlpools and downward currents. The variety and quantity of fish was amazing. There were many large napoleon wrasse, huge grouper and super sized trevally. We lost count of the number of turtles we saw. Amazing!
Lunch was served on the boat before it was time to enter the water once more. This time a fast and furious drift dive. The first part of the dive saw us flying along a sandy bottom with little to see. However a few short taps on the divemaster tank and we all headed for the bottom. Clinging on to small rocks desperately trying not to get washed away by the current, we looked ahead into the ocean emptiness. Through the water and flying towards us ... a manta ray! First of all we were fortunate to see a small one about 2m across. However, it wasn't long before a gigantic manta around 4m flew into sight. It gracefully approached moving to within a metre of Darryl and stayed for what seemed like eternity. Wow, truly a beautiful animal. Very exciting!
