Today is the fifth day of our MantaWatch Internship Program. All of us interns are very happy, because today we set off on our first manta safari! We will be at sea for five days with the guests and crew of DiveKomodo onboard the MV Tatawa.
For the past four days we have studied in classroom, and practiced our diving skills and MantaWatch survey techniques. Today we begin a different activity, monitoring the manta rays and putting into practice all the new things we have learned from our mentors. There are many locations where we can dive with manta rays in Komodo National Park – Karang Makasar, Manta Alley, German Flag, and many more.
Last night we had a chance to meet many of the dive operators and tourists at a Manta Mantap talk presented by Elitza at The Lounge. We even introduced ourselves to everyone!
Introducing ourselves at Manta Mantap
We planned to do two dives on the first day of our manta safari. Our first dive was at Sebayur Kecil, and the one-hour journey to this site showed us how beautiful the natural environment is here. We even saw dolphins swimming beside the boat! At Sebayur Kecil we conducted a “warm up” dive to prepare ourselves and the guests for the diving ahead. We thought the current was quite strong, but Andy told us that the currents in Komodo will get much stronger!
After Sebayur Kecil we travelled to Karang Makasar. We were all very excited as this site is famous for manta rays. It even has another name–Manta Point. Finally, at 15:18 we descended on Karang Makasar. I was surprised because the water temperature was cold, and the current felt strong. Over the past few days we have been learning about drift diving with Elitza, so this was a chance for us to test our theory. This was a first experience for all of us, and we enjoyed it very much.
For an hour we searched the underwater habitats of Karang Makasar for manta rays, but we were unlucky and didn’t find any. Before the dive we learned that the currents and tidal flow can influence the mantas, so hopefully tomorrow the tide will be right, and we will meet our first manta rays.
Vidlia practices talking Bahasa Manta
