It’s day 24 already, and today we separated into two teams. Amelia, Ichsan, Miko, and Vidlia joined Divine Diving to visit Manta Point. Meanwhile Andy, Retno and I went to south Rinca with Hollie and Tatiana, because we had heard reports of oceanic manta being spotted.

Our captain was Mr Salim, and for about two hours we explored Komodo by speedboat, from north to south and looking for manta rays near the surface. We didn’t take our diving equipment today, our plan was only to snorkel if we found any mantas.

After a couple of hours we stopped in Nusa Kode, right at the southern end of Rinca Island. This is where we had heard that mantas had been spotted, and we spent a long time observing the water column. The waves were quite large, and the wind was blowing strongly. Suddenly we saw a huge splash on the surface, and maybe a quick glimpse of a white fin? We moved closer with the boat, but with the waves rolling we could not see anything below the surface. After a while, we moved off again, and continued our search on the surface. The sun was very hot, and as we cruised close to the Rinca shore, Hollie spotted some Komodo dragons sunbathing on the beach.

Searching for the oceanic mantas with Hollie Booth

We moved closer for a better look. Five Komodo dragons appeared from the trees, walking across the sand until we were only a few meters way. We felt nervous, I’m sure our little speedboat would be no protection from now a Komodo dragon!

As we watched the dragons, we kept one eye on the ocean, still hoping to see a glimpse of an oceanic manta ray.

Sadly we couldn’t find any mantas today. Andy quizzed us, and suggested that Retno and I should know the reason why. We supposed that the mantas could be hiding beneath the surface to avoid the wind and waves, or perhaps the tides are not ideal today.

Despite our disappointment at not finding mantas, we still had an exciting journey today. A close encounter with Komodo dragons, and an opportunity to explore some new habitats within Komodo National Park.