Cannibal
Rock - Rinca Island, east of Komodo
Cannibal Rock is a more versatile site and can be dived from sunrise
on through night. Just located one kilometre off the northern coast
of nearby Nusa Kode. This site, which is at the doorstepof a small
promontory, is sloping and feature mini-walls huge boulders with
valleys and giant terraces at over 30 meters. You can just make
out the top of the pinnacle, marked by breaking waves as you approach,
but this belies the phenomenal marine life diversity once you enter
the water. It is a truly world-class dive site and one of the top
sites in Komodo scuba diving.
There are two meters red gorgonian fans that periodically –
typically during cold water upwellings – host red pigmy seahorses
and ghost pipefish, the rare lacey scorpionfish has been sihgted
nearby. The rock covered in sea apples. A rare and brighly colored
– in hues of purple, green, blue, red and yellow – temperate
sea cucumber and trully fascinating sight when its feeding tentacles
are extended.
There are also three species of venomous urchins found on the rock,
one of which hosts up to five different species of commensals. When
the current runs, the fish schol and there have been regular sightings
of mantas, large sharks and minke whales.
Descend to the south to find the deepest diving section and where
you'll find enormous green and blue magnificent anemones swaying
back and forth. Sea apples (Pseudocolchirus Violaceus) are abundant,
their bodies decorated in amazing maroon, studded with golden beads
with bright yellow or cream tentacles that they use to filter feed
on plankton.
Out of the depths, you may be visited on your dive by curious black-blotched
stingrays, out on a hunting foray. Black snappers are also prevalent
here with many juveniles, conspicuous in their black and white striped
colours.
Making your way east and north you'll be astounded by the sizes
of the purple gorgonian fans, some over two metres tall. These fans
are home to the pygmy seahorse, always a thrill to spot. Dense thickets
of lime green whip coral ferns and yellow and white spiral corals
mark your trail. Be on the look-out for yellow-ribbon sweetlips
- endemic to Komodo - and sweeps of gold-striped fusiliers. Green
turtles are also frequent visitors to this dive site to feed on
the soft corals.
The shallows are loaded with featherstars of all colours, and blue
tunicates add ultraviolet shades to the already colourful diving
Komodo kaleidoscope.
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