Day 1: Board our expedition vessel in Bali and cruise to Nusa Penida Island, looking out for dolphins en-route. There may be time for a coral reef snorkel after anchoring. After sunset tonight there will be an orientation talk, and on most other nights there will be a slide show.
Days 2-3: We will slowly work our way eastwards, past the islands of Lombok and Sumbawa, looking out along the way for whales and dolphins, flying fish and seabirds. There will be opportunities for snorkeling on the coral reefs and for island visits.
Day 4-6: We plan to have three full days within the Komodo National Park. There should be time to visit both Komodo and Rinca Islands to see the extremely impressive Komodo Dragons, and other wildlife. We will snorkel on some of the superb coral reefs, and hope to encounter Manta Rays at one site. And of course our main aim will still be locating and observing whales and dolphins.
Day 7-9: We return westwards to Bali by a similar route to that taken out, with plenty more time for whale and dolphin watching. However, we do expect to use different anchorages, allowing us to snorkel on different reefs and perhaps also to visit different islands.
Day 10: After breakfast we will sadly have to disembark and transfer to accommodation ashore or to the International Airport for flights home.
CETACEANS
On our trips from Bali to Komodo, we see hundreds of Spinner Dolphins and Spotted Dolphins. However, the small cetaceans of greatest interest are perhaps the Melon-headed Whales and Fraser’s Dolphins, which we regularly see in large mixed schools. Among the larger whales, Sperm Whales are not uncommon, while Blue Whales also occur. These Blue Whales feed off Western Australia in the southern summer and migrate into the Banda Sea for the southern winter. They pass through the channels between the eastern Lesser Sunda Islands, so our sightings become more frequent the further east we travel. In all we have positively identified 14 species of cetacean on these trips:
Blue Whale Balaenoptera musculus
Sperm Whale Physeter macrocephalus
Dwarf Sperm Whale Kogia sima
Spinner Dolphin Stenella longirostris
Spotted Dolphin Stenella attenuata
Bottlenose Dolphin Tursiops truncatus
Indo-pacific Bottlenose Tursiops aduncus
Fraser’s Dolphin Lagenodelphis hosei
Rough-toothed Dolphin Steno bredanensis
Risso’s Dolphin Grampus griseus
Shortfin Pilot Whale Globicephala macrorhynchus
Melon-headed Whale Peponocephala electra
Pygmy Killer Whale Feresa attenuata
False Killer Whale Pseudorca crassidens
“Another thoroughly fantastic ocean adventure with Chas. Such variety of life above and below the sea – wonderful dolphins, birds, fish, sea creatures and not forgetting those dragons. Swimming eye-to-eye with the mantas was truly special.” SP, UK
“Excellent crew, excellent service, always reliable, friendly and each with their own expertise.” MT, UK
“Thank you Chas and Sue for the most amazing trip, thanks also to the crew, great organisation, delicious food, wonderful snorkelling and then of course the Dragons!” RS, UK
“We’ve been looking forward to this holiday for years, and it has exceeded all our dreams. The snorkelling was amazing!!!” PM, UK
“Beautiful snorkelling, wonderful whales and dolphins, dreams came true (swimming with manta rays and whale sharks).” MW, Netherlands
“Thank you Chas for making this such a wonderful experience. Too many superlatives on land, in the sea and in the skies.” MD, UK Join our community of passionate nature enthusiasts and stay connected with the latest news and discoveries from the world of tropical marine wildlife. Don’t miss out on the adventure – sign up now!
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