Newsletter January 2015

Christmas at Cannibal Rock - by Mark Heighes

Photos by Hayley Baillie

Once again the clear warm currents arrived in the Southern parts of Komodo National Park, perfectly in time for Christmas. This would be the start of our second season in South Komodo.

We were joined by my wife Tuti and our two boys and a group of old friends with new family's of their own. Some of them I had not seen for 20 years, and now they were accompanied by kids I'd heard of but never met. Aunty Valerie was along as well as the story teller. She would be my secret weapon if things got out of hand. We had talked of this trip for 10 years and now it was a reality.

Nine kids and eight adults. Could be trouble as the oldies were outnumbered and young pirates always cause trouble. Mutiny could be stirring so I decided to play it tough right from the start. "Hey you Pirates! You don't want to end up in the dark smelly rat infested chain locker in the bow!" I explained to the young rascals upon boarding.

In just a couple hours after landing in Labuan Bajo we had steamed out of port and were already in the water. A few of the boys had just completed their dive courses with my brother Greg’s operation Dive Komodo, in the days before boarding. The instructors were great and had taken a liking to the boys so we decided that Greg and his team would come on his live aboard Tatawa and spend the Christmas break with us in a few days time.

We headed out to Padar to settle in. And yes, the warm clear currents had arrived in December and flooded the south. It's South Komodo at its best that way. Crystal clear water, flat calm and no other boats in sight. We felt like we were the only people on the planet!

It wasn't long before we were all reacquainted. We dived, snorkeled, kayaked, played and beach-combed the days away during the lead up to Christmas. The dive site Three Sisters is always at its best during the wet season and it did not let us down. I even managed to sneak down to the seldom visited 4th sister for my seasonal visit and she was more beautiful than ever.

» CLICK HERE FOR MARK'S FULL REPORT AND MORE PHOTOS

South Komodo Last Minute in March

A very limited number of spots opened up on our South Komodo cruise with Wirodive this year, March 1-13. Check our South Komodo destination page for more information on this itinerary and CLICK HERE to learn more about the Wirodive charter!
Or talk directly to Wirodive at the BOOT in Düsseldorf (17 to 25 January), Hall 3 - Stand F69.