Reefseekers

Reefseekers Dive shop The islands between Flores and Komodo are a protected marine sanctuary and are loaded with mantas. There are several dive shops  based in Labuanbajo, Flores. A couple of Britts, Ernest and Kath, have the Reefseeker dive operation. They were in the Gilis off of Lombok for a number of years but now are building a resort on Bidadiri (Angel Island) just a short boat ride from Labuanbajo. They have a passion for the reefs and the marine life that you don't see at a lot of dive shops. It is the only place where I've seen a shop owner embrace his divemaster in a genuine display of enthusiasim. Reefseekers gear is first rate and they run a tight ship. It is also the only tourist dive shop I've come across that uses steel tanks. You should adjust your weight accordingly to compensate because the steel tank is quite a bit heavier than the aluminum ones. I prefer aluminum tanks. Their office is on the main road near the other dive shops. When you come off of the ferry you just walk straight out until you come to the road and take a right. There is only one main road in Labuanbajo and it follows the coast. Businesses, restaurants and the hotels are on either side of it. The Golo Hotel is to the left and a ways out of town but you can catch a lift fairly easily. It seems to be popular with a lot of divers. I stayed at the Bajo Beach hotel (50,000 rupiah) closer in town. It's nice to be within walking distance of the pier, the shops, and the restaurants and not to be reliant on getting lifts everytime you want to go somewhere. It gets hot in the middle of the day and even the locals avoid long walks in the direct sun. We had some good dives with Reefseeker. The most memorable one was off Gili Lawa Laut where we rested on the bottom at 6 meters and just watched 3 mantas feed in the current for an hour and a half. We were in calm water but they were swimming hard in a ripping current just a few meters away. We were protected by the shape of the island. Kath was doing her manta impression that seemed a little bit overly theatrical at first but one manta in particular was curious and came over for a closer look. It would swim in the current with it's wing tip only a few inches from Kaths hand. These mantas are curious creatures. Ernest got some fantastic video of the dive. It was unusual in that we were in almost flat calm but the mantas were in a brisk current and would be swimming hard but staying in the same place just out of reach. It was an excellent opportunity to witness their behavoir. They would roll up their feeding fins together or alternately. It was a fantastic show. The flaps roll up into pointed horns when they are done feeding so they are more streamlined. One manta had a crooked tail and they all 3 had distinct black spots on their white underbellys. Occasionally one would take a rest in the calm water and glide overhead. It was really a memorable dive. Two Scottsmen, Dick and Euwing, Kath and Ernest and I were just overwhelmed. One interesting phenomonon we saw was that the remoras would peck at the mantas bums until there was an explosion of manta poop. I mean gallons here. It was kind of an unusual thing to see. Talk about muddy water. Finally someone decided to end the dive but I would have been happy to stay down there another hour. We had already been down there  over an hour and a half but were not using any much air because it was such a shallow dive and we were just resting on the bottom. 2006   www.dutchpickle.com

 

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