Crystal
Rock
A very
colorful dive with excellent soft coral coverage. Clouds
of anthias and schools of yellow-ribbon sweetlips are
always encountered while frogfish, moray eels and
scorpionfish are commonly seen. There is a small mound
northwest of the rock where different species of fish
school seasonally, including tuna and mackerel.
An
excellent dive usually worth doing twice. This name of
this site is from the very clear water surrounding it.
The top of the site is exposed at low tide. This site is
prone to currents, which usually flow eastwards. Best
time to dive is during slacktide.
Darat
Passage North, Gililawa Darat Island
The reef
slope is very rich in marine life and the sandy bottom
at 15m depth is covered in garden eels. On the approach
to the channel, turtles may be seen as well as a school
of giant sweetlips that live in a grotto near the
surface of the water. Around the southwest corner of the
island, the shallow reefs are extremely rich and full of
fish life. Bumphead parrotfish are commonly seen and
aggregate here to spawn annually around the month of
April. Sharks and schools of batfish also reside in the
passage. A large coral head about two thirds of the way
through the dive teems with life and activity.
An
excellent drift dive and good snorkeling can be found on
the northern side of the channel between Gililawa Darat
and Komodo Island. The dive can be done from east to
west or vise-versa depending on the current. The
visibility is usually better if diving from west to
east. Best to dive just before or after slack tide when
the current is not too strong. The best diving entry
point is on the reef slope on the west side of Gililawa
Darat Island, about 100 meters north of the channel.
Swim towards the southwestern corner of the island. The
current is usually very gentle in this area. The sandy
bottom starts at 15 m depth then drops away to about 35
m before rounding the southern corner of the island and
into the channel. Get ready to drift as the channel
becomes shallower and the current increases. Recommend
to stay shallow and on the northern side of the channel
as the deeper section of the channel has rubble, boat
traffic and a downcurrent at the end of it. You will
gradually get closer to the island towards the end of
the dive. The current eventually decreases near the end
of the dive.
Darat
Passage South
Turtles
can be seen on this pretty coral reef. At 20-25m depth
to the south of the point, many small coral trout, large
schools of anchovies and small tuna and trevallies come
in to feed in the bay. Deeper along the bottom of the
slope fish life increases; garden eels sway and whitetip
reef sharks sleep on the sandy bottom near the point.
Good
snorkeling here although a lot of damage has been done
by fish bombing and reef gleaning (meting).The entry
point for this dive site is inside the bay along the
eastern shore of the peninsula with the reef to the left
side of the diver. The best time to dive is when the
current is running from east to west through the narrow
passage between Gililawa Darat and Komodo Island. The
dive ends when the current brings you around the point.
The best place to see many fish while snorkeling is at
the tip of the point.Gililawa Bay is a good anchorage
for boats
dive sites :
1,
2,
3,
4,
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