Mike Bryant website, dive trips and photo galleries.

Dawn, Komodo Island

The Dewi Nusantara. We

went to Triton Bay on her

in 2018.

Traditional sailboat

Our untraditional and

certainly more

comfortable ride.

Our third Mermaid trip,

we were in Raja Ampat

2016.

At the dock, Komodo

ranger station.

New Sign, 2019.

Dragons on Komodo

Rinca Island, Horseshoe

Bay.

The color of these Rinca

dragons looks different

to the ones on Komodo.

And they swim.

Sungeang Volcano,  2019.

Still puffing, five years

after our first time. 2019.

Sungeang, underwater

volcanic vents. Note the

sulfur on the seafloor.

Hot water coming from

them as well.

Barrel sponges. I seldom

get to shoot big wide

angle subjects, need

clear water and good

sunlight above.

Colorful crinoids.

Giant clam, about 2 feet

long, surrounded by

corals

Sand Divers, use their

tails to burrow down into

concealing sand. 2019.

Sand Divers, gone in less

than a second when they

"dive". 2019.

Stingrays 2019. Big, at

least 5 feet across.

Stingray 2019, stirring up

the sand looking for food.

Reef Manta

Reef Manta 2019

2019.

Green Sea Turtle

Green Sea Turtle

2019.

Schooling Jacks, 2019.

Note the pounding surf

overhead!

2019.

Ribbon Sweetlips

Convictfish School

A mass of juvenile

somethings!

Common Lionfish

Spotfin Lionfish

Shortfin Lionfish, color

variant

Spiny Devilfish--spines

are venomous.

Scorpionfish. The normal

coloration.

Scorpionfish, unusual

color variant, matching

its surroundings.

Another Scorpionfish

color variant, 2019.

Razorfish

Humbugs, named after a

black and white British

candy.

Chromis

Redspotted Pygmygoby,

left and Comical Blennie

on right

Whipcoral Goby, 1/2inch.

2019.

Redspotted Pygmygoby,

2019.

Fire Dart Goby, 2019

2019.

Midas Blennie. Color

variable

Midas Blennie. In their

hole, the coloration is like

this.

Titan Triggerfish. A biter.

2019.

Blackspotted Puffer

Whitespotted Puffer

Sixbanded Angelfish

2019.

2019.

Yellowmask Angelfish

2019.

Bluegirdled Angelfish

Regal Angelfish

Emperor Angelfish

Komodo, Indonesia. August 2014 and

2019, daytime

        Home Click HERE to enter galleries. Indonesia 1. The Good. Indonesia 2. The Bad. Indonesia 3. The Ugly. Indonesia 4. Nudibranchs. Indonesia 5. Critters. Great White Shark St Vincent, 2009 Red Sea, Egypt 2009 Galapagos Underwater Galapagos Land Machias Seal Island, Maine. June 2010 and May 2019 St Kitts and Saba, August 2010 Philippines, Puerto Galera January 2011 Fish. Philippines, Puerto Galera January 2011 Creatures Fiji, May 2011. Beqa Reefs Bali, Indonesia 2012. Fish. Bali, Indonesia 2012. Behaviors and critters. Bali, Indonesia 2012. Nudibranchs. Blue Heron Bridge, Riviera Beach, Florida. North Sulawesi 2013. Pipefish and Seahorses North Sulawesi 2013. Fish North Sulawesi 2013. Mostly Nudibranchs North Sulawesi 2013. Crabs and Critters North Sulawesi 2013. Cuttlefish and Octopus Blue Heron Bridge, May 2013 Komodo, Indonesia. August 2014 and 2019 daytime Komodo, Indonesia. August 2014, night dives Philippines, Dumaguete 2015 Fish Philippines Dumaguete 2015, Creatures and Critters Dominica 2015 and 2017. Before Hurricane Maria Raja Ampat, January 2016 Cayman Islands, October 2016 North Sulawesi 2017. Fish North Sulawesi 2017, Creatures Anilao, Philippines 2017. Fish Anilao, Philippines 2017. Eels, Pipefish Anilao, Philippines 2017. Crabs, shrimp, octopus. Anilao, Philippines 2017. Nudibranchs. Triton Bay, Indonesia. 2018 Villa Markisa, Tulamben. Bali, 2018. Fish and Creatures. Villa Markisa, Tulamben. Bali, 2018. Nudibranchs. Solomon Islands, April 2019 Siladen Resort. Siladen Island, Indonesia 2020 Coral Triangle. Things with stings. Coral Triangle. Frogfish. Coral Triangle. Crabs & Shrimp. Coral Triangle. Cuttlefish, Octopi and Squid. Coral Triangle Butterfly and Angelfish Belize, October 2021.

Komodo has been on the "must do" list for years and these trips did not disappoint.

Scenic cruising around thousands of islands, an erupting volcano (Sungeang),

traditional wooden sailing boats-- and a huge variety of dives.

We were on the Mermaid 1 which left from Bali--a live-aboard dive boat with

capacious cabins, great crew and food. The diving was warm tropical waters in the

north and surprisingly cool in the south, drifts in raging open water currents or

sheltered in calm coves. Both provided new and interesting critters. And of course, the

Komodo "dragons" (actually a huge variant of  the monitor lizard) were as expected.

Big! The  Dragons are on Komodo and Rinca islands between the Indian Ocean and

the Flores Sea. We were East of the Wallace Line, the biological divide between Asian

and Australian species, named after Alfred Russel Wallace, a naturalist from

Victorian times sadly less well known than his contemporary, Charles Darwin. The

dragons are descendants of an Australian animal. And a Google search of "Wallace

Line" is fascinating.

Our first trip was in 2014, we returned on the Mermaid 1 in 2019.   The 2019 photos are

labelled. It was a very different experience, there was a full moon and the tides were

higher, the currents were stronger which brought up deeper and colder water on the

southern leg of the itinerary. The trade off was many more Manta!

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