Shark "Hunt" in Crystal Rock & Castle Rock

Bagi divers, bertemu hiu adalah suatu kesenangan. Binatang yang terancam karena maraknya pemburuan sirip hiu ini tidak mudah ditemui di sebagian besar perairan Indonesia. Bertemu satu ataupun dua hiu sudah merupakan keberuntungan dan kesenangan bagi saya selama ini. Namun disini saya bisa bertemu sekitar selusin hiu yang berseliweran seakan tidak perduli dengan kami, para divers. This sharks encounter is a wonderful feeling here, in Komodo.

For divers, seeing shark during diving is a pleasure. This animal are threatened due to rampant shark fin hunting, and now seeing shark isn't that easy anymore since the population is decreasing a lot. Seeing one or two sharks consider a fortune and big pleasure for me so far. But in here I saw about a dozen sharks milling about as, also these sharks seems not care at all. This shark encounter is a wonderful feeling here, in Komodo.

Beautiful Flores sea

Crystal Rock dan Castle Rock adalah dua spot diving di area perairan Flores dimana hingga saat ini bertemu hiu adalah jaminan 100% saat menyelam. Kedua spot menyelam ini letaknya berdekatan, yaitu di area timur laut pulau Komodo, Flores, dekat dengan Gili Lawa Laut dan Gili Lawa Darat.

Crystal Rock and Castle Rock are two diving spots in the Flores sea where guarantee 100% that you will meet sharks during diving. This two diving spots located not far away to each other, and lies in the northeast area of the Komodo island in Flores, close to Gili Lawa Laut and Gili Lawa Darat. 

White tip reef shark

Schools of longfin bannerfish

Kedua spot ini cukup berarus sehingga entry dilakukan dengan cara negative entry (masuk ke laut dan langsung turun tanpa berkumpul di permukaan terlebih dahulu), tidak lama menyusuri coral slope maka kita sudah dapat melihat white tip reef shark berseliweran di area arus, bahkan saat di Castle Rock kami langsung menemukan hiu saat turun.

Both spots have strong currents so we have to do the negative entry by emptying the air in our BCD (Buoyancy Control Device). Miling down the coral slope we can already see white tip reef sharks around. Also even in the Castle Rock, we immediately found the shark when we first descend.

Giant Trevally

Netfin Grouper

This Napoleon wrasse is about 1,3 meters long

Selain white tip reef shark yang ditandai dengan warna putih di bagian sirip atasnya, di kedua spot ini juga banyak terdapat ikan besar lainnya, mulai dari Napoleon wrasse, Grouper berbagai jenis dan Giant Trevally. 

Beside white tip reef shark which is marked with white on the top of the fin, in both diving spot there are also many other large fish, ranging from Napoleon wrasse, different types of Grouper and Giant Trevally.

Schools of blackspot snapper

Di Castle Rock saya menemukan rombongan ikan Blackspot snapper dengan hiu white tip yang mondar mandir di dekat schooling tersebut, pemandangan yang sangat seru.

In Castle Rock I found the group of Blackspot snapper with white tip sharks back and forth near the schooling, incredibly exciting.

Spotted sweetlips with a group of Lattice soldierfish

Kedalaman maksimum untuk penyelaman di dua area ini sekitar 20 hingga 25 meter, di area 20 meter biasanya hiu sudah dapat dengan mudah ditemui. Saya bertemu hiu terus menerus hingga saya sudah berhenti menghitung saat lebih dari sepuluh hiu yang saya temui.

The maximum depth for diving in these two areas about 20 to 25 meters, in the depth of 20 meters usually sharks can be found easily. I met sharks continuously until I've stopped counting when more than ten sharks that came across.

Jauh dari kesan akibat film "Jaws," hiu bukanlah binatang yang agresif terhadap manusia. Hiu yang kami temui di area ini bahkan tampak cuek dan beberapa kali menjauh saat saya dekati untuk mengambil foto. Kali ini saya yang jauh lebih bersemangat dari si hiu dalam segi berburu foto. So this is a fun shark photo hunt! :)

Far from its bad reputation due to "Jaws" movie, sharks are not aggressive to humans. Those sharks we encountered in this area even seems ignorant to us and some time swam away as I approached to take photos of them. This time I was much more excited than the shark in terms of hunting photos. So this is a fun shark hunt photo! :)

@marischkaprue - wish to swim like dolphin, but friends with sharks

NOTES:

• Area penyelaman Crystal Rock dan Castle Rock cukup berarus, lebih disarankan bagi advance divers namun pemegang sertifikasi Open Water pun dapat menikmati area ini dengan pengawasan instruktur. Ikuti arahan dive master/ instruktur dan jangan melewati area penyelaman yang disarankan.
• Crystal Rock and Castle Rock are fast-current area, more recommended for advanced divers but Open Water certification divers can also enjoy this area with the supervision of an instructor. Follow the direction of the dive master / instructor and do not pass the recommended diving area.
• Saat bertemu hiu dekati dengan santai, biasanya hiu akan menjauh tapi akan berbalik arah dan berputar putar di area yang sama. It's fun seeing them! 
• When seeing sharks, relax and approach them if you want. The shark will usually swim away but will reverse its direction and turning in the same area. It's fun seeing them! 
• Selalu cek sisa udara di tabung. Penyelaman berarus cenderung lebih membuat kita boros konsumsi udara di tabung.
• Always check the remaining oxygen. Dive in the strong current make you consume more air.
• I dive with Komodo Cruise, cek info harga untuk paket live aboard (LOB) dan diving di info@komodocruises.com
• I dive with Komodo Cruise, for live aboard (LOB) and dive in Komodo, contact info@komodocruises.com

RELATED STORIES:

DIVING IN KOMODO, DIVE SPOTS:

•  Batu Bolong