Get the most from your 'point + shoot' camera on an 11-night Special Photo Cruise with Les Argonauts
- - Komodo 11N Cruise: Embark BALI, 5 Sept 2012 - Disembark LABUANBAJO, 16 Sept 2012
- - Raja Ampat 11N Cruise: Embark SORONG, 2 April 2013 - Disembark SORONG, 13 April 2013
On these three trips you will be joined by 2 professional underwater photographers offering tips and advice on improving your underwater images. This is a great opportunity to learn more about the possibilities for underwater photography, especially aimed at ‘point + shoot' camera capabilities. The photographers from Les Argonauts will be giving insightful workshops and also offering one-to-one sessions for those who would like more assistance.
About Les Argonauts
With over twenty years of combined underwater photography and exploration between them, Les Argonaut founders - Michael and Helen - share an unbridled passion for photography, underwater exploration, and marine preservation.
From a past les Argonauts trip (April 2011), find out what they had to say about the Arenui experience:
"On this trip, we spent the first four and a half days discovering Wagmab, Farondi, Boo, and the area in and around Waylibatan and Fiabacet.
All spots were simply amazing, offering a great blend of shared and unique aquatic gifts. The treats weren't just contained to the underwater adventures. The staff, crew and facilities of The Arenui were exceptional. Our captain, Ivan and the entire crew were very friendly, thoughtful and helpful throughout the trip. We give the dining experience onboard two big thumbs up. Chef Putu and his assistant Ketut prepared delicious meals each and every time it was meal time. Great Stuff!
Final Verdict: Great time had by all. The Arenui scores high points in every category."
For a visual guide of what to expect on the Raja Ampat cruise, we have uploaded a video by Les Argonauts, again from April 2011: http://youtube/Euy0hr5AGUc
- - For more information on Les Argonauts and their incredible photography, go to http://www.lesargonauts.com
- - Keep up to date with this trip at our Facebook event page
Dive Komodo with Les Argonauts
5 ~ 16 September 2012
CRUISE OVERVIEW
Set sail from Bali – island of the gods - on a 12-day/11-night cruise, to explore all the famous dive sites of Komodo, ending up at the port of Labuanbajo on the west of Flores island. Relax as you enjoy nearly two-weeks cruising Komodo National Park for excellent muck diving, but also outstanding pelagic action. Whether its nudibranchs and rhinopias you’re after, or manta rays and schooling fish, this cruise really has it all.
This famous dive destination is located within the Coral Triangle, an area that boasts the world’s highest marine biodiversity. Situated 200 nautical miles east of Bali, in the Lesser Sunda Islands, the Komodo National Park has a total land area of 75,000 hectares and encompasses a number of islands, the largest of which is Komodo (34,000 hectares). A total of 112,500 hectares of the surrounding waters is also under the jurisdiction of the park rangers, allowing for the protection of over 1,000 species of fish and hundreds of different corals.
Komodo’s dive sites stretch from the warm waters of the Flores Sea in the north to the chillier waters down south in the Indian Ocean and vary from gentle coral slopes to heart-pounding adrenaline thrill rides. The underwater terrain presents many contrasts as well, with sheer cliff walls, pinnacles, sandy flat bottoms, underwater plateaus, slopes, caves, swim-throughs, channels, all with differing colours, sizes and types of both hard and soft corals. In Komodo, diving is all about diversity: exhilarating drift diving, interesting muck diving, encounters with pelagics (mantas, sharks, whale sharks, sunfish), macro attractions (pygmy seahorses, blue-ringed octopus, frogfish, ghost pipefish), shallow reefs, walls, pinnacles, seamounts, pristine hard/soft corals.
In terms of water temperature and recommendations for wetsuits, on the Komodo cruise you can expect 25C+ (80F+) so usually a 3mm wetsuit is fine but the southern dive sites in Komodo can drop down to 20-25C (70-75F) so some guests prefer a 5mm with hood.
Although there is diving year-round in Komodo, the best period is considered to be April through November.
SAMPLE CRUISE ITINERARY "KOMODO"
12 Day/11 Night Bali-Labuanbajo Cruise
Day 1 Embarkation in Bali
Day 2 Moyo and Satonda Island
Moyo is a small island, inhabited by around 6,000 people, located in the West Nusa Tenggara province off the northern coast of Sumbawa. There are spectacular coral formations and crystal clear waters which make for great diving. Satonda Island is as famous for its fruit bats as it is for its diving. Every night around sunset, millions of bats take off from here as they head to Sumbawa to feed. There is also the opportunity for a short trek to the inland lake, along a path full of butterflies.
Angel Reef
This site lies off the west coast of Moyo and consists of a healthy coral reef with a vertical wall dropping to over 40 meters in depth. Angel Reef has huge elephant ear and barrel sponges along the wall. It is teeming with long fin bannerfish and red tooth triggerfish. Search the sea fans here for our first chance to see the Denise pygmy seahorse.
Satonda Reef
Underwater the sloping reef and sandy bottom hide a large array of critters. An afternoon dive provides a great opportunity to search for giant frogfish nestled in the sponges, or mushroom coral pipefish snaking among the fronds of the mushroom coral. Nudibranchs, pipefish, even ghost pipefish and Bargibanti pygmy seahorses are regularly seen here.
