The Aurora Expeditions and Goldring Travel Indonesia and Borneo expedition on the Greg Mortimer continued with our time exploring more in the water, as opposed to on the land (and orangutans), coming to an end…but if it is going out, it is going to go out with a bang!
Our second full day in Komodo National Park was to be focused on swimming with Manta rays; noting that the night before we had quite a Manta ray show right by the side of the ship with a school of them, even performing barrel rolls (swimming in a circle with its belly to the sky) as a feeding technique.
We were visiting Manta Ray Alley, which has a relatively swift current that you have to “ride” from one end to the other. Unfortunately, the reality onboard is that quite a few guests on this ship (especially many of the highly discounted and voucher-paying Vantage “cruisers”) have no ability to recognize or respect their limited abilities, so Aurora’s expedition team created a list of those who were qualified as “advanced” snorkelers and those who were not. (Those not on the advanced list were placed on a “Happy Snorkeler” list; just another creative way to get the message (plea?) to those Vantage-related cruisers that “happy” is the way to go.
Admittedly, the conflicts with the Vantage people do not lie solely with Vantage. As I will be writing in a separate article, Aurora Expeditions carries much of the responsibility for the conflicts and compromises by marketing this “expedition” to both markets.
When I saw the list of “advanced snorkelers” and the number who had added themselves to it, I decided that a nice, quiet snorkel would be better than dealing with yet another potentially stressful and frustrating experience. I made the right choice, not that ultimately there were the feared issues, but because I had a fantastic snorkel with the “Happy Snorkeler” group. So, yes, I was a Happy Snorkeler.
I was in the first group of snorkelers and, ironically, the water flow direction surprisingly changed so that we would be swimming against a current; something the Noodle Soup group (those who use noodles as assisted flotation devices) simply could not do. (Note: There are those that use them to assist, which is fine, and those who use them to stay afloat, which is the issue. Because there are so many in the latter category – again, thank you Vantage-discount/voucher people- even snorkeling is compromised.) That said, Aurora’s expedition team was fantastic, getting everyone back into the zodiac without any guest panicking and then dropping us off into what would become the most fish-dense and diverse experience of the expedition to date.
While it was, again, frustrating that rather than being able to truly go off and explore for an hour or more, we had to stay fairly close to each other and with less snorkeling time, I pushed the limit and had a truly spectacular time in the water. My marine biology nerd kicked in as I observed micro-environment after micro-environment change every couple of feet…that is to the left, to the right, forward, toward the surface, and dropping into the depths.
Hanging around a sea turtle relaxing under a coral shelf, a pair of Moorish Idols elegantly swimming between corals, clownfish snuggling into anemones, damsels darting in and out of staghorn corals, large schools of fish of various sizes swimming by, cleaner fish doing their thing, parrot fish crunching away, puffer fish hovering, so many different angelfish, and so much more. I wish I could have stayed in the small, protected area for hours, just like I did as an unsupervised child in the reefs of Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles, in the Caribbean, but my time snorkeling with these adults in this marine wonderland (sea) was frustratingly up.
And that wound up being a somewhat fortunate thing, as local tour boats started arriving with snorkelers and divers, who, just after I got out of the water, began to overwhelm the small area. I do also have to mention that some of those local boats were operating in a scarily unsafe manner. I was just waiting for someone to get run over. (To my knowledge, that didn’t happen…on that day.)
Sometimes less is more, and that certainly was the case I had to convince myself of today. One must look at the quality of the experience more than the amount of time shown on a clock. Yes, this is – as in this instance – basically I was “putting lipstick on a pig”, but ya’ gotta do what ya’ gotta do and appreciate that even having this less-than-optimal experience was still a privilege.
We spent the afternoon at sea, sailing to Saleh Bay, Sumbawa, and a truly epic day of snorkeling with whale sharks and watching water buffalo racing. Talk about diversity!
We arrived in Saleh Bay planning to swim with whale sharks. I was originally a bit skeptical of the experience because, at least here, there are bagan (small floating platforms) that bait the water with small fish and plankton intended to attract younger whale sharks that live in the bay. I pretty consistently don’t believe in feeding wild animals as it can change their behaviors to their detriment. (In Tahoe we say, “I fed bear is a dead bear”.) But here, these younger whale sharks eventually become pelagic, swimming in the deep ocean waters mostly away from any human activity, so I think (I don’t know) that the long-term impact is probably not too negative.
The plan was to have the first group in the water at 5:45 a.m., just as the sun was up. The only problem was that Auroras’ internet was effectively out of service, so calling the bagans in advance was impossible. That required the expedition team to cruise zodiacs out to the first bagan, which was unattended, resulting in them cruising quite a way to a second bagan where there was no response. It wasn’t looking good, but the expedition team did not give up, and finally, after a long way from where we started, Success!
At about 6:30 a.m., a call was made for Groups 1, 2, and 3. (There were 12 groups of 8 guests overall, with the last group for folks that just wanted to observe from the zodiac.) I was in Group 3. I was shocked that there was so little sense of urgency, as nobody could guarantee these clearly elusive creatures would stick around. That was my fortune, as I was one of the first people in the water with these huge, gentle, and graceful giants.
While the water was a bit murky due to the plankton and small fish used to draw the whale sharks in, it was a peaceful and awesome experience. I did have my new video camera, but I wasn’t focused – sorry about that – on getting video or, frankly, getting any images other than those that will always reside in my head. (Sorry for the low-resolution images.) The sharks were so close that they filled your view and came within reach – though touching them was prohibited. (Of course, the expedition team was gently pulling away some guests who got too close.)
Our time in the water was limited to 10 minutes, which on paper seems like a very short, actually too short, time. But in reality it was perfect and, while the number of sharks reduced from five to two over the morning, everyone who wanted to snorkel with them did. Unlike the situations of enduring shortened time on the reefs, I had a feeling of imposing on these behemoths, so with gratitude I left the water with a sense of wonder, fulfillment, and a smile. (I know there are whale shark experiences elsewhere in the world, but this was my experience in the most exotic of destinations… and in a responsible way.)
You know I try to gently push my clients to “be comfortable being uncomfortable”. This morning, one of my clients was hesitant about swimming with whale sharks and had signed up to just observe from a zodiac. Fortunately, I saw my client after my return and noted it was just a peaceful and awesome experience and shouldn’t be missed. While my client rejected the offer at the time, I found out that the client did go (a space opened due to a cancellation) and was thrilled. Yay!!
Our day was then going to take a dramatic shift. The Greg Mortimer repositioned to another area of Sumbawa so we could visit Pamulung Village and then a very unique experience: Water Buffalo racing! And this would be a very unique experience, as this small village is the only one that holds races in muddy water rather than on land (and there are only a couple of places where that is held).
We had a “wet landing” and then on to five local buses for about a 20-minute ride to Pamulung Village, breaking us into very manageable groups.
I was surprised that this remote village had very good guides, who walked us through the village, stopping along the way to point out all the medicinal plants that grow throughout. The locals were friendly – please remember to say hello to people as you wander their town, as they are not objects but people! – and high-fiving the children and asking to take their photos are small moments of connection.
The town is 100% Muslim, and we heard a very long, loud call to prayer which interrupted a presentation on how to use the variety of herbs to make teas; two of which we were offered. It was a bit funny and a bit frustrating. Travel!
And then it was time for the big event! We bussed over to the “race track” where we were given fresh coconut milk and two tasty snacks made of rice paste, palm sugar and banana followed by a reenactment of a local wedding.
While that was going on, I headed over to the water buffaloes. Once again, my concern was over how these animals were treated, but they were clearly happy, healthy, and acted like little children wanting to just roll in the mud. Even after they raced, they were so relaxed and, once again, were focused on getting muddy in the water. (Maybe it was fun for them and a reprieve from plowing rice fields?)
And then it was race time. There were special guest jockeys: Some of the Aurora Expedition Team. It was an amazing and fun time for everyone. I’m not sure how much mud was inhaled or swallowed by the team, but they has a blast. And some of the locals were determined to complete their runs, which required knocking over a stick planted in the mud.
What a great experience!
Who gets to swim with whale sharks and enjoy water buffalo racing on the same day? We did!
That evening, as we started our two days at sea en route to Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo, for our Orangutan expeditions, Aurora Expeditions held its traditional BBQ. I do like the BBQ area on Greg Mortimer more than on Sylvia Earle and Douglas Mawson. The reason: The space is actually utilized better on those ships, which have a true dedicated second restaurant, that is, for me, sorely missed.
But relaxing with good food in the warm Indonesian evening after a mind-blowing day was simply perfect.
Next up: Our Orangutan Expedition!
