Dive Review of Pindito in
Indonesia/Maumere, Flores to Bali

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Pindito: "Pindito liveaboard adventure", Jun, 2016, by Frederick R. Turoff, PA, US ( Top Contributor 35 reports with 15 Helpful votes). Report 9089.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	This was my 8th trip to Indonesia. Our group did a smart thing - we stayed in Ubud in central Bali for 3 days before heading by air to Maumere on Flores, where the Pindito was docked. This allowed us to acclimate somewhat to the time change and to see some areas of Bali before going diving. [My wife and I also stayed 3 days after the boat returned to Bali to sightsee more.] For any who have not been to Bali, consider time before and after diving to see this wonderful island and culture. Our group leader dealt with Pindito representative Clay Wiseman, who helped arrange the villas in which we stayed in Ubud plus several meals. After an easy checkout dive by Flores, which had a mobula ray tease us in the distance, we embarked on 10 days of diving with excellent sights. Spending several days in Komodo National Park allowed us one afternoon of hiking Rinca Island and having close encounters with the dragons, which complimented the varied diving found there. Over the course of those 10 days we had several close manta flybys, found Coleman shrimp and Xeno crabs in fire urchins, saw the largest spotted eagle ray I've seen (thought it was a manta from behind), nudibranchs galore, many healthy corals but some areas of extreme bleaching (especially around Mojo, north of Sumbawa), a terrific variety of fish by size and number, including several huge schools that one could not see through. Aside from the large rays and only a few sharks, fish sizes ranged from Napolean wrasse and large groupers down to pygmy seahorses. Shrimp and crabs were everywhere, and both octopi and cuttlefish visited often - one dive had four large octopi in a small area. On occasion, strong currents made for drift dives or reef-hook dives (aptly named Shotgun provided a ride too fast for photography). One night dive produced a large stonefish wobbling across the bottom and hopping into a perch in a coral head. In the Komodo area, water got cooler where a current brought southern water into the area. Generally however, the water temps were warm enough for a 3mm suit to be adequate for thin folks like me. Warm water made my dives easy, but it did have an effect on the corals as noted. On board, the crew was helpful and having a dive shop owner along in our group made on-board repairs easy. Crew carried BC-tank-reg combos to the three zodiacs for us, and took them off. Nitrox was free. They entertained us in evenings with guitar and singing - several of us joined in. The last night we were serenaded by the entire crew and then joined in dancing with them. The 16 of us were divided into three dive groups and rotated divemasters each day. They were all fine at pointing out small and large stuff, and gave detailed pre-dive briefings. One was Ronan Debelius, the son of famous underwater life author Helmut. Between dives there were areas to sun or stay out of the sun but outside. Several of our group did yoga in the mornings to greet the sunrise. Food was plentiful, although there were more fried dishes than I normally eat. Snacks were always available, as was fresh fruit. We were encouraged to drink water often and kept a bottle for drinking water in our room, filling it when needed from the dining-area dispenser. Meals were family style except breakfast, which we ordered the night before from a menu. Juices, soft drinks and beer were complimentary while wine was extra or brought on by a guest. The Pindito was built by Edi Frommenwiler, an early explorer of Indonesia diving who is still active. We were treated to a video showing the process to build the boat and introducing us to Edi's photo and video work. He did a fine job and his crew made our trip quite enjoyable. The boat is friendly and provides an enjoyable experience for all.
Websites	Pindito
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	USVI, BVI, lesser Antilles, Bonaire, all three Caymans , Coco Island, Revillagigedos, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Philippines, Micronesia, Red Sea
Closest Airport	DPS & Maumere	Getting There	USA-HKG-DPS
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	calm, currents
Water Temp	77-85°F / 25-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	15-100 Ft/ 5-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	dives never exceeded 95'. most dive times went a bit over 1 hour for the entire group.
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	Squadrons
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Camera room was amidships on dive deck. Adequate room for us but not all used a camera - if all did, more room is needed. Table space, storage and electricity were fine for our group. Rinse tanks on Pindito but not on zodiacs. Crew handled cameras with care.

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Dive Review of Pindito in Indonesia/Maumere, Flores to Bali

Pindito: "Pindito liveaboard adventure", Jun, 2016,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Pindito in
Indonesia/Maumere, Flores to Bali