Wainilu
Conditions & tides
Scored by DiveConnect's site-physics model
Marine forecast via Copernicus Marine. Score is a rule-based guide from swell/wind vs. the site's exposure — always dive your own assessment.
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About this site
Wainilu is a sandy muck slope on the eastern side of Rinca Island in Central Komodo, with a maximum depth of 30 m. The usual dive runs 5 to 15 m over staghorn rubble and soft sand, with mild current and visibility of 8 to 15 m, lower at dusk. It needs only Open Water certification.
The main attraction is the mandarin fish, which emerge for a short mating window at dusk, roughly 17:30 to 18:30 depending on the month, at 5 to 10 m. Wainilu is also a macro site, with ribbon eels, frogfish, pictured dragonets, blue-ringed, mimic and wunderpus octopus, zebra crabs, Coleman and harlequin shrimp, nudibranchs and snake eels, along with moray eels, cowfish and scorpionfish.
Marine life here
Confirmed by our research team, reported by independent divers, or observed nearby via iNaturalist — each entry is labelled with its source.
NudibranchNudibranchConfirmed present · 3 independent sources
Mantis shrimpMantis shrimpConfirmed present · 2 independent sources
Flying gurnardFlying gurnardReported here · unconfirmed
PipefishPipefishReported here · unconfirmed
Ghost pipefishGhost pipefishReported here · unconfirmed
SquidSquidReported here · unconfirmed
Hairy frogfishHairy frogfishReported here · unconfirmed
OctopusOctopusConfirmed present · 2 independent sources
ScorpionfishScorpionfishReported here · unconfirmed
Many-lobed CeratosomaCeratosoma tenueReported here · unconfirmed
Ribbon EelRhinomuraena quaesitaReported here · unconfirmed
Fingerprint TobyCanthigaster compressaReported here · unconfirmed
Slender ceratosoma nudibranchCeratosoma gracillimumReported here · unconfirmed
Varicose Wart SlugPhyllidia varicosaReported here · unconfirmed
Whitelip MorayGymnothorax chilospilusReported here · unconfirmed
Moorish IdolZanclus cornutusReported here · unconfirmed
Reef Manta RayMobula alfrediReported here · unconfirmed
MandarinfishMandarinfishConfirmed present · 2 independent sources
Harlequin ShrimpHymenocera pictaConfirmed present · 2 independent sources
Mimic octopusMimic octopusConfirmed present · 3 independent sources
SeahorseSeahorseConfirmed present · 2 independent sources
Garden eelGarden eelReported here · unconfirmed
RhinopiasRhinopiasReported here · unconfirmed
FrogfishFrogfishConfirmed present · 3 independent sources
Durable tips from divers — access, hazards, marine life, facilities. For day-of conditions, use the report tool in the conditions card above.
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