About Mega Trusmi
The first thing I noticed was the hum of the engine fading as dawn broke, and the smell of strong coffee drifting up from the galley. I stepped out onto the sundeck just as the sky turned peach behind Kelor Island, the water slick and glassy. It felt unreal—like we were the only boat in the entire archipelago. At 88 meters, Mega Trusmi didn’t feel like a typical liveaboard; it moved smoothly, quietly, and had space that surprised us all. We were 11 guests in total, split across five cabins, but you’d never know it—there was room to disappear, to find a corner with a book or just stare at the passing cliffs.
Our first full day started before sunrise, anchored near Padar. We hiked the east trail as the sun crested the hills, lighting up the scalloped bays in layers of gold and rust. The view from the top had everyone quiet—no one talks much up there, just deep breaths and shutter clicks. After breakfast back on board, we motored to Komodo Island for the dragon walk. Our ranger carried a forked stick, but the big males moved slow, barely acknowledging us as they sunned themselves near the ranger station. Then Pink Beach: we swam close to shore where the sand gets its colour, and I found a tiny pink coral fragment, smooth as chalk, in my swim pocket.
Manta Point was mid-afternoon. The current was light, and within minutes, two mantas circled below us, one with a ragged tail, the other clean and wide. We drifted with them for nearly ten minutes before the crew waved us back—next stop, Kalong Island. Arriving at dusk, we took a small canoe into the mangrove channel just as the sky purpled and thousands of fruit bats erupted overhead, a swirling black plume against the twilight. Back on deck, someone turned on the karaoke machine. No one sang well, but the combination of warm breeze, Bintang, and terrible renditions of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ made it the kind of night you don’t plan but won’t forget.
Day three began with a surprise: Taka Makassar, also called the Banded Sea Snake Reef. We didn’t see any sea snakes, but the reef was thick with parrotfish and giant clams. Visibility was over 20 meters. Then Kanawa Island, where we had a final swim in the shallows before the long glide back to Labuan Bajo. The staff served fresh mango slices on the top deck as the port lights came into view. What stayed with me wasn’t just the wildlife or the views, but how Mega Trusmi itself balanced comfort and authenticity—spacious, yes, but never flashy. The indoor dining room felt like home when it rained, and the sundeck became our default living room.
