Kevster
Contributor
Alor Trip Report Nov 2012- Damai 1 Kupang- Maumere (11 nights)
This was my 2nd trip to Alor.
1st trip was land based in Aug 2008. http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/indonesia/302816-big-trip-indonesia-part-2-alor-lembeh.html
Flights
Perth-Bali return cost approx $650 on Jetstar.
Bali-Kupang on Garuda.
Maumere-Bali on Wings.
The domestic flights were arranged by the Damai office, cost approx $300.
Hotels
1 Night in Bali before trip. Stayed at Bali Paradiso Hotel. Approx $120/night. Good location & excellent value for money. I will return to this hotel.
Boat
The boat, the Damai 1 was fantastic. Live-aboarding at its best.
Weather
Fantastic weather. Sunny blue skies & flat calm seas.
Diving
Viss varied from 5-20 meters.
Water temp varied from 23-30 C.
Day 1 – 3 Good dives @ Pulau Kawula. Low viss, nice reef & lots of macro. Blue ribbon eels, nudis. Saw the only turtle of the trip on one of dives.
Day 2- 4 Dives at Beangabang. Macro/muck diving. A few frogfish, pipefish but nothing too special. A bit disappointing as I had read many fantastic reports about Beangabang. Had to abandon the night dive as I had a minor leak in my housing.
Day 3 – 4 Dives around Pulau Pantar/Puri. Mandarin fish dive at dusk.
Day 4 – 4 muck dives around Alor. 2 Rhinopeas, boxer crabs & lots of ghost pipefish.
Day 5- 1 dive at south side of Pantar. Cold water , nice reef but not much to see . 2 dives on wall at North side, great viss, nice fishy reef.
Day 6 – 3 Wall dives, 1 in the South, 2 in the North. The South wall dive @ Crucifixion point was excellent, ripping current & lots of fish, a huge grouper & a tuna.
Day 7 – 2 Wall dives @ Pulau kawula in the morning. Nice reef, sponges. White tip shark. 1 Bommie dive in the afternoon. Couple of white tips, moray, squid. Signs of dynamite damage to upper reef. Average days diving.
Day 8 – 1 Dive on Pulau Komba volcano. Ok dive but lots of current in all directions. Amazing to hear the volcano erupting while we were underwater. Spent evening viewing erupting volcano. A real highlight of the trip.
Day 9 – 4 Very good macro/muck dives @ Pulau Kawula . Perhaps the best dive day of the trip. Sizzler dive site was amazing. Similar to Lembeh/Ambon.
Day 10 – An excellent wall dive near Maumere. Lots of fans, and pigmy seahorse.
Overall the diving was a good mix of wide angle & macro dives. Unfortunately not much large fish life. One guest saw a small whale shark. I saw 1 turtle & maybe 3 white-tip sharks.
Summary
The Good
◦ The boat, crew & guests onboard.
◦ Topside scenery, volcanoes.
◦ Current dive in Alor & some great muck dives.
◦ Fantastic weather
The Bad
◦ Couple of days of average diving.
◦ Not much large fish life.
◦ Viss not as good as my last visit to Alor.
◦ Dynamite fishing heard at a few dive sites.
Overall it was an enjoyable trip. The wall dives in Alor were not as good as my last visit. However the macro/muck dives were better. The topside scenery is spectacular, especially the remote volcano. I would recommend this trip and I will probably return to Alor in the future.
I will post some photos later.
This was my 2nd trip to Alor.
1st trip was land based in Aug 2008. http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/indonesia/302816-big-trip-indonesia-part-2-alor-lembeh.html
Flights
Perth-Bali return cost approx $650 on Jetstar.
Bali-Kupang on Garuda.
Maumere-Bali on Wings.
The domestic flights were arranged by the Damai office, cost approx $300.
Hotels
1 Night in Bali before trip. Stayed at Bali Paradiso Hotel. Approx $120/night. Good location & excellent value for money. I will return to this hotel.
Boat
The boat, the Damai 1 was fantastic. Live-aboarding at its best.
Weather
Fantastic weather. Sunny blue skies & flat calm seas.
Diving
Viss varied from 5-20 meters.
Water temp varied from 23-30 C.
Day 1 – 3 Good dives @ Pulau Kawula. Low viss, nice reef & lots of macro. Blue ribbon eels, nudis. Saw the only turtle of the trip on one of dives.
Day 2- 4 Dives at Beangabang. Macro/muck diving. A few frogfish, pipefish but nothing too special. A bit disappointing as I had read many fantastic reports about Beangabang. Had to abandon the night dive as I had a minor leak in my housing.
Day 3 – 4 Dives around Pulau Pantar/Puri. Mandarin fish dive at dusk.
Day 4 – 4 muck dives around Alor. 2 Rhinopeas, boxer crabs & lots of ghost pipefish.
Day 5- 1 dive at south side of Pantar. Cold water , nice reef but not much to see . 2 dives on wall at North side, great viss, nice fishy reef.
Day 6 – 3 Wall dives, 1 in the South, 2 in the North. The South wall dive @ Crucifixion point was excellent, ripping current & lots of fish, a huge grouper & a tuna.
Day 7 – 2 Wall dives @ Pulau kawula in the morning. Nice reef, sponges. White tip shark. 1 Bommie dive in the afternoon. Couple of white tips, moray, squid. Signs of dynamite damage to upper reef. Average days diving.
Day 8 – 1 Dive on Pulau Komba volcano. Ok dive but lots of current in all directions. Amazing to hear the volcano erupting while we were underwater. Spent evening viewing erupting volcano. A real highlight of the trip.
Day 9 – 4 Very good macro/muck dives @ Pulau Kawula . Perhaps the best dive day of the trip. Sizzler dive site was amazing. Similar to Lembeh/Ambon.
Day 10 – An excellent wall dive near Maumere. Lots of fans, and pigmy seahorse.
Overall the diving was a good mix of wide angle & macro dives. Unfortunately not much large fish life. One guest saw a small whale shark. I saw 1 turtle & maybe 3 white-tip sharks.
Summary
The Good
◦ The boat, crew & guests onboard.
◦ Topside scenery, volcanoes.
◦ Current dive in Alor & some great muck dives.
◦ Fantastic weather
The Bad
◦ Couple of days of average diving.
◦ Not much large fish life.
◦ Viss not as good as my last visit to Alor.
◦ Dynamite fishing heard at a few dive sites.
Overall it was an enjoyable trip. The wall dives in Alor were not as good as my last visit. However the macro/muck dives were better. The topside scenery is spectacular, especially the remote volcano. I would recommend this trip and I will probably return to Alor in the future.
I will post some photos later.
