Diving Komodo and Alor in 2023... (4K)

What's up dive hards? We are back in beautiful Indonesia and I'm currently in Bali, which is one of my favorite places to just hang out and dive. But we've got an expedition to do. We're headed east to Komodo and Alor. Good morning! So we are on the Blue Manta which we boarded yesterday in Luban Bajo, a quick one-hour flight from Bali and unfortunately Bali this time was just a transit stop, just long enough to run a few errands, picked up a reel for my SMB, which is a silly thing to leave at home since Komodo and Alor are known for ripping currents, especially during the full moon. And of course that's what we're doing since we dive hard. But the main reason I picked this itinerary in particular is that it finishes in Alor. And Alor is known for some of the best diving in all of Indonesia, but it's also super remote and a pain to get to by air. And that's not necessarily the case for Komodo, and that's evident from the number of liveaboards that are anchored outside the harbor in Luban Bajo. But that doesn't mean that Komodo isn't worth diving. I've actually been itching to come back here for years, and to me what makes Komodo really special is that it has a little bit of everything. Beautiful coral reefs, interesting macro, big schools of fish, manta rays, and hopefully a lot of action. We just completed some of our Czech dives in the quieter areas of the marine park, and now it's time to do some of the signature dives of Komodo National Park. Let's go diving! So we had four great days of diving in Komodo National Park, mostly in the north, and this time around my favorite dive sites were Castle Rock and Batu Bolong. At Castle Rock we didn't have the best visibility, but we did have a ton of activity, fish everywhere, a giant school of GTs chasing fusiliers, very cool. And Batu Bolong is just one of the most stunning and vibrant reefs anywhere. I could dive that site over and over and over again. Unfortunately, our dives at Shotgun and Golden Passage, which are two sites that are famous for blasting you through beautiful coral reefs at high speeds, basically had no current. So typically when you time it right, there's a huge volume of water pushing through these narrow channels, and it makes for a really exciting drift. But I did have one of maybe my favorite night dives ever at a recently discovered muck diving spot that had just an incredible density of interesting critters. Multiple species of frog fish, scorpion fish, octopus, bobtail squid, shrimps, and crabs, and one massive nudibranch that I had no idea existed. Like I'm not normally a nudie guy, but the Malibe is something out of a horror movie. It's got this expandable flexible hood that it uses to engulf its prey with these fringing tentacles that are kind of like teeth that it uses to filter through. Terrifying. And now we're actually doing the crossing to Alor, and it's a long one, over 400 nautical miles. But we're going to be stopping along the coast of Flores for some dives, as well as doing some exploration dives at some offshore sites that have never been doved before. So we're currently in Alor trying to cross up the strait, and the current is so strong that we are full throttle and we're barely moving. We've been at that mosque for the last 30 minutes. Should be going around 10 knots. We're going less than 0.5. So if the currents don't ease up, I think it's going to make sense to go into the bay and do some muck diving. I'm no longer on the Blue Manta, but I am still in Alor, and the plan is to do another four days here, since the two days we had just isn't enough. And that's because there is something special about Alor. It's not a protected marine park, which means there aren't a ton of big fish here, but the coral reefs are some of the most colorful, healthy, and abundant that I've seen anywhere in Indonesia. You see, the strait between Pontar Island and Alor Island obviously has a ton of flow, but it also has the big island of Pura right in the middle, which disrupts some of that flow and results in strong upwellings, which not only cause some gnarly down currents and whirlpools, but also mixes together a lot of that nutrient rich water, which I think is at least partly why the reef and muck ecosystems here are so healthy and diverse. So I am currently at Nautica Dive Alor, which is a quaint, locally staffed dive resort on the eastern side of Alor, close to many of the best dive sites in the area. And while I normally prefer the ease and access of liveaboard diving, I want to experience this place with the locals that really know the waters here. So let's see what Alor diving is all about. So that was an epic trip to Indonesia. Over 40 dives in just two weeks, and it still didn't feel like enough. As far as destinations go, Komodo plus Alor is a hell of an itinerary, and the exploration dives we did in between the two were also really cool. And the Blue Manta is particularly well suited for this type of itinerary, not just because it's such a big and stable vessel, but also because it's just a well-oiled machine with a crew that's been working together for a long time. And we were really lucky to have Cedric as our cruise director. That guy is a legend. Seriously, some of the best dive briefings, and just a wealth of knowledge about diving in Indonesia. He actually spearheaded the discovery of some of the iconic hammerhead dive sites in So it was a real treat to do some novel exploration with him and the rest of the team. But for me, the most special part about this trip was Alor. It was my first time there, certainly not my last. And yes, it is hard to get to, but that means that it also has that raw charm of an untouched gem in Indonesia. Not just pristine reefs, but also the people. And I had the opportunity to get to know some of the local staff at Nautica and meet some of And it's clear that they are hardworking, genuine, beautiful people. And I often talk about conservation since, of course, I'm a passionate diver and I love this planet. But the reality is you can't talk about conservation without considering the communities that have to survive off these ecosystems. And especially in such remote areas, it's only the locals that can actually enforce any rules to protect what's there. And life in Alor is hard. The average salary is well under $50 a month. It's true subsistence living. And this is something that really stood out to me. Like the type of fishing practices that occur in Alor, for the most part, are not the exploitive fishing practices that I would expect in such a rich but unprotected marine area. And there aren't a lot of means there. So the fishing techniques are still quite primitive, but they tend to only hunt what's abundant. And yes, there are still some unsustainable practices like the fishing of thresher sharks and how lobsters are harvested. But in general, I was really inspired by the people of Alor and what the local freedivers can do with such basic equipment is nothing short of spectacular. Like these goggles are cobbled together with pieces of wood and scrap glass and rubber and fishing line. I don't know how you would even equalize with these, let alone have a seal, but they somehow do. And it is insane. And Alor will become more popular. It's just a matter of time until there's direct flights. And then there's going to be probably an explosion of divers. So now more than ever, it is so important that the dive industry supports the people here and make sure the incentives are in place to have this ecosystem continue to thrive into the future. So if you're planning on going to Alor, and if you're an experienced diver, you probably should go with an operation that takes care of their local staff and their communities. They should be treated with respect, provided humane wages, given the means to improve the lives of their families. Since in the end, a little extra love from the dive industry can go a long way in helping preserve this beautiful blue planet. And it's the right thing to do. So until next time, Dive Hard.