North Komodo or Alor for photography

Hi, I was making plans to dive south Komodo/Rinca in July, hopefully to hit Horsehoe Bay, Canibal Rock, etc., but a divemaster who currently works in Komodo told me that July is a bad month for the south part of the park. So my question is this, are there many sights in Northern Komodo that yield good photography opportunities, wide angle or macro, or will it mostly be drive by shootings in the current? I have dove in Northern Komodo before and loved it, but there wasn't much for macro (dive guide inexperience?) and the sites with the big fish: Castle Rock, Crystal Bommie etc were a lot of work in the current without a camera. I would be diving with a much more experienced local guide this time so maybe that would help? Or should I just scrap the whole thing and go to Alor instead?

Kinda feel like I answered my own question, but any insight for/against Komodo or for/against Alor in regards to photography would be much appreciated.

Thanks

I probably need a bit more clarification. What kind of photography are you looking to do more? Macro critters or WA coral/fish? Horse Shoe Bay is a popular place for macro photography. The whole Southern Komodo is bad in the winter months thing comes from visibility, which "in general" is better in the rainy season. But more importantly the upwellings in the dry season brings up cold water and nutrients, which makes it an awesome place for marine life. Plus if you are shooting macro, viz isn't as important. The northern sites has the big schools of fish as well as coral coverage. Komodo is naturally protected from bleaching by the cold currents from the south.

Alor (and the surrounding islands) has some awesome sites too. A few sites around the neighboring islands are just other worldly.

I'd do both really

I probably need a bit more clarification. What kind of photography are you looking to do more? Macro critters or WA coral/fish? Horse Shoe Bay is a popular place for macro photography. The whole Southern Komodo is bad in the winter months thing comes from visibility, which "in general" is better in the rainy season. But more importantly the upwellings in the dry season brings up cold water and nutrients, which makes it an awesome place for marine life. Plus if you are shooting macro, viz isn't as important. The northern sites has the big schools of fish as well as coral coverage. Komodo is naturally protected from bleaching by the cold currents from the south.

Alor (and the surrounding islands) has some awesome sites too. A few sites around the neighboring islands are just other worldly.

I'd do both really

Thanks for the reply Drew,

For clarification, I will already be diving N.Suluwasi, mainly Lembeh, for the frist two weeks of my month long trip in Indo and be concentrating on macro. So I thought Komodo would be a nice change as there is potential for both wide angle reef/fish shots, and macro; Horse Shoe Bay in the south. BUT I was told that bad vis, surface chop and much colder tempertures are prevalent in the summer months of July through September and make for a miserable experience in the south. I realize shooting macro is still ok in bad vis, and cold temps can be remedied with wetsuits, but since I am prone to sea sickness, the bad surface conditions would indeed make this miserable for me. + apparently divemasters aren't too thrilled to head that way during those months anyway.

I am most at home with macro shooting, but I think half way through the trip I will want to start experimenting with WA, so I have narrowed it down to Northern Komodo or Alor. Maybe both, but I have only two weeks left in the trip and flight connections to Alor seem a little time consuming.

You say that nutrient upwellings from the south occur in the dry months, so would this make for lower vis in both Komodo and Alor?

Anyone been to both places?

Anyone been to both places?

Been to Komodo twice, land based in Aug 08 & live-aboard late Sept 09.

Been to Alor in Aug 09.

Both are class locations.

Alor is better if you are land based, Komodo is better if you are going on a live-aboard.

However Jul/Aug is not the best time to visit Komodo.

Alor had amazing viss,30-40 m at some sites & perfect topside conditions.

The walls are really colourful. Not too many fish in the blue water when there was no current.

With current there were sharks, bumperhead PF, tuna etc. There are a couple of good muck sites & there is a chance to see Mola mola in the south.

See links for my trip report on scuba board.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/indonesia...lor-lembeh.html

and

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/indonesia...modo-ambon.html

However Jul/Aug is not a good time to visit Komodo.

Interesting, why not?

Steve

Interesting, why not?

 

Steve

Jul/Aug are generally windy,especially in the afternoons.

Surface conditions are not great.

When i was there in Aug, diving land based, the journey back to the harbour was uncomfortable. If you are prone to sea sickness i would not recommend a visit in Aug.

I have also read several reports that some liveaboards have been unable to visit the southern sites due to the large swell.

My last trip to Komodo , late Sept, the surface conditions were perfect. Beautiful diving conditions.

OK, you got my attention...

Several of us are booked on the Komodo Dancer's Flores - Alor itinerary in early June. What kind of weather / conditions can we expect?

(Sorry for interrupting the thread)

OK, you got my attention...

Several of us are booked on the Komodo Dancer's Flores - Alor itinerary in early June. What kind of weather / conditions can we expect?

 

(Sorry for interrupting the thread)

Lucky you.

I am no expert, but the conditions should be fine.

From my limited experience and based on all the research i done before my trips generally;

Apr/May and Sept/Oct are the best months to visit both Alor & Komodo. Dec-Feb and Jul/Aug are windy.

Generally wind is the main problem. Komodo does not get much rain.

Not sure how the seasons impact water temps or marine life.

Jul/Aug are generally windy,especially in the afternoons.

Surface conditions are not great.

I can see what you mean if your land based. When I was there last July the liveaboard had plenty of calm (wind) sites to choose from on the Northern side of the islands. You don't get as much of the big stuff but is still pretty special.

Cheers,

Steve

I was in Komodo on the Arenui the last 2 weeks of July last year. It was a great trip - we are returning end of June this year. It was really rough making the crossing between Bali and Lombok at the start of the trip - but the Komodo area was no real problem. We spent 3 days in the southern area (Rinca)- SPECTACULAR diving. Currents weren't bad - was able to shoot macro no problem. Water temp wasn't horrible - 73 - 76 F. 5 mil was fine. It was rough when we turned the corner around the bay to go to Manta Alley - which had ripping current (but tons of mantas : ). Visibility was fine at all sites - exceptional in the North. Castle Rock vis was easily 35 meters. Here is a link to some pictures from that trip:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bversteegh/se...57624517079967/

I was in Komodo on the Arenui the last 2 weeks of July last year. It was a great trip - we are returning end of June this year. It was really rough making the crossing between Bali and Lombok at the start of the trip - but the Komodo area was no real problem. We spent 3 days in the southern area (Rinca)- SPECTACULAR diving. Currents weren't bad - was able to shoot macro no problem. Water temp wasn't horrible - 73 - 76 F. 5 mil was fine. It was rough when we turned the corner around the bay to go to Manta Alley - which had ripping current (but tons of mantas : ). Visibility was fine at all sights - exceptional in the North. Castle Rock vis was easily 35 meters. Here is a link to some pictures from that trip:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bversteegh/se...57624517079967/

Great photos. Where did you see the Mola mola? Crystal bay Bali?

I have been trying to see one the last few times i have been diving in Bali,without success.

Been to Komodo twice, land based in Aug 08 & live-aboard late Sept 09.

Been to Alor in Aug 09.

 

Both are class locations.

Alor is better if you are land based, Komodo is better if you are going on a live-aboard.

However Jul/Aug is not the best time to visit Komodo.

 

Alor had amazing viss,30-40 m at some sites & perfect topside conditions.

The walls are really colourful. Not too many fish in the blue water when there was no current.

With current there were sharks, bumperhead PF, tuna etc. There are a couple of good muck sites & there is a chance to see Mola mola in the south.

I'll have to disagree with the accessment that Alor is best done land based. If you just want to dive Pantar Straits, which has very good diving, then maybe basing on Pantar Island would be a good idea. The boat rides are still pretty far, especially if you hit the southern Pantar sites.

With liveaboards, you can dive 4 dives a day easily, exploring a site's best and worst moments. you also have the flexibility of heading to Lembata for the excellent macro there, head south into the Savu Seas etc. There's a lot more to diving the area than just the Pantar Straits, which isn't boring by any means. Regarding the Molas, the south Pantar sites do have Molas, as would anywhere along the Ombai strait where the Indonesian throughflow is strong. The Lombok Strait is a better spot because the Indonesian throughflow is between the 2 island and thus there is less area to cover for Mola activity.

Re landbased in Komodo

when you do landbased diving from Komodo, you will always feel the beating of the 2 hour boat rides into the park from Labuan Bajo. Anyone serious about diving Komodo should first consider liveaboards. Coming out from LB, you don't always get the best timing to dive the marquee sites. It's downright dangerous when everyone wants to dive Tatawa Kechil or Batu Bolong and they go at the wrong tide because they can't get there at the right time to dive the site properly.

Re landbased in Komodo

when you do landbased diving from Komodo, you will always feel the beating of the 2 hour boat rides into the park from Labuan Bajo. Anyone serious about diving Komodo should first consider liveaboards. Coming out from LB, you don't always get the best timing to dive the marquee sites. It's downright dangerous when everyone wants to dive Tatawa Kechil or Batu Bolong and they go at the wrong tide because they can't get there at the right time to dive the site properly.

yes, I completely agree with Drew.

Last year I dived Komodo northern sites start of august, from a supposedly recommended landbased dive center in Labuan Bajo (one I had many issues with, including safety), it's very frustrating to ride 4h during the day just to get 2 hours diving, add on top of that the diveboats aren't the most comfortable ones (something I never understood why given so much time spent in boat ride, the centers do not invest in bigger more comfortable boats). My gallery is here

Central sites like Batu Bolong are almost always accessible but if the conditions aren't right with heavy swell coming from Sulawesi, northern sites like crystal or castle rock won't be accessible with those dive boats.

On the other hand, if you want to try somewhere off the beaten path that combines coral wide angle and muck macro which is not too far too reach from Bali, you could also try Maumere, but then I'd recommend going to Ankermi instead of Seaworld (both have a divecentre but Alex from seaworld although being the pioneer diver in Maumere is too focused on wall diving, missing too many macro ops, whereas Kermi is more muck minded). Here's my gallery on Maumere

Great photos. Where did you see the Mola mola? Crystal bay Bali?

I have been trying to see one the last few times i have been diving in Bali,without success.

The Mola was at a cleaning station at Manta Alley (Gili Lawau Laut Island) - just to the west of Rinca. We dove the site twice - first time was a dud (slack tide and little current) - second dive current was ripping and tons of mantas plus the Mola. One of the best dives of my life. The cleaning station was about 80 feet - between non-stop mantas and the Mola's - ended up in deco because I wasn't watching my computer closely enough. Can't say enough good things about the diving in South Komodo/Rinca - it is absolutely non-stop incredible photo-ops.

(something I never understood why given so much time spent in boat ride, the centers do not invest in bigger more comfortable boats).

One word, Luko, COST! Labuan Bajo dive centers cater to the backpacker/budget a lot of times. To have speed boats with 2x 250 engines to get there in 45mins would mean 10x more fuel costs and bigger investment in sturdy boats. Even though fuel is subsidized, it'd be impossible to offer a product that costs less than $200 a day with a speed boat option, and that steps into the liveaboard price range.

One word, Luko, COST! Labuan Bajo dive centers cater to the backpacker/budget a lot of times. To have speed boats with 2x 250 engines to get there in 45mins would mean 10x more fuel costs and bigger investment in sturdy boats. Even though fuel is subsidized, it'd be impossible to offer a product that costs less than $200 a day with a speed boat option, and that steps into the liveaboard price range.

Drew, I was not speaking about speed boats but probably larger fishing boats, like the ones in Thailand or even Vietnam, some boat where there is a space to store dry items and change clothes, a shady part where it is possible not to sit on the tanks, a sundeck where all the people onboard can at least lie, a ladder where it would be possible to come up with full equipment.

I am not sure some of the dive centres that also sell accoms up to 150USD per night are catering to the backpackers crowd.

Indo fuel is some of the cheapest in Asia, maybe if a daring dive centre entrepreneur could invest into a larger boat, they could probably attract the non backpacker crowd. Labuan Bajo as you know is getting more and more tourism (try to find a room start of august you migt see yourself sleeping on the deck of a boat anchored in the harbor), in this crowd many are not especially the young and cheapskates. I've talked with MANY likeminded people in their 30s/40s I met in Flores who didn't want to go on a liveaboard but wouldn't have complained on more comfort against a higher price, and why not a 3rd dive option on the way out or back... similarly to what is done in Phuket.

For some reason the dive centre I was diving with in LBJ didn't want to hear any of the client needs, even the basics... it seems there is something locally in parts of Indonesia that is stronger than that... call it inertia, or deafness...

I am just wondering why the countries around propose nice day trip boats (I've even been on large safari bangkas in the Phils which were more comfortable than the medium sized pinisi most use in LBJ!!! (I've heard CN dive have a larger and better boat though I haven't seen it).

Thanks all for the replies. Kevster thanks for steering me to your trip report on Alor. Very helpful. And thank you for your photography specific experience with the currents. Great pics bversteegh! Now that is the kind of experience i am hoping for in Komodo.

I keep hearing different things about Komodo/Alor this time in July. It seems by bversteegh's experience, the south is definately doable. Though Kevster and others have said that seas are rough. I will not be diving from a land based op, so no need to discuss the daily crossing from LBJ to Komodo. I did that the first time on the way to the liveaboard. It was a windy day which made for a wild ride and not worth repeating. I am actually considering CN Dive's liveaboard (Luko mentioned them. Great pics too btw!) mostly because of the great price they offer, but also because of the good reputation they seem to have.

Alor sounds good for macro and Wide Angle reefscapes in slack tide, but a little less convenient to get to then Komodo. I know southern Komodo is great for photo ops, that's where I really want to go. But in July this might not be an option. Any more insight is much appreciated. Thanks!

The whole Southern Komodo is bad in the winter months thing comes from visibility, which "in general" is better in the rainy season.

In general how is the weather over the Christmas/New Year period around Komodo? Is this a decent time to do a live-a-board?

Thanks,

Elmer