One of the reasons we decided to settle in Alor of all places in Indonesia was that it offered the best of both diving worlds, beautiful reefs and critters in the muck. Kalabahi bay is gaining in popularity following the surge in underwater macro photography. To the uninitiated, muck diving is very different from coral reef diving, it gets its name from the sediment that lies at the bottom of many dive sites, usually a muddy or mucky environment. On these muck dives, we search for special, strange and unusual critters, the “wonders of muck”. Kalabahi bay is a volcanic region so the sand in this bay is black, this usually is where the bizarre critters dwell. We highly encourage trying muck diving if you are new to it, as for some it can become highly addictive, because the more you search for these odd creatures, the more it becomes somewhat of a treasure hunt. A number special critters have been encountered in Kalabahi bay, these little gems include rare species of nudibranchs, a wide range of colourful and unique octopus such as the blue ring octopus, the hairy octopus, coconut, mimic and wunderpus octopus; a wide range of species of pipefish and ghost pipefish such as the Halimeda ghost pipefish, robust, ornate (harlequin); mandarin fish, painted and clown frogfishes, as well as pygmy seahorses including the Bargibanti pygmy seahorse, and many more. Other sought after critters are of the crustaceans family such as the harlequin shrimp, marble shrimp and mantis shrimps.
Underwater photography
One of the most sought after critters to photograph in Alor is of course the rhinopias. It’s also a very popular activity. In Alor it is possible to see two different species of rhinopias, the rhinopias eschmeyeri also known as paddle-flap scorpionfish and the rhinopias frondosa commonly called the weedy scorpionfish.
rhinopias eschmeyeri
rhinopias frondosa
Here at Alor Tanapi Dive Resort we are especially passionate about muck diving and underwater photography. Our founder and co-owner is originally from Bunaken in North Sulawesi, and has over 10 years of experience in scuba diving in Indonesia, and at least 7000 dives of guiding guests. With his eagle eyes you will be able to spot a number of creatures that would be otherwise easily missed.
Remember to maintain excellent control of your buoyancy at all times as the fine silt takes time to clear and settle on the bottom again, unlike heavier sand which is made up of larger particles. For this reason, muck divers tend to adopt a finning technique similar to that used by cave divers, this includes a slow frog-style kick and back finning as well as helicopter finning. You should place yourself in a horizontal position with your knees bent in such a way that your fins are raised up, above and behind you. We will be happy to give you some tips and techniques should you wish to improve your trim and buoyancy. For more photos of what you can see in Alor please visit our Gallery.
Read more about our diving in Alor.