3 Indonesian destinations Kalimaya - Komodo - Bali : Aug18 Trip report

[dirtfarmer]

I was assigned Coco as my guide, an experienced swiss girl instructor from Komodo and the Gilis.

I'm curious about your initial reaction to be assigned a westerner/gringo guide?
From this board I read that you are not enamored of their guiding/spotting skills, compared with Indonesians

 

[chillyinCanada]

Also, how do you compare it to Bangka.

 

[Luko]

Lastly, how would you compare Kalimaya with Alor regarding the House reef and over all abundance of fish, coral health and ecological diversity?

Immediately, Kalimaya reminded more of Alor than Komodo for some reasons. Probably the mix of macro/coral dives, the walls and the bountiful of corals as well.
The resort is also quite similar to Alor divers (plus a pool minus a white sand beach), Though I wouldn't say the housereef is up to Alor Divers' though, it's more of a slopy style reef with different patches that are def less corally than Alor's.

Generally I think on the macro side, Kalimaya area incl Sangeang would beat Alor (they told me they had rhinopias earlier in the year on the housereef but was gone AWOL when I came), even an easy victory for Kalimaya on the nudibranches. If I could bring some guide I know from Tulamben it would be a nudibranch massacre, it's so similar to Batu Niti or Melasti one of the guides told me he had seen the donut doto around I wasn't even surprized.

On the coral and fish I would state Alor has a lead, largely because I know more of Alor than this area but I haven't been disappointed so far. that is why I would like to come and dive for a longer time.
In a way Tippytoes has a point with the main problem : the better sites are quite a distance in the open sea, the near sites are limited I can understand it should be disappointing to be restrained a week to the closer sites due to weather conditions. East Sumbawa area is big, and the local sites cannot compare to the Banta/West komodo/Sangeang five star sites.

I'm curious about your initial reaction to be assigned a westerner/gringo guide?
From this board I read that you are not enamored of their guiding/spotting skills, compared with Indonesians

You have to take what I write with a pinch of salt, I am somehow ironical with the skills of a certain type of gringos (the ones that usually know more brands of beer than names of nudibranchs for instance).

I enjoyed diving with westerners I like to go with like Gilles or Bea in Alor, Nico/Manu at Dragon dive Komodo (or... Coco at Kalimaya). It's difficult for some of the remotest resorts to recruit local guides and keep them home Kalimaya is very new so everybody starts from the same line, it's not like there were veteran guides with 10.000 dives on the regional spots. (For the record, I've also seen useless veteran indonesian guides, who probably started before macro was hip )

That said I would not like to dive North Sulawesi or Tulamben with a western guide, except may be with very specific names.

Also, how do you compare it to Bangka.

Hooo... Eerrh... completely different...

Bangka is a very small area, Eastern Sumbawa is maybe ten times bigger.
Bangka is like a tended garden for me, Kalimaya is wilder. Skip it if you don't like going on a boat, diving in the current, etc.

As per the resort comparison Kalimaya is far above anywhere in Bangka (except the uber expensive Gangga of course).

 

[chillyinCanada]

I was talking about the diving and not the resorts.

Not worried about boats as I've never been on Murex Bangka house reef. I know, crazy, right?

 

[charlier]

Luko makes a good point regarding western Komodo. It is a wide open area, subject to large swings in current, and is not well explored. From Kalimaya, its a long boat ride across open water. It’s about 15 NM to G. Banta and 20-25 NM to western Komodo. In contrast at Alor, unless you drive way to the south, most dive sites are accessible in the Pantar Straits. It seems to me that western Komodo is frequently fished.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Hmm, Alor it is then.

 

[charlier]

Hmm, Alor it is then.

With limited time diving, I agree - Alor it is.

 

[billt4sf]

You have to take what I write with a pinch of salt, I am somehow ironical with the skills of a certain type of gringos (the ones that usually know more brands of beer than names of nudibranchs for instance).
.

Guilty as charged! (not a guide though)

- Bill

 

[paolobl65]

Thank you very much Ludovic for sharing your experience !
( .... I think you sold me this trip for next August .... )
and compliment as usual for the amazing pictures !!

do you ( and kalimaya team ) rate August the right period to get there ?
and what about moon phase ? is it better to be there during full/new moon ( like Alor ) ?
for sure I want to be there in a period that let me access the bettere and further away dive sites .

thanks again
Paolo

 

[Luko]

Thank you very much Ludovic for sharing your experience !
( .... I think you sold me this trip for next August .... )
and compliment as usual for the amazing pictures !!

do you ( and kalimaya team ) rate August the right period to get there ?
and what about moon phase ? is it better to be there during full/new moon ( like Alor ) ?
for sure I want to be there in a period that let me access the bettere and further away dive sites .

thanks again
Paolo

Replied to you in PM