Alor: Macro vs wide angle

[outofofficebrb]

The humidity, where you open the case, affect the level of fogging you are going to get. AC room has lower humidity. If there is no AC room, find a shaded area away from any sources of humidity, like bathroom, dining room, etc.

If the case doesn’t have vacuum port to pull the humid air out of the case, but it has room to insert desiccant (silica gel) pouches in air gap between the housing & the camera without interfering the sensor or button operation, insert those pouches as many as possible.

Another trick is to bring a gallon ziplock bag and do the following:
1. Get a cup of rice grains from dive operator’s chef
2. Pour that rice grains in the ziplock bag.
3. Put a sheet of dry paper towel on top of the rice grains
4. Take the camera out of its housing.
5. Lay the empty housing with its lens face down on the paper towel.
6. Zip up the ziplock bag, while you are messing with your camera.
7. When you are ready to insert the camera back into the case, then, open the ziplock bag, insert the camera into the case as quickly as you possibly can.

The air inside your camera housing should be fairly dry and won’t fog up your lenses underwater.

I do something similar but mainly for storage with a portable dry bag and a Ruggard rechargeable desiccant that is recharged by plugging in. I use a Hakuba portable dry bag and have a small Govee digital hygrometer in there with my Ruggard (PDC-RC is the part number) when I am in places with no AC for weeks at time. (I also travel with some land lenses and electronics I worry about mildew/mold, which I’ve had some issue with for items that aren’t moved or used much in high humidity environments.) I can keep humidity levels at a more ideal range this way and I love it. You can alternatively use a dry bag or ziploc bag as well.

 

[outofofficebrb]

Incredible experience with the whales! What time of year was that? Were you on a liveaboard or a land based trip? Thanks!

Hi! We also saw blue whales in mid to late October and they were crossing in front of Alor Divers right up against the house reef. They were also up and down the strait a lot. Frequent sightings!

 

[Lorraine Mooney]

Hi! We also saw blue whales in mid to late October and they were crossing in front of Alor Divers right up against the house reef. They were also up and down the strait a lot. Frequent sightings!

Thank you for that! It is a destination I am planning on visiting in Autumn!

 

[Madacub]

The humidity, where you open the case, affect the level of fogging you are going to get. AC room has lower humidity. If there is no AC room, find a shaded area away from any sources of humidity, like bathroom, dining room, etc.

If the case doesn’t have vacuum port to pull the humid air out of the case, but it has room to insert desiccant (silica gel) pouches in air gap between the housing & the camera without interfering the sensor or button operation, insert those pouches as many as possible.

Another trick is to bring a gallon ziplock bag and do the following:
1. Get a cup of rice grains from dive operator’s chef
2. Pour that rice grains in the ziplock bag.
3. Put a sheet of dry paper towel on top of the rice grains
4. Take the camera out of its housing.
5. Lay the empty housing with its lens face down on the paper towel.
6. Zip up the ziplock bag, while you are messing with your camera.
7. When you are ready to insert the camera back into the case, then, open the ziplock bag, insert the camera into the case as quickly as you possibly can.

The air inside your camera housing should be fairly dry and won’t fog up your lenses underwater.

Neat trick. Based on my own experience plus what I've read, I don't think the rice trick is very useful as a cure once flooding has occurred, but it sounds like a good idea for a preventive. Thanks!

 

[Madacub]

I do something similar but mainly for storage with a portable dry bag and a Ruggard rechargeable desiccant that is recharged by plugging in. I use a Hakuba portable dry bag and have a small Govee digital hygrometer in there with my Ruggard (PDC-RC is the part number) when I am in places with no AC for weeks at time. (I also travel with some land lenses and electronics I worry about mildew/mold, which I’ve had some issue with for items that aren’t moved or used much in high humidity environments.) I can keep humidity levels at a more ideal range this way and I love it. You can alternatively use a dry bag or ziploc bag as well.

Wow! I didn't know such a product existed. How long does it last, or does that depend on the humidity conditions? And are you happy with the accuracy (as far as you can tell) of the Govee digital hygrometer? My understanding is that hygrometers are not very reliable (compared to thermometers for example), but that may be outdated now.

What are the dimensions?

And thanks for suggesting even more equipment for me to travel with....... /s

 

[Dan]

Incredible experience with the whales! What time of year was that? Were you on a liveaboard or a land based trip? Thanks!

In November with Pindito.

 

[Tambora Liveaboard]

Tambora planning to stay bit longer in alor this year from july-september, and september we do crossing trip Ring of Fire to cover Alor to Banda and finish at ambon, you might want check if your schedule with us

 

[Scubadiving4ever]

I had my first dive drip to Alor in 2023. I stayed at the new dive resort Alor Tanapi Dive Resort and it was amazing.

Everything is beautiful there. The restaurant is on the hillside that overlooks the ocean, and we got to enjoy beautiful sunsets as we relaxed after a days diving. The food was delicious, way more than I expected on such a remote island. The rooms are new and comfortable and they have AC!

The dives were amazing! The guides were super knowledgeable and did their best the make the dives fit our dive levels and asked us what we were interested in. They always asked us what we enjoyed and if there was something specific we were hoping for. I personally like a mix of corals and big animals, and I got both while I was there. They took us to spots that were known for beautiful coral gardens and then took us to spots that were more likely to see bigger things like hammerheads. And I was not disappointed! I got to see hammerheads, dolphins, mola mola, many different sharks. Of course I know they can't promise us anything, but I felt they truly cared to make it a wonderful experience for us. I felt extremely safe with them.
Regarding nitrox, while they didn't offer nitrox, I honestly did not feel like it was an issue.

I left the island with a full heart, and I plan to make my way back there as there is so much more to see and explore. 1000% recommend getting to Alor to dive and really enjoyed my stay at Alor Tanapi and will definitely be staying there again.

 

[outofofficebrb]

I had my first dive drip to Alor in 2023. I stayed at the new dive resort Alor Tanapi Dive Resort and it was amazing.

Everything is beautiful there. The restaurant is on the hillside that overlooks the ocean, and we got to enjoy beautiful sunsets as we relaxed after a days diving. The food was delicious, way more than I expected on such a remote island. The rooms are new and comfortable and they have AC!

The dives were amazing! The guides were super knowledgeable and did their best the make the dives fit our dive levels and asked us what we were interested in. They always asked us what we enjoyed and if there was something specific we were hoping for. I personally like a mix of corals and big animals, and I got both while I was there. They took us to spots that were known for beautiful coral gardens and then took us to spots that were more likely to see bigger things like hammerheads. And I was not disappointed! I got to see hammerheads, dolphins, mola mola, many different sharks. Of course I know they can't promise us anything, but I felt they truly cared to make it a wonderful experience for us. I felt extremely safe with them.
Regarding nitrox, while they didn't offer nitrox, I honestly did not feel like it was an issue.

I left the island with a full heart, and I plan to make my way back there as there is so much more to see and explore. 1000% recommend getting to Alor to dive and really enjoyed my stay at Alor Tanapi and will definitely be staying there again.

Thanks for your review! I’m glad to hear you had a good time.

Regarding nitrox, I have some data for comparison and context if anyone is debating the need for nitrox. My max depth, average max depth, and average depth in Alor was the same as my Raja Ampat dives. In contrast, my Komodo average max depth and average depth was shallower and similar to Bangka. (I used nitrox in all locations.)

With Alor Divers, if your air consumption is good and you’re taking advantage of the unlimited dive times plus maximizing the opportunity to do the house reef dives and jumping in 4 times a day repeatedly, it is nice to have. There were others diving air and they dived with their own guide and had a shallower profile. There’s still lots to see and it’s beautiful so it’s not an absolute must.

 

[Mauddyssey]

I've never been to Alor, and I understand it is outstanding for macro. But I've been to most of the macro specialty spots in Indo/Philippines a few times, and I think I'm all macro'd out for the next year or two! (Or so I say! Those things have a beguiling way of sucking you back in )

I usually go to Indonesia only in the Dec-Mar period, hence no Alor for me. But I'm getting a chance to go there this September. If I go to Alor, but I want to concentrate more on the larger creatures, not so much muck, what should I do? Any suggestions?

Or is Alor macro not to be missed, regardless of one's prior experience of macro elsewhere?

I see that Alor Divers is not on the main island. Their website is not clear about whether they have a/c. Do they do 3 boat dives + night dive each day? But they get good reviews on SB.

Alami Alor is situated closer to the bay, so less chances of going outside for the bigger stuff? Also they are a bit more expensive, but nitrox is included.

Tanapi seems good, but it is new (reviews?) and no nitrox.

I'll also check some details with the resorts themselves, but I thought I'd see what the people have to say. Thanks in advance.

Hi !

Alor is amazing for aswell bigger pelagic as the macro that is to offer. I personally would definitely not skip on that one, since the abundance there is just insane. But especially around September there is a higher change of some bigger pelagic stuff going around.

I just booked for June at this new resort Moko Alor. They offer also different types of dive packages. And have own shore house reef dives too. Looks all very slick (also.. A/C, warm water showers, 5G WiFi), maybe worth checking aswell !

I wish you all the fun in Alor, its' amazing there !