Muck Diving & Snorkeling

Muck diving & snorkeling is like an exciting underwater treasure hunt and is a macro photographer’s dream. Muck sites are typically on black sand and volcanic rock slopes, which are plentiful in our region. We are situated directly in Kalabahi Bay with best access to both the reef sites of the Pantar Strait and the Muck sites of the bay. For afternoon/night dives and snorkel sessions, we will usually stay in the bay focusing on said treasure hunt. And if you can’t Muck enough, we also do Mucky Mornings, looking for the tiny & the weird all day!

Experienced Muck explorers may be familiar with Indonesia’s Lembeh Strait and all its fantastic critters. Luckily, in Kalabahi Bay we can find the same wonders – but without the crowds as we are the only operator in the bay having put most of the Muck sites on the map and we keep on exploring! For divers & snorkelers new to Muck, the sites may at first appear quite plain and devoid of corals and swimming fishes, but on second look are full of some of the planet’s most fascinating and bizarre bottom dwelling creatures.

Muck Highlights- Join Us On Our Daily Critter Hunt -

Alor’s Muck Bay

Your favourite critters just a stone’s throw away

The Kalabahi Bay is not only the home base to Alami Alor but also offers a variety of muck sites located two to 15 minutes from the resort by speedboat. From rubble and soft coral slopes to black silty bottoms, a variety in site scenery and critter types at each place keeps us on constantly on the lookout for new tiny and weird animals.

Capital of Rhinopias

They are always here – you just need to find them

Rhinopias are a special genus of scorpionfish. The are often referred to as the “holy grail of macro photography” because they look awesome and can only be found in a handful of regions world-wide. In Alor we have several sites where Rhinopias reside. They are always on the move and notoriously difficult to spot but on a good day we can be lucky enough to spot even a few of them.

Night Dives | Sunset Snorkeling

Get ready for a fantastic spectacle

Muck diving and snorkeling in Alor can already be fantastic during the day. But the fading light just after sunset and the following darkness really takes your diving and snorkeling experience to the next level. When the bottom-dwelling “night shift” takes over, you get to see completely different critters that you might never encounter during the day. Our house reef is particularly great to go out for a sunset into night snorkel session, when you have best chances to see the colourful and cute mandarin fish!

Discover Alor’s Muck Sites- A Paradise for Critter Lovers -

All
Fish
Nudibranchs
Cephalopods
Crustaceans
Night Dives
Video

Weedy Scorpionfish

Bobbit Worm

Psychedelic Batwing Slug

Sagaminopteron psychedelicum is a hidden star. Due to its size of less than 1cm these slugs are hard to find but stunning nonetheless.

Coconut Octopus

This fellow chose its new shell in front of us and posed for the camera like a pro.

Frogfish

Halgerda sp.

Tambja morosa

Coleman Shrimp

Coleman Shrimps can be found on fire urchins. In Kalabahi Bay we have plenty of the urchins so we are always on the hunt.

Juvenile Paddleflap Rhinopias - Alor - Faris Alsagoff

Juvenile Rhinopias

Spotting a Rhinopias underwater is already exciting. Now imagine you spot a baby Rhinopias. They look pretty much like the adult version but it's still very cool.

Juvenile Cowfish

Miamira magnifica

Pygmy Squid

Mushroom Coral Pipefish

Harlequin Shrimps

This couple roams the sea floor like Bonny & Clyde always looking out for a new sea star they can steal and devour in their home.

Thuridilla slug riding on Rhinopias

It looks like photoshopped but we really saw this slug climbing on a Rhinopias. After that it even got swallowed by the fish and spat out again flying through the water. Poor guy!