The Flores/Adonara/Lembata/Pantar/Alor islands of Indonesia lie toward the end of the Nusa Tengarra archipelago, 160 nautical miles directly south of the large island of Sulawesi and 500 nautical miles east of Bali. Most of this huge island chain is about eight degrees below the equator and enjoys calm seas and warm sunny weather throughout most of the year.

The different areas that the Komodo  Dancer operates in around Indonesia each have a distinctive feel to them, both underwater and on the surface. The architecture of the reefs and the corals living on them appear to be very slightly different in each area, marine life that is common in one place is rarely seen in others, and our Flores to Alor route is no exception. The marine environments along our route include sheer fan covered walls, teeming sea mounts and ledges with spectacular visibility, sparkling kaleidoscopic coral slopes and some remarkable sandy critter dives. Some dives are totally unique, such as Clown Valley and Big Foot Bay in the Alor/Pantar Strait, with carpets of anemones spreading as far as the eye can see.

Although not densely populated, while on the Komodo Dancer guests will get to meet the people of this far flung region as their smiling friendly faces making a welcome addition to any trip. The ladies from the islands of the Alor/Pantar Strait specialize in decorative Ikat fabrics and will brave the currents and row in their precarious water craft out for us to sample and buy their colorful weaves.  If you like “live entertainment” don’t worry there is plenty of that too, we often roll up to a dive site to be greeted by an entire school of children singing and shouting to us from the shore or paddling in their dugout canoes around the boat.

The quality of the coral reefs of the Strait owe a lot to the local fishermen. Sustainable fishing practices using basket weave traps are in place and it is not unusual to see a spear fisherman going about his aquatic business whilst completing a safety stop after a dive, they love to pose for underwater photographs too.