Clown Valley
Diepte is het bereik van de top van de duiklocatie tot het gebruikelijke maximum; 'aanbevolen certificering' is het niveau dat operators doorgaans vragen volgens de gangbare opleidingsorganisaties, geen wettelijke vereiste. Stromingen en zicht wisselen dagelijks — beschouw alles hier als planningsindicaties.
Clown Valley sounds like exaggeration until the slope comes into view: hectares of seafloor carpeted in host anemones, tentacle to tentacle, rolling with the surge like a single organism. Anemonefish of several species defend territories every meter or two, producing a comedy of tiny outrage in every direction, and porcelain crabs and shrimp sublet the fringes. The cold, rich water that blankets Alor keeps the carpet expanding, and nobody has offered a fully satisfying explanation for its density. It photographs like nothing else in Indonesia, wide-angle abundance built from macro subjects. Divers surface half-laughing; the site does not really have a comparison group.
Het moment waar je voor komt: An anemone carpet of absurd extent; anemonefish in their hundreds; a genuinely one-off seascape.
Topografie: A broad slope off Pura island covered almost continuously in host anemones.
Stroming: The slope faces the strait, so a watchful drift is normal even on quiet tides.
Weet dit voordat je het water in gaat
Gevaren: Stinging anemones cover the bottom, and cool thermoclines cross the slope; gloves are no substitute for not touching.
Behoud: The carpet is the attraction and the hazard's mirror: there is nowhere neutral to touch down, so buoyancy must be dialed in before arrival.
Wie je tegenkomt
Clownfish & Anemonefish
Hawksbill Turtle
Porcupinefish
Titan Triggerfish
Voor fotografen
Groothoek: ★★★★★ · Macro: ★★★★☆ — redacteursbeoordeling 1–5 van wat deze locatie biedt voor elke fotostijl