To quote a dive guide's words: "This site is the ancestor for pelagics!"
This is a seamount in the middle of a narrow strait. First time I dived here it was a hand to hand grasp on the baren rock to get across the top of the seamount at around 12-14meters. Once you get over the northern side of the seamount it is a drop off with a ledge around 25-35 meters. During good season; april to november, the visibility is incredible; 25meters +. At first you see shadows - big shadows. And it materialized... huge dog-toothed tunas, each as big as a cow! These can number in the 30s or more. The corals are mostly short and mixed with soft corals, very colorful, but with all the pelagics around you forget it existed. Just to sum it up, big-guys I've seen here: Napoleon wrasse, eagle rays, cheveron barracudas, big-eyed trevally, giant trevally, giant grouper, black-tipped, silver tip, white tip sharks, thresher shark (this one was huge!), and ofcourse the ever-present dogged-toothed tunas. Side note: I read in a guide book about the giant grouper here, 2 meters and not a cm smaller. yah, right. Right? But guess what? I did see it. no kidding, big as an VW bug! even them grey reef sharks kindof stay away from it. However it was on its way somewhere though, didnt stay around too long.
However this site isn't for the faint of hearts. You'd first of all need a very good guide who can determine the best time to dive here, as you may wait up to 1/2 hr or more here just to wait for the current to slow down. Even while waiting you might think you're in the middle of a white-water rafting trip in a river rapid! besides that you can even see wake on the anchor line! Once it settles down (not completely, because you want to arrive in the ledge at min current) you go down the line hand-on-hand to the top of the mount and grasp the baren rock to move forward. But once you're on the ledge it's calm enough, even to move around. This site isn't like other sites where you constantly move about, more like staying put on the norther ledge which is about 30 meters long, between 20-38 meters. Watch your air-carefully as you may go deep here and you'd definitely needed the safety stop here. Obviously this site ain't for beginners. I'd suggest min experience of 100 dives or more. Another thing: having a glove helps...
Another reminder, this site is also not for those who don't listen to their guides; or for those who thinks they know everything, no matter how many dives you had. With this sort of attitude you definitely could get into trouble here. You basically dive during tide-interval, and they varies. When the tide changes, you have to get out of there, and I don't care how much air you got left. If you think you don't get your dive worth (air/time wise), suck it up on the boat! Once the current gets moving, even boats can't move forward here! (I have seen; not just once but many times, boats moving backwards here. An experience skipper would go very close to the island [kepa island] where the current subsides or move in opposite direction) not to mention a diver!!!
Alor area dive sites are excellent by any standard. Straight walls full of corals down to 50meters plus with vis up to 30M or more. But once you've been here and seen the pelagics, thats it. Its like narcotics, you just want to come here again and again. One trip me and my mates were diving here for 4 dive days I think, gues how many time we dived here? 6 times!
For those of you who like to dive here can get in touch with me: blueplanetbali@indo.ne.id. With 4 trips and about 40 dives + in this area, I can say that I know quite a bit about this area...
Facts about Kal's Dream, Alor islands
It is in Indonesia- Kal's Dream, Alor islands is in the Timor Sea.
- The typical depth is 0-40 Metres 0-130 Feet.
- The typical visibility is 10-30 Metres 30-100 Feet.