My cousin and I arrived in Labuan Bajo, a small but charming fishing village located on the island of Flores, on Christmas eve and set off booking some diving and the reason why we came here in the first place – to get up close and personal with a Komodo dragon. Caught in a torrential downpour, we hopped along down the main road in the village looking for a local tour guide with a boat who wouldn’t charge us an exorbitant amount of money. Arranging these budget friendly trips can be tricky as some boats are not safe on the water - two German tourist recounted a hilarious but terrifying story of a bargain trip they undertook to Bali in a less than worthy boat, accompanied by locals scooping water out of the boat with buckets over rough seas and chickens who feared for their lives. Following at least an hour of enquiries and getting completely soaked we eventually found a guy seated in a tiny office next to the Blue Marlin dive shop who assisted us and told us to be ready the next morning at 5am. We were promised a trip to Rinca island and told that sightings of the dragons would be guaranteed – as long as the rain cleared. It was apparently day four of the downpour. A little weary of what laid before us, we went to bed early and hoped for the best. We awoke before the sun on Christmas morning and made our way down to the harbour. After a short delay, our journey began. The boat captain was a middle aged local man who was accompanied by his son and nephew. Relieved that our transport was indeed a solid boat and not a pimped out raft, we made ourselves comfortable. Although slow (and by slow I mean it took us 5 hours), the journey to Rinca was incredibly beautiful. We passed a few islands varying in size, all covered in lush vegetation. The deep azure waters were so clear they often revealed amazing corals over shallow waters. And most importantly, the day dawned into one of clear skies with not a single rain cloud in sight. After soaking up the sun on deck, a great lunch and a power nap we reached Rinca Island. We were met by local guides and a few tourists two had just completed their tour. They seemed disappointed with their experience, and a number of people had said the tour was over-rated as the komodo’s are lazy and don’t do much. I’m not sure if these people expected circus-trained juggling wild animals for their amusement, but I was personally relieved to see that the island was conserved and kept as natural as possible. However, we happened to be very, very lucky. Before our tour even began, on our way to the ranger base, we spotted our first dragon. He appeared to be relaxing in the vegetation on the slopes next to the walk way. Soon our reptilian friend slide all the way down the slope, and we came face to face with this massive creature. He began walking away from us, towards the entrance and the tour guides seemed genuinely surprised. A few moments later, the dragon turned around and walked straight towards us. I backed away, really not keen on becoming a mid-morning snack, and watched this magical creature strut along the walkway. Soon he decided that the mangroves just off the track was the best spot to head to, and we watched him move nimbly into the greenery and completely disappear. The guide told us we were extremely lucky to have this experience with them as they often stay clear of the pathways. We then made our way to the ranger offices for our safety briefing. We joked that after our experience, we were komodo pro’s! Dozens of komodo’s laze around at the entrance of the rangers headquarters. They enjoy hanging around the kitchen area in particular, with the smell of food summoning them. We saw some baby komodos in the trees, where they hide to avoid danger and predators (including other komodos). A few adults were basking in the sun, and soon a bit of a fight broke out. I was hoping for a full street brawl but after some hissing and hugging peace seemed to be restored once again. The sheer size of these animals is incredible – the males can reach 2.5m and weigh up to 90kg’s. That is literally double my mass. Their average lifespan is 30years in the wild, and they have 60 replaceable teeth, similar to sharks. Their tails are the same length as their bodies, and they can consume up to 80% of their body weight in one meal. Due to their slow metabolism, they only need to eat roughly once a month. They hold the title as the largest living lizard species on earth and can only be found on a handful of islands in Indonesia. We soon began the trek through the island, with our guide leading the way. A few minutes into our walk, a baby komodo appeared on the path and lead us for a few minutes. Personal tours from a komodo – what more could we ask for? We soon stumbled upon a decent sized baby scavenging around a nest. Often adolescent komodos scavenge through komodo nests when the mother is not around and look for eggs to eat. They do this by flicking their tongue in and out of their mouth – this is how they smell. The tongue samples the air and they have sensors on the pallet of their mouths which interpret the sample. Once fully grown, they use their tongue to find dead or dying prey up to 10km’s away! Fully aware of the dangers that await her eggs, the mother komodos are pretty smart. They often create decoy nests to confuse predators and are masters at hiding their eggs. This is how they ensure a fighting chance for their young. An interesting fact about female komodos - they can reproduce through sexual and asexual reproduction meaning that they can lay eggs that will hatch whether they have been fertilised by male komodo’s or not. Komodo virgin births? The irony that I found myself here on Christmas day was not lost on me. We continued our hike up to the peak of the island, where we had incredible views of the landscape. Our guide pointed out fossilized pieces of coral in the sand under our feet, and sure enough shells in various states of corrosion could be seen. Some pieces of coral were so preserved you could be fooled to believe we were at the beachfront and not on the highest peak of an island that has been in existence for at least thousands of years. The entire experience was magical. Not only did we get to witness these incredible creatures in their natural habitat, we relished some of the breath-taking beauty of Rinca island. Indonesia is an irresistible destination to get in touch with the magic of nature, and my Christmas with the komodo’s will be a memory I will cherish for a lifetime.
1 Comment
Mbali
1/27/2017 10:58:12 am
An amazing lifetime experience on Christmas Day! Leaving your comfort zone and exploring the world is the best decision you've made. Continue inspiring the rest of us and I look forward to reading more of your adventures xx
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July 2017
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