Komodo Island is one of 17,508 islands that make up the Republic of Indonesia. Komodo Island lies within the "Ring of Fire" region of Indonesia where about 90 % of the earth's volcanic and earthquake activity occurs. Unlike Bali which does have active volcanoes, Komodo Island has no volcanoes but its' unusually shaped landscape and crater seascape provide evidence of a violent volcanic activity in the past. The island is named after its native inhabitant: the Komodo dragon which is the largest lizard on earth that looks like a distant cousin to the extinct dinosaurs.
We arrived early in the morning and were again 'taken by" the unusual shaped islands near Komodo and the high jagged mountain ranges that look pre-historic.
We visited Komodo last year and enjoyed exploring this unique UNESCO World Heritage Site where the dragons are protected by National Park guides. Indonesia created the Komodo National Park in 1980 to protect the diverse ecology in the waters and on land. Unfortunately poachers have been taking baby dragons from the island in such great numbers that from 2020 the Park will be closed to tourists whilst the Indonesian officials work out a plan to prevent further trading in these wild creatures. Stolen lizards fetch upwards from $35,000 per beast on the black market. Why anyone would want to keep a komodo dragon as a show piece or status symbol is beyond my comprehension.
Dragons are not cute. They can grow up to 3 metres in length, weigh up to 130 kilos and they are meat eaters who hide and pounce on their prey, be it deer, wild boar, goats or tourists. They have long nails on each of their 5 powerful digit paws, a long forked tongue which can smell prey or blood for up to 5km. These dragons only eat about 12 times a year but they consume at least 80% of their body weight at these times. They are powerfully built and can sprint at 10 km per hour, dive to a depth of 5 metres and climb trees that hold their weight. Last year when we went to see a group of dragons around a waterhole, we observed 2 adult males fighting savagely over a female dragon and it was bloody and frightening. One lady tourist panicked and ran (though we had been told to keep our stand) and the three docile dragons quickly chased after her. Everyone else froze whilst the guides raced after the three opportunistic dragons warding the dragons off by lifting their pronged sticks. It is for this very reason that no tourists are allowed on the island unless they are part of an organized tour. Tourists are not permitted to wander alone on the island, to approach dragons for photo shoots or carry food. Sadly even this year some people "took risks and endangered the guides and others by ignoring the rules. Also this year at least 6 people were injured when a new guide took the wrong path down a steep hillside resulting in 4 people falling and rolling down into spiky thorn bushes. One lady broke her leg and another fellow twisted his knee and ankle and had to be carried back to the ship. The walking wounded had to be guarded as their blood-running wounds could have attracted any number of the 1000+ dragons roaming freely on the island.
This year on our return visit, we decided to take as much more relaxing tour and went snorkeling for 5 hours on two beaches (reportedly dragon free) on Komodo Island. We left the ship by tender and were joined by our guides and a guard, for the day. A wooden junk-type boat awaited us beside the jetty and we clambered aboard – I say clambered because the tide was extra low and the old rickety ladder was tricky to negotiate. Once on board we had soft seats around a wooden bench-table under an outdoor covered area. The temperature was about 28⁰C even though it was about 9.30 am but a gentle breeze wafted across the ocean as we headed for our first stop off at the Pink Beach. We had snorkeled here last year too but today we headed to the opposite end of the beach near a headland. The sand was sparkling pink as we landed on the shore and headed for the nearest shade under some of the few trees on the beach. Looking out towards the ocean the sea was a brilliant turquoise colour and the waves gently rolled onto the shore so we knew that along with the low tide conditions we would have a clear view of the corals and fish below. Before donning our mask and snorkels we took a climb up the steep sides of the headland to get a bird's-eye view of the Pink beach and we were not disappointed by what we saw. The arch-shaped pink sands were beautiful to behold and intensified in colour whenever the green-blue waves rippled along the waters edge. We took heaps of photographs but sadly these were 'lost' when during our snorkeling we used my old i-phone with it's underwater cover and the cover 'failed', ending the life of the phone and the pictures with it. So take our wod for it the beach looks absolutely beautiful and if youtube "Pink Beach- Komodo Island" you too can enjoy the scenes.
We spent the rest of our time snorkeling in the clean, clear waters, chasing rainbow trout with luminous yellow fins, watching other fish daring in ad out of pink and purple coral and enjoying the beauty of the coral gardens which were quite colourful 'though nowhere near a prolific and impressive and awe inspiring as Australia's Great Barrier Reef. We're spoilt in Australia with the world's best coral reef- let's protect it for others to enjoy.
As we headed toward a second snorkeling area we were served a delicious Indonesian style meal of noodles, rice, barbequed fish, curry chicken, tofu in a peanut sauce, fresh salad and fresh fruit. It was very much appreciate by our fellow snorkelers and we thanked our guides enthusiastically. Our second snorkeling spot was a little disappointing as there were no fish and only a small number of white coral displays but the water was refreshing and we enjoyed swimming to the shore and back from our junk boat. We had had a most wonderful day and after thanking our guides we walked into the village with one of our guides who carried a forked stick for our protection for any wandering dragons. It was about 3.30pm and most tourists had headed back to the Sea Princess. We looked at some souvenirs but finally settled for a set of local pearls which the villages string as a means of income. They cost only $7.50 and are irregular in shape but they hold memories of a beautiful day on the small beach coves on Komodo Island.
Our group of 11 people without exception really enjoyed the whole days excursion and as we headed or the Sea princess in our tender boat we shared some of our experiences with our fellow passengers and heard about the dragon experience, accidents and the reports of the experiences of others on Komodo Island.
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