The wooden boat we boarded to embark on our trip was far from what we'd envisioned. We were 'welcomed' on to the rotten boat by an old captain, and his two young crew members. Amelia and I were first to board the cramped, rotting boat, to be told we had to squidge up and wait for six others! Whilst we waited for the other six to join us, we made ourselves ‘comfortable’ and tried to make conversation with the crew. Unfortunately, with our lack of Bahasa (Indonesian) and their less than basic English skills, the conversation went stagnant pretty quickly.
As we tried not to think of how the trip was going to pan out, the others arrived. A multi-national group of couples - Belgian, Czech and Austrian. None of them knew each other, but coincidentally they arrived at the same time. We could see by their faces they were as equally unimpressed as us, but we were all trying to be as optimistic as possible about the adventure ahead.
Our first port of call was at 'Rinca Island', roughly two and a half hours away. Luckily the conditions for the journey over couldn't have been much better, it was almost as flat as a millpond. Rinca Island along with 'Komodo Island' are located in the centre of the Indonesian archipelago (between Sumbawa and Flores). These volcanic islands, along with others in the national park, are inhabited by over 5,700 giant lizards, called the 'Komodo Dragons'.
We were unsure what to expect when we arrived, but as it's the closest island (from Labuan Bajo) inhabited by the dragons, it was packed with 'day trippers'. The pier was jammed full of boats not too dissimilar to ours. Which, in a way was good to see! The ranger's office on Rinca was a short walk from the pier. We were told to head straight there to pay for the national park fee, and find a ranger to keep us safe from the dragons! These huge lizards have a nasty reputation and for good reason - their aggressive nature and opportunistic behaviour has led to numerous attacks on tourists and locals. In the past twenty years over a dozen fatalities have been recorded! After paying the numerous fees (including park fee, entrance fee, hiking fee and ranger fees) we made our way to the tourist information area where we were found by two unenthusiastic rangers. Their briefing was short, but included the do's and don’ts. Which, to be honest, were just common sense. There are few hiking routes on Rinca, varying in length and difficulty. It seemed everyone (apart from the guides) was keen to break a sweat, so despite the rangers reluctance, we opted for the longest trek.
The island is inhabited, partly by the rangers and workers, but also by 250 others who like to call it their home. As we were exiting the workers' stilted housing we saw our first dragons! Three of them were 'conveniently' waiting outside the camp's kitchen. The rangers are supposedly no longer allowed to feed the dragons, after the controversial sacrificing of live goats was banned not so long ago... so who knows what's keeping them there now.
Although smaller than I expected (apparently the dragons on Komodo are bigger), I was amazed by their scaly prehistoric appearance. We stood observing the lethargic, non-fire-breathing dragons, whilst the guides stood on guard with their forked wooden sticks. I'm not sure who they're trying to fool, but supposedly these sticks could deter the dragons in the fairly rare event of an attack.
We followed a dusty track up to a vantage point which had a great panoramic view over the dry, unforgiving and mountainous landscape. From the viewpoint we could also see out over the beautifully clear rich seas and amazing amounts of coral. As we all stood around taking in the view, I noticed one of the rangers was really struggling! We were all a little puzzled. The 'hike' to the view point was fairly easy going and barely took half an hour. According to the other ranger he was hungry, but I got the feeling he may have had a few too many rice wines the night before.The ranger leading the way wasn't exhausted, but was clearly too lazy to take us along the long route. He proceeded to tell us that we'd just completed it and in very good time. Amelia and I knew he was telling porky pies, as we'd tracked our progress on our GPS app. But when we confronted him and informed the rest of the group he acted as if he couldn't understand. Instead of arguing with the ranger, we all decided to head back to the boat and continue our journey.
Lunch was offered during our trip to the next destination. We had tofu and green beans in tomato based sauce, battered fish, fried noodles with veg and of course rice. It was a nothing special, but there was enough to keep even a gannet content.
'Pink Beach' was our next stop. Apparently only one of seven 'pink' beaches in the world. Unfortunately we didn't stop for long as there was some confusion about the itinerary. Amelia and I having booked the trip through the homestay in Labuan Bajo, didn't really have the faintest idea what the itinerary included. We just wanted to see the dragons! But the rest of the group were under the impression we would be trekking on Komodo Island and visiting Pink Beach the following morning. Eventually this was made clear to the captain and his crew with the help of a guide (from another boat) translating for us. The crew bought up the anchor and off we went.
For us, Komodo Island was much more impressive than Rinca, so we were glad we made the effort and paid the extra for a two day trip as opposed to a day trip to Rinca. Even from a distance the island was far more breath taking and as we climbed up and out of our small boat onto a large pier, we noticed that there didn't seem to be anyone else around, the island felt eerily deserted.
As before, the captain and crew stayed on the boat, whilst our group went in search of the ranger office. Walking down the vast concrete pier towards the 'abandoned' mountainous island felt like a scene from Jurassic Park! Before we had even stepped off the pier, we spotted our first dragon laying on the beach literally just a couple of yards from the pier.
Our first impressions of Komodo proceeded to get even better when we arrived at the rundown rickety rangers office. The rangers welcomed us with smiles and cakes, they were definitely much friendlier and more enthusiastic than the rangers on Rinca! Much to the 'keen beans' dismay, the option of completing the long trek was out of the question - due to the chaotic organisation of our trip we'd arrived too late in the afternoon. To be honest, Amelia and I weren't as disgruntled as our companions, the trip for us was never about hard-core trekking.
The welcoming rangers took us along the 'medium trail' instead and it didn't take them long to spot a dragon basking in the sun. Although entertaining, these rangers were a bit more daring with the dragons. Whether this was through stupidity, or perhaps having more experience and therefore knowing the dragon's abilities and reactions, I don't know. Either way they were getting very close to the dragons.
As we continued along the trail, the rangers told us lots of interesting facts and statistics about these blood thirsty reptiles. Apparently their sense of smell is highly developed. In fact, they can pickup the smell of blood or the scent of death (depending on wind direction) from nearly six miles away! Worryingly for women, if it’s that time of the month, the ranger needs to be informed so he can be on high alert for any particularly hungry dragons!
According to our rangers the female dragons are a little less aggressive than the males and the rangers decided to prove it! Using our GoPro on our extended selfie stick the ranger decided to try and 'provoke' a female dragon laying quietly under a tree. Luckily, she didn't seem at all bothered and our GoPro lived to survive another day! Although we weren't sure what to think about their ‘teaching methods’, we have to admit they got us some great footage!
Contrary to popular belief these largest lizards in the world, existing nowhere else but here, are actually poisonous! Scientists used to believe that their saliva was seething with bacteria, and that if bitten one would ultimately die through severe infection. However, relatively new studies show that these dragons actually have the same levels of bacteria as any other wild animal, and that their teeth in fact contain snake-like venom!
The trek on Komodo was far better than on Rinca, not just because we saw plenty of Komodo dragons (8-9), which were bigger than Rinca dragons, but it was nice to see that most of them were out in the sticks and not hanging around kitchens - that's not say it doesn't happen though! The rangers also made it into a thoroughly enjoyable and interesting walk. Even the 'keen beans' were content, so we all left a much appreciated tip and headed back to the boat.
Dinner was a similar affair to lunch, but by this point we had anchored off in a small bay about half an hour from the large pier. For some, it was shock to learn we would all be sleeping on the deck together. But for us, that was one thing we knew about the trip. It seemed others were led to believe we would be sleeping in proper beds on the island somewhere.
After dinner the day's activities had seemingly taken its toll on our 'keen bean' companions. The atmosphere was very subdued. Amelia and I noticed a small local boat speeding around the bay tending to the other tour boats. I managed to attract the boat's attention as we noticed he was selling beer and other drinks. Surprisingly, the mobile off-licence on water was reasonably priced, so we bought some coke to go with the vodka we still had. Apart from the Austrian couple, no one else seemed interested in joining us for a drink.
It was a quiet evening, until a rat livened up the 'party'! It was only seen for a split second before it disappeared through a hole and below deck. There was definitely a lot of shock on people's faces and when we were placing out the thin mattresses, obviously no one wanted to sleep near 'the hole'. Fortunately, Amelia and I got the best spot as we were already sat the furthest away and on the bow. Eventually everyone settled and fell asleep early, whilst Amelia and I sat drinking, chatting and star-gazing.
As the sun rose, I was the first awake from a fairly disturbed night sleep on a very cramped deck! I sat back on the bow and enjoyed the fresh morning air, whilst the sun was warming my skin and reflecting beautiful colours in the sky.
The crew awoke shortly after and prepared an unusual breakfast of biscuits, deep fried banana and fresh fruit. I'll generally eat anything for breakfast these days, but deep fried greasy banana wasn't doing it for me, nor anyone else for that matter.
After yesterday's mix up with the itinerary, we were hoping for a slightly more organised day. We were definitely grateful to see the sea just as still as the previous day as we headed back to Pink Beach. During the journey over we were graced with the presence of half a dozen dolphins! It really was a fantastic start to the day.
The boats aren't permitted to get too close to Pink Beach. Which has its pros and cons. The downside is the length of the swim to the beach through fairly chilly water. The upside is the coral is kept in pristine condition, which outweighs any of the cons.
We expected to see a hue of pink as we stepped out of the water and on to the beach, but no. Amelia was especially disappointed. On very close inspection, you can see little red granules (dead coral), which do give, if you squint your eyes, a very slight pink tinge to the otherwise very white sand. None of us were keen to stay too long, as the water was cold and the sun was yet to be hot enough to need a refreshing swim. So we swam back to the boat to begin the return journey to Labuan Bajo.
The trip was far from over though, we had a couple of stops on the way back to break up the journey. Amelia and I got incredibly excited after learning the whereabouts of the first stop off...
Our dive trip to Manta Point was so successful we were trying not to get our hopes up as we approached the area. Everyone was desperate to see them, so when the captain saw the first manta ray and announced it to everyone, Amelia and I stepped back whilst everyone was flapping around the boat trying to find their snorkels, masks and fins. The currents around Komodo National Park are often extremely strong and because of this very dangerous. But still the crew were egging everyone into what was quite visibly very wild currents. We were shocked and appalled by the captain and his crew's lack of responsibility towards their passengers. As me and Amelia didn't have any fins, we decided to opt out, warn the others and observe them jump in without much hesitation.
All of them were literally swimming as hard as they could just to stay level with the boat. For some of them, it was just way too much, they quickly climbed back aboard whilst Amelia and I continued to spot the rays, and try to direct the swimmers towards them. From above we could see that there were plenty of mantas around, but when they got back on the boat we were surprised to hear that only one of them had caught a glimpse.
Eventually the captain realised the current was too strong and carried on. Manta Point is a two kilometre stretch, and at the other end of the stretch the current is much weaker. Still, with no fins, Amelia and I were wary and stuck close to the boat whilst the others strayed far a field in search of the manta rays. The mantas were around, but at this part of the ‘point’ they were much deeper and using the cleaning stations ten meters or so below. It was still awesome to see them, but our encounter during our first visit was much more interactive.
Our last stop, again unbeknown to us, was at Kanawa Island. So for the second time that day, we were revisiting a place we'd been before. But it didn't matter, the island is an unspoilt paradise. We were happy to return and do a little more snorkelling.
By this point it was a scorching hot day, so we didn't stay on the beach long. The snorkelling around the reef off Kanawa is spectacular, we even managed to spot a huge blacktip reef shark! Reef sharks are relatively harmless and can vary in size, but don't tend to grow bigger than one and a half metres. This one was definitely close to that! The biggest I've seen.
Our experience around Komodo National Park was worth every penny, it was a shame about the boat and crew, but at least we got to see what we went for and arrived back to Labuan Bajo safe and sound.
We checked back into Palulu Garden Homestay later that day. With days disappearing fast, we tried to decide on a cost effective way back west. It looked like the only viable option was going to be the long journey via ferry and bus.
The following morning, we had what was probably the most spontaneous moment of our lives. We awoke, checked 'Skyscanner' at 8am. Amazingly (after hours of fruitless results on previous days), we found a relatively cheap flight, booked it, checked out, walked to the airport, and boarded a flight at 10:30am to Bali...