As our twin prop plane banked over the runway we got a full view of our destination. Damon turned to me and said 'this is what we came to Indonesia to see' and, though I hate to admit it, he was absolutely correct.

If Damon and I were superheros, he would be known Super Indecisive Man and I would be Captain Non-committal. We really are that bad. Anyway it had taken hours and a sleepless night to decide to go to Labuan Bajo on Flores island. The main tourist attraction is Komodo island with its famous Komodo dragons, though, as we found, this is definitely not the only reason to visit. It turns out that the area around Labuan Bajo is devastatingly beautiful. The land is made up of dramatic green hills and mountains, the beaches are white and ringed with coral reefs and the whole bay is full of small islands. To top it off the area reputedly boasts some of the best diving in the world. Labuan Bajo itself is essentially a fishing village with a growing tourist industry. Being out of season there were very few tourists, and since the tourist industry is relatively small it was refreshingly free of tourist traps.

When we arrived we found accommodation and went for a walk to get our bearings. It was not a long walk but since it is always 40 degrees in the shade and 100 percent humidity in Indonesia we very nearly expired of heat exhaustion! We celebrated surviving the heat with a beer in a restaurant overlooking the harbour and were treated to possibly the most amazing sunset that I have ever seen. Damon even started crying it was so beautiful. Unfortunately neither of us had cameras so we didn't even get a photo.

The following day we did the usual indecisive non-committal routine and eventually decided on going in search of a beach. The way to the beach took us via a limestone cave so we stopped for a look. The cave was, to be fair, unspectacular but was interesting in that there was quite a lot of fossilised coral features in it. Next stop was the beach. There was a bit of litter on the beach from the harbour but we had a pleasant swim and then decided to do some more exploring by foot. As we started our walk we saw a massive sign saying 'Beware Cobras and Kakabotek!'. It turns out the Kakabotek is a Russells viper which causes more human deaths world wide than any other snake! This made us a bit nervous so we walked for the rest of our visit with pointed sticks for protection. We had a nice walk with stunning views but nearly succumbed to the heat again, we really do never learn. That night we ate fresh braaied fish at the dock in a dodgy little open air fishermans restaurant. Was really awesome, and it didn't even make us sick!

Next up was two nights on a nearby island called Seraya Island. There are about ten bungalows and a restaurant on the beach of this small island, and it is literally an island paradise. The bungalows are built on a white beach in a bay with a coral reef. For this paradise you pay R200 for a two sleeper bungalow and have to share the island with about 20 other tourists. Not at all a bad deal! The real highlight though was the snorkeling. From the bungalow it was a 5 meter walk to the beach and then a short swim straight out to the coral. Unfortunately a lot of the coral is dead, either from pollution or global warming, but there is some surviving. The fish life was awesome, we saw all the usual reef fish as well as cuttle fish, lion fish, stone fish, turtles and even a banded sea snake! Damon took about 800 photos on his GoPro, so when he has sifted through them we will put some up. The only downside to all the snorkeling we did was that we got seriously sunburnt! I am still recovering from it, but learnt a lesson and will only snorkel with a shirt on from now on.

Last on our agenda was the Komodo dragons. In order to save time and money we didn't go to Komodo but rather went to Rinca Island which is the only other island in the world with wild Komodo dragons, and is much closer to Labuan Bajo. We went for a short guided walk and didn't see any dragons. Luckily there were 3 hanging out around the kitchen so we saw some. They were impressive, looked like giant legawaans, and very scary. They have no natural enemies, other than each other, so show absolutely no fear of humans and just sit and look at you like you might be the next meal!

We left Flores feeling very content having seen a truly amazing part of Indonesia which we thoroughly enjoyed. Really a highlight of our trip.

Next stop was one night in the town of Sanur in Bali. It was interesting in that it is full of retired ex-pats. We even watched a rugby match in an Australian bar packed with Aussies watching Aussie rules. Bit strange in Bali. It was a nice little stopover and then it was onto more island life which Damon will update on shortly.