The next part of our trip was a bit like Greek island hopping, Indonesian style. A chain of islands called Nusa Tengarra stretches from Bali in the west, to Timor in the east. We decided that we would explore these from east to west after a big night out with some of Duncan's long last mates in Legian (Bali), which caused three very sore heads.

Given time constraints, we elected Flores as our starting point instead of Timor. Flores is a famously picturesque island west of Timor, nearer to Bali. It was a bit of a trek getting to there but in the end we reached the town of Ende. Ironically not at the end of Flores, Ende was the only place into which we could get a flight, and after a day of not doing very much there (apart from meeting Jaap Stam's uncle, which made Duncan peculiarly excited) we got a bus, another nine hour-er, to the small town of Ruteng.

The bus journey was interminable, as Flores' terrain is unrelentingly undulating. Valleys follow mountains every few miles, and the roads bend every 100 yards or so. The sounds and smells of fellow passengers vomiting due to travel sickness became constant companions. However, for those able to resist the gag reflex, the rewards of looking out of the window of the bus were phenomenal, as Flores' countryside is luscious and stunning - the most beautiful island we have seen in all of Indonesia (and that really is saying something).

From an evolutionary perspective, Flores holds additional fascination. Because of its isolation from the outside world for many millennia, external species rarely came to settle on the island, allowing those creatures that were already there to evolve in weird and wonderful ways (a bit like the Galapagos Islands). Also due to its internal terrain, even on Flores itself, different species could evolve in isolation from each other.

(Apologies to Creationists. If it makes things easier, it could well be that these diverse and wonderful animals were created on day 5 or 6 after the world was made. Who's to say?)

What is more, on Flores, as well as the diversity of wildlife, some species also adapted to their environment by becoming much smaller, or larger, than normal. For example, the Komodo dragon (see later), found on several islands in the area, including on the east of Flores itself, is a relative of the monitor lizard, which can now grow to 8-10 feet. Colossal rats also wander around. At the other end of the scale, fossil records indicate that pygmy elephants, no more than 4 feet high, once roamed Flores.

However, the highlight of all this biodiversity can be found near the otherwise unnoteworthy town of Ruteng. Three or four years ago, in a large, empty limestone cave about half an hour away, a team of archaeologists made an astonishing discovery. To get there, one must drive through more stunning countryside (thick jungle, huge volcanos and untouched scrub). Once in the cave, you can see the pit where the archaeologists' excavations revealed skeletons of small hominid figures, nicknamed "hobbits", and scientifically referred to as Homo Floresiensis. Carbon dating suggests that these skeletons can be dated to around 12,000 year ago; interestingly, early Portuguese explorers in the region heard tales from locals of small human-like creatures who lived deep in the jungle. Debate continues as to whether these skeletons were a remnant of Homo Erectus populations that emerged from Africa millions of years ago, or whether they are more closely related to Homo Sapiens (i.e. us), but, just like the Komodo dragons or the pygmy elephants, evolutionary pressures caused their size to alter. More excavations are ongoing to collect more evidence. Whatever the case, it was a moving moment to be standing in this cave where such a fascinating and mysterious relative of Man had once eked out a living.

The next morning we left early for Labuan Bajo, on the westernmost tip of Flores, and after an afternoon's exploration of the local islands (with some lovely coral, home to lion fish, anemone fish, and other colourful species; and some beautiful beaches) we boarded the boat which would take us to see Komodo dragons.

Komodo National Park consists of a number of islands of which Komodo is just one and the dragons themselves inhabit many of these islands, including ones which are populated, (e.g. Flores). We sailed over to Rinca, the island on which the dragons are easiest to spot. They didn't exaggerate that point. As we walked from the boat over to the base camp, from which you trek into the Lost World-esque island, Alex spotted a dragon not far from the path. Erroneously accusing him of having spotted a piece of wood, I pressed on boldly only to stop in my tracks as the log moved.

Further on, we spotted several more dragons, including some really big individuals, which were at the 8 foot end of the scale. They seemed cumbersome and lethargic, but tales of recent attacks on park rangers ensured we kept a respectful distance. Komodo dragons kill their prey (water buffalo, and other large mammals) by biting and infecting the wound with the many bacteria that live in their saliva. At this point, the dragon will wait for the 1-2 weeks it takes the victim to die from infection before consuming it. Interestingly Komodo dragon poo is white - I know this because I stepped in some.

Next step on the boat was the island of Moyo, where we stopped off to join the locals in swinging across a waterfall on a Tarzan-esque rope. Exhilarating stuff, although watching the locals try to show off to each other and the Westerners, and in doing so frequently almost crashing the nearby rocks, soon prompted us to leave them to it.

Moyo has a beautiful beach resort called Amanwana, where we stayed in a huge, no expense spared tent right on the beach and we spent two glorious days there, snorkelling (plenty of anemone fish, blue-spotted manta ray and a huge turtle) and scuba diving. When it was all getting a bit too fraught, we resorted to a heavenly massage.

This was followed by a night on Lombok, in a stunning resort called Tugu, where we were treated to more massages (hey, it's the perk of the job), before heading on to the famous Gili Islands. These are synonymous with traveller beach partying and general hedonistic lifestyle. So we were obliged to hit the town hard and enjoy some Bintang beer in quantities that we would regret the next day.

Which brings us back to the western end of Nusa Tengarra, Bali.