Komodo Hunting on the islands
Trip Start
Mar 15, 2008
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Trip End
Jul 15, 2009
Komodo National Park,
West Nusa Tenggara,
Indonesia
Friday, June 13, 2008
The ocean and a rickety boat was to be our home for the next four days and nights. Snorkeling, island paradises, sunsets, fishing and nature awaited us. It's funny to see people's reactions to the boat, they vary extensively depending on their previous experience, most are shocked at the sight and state of the boat. I was pleasantly surprised, i was much larger than I expected, of course it's no luxury cruise, but at $110/head all inclusive it's a fantastic deal. The boat is a converted fishing boat with some useful additions, a tarp roof that provides protection from the sun and traps in heat for the night. There were 16 people on the boat from Sweden, Belarus, Poland, France, Italy, 'Merica(Though of the 4 syllable kind found on the coasts, not the 3 syllable kind found in the fly over states) and Switzerland
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. The Polish people were already on the boat when we arrived and were engaged in a heated argument with the crew. The rest of us had already spent about 6 hours together, so there were kind of two groups on the boat. We were annoyed because their argument forced us to wait another 30 minutes and we were already behind. Of course, we knew they were in the right without having to know what the argument was about, it was obvious they were lied to buy the people selling the tickets, that's their job.In typical 3rd world style we spent the whole first day puttering around. They picked us up on one side of Lombock and drove to the other side stopping at various places to pick up one thing. I guess they stop at the absolute cheapest place for everything, instead of saving time and buying it at one spot. We picked up water, booze, fruit, vegetables, live chickens, and even toilet paper at various stops along the way, it was both funny and frustrating at the same time. We finally arrived at the boat around 9 hours after we started, we had to take a quick ferry from the Guili Islands to Lombock then drive across the island to where the boat was docked. The sunset snorkeling that was on the itinerary was sure to be canceled, a few sarcastic groans echoed around the passengers. We were greated by the sound of the engine, a loud angry beast that would prove to be our nemesis throughout the trip
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. After about 6 hours of sailing we dropped anchor for the night, actually for about 3 hours. At 2:30 a.m. we were awoken by the angry beast and obscenities in various languages as a result. For the next few hours everyone struggled to fall asleep. However, the sunset more than made up for our lack of auditory senses and lack of comfort. We were served banana pancakes in bed, or on our mats and the Japanese tourist came out in everyone to get a snap of the sunset.
Around 9 a.m.. we arrived at our first destination, a white sand harbor with crystal clear lime green water. The water was river fed so the lack of salt was quite refreshing. We swam to shore in order to hike and find some waterfall, almost all waterfalls are underwhelming unless you can swim under them and this was no exception. Most people took one look at it and preferred to go back to the beach and swim in the beautiful water. It was still nice to get off the boat and walk around.
A few hours later we reached an island that had some beautiful snorkeling and a salt water lake, which of course is as useful as a gun with no bullets
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. Obviously, the island was inhabited due to the lack of drinking water. I chose to stay on the boat while everyone else went to see the lake, I was tired of waterfalls. I enjoyed the rare solitude on a crowded boat and was awoken by, "you didn't miss much." Apparently, this island has some posh resort with tent rooms that cost 900/night(more than I spent in a month in Indonesia) and the likes of Bill Gates and Princess Diana stayed there. Our captain named, Yo Yo, was quite a character, more laid back then a stoned hippie and on his 4th wife, answered, "many," to the question of how many children he had. He would prove to be the coolest and most helpful local that I have met on this trip, his disregard for world overpopulation not withstanding. He warned the next 18 hours or so would be difficult and that we couldn't turn of the engine tonight in order to go to bed. We had to put some ocean between us in order to stay on schedule, but it would be the last night that we ran the engine. Most of my fellow passengers went to bed early thinking they would be able to sleep. I had laid down early with Ana because she was feeling the effects of motion sickness, it was the first time in my life that I hadn't. I was very surprised how well I did. Everyone hunkered down for the night like we were in our bunkers and prepared for war, some would not make it
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. The next 18 hours was a battle of attrition. Many people deposited what little food was in their stomachs into the sea. The boat swayed back and forth and front to back. The mats slid with the boat as people bumped into each other and were generally dissatisfied with the situation. Our situation didn't surprise me, but there were no lack of sarcastic barbs oozing out of my pores. I can only describe it like having the spins when you are too drunk to sleep. It hurts to stand, it hurts to think, it hurts to open or close your eyes and it takes all your energy and concentration to just maintain. This feeling was prevalent throughout the boat, you could feel everyone's pain, I think we bonded as a group that night, like a sports team that goes through hell week. Though we hated the boat, not our coach. Wise men have said that you must know pain to know joy, heartbreak to understand love, well I think we as a group went through this cycle to awake to utter bliss and again our pain was more than worth it as we woke up to banana pancakes in bed. Bright blue water with numerous bare volcanic, lime colored islands scattered around our boat. Our nightmare had turned into a dream, heartbreak into love, we were surrounded by beauty and our pains from the night before forgotten, or at least forgiven, We awoke to a completely different landscape
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. The land was lush and green when we went to bed, but we awoke to the opposite, dry land with very little vegetation. Not to make it too dramatic, but it was like we were reborn or at least the value of our trip. The Italian guy would spend the next 3 days on his back, only getting up to join the rest of us on the island hikes. We finally stopped at a cove at exactly 9 a.m., ironically the exact time that our captain had nonchalantly predicted. It's hard to estimate how many of these trips he has been on. We were greeted by numerous islands surrounded by turquoise waters. A photo opportunity in every direction. We swam to shore and hiked a peak that afforded panoramic views abound, just endless islands and colors that I never imagined could coexist together. Everyone was awe struck and we went hiked back down to the boat after numerous pixels were killed.
We got back on the boat and sailed for Komodo, dragons were on everyone's mind. We stopped at Red Beach, where the sand actually looks pink because it is so white. This area is protected so there are so many fish. I could literally see hundreds from the boat as we anchored, I imagine some boats must feed the fish so they tend to circle around boats
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. It was some of the best snorkeling that I have ever seen. Bright, vibrant colors were the backdrop for numerous schools of fish. I saw colors in the coral that I didn't know existed. It was the kind of beauty that you can only find off the path, truly a paradise cove. The mood of the boat had been elevated as we cruised into the harbor where Komodo national park is located, everyone inspected their camera batteries and memory cards. In typical 3rs world fashion, the pier was out so we had to get a ride from the local park rangers, Amazingly, there wasn't an extra charge for the service. though there is a $20 entrance fee to the park, but it is good for 3 days and all 3 islands that make up the park. Furthermore, the "ticket office" doesn't' have any tickets or change. Amazing, because they see such few tourists and they know what day are boat turns up every week. Upon arriving, I can feel the conniving minds of the locals, always out to make a buck. They just don't get it, if they would be honest and offer good service, people would spend more money and be happy to do it, instead they just try to scam you so everyone has their guard up. The one guide quickly tells everyone that the long trail costs extra and it's your best opportunity to see a dragon. Everyone agrees that we will do the medium walk then see how we feel if we want to continue
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. The brochure says that the medium walk takes about 2.5 hours and the long one 4.5 hours, we agree that we probably don't have enough time to do the long one since it will be dark in a few hours.No joke, but about 10 minutes into the walk they say we are half way done and they want us to do the long walk. I interrupt, shove the map in their face and say we will decide here where the "free" medium walk ends and the long one begins. We all know this is total BS since our ticket encompasses 3 islands over 3 days, but doesn't count for the long walk, REALLY? No joke, again like 5 minutes later they claim we are at that point, the halfway point of a 2.5 hour walk, I guess we are really fast and we must agree to each pay another dollar to go on. Of course, we all want to pay since the only reason we are here is to see the dragon. Our walk continued and it became apparent that we weren't going to see a dragon.
The guides said that only about 50% of groups see a dragon, it was very disconcerting since we had all assumed that the number was closer to 100% of the time. The group started to separate on the trail and then the girl from Belarus saw one. The guide was shocked, no astonished that we found one
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. He ran to get in front of the lizard to stop it so the rest of the group could get a chance to see the magnificent beast. This was a big lizard, over 8 feet in length. The guide repeated 3 times in one minute just how lucky we were. I think that most groups don't get to see a lizard, what an amazing disappointment that must be since you pay a steep $20 entrance fee and a long boat trip to get there. It was a great way to see our first Komodo. Everyone in the group had given up hope.Rinca Island
The next day we moved on to another island that is part of the Komodo national park. We heard there were more dragons on this island and were determined to see them. At the seldom visited island we were greeted by some friendly monkeys and by the time we got to the office had already seen numerous different kinds of wildlife and there were about 8 dragon waiting for us in the camp. It was overwhelming, they were so big and just hanging around the campsite. Apparently, they can smell the food and often show up looking for handouts.
The guides here were much better, more concerned with doing their job than squeezing money out of the tourists
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. On our walk we saw monkeys, deer, wild pigs, water buffaloes, lots of birds and a few dragons. We were lucky enough to see a water buffalo that had been bitten by a dragon. A dragon bite can kill a human in 100 minutes and it takes about a week for the water buffalo to die. The dragon just hangs around for a week waiting for him to die. A dragon can eat up to about 80% of his weight in just one sitting. Overall, this island was much more enjoyable than Komodo, better wildlife and views. It was a great end to our trip.We then had just 3 more hours to go to our destination. The crew let us sleep on the boat for the night if we wanted or you could go your own way. We chose to spend the night on the boat. We had planed to explore the beautiful island of Flores, but all the flights were full so we wouldn't have enough time to get back to Bali in time. We decided to take the bus and boat combo back to Bali instead of paying the ridiculously priced airplane ticket, about $140 for an hour flight. Instead we paid about $35 and began the journey back to Bali with our captain as our guide. It was nice to have his help so the usual touts and hawks wouldn't bother us along the way. It took us 36 hours to get back, 3 boat rides and 3 long bus rides later and we were in Ubud, a small artist community in Bali.
