Day 4 (Komodo Island)
If you're familiar with the Game of Thrones series, then going to this place will make you feel like you're a Khaleesi. Except these dragons are not yours and they don't breath fire. #valahd
The Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis), also known as the Komodo monitor, is a member of the monitor lizard family Varanidae. It is the largest living species of lizard, growing to a maximum length of 3 metres (10 ft) in rare cases and weighing up to approximately 70 kilograms (150 lb). (source: wikipedia.org)
This island is really big and you will not only find komodo dragons here, but you will also see humans (they sell food, drink and merchandise), boars, crows, chicken, deer and other living together in one island, almost side by side. There are 4 different treks which is short, medium, long, and adventure trek. We chose the medium trek. We were accompanied by three rangers who are very experienced and they know their job so you don't have to be afraid or worried. In addition, they also speak English.
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| Imagine you have this thing living near you |
We arrived in the morning, our guide said that the komodo dragons are still really lazy and sluggish in the morning, which reminded us of --> us <--. They like enjoying the sun in the morning to warm up before they start their vigorous activity. It's a surprise that you can see a boar or chicken walking near them and the dragons won't even bother to move. But that doesn't mean you can get close to them and touch them though. You still have to make a distance and BE CAREFUL WITH THE TAIL, you really don't want to accidentally touch it or trip on it. They're very sensitive.
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| The ranger explaining about the tree |
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| The trek |
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| Mmmmmmm food |
We think that this is the best trek for a starter because it's not short but not also too long, so we could really enjoy it. We loved that the ranger explained to us about everything, even about how the various wildlife utilizes the dead palm trees. We were surrounded by rangers and they have a two-pronged staff with them to shoo away the dragons but as far as we go, we didn't see any dragons who suddenly came out of nowhere and surprised us, which we really appreciated.
In the middle of our journey, we stopped to see a dragon come out to get water. It was surrounded with a lot of people but it didn't even give a damn. The dragon did stop for a while and seemed like "studying" us; or perhaps even posing for pictures before it went ahead and drink.
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| Thirsty komodo dragon |
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| Ignore the forehead sunburn |
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| Family portrait |
Ask the rangers if you would like to take a picture with a komodo dragon like the picture above. They know how close you can get with it and just trust your life with them. Okay, we're being dramatic, it was not that dangerous but you still gotta be careful.
We continued our journey to Rinca Island but we stayed on boat because we were exhausted and it was too hot. You can also find more komodo dragons in this island. We didn't stay long here because apparently, based on what the people who went there said, the komodo dragons in this island is not as many as in Komodo Island. Not a huge loss there.
The next and the last stop was Kelor Island. We really enjoyed the view when we went from one island to another. What do you think of the view?
It is always hard to say goodbye, knowing that it's the end of our journey. We had a lot of fun during the trip, things that were unexpected and we have never imagined. It was a great opportunity to be a part of it. The price was well worth it and it was one hell of adventure.
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| Cheers! |
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