 |
| Komodo Dragon |
Our trip to
Rinca hit a snag right at the start. We
were loaded into the boat and pushed off from shore only to find we could not
lift the anchor. The first mate jumped
into the water and followed the line, upon which we were snagged, back to a
boat still tied to the dock. That boat
backed up until we could untangle the anchor, and then off we went. The trip to Rinca Island took two hours on
very calm seas. The boat travelled through
several islands – large and small, but all very dry looking. When we arrived at Komodo National Park, we
were reminded of the guide book’s description - furnace hot. We were met
at the dock by our guide and given the dire warnings about wandering off the
path and staying together with our guide.
At one point we stopped so he could point out the 39 graves of the
tourists who didn’t heed the warnings.
There are
about 2,400 Komodo Dragons on Rinca.
There were at least 10 hanging about the office area. We were allowed to get as close as 5 metres
with the ranger and his forked stick at the ready. Without the ranger we would never have seen most of the dragons. They lie perfectly still disguised as a
log. When he pointed out a baby up a
tree, I couldn’t see it even when I was looking at it. Until it moved it was perfectly
camouflaged. We went on a 4 km hike
through the forest and fields. Several
times I thought our guide was pulling my leg when he pointed at dragons. However, every time he was right.
We spent 3
hours on the island before our ranger escorted us back to the dock and off we
went to Angel Island for snorkelling.
We docked at a beach in the middle of a deserted island and off I went
through another amazing underwater garden.
Several times when I started back to the boat I was waylaid by another
fantastic sight. I was in the water for
1 ½ hours and my underwater camera was still working.
At night,
after a terrific sunset, I downloaded my photos to my computer. 313 photos in 1 day!
1 comment:
All I can say is what a stunning adventure you are all on. Your visit to Komodo Park makes me think of the movie Jurassic Park. My seven year old grandson would love to do what you have just blogged. Certainly was a full day of memory making moments right down to the sunset. Enjoy and travel safe.
Post a Comment