The Jungle Book: Labuanbajo, Flores, September 8-12

Komodo and Rinca Islands

The flight from Denpasar to Labuanbajo was a quick 1.5 hours with some great views. To be honest I was a bit nervous for this flight as I've heard some horror stories but thankfully everything went smoothly. During the flight I met these 4 people from Barcelona who I quickly befriended and spent the next few days with. Upon arriving in Labuanbajo the five of us instantly began searching for trips to the famous Komodo and Rinca islands. Because it was the end of Ramadhan it was more difficult than usual, however, we did find a boat for our desired 2 day/1 night trip.

The next morning at 8:30 we set sail for what was to be a fun and unforgettable trip. We set sail for two hours where we arrived at Komodo Island for our first view of the dragons. Before taking more than 10 steps on the island we came across our first dragon sighting. I'm not sure I've ever been as impressed by the size of an animal before -- the largest one we saw was 7.5ft long and weighed about 195lbs. I knew Komodo Dragons were big, but when you see them in person my jaw dropped! We agreed upon a guided two hour trek across Komodo. Before getting far into our walk we came across about 5 dragons near the ranger station. The dragons are mostly calm, as coldblooded animals they were just basking in the sun, but due to their sheer size you didn't want to get to close to them. They also have the ability to kill and eat deer, goat and even numerous water buffalo (as was proven by the numerous skulls you see along the walk) due to the venomous bacteria that is part of their saliva. The venom won't kill a goat instantly, but give it a few hours and you'll see it's effects. We came across a total of about 10 dragons on the hike, which also included some spectacular views of the Flores Sea. The landscape reminded me of the Serengetti, as it was pretty dry and barren expect a speckling of palm trees and brown grass.

After the two hour trek we boarded the boat and made our first snorkeling stop at Pink Beach. The site was amazing with numerous coral, turtles and giant fish of all families. About an hour later we dropped anchor for the evening. I should mention how delicious the food was on the boat. Unfortunately, the sleeping situation wasn't quite as good as the food as we all slept out on the deck of the boat, but it was only one night so no worries. The next morning we were up by 6am and began the long ride to Rinca island. Along the way we spotted a pod of dolphins before we stopped for another snorkel, which wasn't nearly as good as the Pink Beach.

Rinca is another island loaded with Komodo Dragons. Similar to Komodo, we went for a two hour hike that included numerous deer, water buffalo, cockatoo, and other bird sightings and of course the mighty Komodo Dragons which I now consider one of my favorite animals. After the hike we were back on the boat for the 4.5 hour ride back to Labuanbajo (including another snorkel stop). I should note that since it was the end of Ramadhan, there was a large "party" on a random island near where we stopped for a snorkel which was pretty funny to see.