The Myth of the monster
Dragons conjure up only one image
– a fire breathing monster. They have been object of fantasy, folklore and
mythology since time immortal. The word ‘dragon’, first entered the English
language in the 13th century, derived from the Latin ‘dracōnis’ and the Greek
‘drakōns’.
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| My tryst with Komodo Dragon |
But in real world, it does not spit fire, but a deadly cocktail of bacteria. When sailors saw this massive lizard like creature in some remote part of the world, they thought them to be real dragons. Around 1910, a specimen was captured and taken to lab for study. Scientists identified it as a unique species that most likely evolved in Australia, from a dinosaur called Megalania. It was named as Varanus Komodoensis. For hoi polloi, the fabled dragon got a name- Komodo Dragon.
Komodo dragons are endemic to
eastern Indonesia and are currently only found on the northern coast of Flores
on the nearby islands of Komodo, Rinca, Gili Motang and Nusa Kode.
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| Distribution of Komodo Dragons |
The long travel
We have grown up seeing images of
the Komodo Dragon in Nat Geo and Discovery. I knew that they exist in some
remote island in Indonesia. Therefore, when I was taking my family to Bali for
vacation, and to compensate for a missed annual trip to Corbett Tiger Reserve,
I started exploring possibilities of how to see a dragon in Indonesia. The
search led me to island of Labuan Bajo in the Flores region. It was about an
hour and half flight from Denpasar Airport, Bali to the island’s airport, aptly
named as Komodo Airport. I had booked ticket on Batik Air, directly on their
site, as it was giving me decent baggage allowance. Hotel was booked through
Agoda. A 12-hour flight from New Delhi to Bali via Singapore; immigration, and
overnight halt at Bali, and then another 1 ½ hour domestic flight next morning
brought us to Labuan Bajo in the Flores Region of Indonesia. The shortest travel
to Bali from India is either via Singapore, or Malaysia or Vietnam. The travel
time varies from 12 to 17 hours depending on layovers on the way. For me
Singapore Airlines offered the shortest layover, and spending few hours in
Changi Airport is never boring.
Ketut Mustika, my guide cum cab
guy at Bali put me to his friend Frendo who run a travel agency at Labuan Bajo.
The trip itinerary was planned over WhatsApp.
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| At Rengko Cave - a tranquil beach |
Batu Cermin and Rangko Caves
On my arrival at Komodo Airport, we
found a smiling Frendo waiting for us airport. As I had half a day to spare, he
arranged a post lunch trip to Batu Cermin Caves and Rangko Caves. We had a free
afternoon and, therefore it was a good option to utilize the time rather than
dozing off at hotel after a long travel. Batu Cermin Cave, also known as Mirror
Stone Cave is a series of limestone tunnels that rose from sea bed during
volcanic eruptions over centuries. The formation was unique where we saw several
fossils on the walls, including that of a turtle. The minerals on the walls of
the caves shines when you throw torchlight on them. Getting to explore the
entire area took some effort in that perspiring heat.
We than travel through hilly terrains
passing several remote settlements, and finally arrived at a small fishing
village. We were taken to Rengko Caves by a private boat. The boat left after
dropping us off with a promise to return after an hour. On arrival, we found
that the beautiful white sand beach to our own. There were not any other tourists.
We spent some quality time on the beach as waited for the boat to arrive. Each
of these scenic locations without any tourists offered us unforgettable
experiences.
In the evening, we were taken to
a restaurant named Taman Laut for dinner. The restaurant overlooking the bay
and harbor, providing an awesome sunset view, was one of the best places to
have dinner. We returned to this place for dinner on the second evening as
well.
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| Taman Laut, Labuan Bajo views |
Cruise to the dragon land
Next morning we were picked up
from hotel at the crack of dawn for onward transportation to harbor where our
speed boat Red Whale-II was waiting for onward travel to Komodo National Park-
a UNESCO world heritage site, created in 1980 to protect the sacred lizards.
After an hour of cruising, our
boat arrived at the first stop - Padar Island. This island is understood to
have few individuals, and hence is not considered for tracking the dragon. One
is required to climb few steps up the hill to get awesome views of the
surroundings. Just to remind you that the view Cabo de Rama in South Gao offers
is almost equally stunning. India is also a beautiful country if you explore it
the right way.
Post photo sessions, and souvenir
hunting, the boat set off. Next stop was Komodo Island.
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| Image source: www.komodo.indonesia.tourism.com |
Tracking the dragon
On our arrival at the Komodo
National Park, two forest rangers were assigned to our small group. Safety
protocols were conveyed. It would be tracking of the dragon on foot. There was
no guarantee of sighting as they are wild animal. We were to stick together as
group with one ranger at front and another at back. Rangers were armed with a
historic weapon – a tree branch with a fork at one end to protect us from any
untoward attack by a dragon.
Following the rangers command, we
set out on a jungle trail in search of the dragon. As the trail progressed, my
daughter Swathi said that it was giving a feel of Bijrani in Corbett sans
Tiger. But excitement of encountering a predator was same. The added feel of
Jurassic Park was thrilling.
To have the vantage position, I
was with the leader of the track Habib.
Where are you from, he asked. I said - Mumbai, India. “Oh! Sharukh Khan.
Have you seen him. I am a fan of him.” – replied an elated Habib. Hindi films
and songs are quite poplar in Indonesia. He started singing a SRK song, which
stopped abruptly with a hand gesture to stop. I looked up to see some melee in
the group in front of us. A scared Komodo Dragon ran suddenly creating chaos of
horrified tourists. We rushed to the spot only to see a glimpse of Komodo
Dragon that ran away into bushes. It was like a poor tiger sighting that just
ran across the road.
With the hope of a better
sighting, we kept tracking ahead. After few minutes we came across a waterhole
where a dragon had come to quench its thirst. Habib told that being a hot day,
this dragon will spend some time at the waterhole. This was a mid-sized guy
about 7-8 feet in size. It gave us ample opportunities to photograph before
lazily disappearing into the forest. As few other groups had also arrived, the
rangers were managing crowd professionally. Getting to see a Komodo Dragon in
wild from such close quarter is going to remain etched in our memory for life.
The possibility of coming back so far so see it again is near non-existent. I
had one more thing to do ticked off my bucket list. Few more are yet to be ticked
off. The journey continues.
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| Me and wifey for the customary photo with Komodo |
On our way back to boat, we saw another small fellow resting under a tree. This one looked more of our regular monitor lizard.
The Komodo island is home to some 500
households who shares it with 1700 odd Komodos for centuries. The people of the
area, known as the Ata Modo, believe that Komodo dragons are their siblings,
born from the same spiritual mother. In the Komodo language, the dragons are
called sebae (twins). Conservation efforts have resulted in displacement of the
locals. Proliferation of tourism and ban on fishing has affected their livelihoods.
Most locals survive on selling souvenirs to tourists which is not a booming
business. I too bought a pair of miniature wooden Komodo fridge magnets. Tourists typically come here on a fully paid trip that includes meals onboard. Therefore, most locals
are not earning too much from tourism. Ata Modo wants to live peacefully with dragons’
sans too much tourism. Conservation is always a paradox.
Snorkeling at Pink Beach
The trip continued for another
stop at Pink Beach. The pink colored sand of the beach was another natural
marvel. This exceptional beach gets its striking color from microscopic animals
called Foraminifera, which produces a red pigment on the coral reefs. Snorkeling
gear was provided by the boat. The water was crystal clear with excellent
visibility.
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| My cuties ready to snorkel at Pink Beach |
The final stop of the trip was
for Manta Ray watching. Seeing the itinerary, I saw it probably is a gimmick.
However, I found that several boats were actually trying to locate Manta Rays in deep sea. Once
the boats located two huge Manta Rays; it was literally swimming with Manta Rays
for those who dared to jump off. I could not overcome the mental block of
jumping into deepwater, and continued watching them from the boat in Cystal
clear waters. My daughter and wife who enjoyed the swim kept teasing of what I
missed by not getting into the sea.
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| Manta Ray as seen from boat |
Postlude
This part of Indonesia located to
east of the Wallce Line, itself is a natural wonder. The imaginary Wallce Line is
a faunal boundary line drawn in 1859 by the British naturalist Alfred Russel
Wallace and named by the English biologist T.H. Huxley that separates the
biogeographical realms of Asia and 'Wallacea', a transitional zone between Asia
and Australia. You find tigers and elephants to the west of Wallace line, and
Komodo Dragon east of the Wallace Line. No one stopped them to cross the line
by swimming across the sea during evolution.
Packed lunch was offered onboard
on our way back. The pain of coming this far was worth every penny spent. 99%
of tourists to Indonesia crowds Bali, leaving only 1% coming this far. The
nature, environment and beauty are therefore preserved and are still pristine.
Give it a thought if have at least 3 spare days and willing to spend a few more
bucks.
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| Our Transport - the Red Whale-II in cystal clear waters |
How to reach:
accessed only once during out 2 night stay. It has an in-house restaurant, but we had dinner at Taman Laut. Frendo arranged for drop at restaurant for dinner at our convennience which was great service. You can look to stay at city center.
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| Lovely ambience of Luwansa Beach Resort at Labuan Bajo |
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