11 Hello, Hello, Hello Komodo

Beautiful Sunrise as we approach Komodo Island

If there is one English word that all Komodians know, it is "Hello." Be it adults or children, everyone is calling out to you to grab your attention to stop and look at the goods they are selling. 

It is the children that you first encounter as they hover on the pier and grab you as soon as you disembark the tender.

Once you reach what is affectionately called "the Komodo Mall", the stall holders call out in hope that you will stop at their stall.

Komodo Island is a national park where the famous Komodo Dragons live.  Access to the island is limited to those who are either doing a ship's tour  or you can prove to the ship that you have a legitimate Private tour organised. This is not a ploy to make money, but a system of keeping you
safe.

 
Komodo dragons run free around the island. They are quick, venomous and love the smell of blood. It is not so much the bite that will kill you but the venom in the saliva that will get you if not treated immediately. 

So why do they take Cruise ships full of passengers well and truly on the mature side? 

Luckily these dragons only eat when necessary and there are plenty of deer bred on the island to fill their appetite. Needing only to feed around once a month, unlike most of us passengers, they know when to stop!

 
As independent tour passengers we were asked to meet in the Legends sports bar where we were marked off the approved list and given tender tickets. It is a short tender ride to the pier, but a long walk to the park entrance. Once our whole group was gathered, Martin our guide took us to the mandatory
briefing by the park rangers on what not to do. Travel in packs they said, as dragons love to stalk their prey and prefer to hunt those who wander off on their own. Our only protection are two rangers, one in the lead and one at the back and a forked stick to keep any aggressive dragon at bay.

 
Our short walk took us up to a look out across the bay where the Sea Princess was anchored. The island is beautiful and yet rugged, which we assumed is volcanic. 

From there we started to the dried up water hole where we are guaranteed to see a dragon or two. We became a little concerned when suddenly we could hear a lot of screaming and yelling in the distance: "hmm that can't be good."

 
Apparently two dragons got into a bit of tussle, from reports, like kangaroos they reared up onto their hind legs for a bit of a wrestle. The screaming was a result of one of the aggressors deciding to chase a fellow female dragon who happened to be walking towards a group of people - everyone went running in all directions, contrary to the instructions of group together and stay still!

 

By the time we got there the rangers were encouraging the more hostile dragon away from the area. The only evidence of the fight we saw was the blood stains around the mouth of the dragon who we assume came second in the fight. 

When we visited in 2014 the dragons around the water hole were much older and had no intention of moving, bit like us after a big night.

 
It was then on to the boat that would take us over to Pink Beach, an area deemed safe to swim. Anchored off shore we were ferried to the beach in little runabouts. The water was lovely and refreshing against the heat and humidity of the day. The beach gets it name from the sand and at first you think "that is not pink", but as the waves wash ashore you can see the pink hue on the wet sand. It is not until you grab a hand full of sand that you see the real colour. Small flecks of red coral are what gives the sand it's colour.

 
Lunch was served during the ride back to the main pier. 

 

  Some chose to return to the ship; the rest of us walked back to the mall, just in case there was something we just had to have. They were happy to take US or AU dollars if you didn't have the Indonesian Rupiah. Items on sale were T-shirts, freshwater pearls, dishes and bowls made from paua shell and of course Komodo dragons carved out of wood.

 

The most popular item brought back onto the ship were the large bottles of Bintang that sold for $5 a pop! 

A little extra bonus whilst heading back to the ship. a Komodo decided to take a stoll along the beach just in front of the markets.

Our Tour information:
Komodo Mas Tours
komodomastour@gmail.com
Komodo Dragons and Pink Beach
$100 AUD Per person
Accepted Currencies: AUD, USD and Indonesian Rupiah

Step Count: 146,045 . Another successful day!