Back in time at Komodo National Park
This tour was honestly the biggest reason that we booked this trip. Seeing the Komodo dragons in their natural habitat has been on both our bucket lists (it has been on mine since I was a kid). We did a fair bit of research online because we wanted to make sure that we chose the best tour possible for this truly once-in-a-lifetime experience. After experiencing this day after so eagerly anticipating its arrival for so long, I can confidently say that we definitely chose the best of the best. We went with Bintang Komodo Tours and they were amazing. A full eleven hour day, we knew that we wanted to invest in a tour that would give us the most value for our money and that was really respectful of the wildlife. Without a doubt, Bintang Komodo Tours does all that - and then some.
The whole area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and we got to go to three islands (Komodo National Park, Padar Island, and Taka Makassar Island) and snorkel in four different spots around these islands. The tour includes insurance for the day, water, snacks, lunch, entrance fee to Padar and Komodo islands, pick up and drop off in an air conditioned vehicle, snorkelling equipment, and English speaking tour guides (our guide could actually speak in multiple languages, and he kindly translated in English for us and then the other languages to other tourists on our boat). Your value for money right off the bat seems unreal, right? It only gets better as you get out on the boat. From start to finish, this was one of the best days either of us has ever had. We got picked up from our villa bright and early and after picking up the other two couples on our tour (yes, just six people! I love small groups when doing activities - especially around wildlife), we got to the pier and off we went!
The tour guides were so incredible. I really cannot emphasise that enough. They gave us history and information on all the islands around us and the wildlife as well as tips for how to negotiate prices for any items we wanted to purchase on the islands. In Indonesia, bartering is a massive part of purchasing anything anywhere, and it can be daunting to know where the line is in being respectful and trying to barter too low. Our tour guide was very clear about what prices were and what we should realistically be paying, which was so kind of him. The boat trip out to our first destination was beautiful. It was the perfect day...clear blue skies, sunshine, and beautiful waters. The whole boat was absolutely buzzing with excitement and eager anticipation. We were finally getting the chance to tick off one of our ultimate bucket list experiences!
Hiking to 360 views over the volcanic landscape on Padar Island
Our first stop of the day was the spectacular Padar Island. When the boat approached this island, it honestly gave me Greek vibes for a split second - minus the human activity of course. Padar Island looks incredible from the water, but let me tell you, it is nothing compared to how it looks from standing at the top of that vantage point. When we got there, it was mid morning, so it was relatively cool. We walked up to the stairs leading up to that vantage point (seeing a deer at the bottom!) and started to make our way up the stairs. Here's the thing. This is a hike and a half and it is quite steep, especially up near the top. Even so, it only took the group around twenty minutes to get to the top (for me, it was more like thirty minutes, but we still got there).
When we got to the top, it was immediately clear why we had stopped off her first. This hike was no joke (if you go - and you should - make sure that you are wearing appropriate shoes and have water with you) and doing it any later in the day would have made it way too hot. Even so early on in the day, we were sweating bullets by the time we got up there. That view...I can honestly say that I have never seen anything in the world quite like it. In the last few years, Padar Island has become a global bucket list destination in and of itself, thanks to the fact that from this exact vantage point, you can see three beaches all with different coloured sand...a white sand beach, a black sand beach, and a pink sand beach. This place is so special. We spent a while getting some shots and taking the view (and Josh ran up to the tippy top point) and then it was time to hike back down and get to the next destination for the day.
Snorkelling off Pink Beach along crystal clear shores
After we left the entry point where we hiked up to the top of the island, the boat took us to a pink beach on Komodo's National Park itself. The pink beach on Padar looks beautiful from the high point of Padar and it is even better to see this type of magical place up close and personal. When our boat slid up to the shoreline we were treated to the same crystal clear waters we had seen on Padar...but with a pink tone! The pink sand becomes so thanks to the break down of this rare coral, shells, and calcium carbonate materials that break down, all of which cause a pink undertone to colour the sand and bring it life in this way. We had that beach to ourselves and it was a special experience that I will never forget. This was also our irst snorkelling point for the day. We reapplied our sunscreen, grabbed our snorkelling gear, our GoPro, and jumped in the water.
This snorkelling spot really set the tone for the kind of aquatic life we could expect for the rest of the day. The most crystal clear water ever (even better than the Nusa Islands off Bali's mainland, if you can believe it!). Australia's coastline kind of looks like this place did on a super clear day, but as our guide told us, this is the reality for Pink Beach all year round. We snorkelled through the waters off the shoreline and got to see our first fish! This was such an amazing experience. The water was the perfect temperature and we got to experience it all in technicolour. Beautiful little fish, chunks of the pink coral, and beautiful little patches of coral reef. With stunning mountains surrounding the beach, Pink Beach genuinely feels like a little slice of perfect paradise straight out of a dream. Eventually, after lounging on the sand and snorkelling our way across the shallows, we made our day over to the entrance pier for (drum roll please...did I really just do that? Oh well here we go...) Komodo National Park!
Walking with dinosaurs in Komodo National Park
This was the best experience (as you will be able to tell by the end of this loooong section, this was the time of our lives!). The national park is an entire island and is the natural home and only place on Earth today where the Komodo dragon (i.e. the Varanus Komodoensis) lives and breathes in its natural habitat, entirely free of illegal poaching and/or captivity. The Komodo dragon is practically a living dinosaur and it plays an important role in how scientists continue to form their understanding of evolution. They are known for their deadly bite - a bite that, until recently, was believed to be deadly because of a bacterial build up that resulted in blood poisoning. Now, however, we know that the Komodo dragon actually has venom glands that it uses to take down its prey. . With the quickest (far quicker than you would expect, watching them move at any other time) one-two bite, the Komodo marks its prey and then stalks it, waiting until it weakens to such a point that it cannot fight back once the time has come to go in for the kill.
The power of these animals is unique, giving it an edge over its prey and making it a truly underestimated predator. To date, fossils of Komodo dragons have been found in Flores, Java, India, and even Australia. In fact, the Komodo dragon is thought to have originated in Australia. This underestimated predator lives today yet looks like something right out of a palaeontology book, side by side with all the other dinosaurs (and, well, it pretty much is). This is the reason that I have wanted to see them for so long and now that I have been here for myself with Josh, I can say without a doubt that it is every bit as incredible as you imagine it would be. There are around 5,500 lizards that call this island home. When we got there, we saw the smallest village we have ever seen (there is only a small percentage of locals that call this island home and live with the Komodo dragons). And to the right side we saw mountains that deadset reminded me of Jurassic Park...it was exactly what we hoped it would be right from the onset.
When we asked if the dragons ever attacked the locals, our guide explained to us as we were walking in from the pier that while the dragons are quite docile when they have eaten, they have attacked humans in the past when they were hungry or startled, but in the very rare occasion that it does happen, that it is never a local. Interestingly, the guides for the national park are the locals and while they did each carry a giant stick with them to keep the Komodos at a distance if it were to become necessary, they were pretty relaxed and took the time to explain to us the history of the islands and the lizards, of the village, and of the ongoing conservation efforts that are in place to preserve and protect the island and the lizards. When we decided to book this trip, the conservation efforts were actually kicking into high gear and were supposed to close off access to the island for the foreseeable future because of poaching and over fishing (obviously - and lucky for us - they decided to postpone the closure for now).
'Life breaks free. Life expands to new territories. Painfully, perhaps even dangerously. But life finds a way.'
Michael Crichton, Jurassic Park
One of the best parts of this part of the day was obviously getting to interact with these remarkable creatures in their natural world. We went in November which was the dry season, which means that the island is dry and brown as opposed to the lush and green landscape that it often is during the high season. When we got to the island, we were told that this was as organic an experience as was possible (which we wanted it to be). Our tour guides were very clear that these are wild animals and they could not guarantee sightings. However, not even five minutes into walking into the park with our guides, we saw our first Komodo. There is nothing else in all the world quite like a Komodo dragon. This first sighting was a massive dragon, taking it easy under the shade of a tree. They move so slowly that it looks like every single step is acutely calculated, definitive in both its motion and its intent. This lizard moved slowly the entire time, to the point that if we hadn't seen it with our own eyes, we would swear that all footage we got was in slow motion.
Eventually, this lizard seemed to realise that she had an audience, and she started to move a little faster, away from the shady haven of that tree and towards some individuals in another group. Not menacingly, kind of just walking towards them as if it did not even really realise they were there at all. The tour guides for the group got their sticks out in front of them, protecting the tourists, and the Komodo pivoted to walk around the group and away from people entirely. We were walking on from this spot and we noticed some rustling in the trees. We looked up and our guide said, "you always have to check for the trees...that's where the smaller lizards come down from". We laughed, thinking he was joking. As it turns out, he was not. The adult lizards sometimes eat the infants, so they take solace in the trees from the moment they are born until they are too large to stay up in the trees and are better able to defend themselves. We probably wouldn't see any babies because it was not breeding season and they tend to keep to themselves...
But, lo and behold, around the next corner, we noticed a little baby walking off into the falling leaves. So small that you could barely notice the little one at all. Yet there they were. And when we got back to the main entrance just before lunch, we saw a few more baby Komodo dragons near the toilet blocks, shading themselves. Seeing the adults was amazing, but there is nothing like seeing the little baby Komodos wandering around. A few of them chased one another around near the beach. We noticed a small crowd of other tourists around the cafe area and there were two giant Komodos under the stairs leading up to the kitchen (the smell of the meat draws them in) and under the main buildings (they love the shade). We watched them for a while, had our lunch, bought our souvenirs, and walked back out to get to our next destination (which was another incredible bucket list tick!).
Being so up close and personal with these incredible creatures was such a bucket list moment for us both. I had wanted to see this for so so long and finally...here we were. Realising that these beautiful creatures are endangered was so sad, especially after seeing them in person. It really drove home the fact that we need to do more to protect these animals. I will never forget this experience...I only wish that we could have stayed longer. We would definitely love to go back, maybe in the rainy season to see the island in its lush green state!
Snorkelling with sea turtles and vibrant fish at Taka Makassar Island
After a delicious lunch of chicken and rice and a cold drink - and the absolute time of our lives walking with the dinosaurs that are the Komodo dragons - we were on to the next incredible destination...this tiny (and I mean tiny...more like a sand dune, really) island of white sand and the most stunning waters ever. We were riding a natural high after the national park with the Komodo dragons and this perfect little place was a great way to follow it up. We got off the boat, in absolute awe at the fact that we were literally having a dreamlike day...and now we were about to swim at a place that looked like a screensaver or the ultimate bucket list destination (spoiler alert, it is exactly that). We spent a while snorkelling around the clearest reefs I have ever seen with the most colourful fish. Josh even went way out with one of our guides and dove down to say hello to a sea turtle that was relaxing at the depths! With just our group, it felt like having a private island all to ourselves in the middle of the most pristine oceans...which we essentially did.
Swimming with graceful wonders in paradise at Manta Point
As is always the case, time eventually demanded that we move on. We were having the best day out on the water, soaking up the sunshine and the wildlife. And it was about to get a whole lot better (if that was even remotely possible!). Our guides took us to Manta Point next, a section of ocean in between three islands. We cruised around with the boat moving at a much slower pace and then, out of nowhere, one of the guides (who was on the roof of the boat looking out for something) literally dives off the top of the boat and powers through the water...we had spotted our first manta ray! We have swam with mantas once before in Bali earlier this year, however the biggest and most important difference between doing so there and doing so here is the water. Bali is magical, of course, however the Manta Point site in Bali is full of trash and debris because the area never gets a break from tourists (and not all tourists are especially kind to the environment).
Here, however, the water was pristine and it showed. We got in the water and swam our hardest in the general direction that the guide was pointing in the water...but we couldn't see anything. Still, we kept on swimming (Dory would be proud) and then, suddenly, a manta swam towards us. I have said it before and I will say it again, the beauty and grace of the manta ray is unlike anything else in the water (or anywhere else, for that matter). It is humbling to share the water with this gentle giant. Then, out of nowhere, another three manta rays joined us! Watching them gracefully flow through the water in formation, playing with one another is such an unreal experience. These four manta rays stayed with us for a while, seeming to enjoy it when we dove down deeper to swim with them. By the time we got back on the boat, we had lost count of the islands and the snorkelling sites...yet there was one more incredible place we were going to get to experience for the day before going back to Labuan Bajo...
Crystal Clear waters and Bintangs on the beach at Kanawa Island
The last stop for the day was Kanawa Island. This is the island that is often used for tourism or Instagram shots - and it is entirely easy to see why that is. This island has little bungalows and a cafe lining the beach and a long pier that goes out over the most beautiful, crystal clear shades of sparkling turquoise and aqua and sapphire blues. The rippling waters are home to an abundance of fish. As we walked into the shoreline from the pier, we could see the fish even in the deepest parts where the boat was docked at the end of the pier. Snorkelling here was (again) a different experience. We had to be careful of sea urchins here, however we were greeted with so many species of fish including little nemo fish and starfish! After spending some time in the water we eventually wandered to some lounges on the sand, bought a Bintang to share, and sat down, talking animatedly about the day and revelling in this insanely wild day.
When it was time to head back in to Labuan Bajo, we were a little sad to have to go back but so excited to look over all our footage, have a fresh shower, and go to sleep (a big day of constant activity will do that to you I guess). If you have gotten tot he end of this post...I commend you (and thank you). And while you are here...if you have not already added this place to your bucket list, you have to do it right now. Trust me, this is a destination and a tour that is an ultimate bucket list experience that everyone should get to enjoy in their lifetime. This place is magic. It is like stepping back in time, like a burst of fresh air from a place you never knew existed...but you are so filled with excitement and joy that you discovered and explored it.
Footnotes From Around The World - Komodo National Park
This bucket list experience has exceeded every possible expectation that we ever had. Seeing these living dinosaurs in their natural habitat was unreal. The ocean is pure magic here and the two highlights of the day - the komodos (and baby ones, too!) and the manta rays - made it an experience that truly exceeded all expectations
Footnotes From Around The World - East Nusa Tenggara
This wild little island has been a hidden gem that has proven itself to be wonderful in its own little ways. From scooter rides in the golden sunshine and floating in oceanside salt water caves, to walking in down the main street and watching the day come alive from our villa deck, this is such a special place.