Into the Dragon’s Den!!

Ok – so proof that the days are blurring into one – the tender wildlife cruise I described in yesterday’s blog post actually happened on the same day as today (I’m usually a couple days behind when I’m writing these, so stuff can get all mixed up if I don’t take copious notes!).  Nevertheless, the highlight for today was probably the main reason we are all here and picked this cruise, out of all the itineraries offered in Indonesia – the chance to see the incredible Komodo dragon!

In the morning (after the tender cruise – ahem), we had another snorkel excursion – this one referred to as “Shotgun” and apparently one of the signature, must-do snorkels of the trip.  The reason for the name – the strong currents that propel you through a narrow section of the snorkel, as you swim between the shore and an island.   Our guides checked which way the current was flowing first (you do not want to attempt to swim against the flow!) and dropped us into the water in the correct spot and correct orientation.  For the first 30mins or so, it was pretty chill, kinda bobbing along, our group nicely spaced out and gently drifting with the current.  Then suddenly – POW!  It felt as if you’d been dumped into a marine tumble dryer as we all got jumbled into a narrow stretch of water as the current really pulled you along!  You had to do your best not to crash into your fellow snorkelers (sorry to anyone I accidentally finned in the face) but it was quite the thrill!

Along with the currents, this excursion offered the chance to see bigger (pelagic, I think) fish as we were swimming alongside a shelf where the waters dropped off and got a lot deeper.  While we didn’t see the star of the show, the giant Trevally (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_trevally), we did spot a manta ray, a big black eel, a giant conger eel and a couple of black-tipped sharks.  There were also a couple of turtles swimming about too, so all in all, it was a very successful snorkel!!

After snorkeling, some of us headed to the Sky Bar for a cooking demonstration from our wonderful chef.  On the menu – yellowfin tuna fishcakes.  Chef explained some of the key ingredients he was using (the tiny little kaffir limes smelled so fragrant) and we got to admire his prodigious knife skills as he made short work of chopping up a pile of shallots to make the sambal garnish.  He kept opening up the salon doors out to the main deck behind so he wouldn’t set off the smoke alarm from his blazing hot pan and, after about half an hour, we were all enjoying some tasty tasty treats! And then it was time for lunch – yey!

We had a couple hours downtime as the ship moved from Gili Lawa and repositioned itself before it was time for the main attraction – our Komodo dragon shore excursion at Loh Buaya on Rinca Island.  We disembarked the ship and had a quick safety briefing from one of the park guides – basically, don’t wander off and don’t make loud noises.   Stay in between one of the two guides who are carrying large forked sticks and you should be fine.  We made our way from the landing area to the entrance proper by way of an elevated boardwalk – and it wasn’t long before we saw our first dragon, lumbering down on the muddy surface, and being trailed (at a respectful distance) by a guide and 3 tourists.  They are quite the creature.  All snout and tail and HUGE claws, tacked onto this long powerful body that moves slowly – but is apparently capable of short bursts of high speed (18-20 mph).  Looking at these animals, they demand respect – and you’ve got to imagine the reactions of the first people who ever discovered them – I probably would have hightailed it out of there!!!

We had to wait for a bit when we got to the main area (it was fenced off from the visitor center, as you might expect) as there were a number of groups ahead of us, and they didn’t want too many people in the preserve at one time.  But we could already see another dragon, lying under a tree, looking for all the world as if it was very sleepy – but apparently that is a total ruse!  They look as if they are asleep to lull their prey into a false sense of security – and then they pounce!  Water buffalo are the main prey of the komodo dragon and they hunt and kill them in a pretty unique (and rather grim) way.  All dragons are born with grinding teeth that actually contain small amounts of venom that acts as an anticoagulant.  The dragon will bite the buffalo just once or twice on their lower legs (do buffalos have ankles??) and then track the doomed animal for up to 2 weeks while it slowly bleeds out, becoming weaker and weaker.  Eventually the buffalo will become so weakened, it won’t be able to defend itself from the dragon, who will then proceed to eat it – even while it is still alive!!  Not a great way to go!  And, while the dragon’s oral hygiene leaves a lot to be desired, its urban myth that the bacteria in their mouth is what kills their prey – it’s not, its the blood loss.

Prepare for a TON of komodo pics.  Here goes:

We learned a lot about the lifecycle of the dragon too (but not, interestingly why its actually called a “dragon”) – I’ve attached photos of those info boards at the end of this post, in case you want to take a look.  All in all, we spent about an hour walking in a big loop, spotting 3 dragons during our time – including a very tense moment when we observed a dragon creeping up behind a water buffalo, who was wallowing around oblivious in a mud pool.  For a moment, we thought we were going to see, right there, nature and predation in action – but after a few moments, the dragon instead moved away and the buffalo got to to live another day!  We asked the guide why the dragon didn’t attack and they said it was likely because the buffalo was too big for the dragon to safely tackle.  In another memorable moment, the guide took my phone and placed it right in the path of another approaching dragon, such that I got some fun footage of the dragon’s approach – and a great picture of the dragon looking at my phone!  We also got a photo of Krusty (who’s been pretty quiet this trip) in front of the dragon – but the guide very quickly told us to pick him back up off the ground as the dragon would not like it.  Got it!  Don’t need to be told twice!!!  He was quickly scooped up and placed back in the bag – I did not want to annoy the beast!!

In addition to the dragons and buffalos, we also saw a couple of orange-footed scrub fowls building their nests – which apparently the komodo dragons steal and lay their own eggs in!  There were also a fair number of macaque monkeys running around, so all in all, it was a great day for spotting wildlife!  (although our guides were apologetic that we had only seen “smaller” dragons – apparently the big ones (up to 10ft long) are all in the forest mating right now).  After our visit, we all headed back to the boat, passing a very impressive sculpture of two dragons either fighting or making out (not sure which) to enjoy another spectacular sunset over sun downer cocktails on the Sun Deck.

Only 2 days left!!  NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!