seeing dragons

 

Measuring up to 3 metres and weighing up to 70 kg, the komodo dragon is a super-predator: any creature they can overcome and kill falls within their dietary range, from invertebrates and birds, fellow komodos (when the young hatch they climb straight up a tree, and do not descend until they are strong and fast enough to escape their cannibalistic brethren), the introduced Timor deer, wild boar, water buffalo and goats, and even humans.  The dragons can smell blood and the scent of death from nearly 6 miles away.  They kill by biting their prey, which dies within a few days from the bacteria carried in the Komodo’s saliva, which can cause paralysis, spasms and shock through haemorrhaging.  Animals up to the size of goats are swallowed whole, this process being aided by the komodos' loosely articulated jaws, flexible skull and expandable stomach.  The last human death was in 2009, but a Singaporean tourist who wandered off without a guide was bitten in 2017 (only by a small komodo and so he survived following hospital treatment) – so there are no longer any formal overnight tours to the islands where they live, only quick visits.

But I’d heard it was still possible to stay there.  I so wanted to see the komodos, and the standard day trip, involving an hour on Padar Island to climb the hill and see the (great) views, an hour to swim/snorkel on the Pink Beach, a short time snorkelling with manta rays, many hours at sea – and just one hour on a guided walk in Komodo National Park – didn’t seem to provide what I wanted.  I wasn’t 100% sure that one hour would be enough – nor did the thought of being part of a crowd of thirty tourists taking photos of a komodo really appeal all that much.  So I asked the hostel owner if he knew any way I could stay overnight on Komodo Island.  He made a few calls, and arranged it for me: I did the standard day trip, but split into two halves, between which I spent a day on the island.

We did see komodos on the guided walk (this photo from the walk), but it was nice afterwards to meet my local host, walk (scramble) for an hour around the coast (some sandy, some rocky) to Komodo village, where I was the only tourist.  There wasn’t much to do there, but I walked around to look at the jetty, the fishing boats, and the houses – all guided, of course, my host holding the typical long, forked stick to ward off any komodos that might have wandered into the village (some do!) if they got too close.

I stayed in a room in a family house, sharing their squat toilet, bucket shower, etc, and they fed me dinner and breakfast.  Then in the morning we went for a walk up the hill behind the village – my host guarding us again with his stick.  We saw six komodos, without another person in sight!

& the day tour part?  Well the view over Padar Island was pretty good, a brief snorkel encounter with manta rays was nice, and even the time on the boat was enjoyable as the scenery around us (hilly little islands and lots of boats) was good to look at.