At 7:00 am this morning, we anchored in Slawi Bay off the coast of Komodo Island. The Komodo National Park encompasses the entire island and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Originally established in 1980 to protect the Komodo Dragon (largest lizard in the world), it became a Man and Biosphere Reserve in 1986. Of course, we are here to see the Komodo Dragons! They are dangerous. Every year, a few people are killed by the dragons. And for that reason, all visitors to the island must be on a tour and accompanied by a guide and lookouts! For the squeamish, there is another tour to the village and the handcraft center.
We had taken the tour in 2010, so elected to stay on board this time. But I have photos from our previous visit:
The ship anchors in Slawi Bay and passengers are tendered to the Komodo National Park dock where they are greeted by Park Rangers and guides.In 2010, we had a special welcome! I don’t know if they still hang the signs for arriving cruise lines.The guides and lookouts awaiting their visitors!We were assigned to team #5.The guide will take us through the reserve and the lookouts (seen behind us holding big sticks) will be our protection on Komodo. Island!We immediately set out to view Komodo DragonsThis one is still digesting breakfast!Komodo Dragons grow to nearly 10 feet in length. In the wild, they are fast and agile. They prey upon Timor deer and can easily take one down!But here in the reserve, they are fed before we all arrive. They actually live a pretty good life with humans and they tend to become fat and lazy!!! So here we are standing among a group of dragons. But, there are lookouts everywhere!The baby Komodo Dragon is the only frisky one we have seen!A Timor Deer on Komodo Island. Known to the dragons as dinner!And before tendering back to the ship, a stop at the vendors’ tent for souvenirs!
Today, we took some photos from the ship:
The tenders are busy taking passengers back and forth to the park.This is a beautiful park! Everything is lush and green. Today is a rainy day, so the temperature shouldn’t feel too bad. Usually, it is very warm and humid with an unrelenting sun.Boats are coming in from the village and other islands, bringing the employees and vendors to work!This is the closest of the 4 villages on the island. Population of this village is about 1500.Once everyone is back on board, we will raise anchor and sail away to our next port in Indonesia.
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I am so jealous!! Saw a Komodo Dragon years ago in Sydney Zoo and I’d love to visit Komodo island – maybe some day…..
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