Labuan Bajo and the Komodo Dragons

Labuan Bajo

This rally schedule has been so packed that I haven’t had time to put my fingertips to the keyboard. So, once again, I am going to stretch the limits of my memory to share what we have been up to in the last few weeks – and that’s the reason why some of these post titles are going to sound like names of 1970s pop bands.

Our primary motivation for going to Labuan Bajo was to get out. We wanted to visit Komodo to see the Komodo dragons without the hassle of taking the boat over to Komodo village. And because this is the place from where all the tour boats leave, there’s a lot of choice.

Rather than anchor near town, we parked the boat up near the Hotel Sylvia. This is far enough away from town to avoid the chaos of Labuan Bajo but close enough to get there within half an hour by dinghy. And, when we did get into town, to our surprise, we really liked the place. There are many good restaurants of all flavours, coffee shops, and grocery shops to choose from, most of which are reasonably priced.

Unfortunately, I don’t have many photographs of Labuan Bajo, and these are the only ones I have. I must have been too busy stuffing my face with patisseries, sushi and good coffee to remember to point my camera at the streets. The first is an example of Portuguese colonial architecture, and the second is a photo of the hard yards you need to put in if you are going to leave your dinghy in town. Far from seeing this as a potential spectator sport, local people will go out of their way to help you down the dodgy ladder. We had help several times – maybe we looked like we needed it.

Komodo Tour

All of the tours follow a similar format:

1. Leave Labuan Bajo in the morning and stop at Padar Island for a bit of trekking. Which, in reality, is simply an uphill climb to a vantage point with the views below.

2. Pink beach. Here, you can bask on the beach with the other pink people. I didn’t get a photograph of any of that, but just imagine a beach in Benidorm without the umbrellas and people making unrealistic photographs for Instagram, and you are right there,

3. Komodo Island

It isn’t possible, nor is it advisable, to walk around Komodo village without a guide. The lizards weigh up to 150kg, can move at up to 20 km/h for short distances, and aren’t fussy about what they eat – as long as it’s meat. The stick that is shaped like a lizard’s tongue, held by the man in the photograph below, is a Komodo dragon deterrent. Although it’s unlikely he would need to use it in anger. Fortunately, the Komodo Dragons here are very well-fed and don’t look like they are ready to pounce. But you never know.

I received a bit of a bollocking for this photograph, but it was worth it. Almost all of the Dragons were immobile, but this one was doing a slow runner somewhere. I broke away from our group to get the shot.

4. Snorkelling. Actually, the tours stop at a couple of places. One to see the mantas, but none were around, and one to see the turtles where I saw this fine fella.

Anchorages towards Bima

On the way to our next rally stop in Bima, we stopped on the north of Komodo Island, where we saw a small Komodo Dragon taking a walk, followed later by its potential dinner.

Sailing at night can be a bit tense around Indonesia. It isn’t the threat of piracy; it’s the chance of clobbering something unlit – whether that be a FAD, tree, or another boat (we have come close). So we stopped at Gili Banta island, where we came across these fishermen and had a bit of banter with them. We bought a large squid for 50,000 rupiah (around £2.50). But the happy faces have more to do with our gift of sunglasses, t-shirts and some drinking water.

And off we went the next day to Bima, where, according to reports, the place is filthy and grim. But there’s only one way to find out for sure – see it yourself. After all, how bad can it be?