There Be Dragons

Just as dawn was rising over Flores to the east our boat dropped anchor by manta point on the northern end of Komodo island. So called because of the abundance of manta rays in the area.

There is a channel separating the warm Flores sea to the north from the Indian Ocean to the south. A strong current flows southward dragging tons of small marine life through. It’s this that the manta rays come for. Large graceful creatures gliding through the water filtering the krill as they go.

We were lucky enough to see a number of them while we were snorkelling. Along with sharks, shoals of fish and big turtles all swimming with us, rich coral reefs below. In places the water shallow dropping off elsewhere in to the dark blue abyss. The current dragging cold water up.

From there an hour sailing down the side of Komodo island. Emerald green. So green you could think the steep hills rising out of the sea were somewhere in the west of Ireland.

Soon after landing in Komodo national park we were guided through the trees to a waterhole. Splayed under a tree nearby a huge male Komodo, feet and claws pushed out beside his head. Every so often his eyes would open and he would disdainfully look at us.

While we were there a female came down the path we’d just walked. Pushing her long tongue out as far as It would go before sucking it in like a piece of spaghetti. Apparently they do this with their tongues when they smell something interesting that might be food. The thing interesting her, was us.

There are about 1,600 dragons on the island with a further 1,600 on four other islands. Komodo’s saliva contains roughly 70 different forms of bacteria. They don’t kill their prey. Instead they feign sleep and then pounce on unsuspecting animals as large as a water buffalo. A decent bite will fester and eventually the victim will die of bacterial infection after which time the prey is eaten. Once bitten they follow their prey playing a game of bacterial poker. The dragons know that they hold a royal flush and are bound to win.

Apparently a while back a tourist from Austria and along with another from Singapore decided it would be a good idea to venture off the beaten track and see what they could find. They were never seen again. The only evidence that they’d ever been there – a pair of sunglasses discarded in the sand.

In case you are wondering. The poo of a Komodo contains a lot of white calcium in semi liquid form, along with darker matter. The calcium from the victims bones.

We crossed the bay in our boat and dropped anchor 100 meters off a beautiful pink sandy beach. The pink sand made from coral. We spend the rest of the afternoon swimming and snorkelling over some beautiful coral. Turtles, brightly coloured fish some swimming individually others in shoals. Magical.

Sailing round the other side of the island the boat moored for the night. We walked high up along a ridge. Sweaty but breathless with the exertion and beauty of the place. There can only be one or two places in the world more beautiful.