R and D
- May 15, 2019
- 4 min read

The Boat to Komodo

Hi All,

The last week has been an amazing, and at points scary, adventure. We travelled from Lombok to Flores on a 500 kilometre boat journey. With 20 other travellers, we boarded the boat that we would call home for the next 4 days. Our large bags were loaded into the hull while we placed our smaller rucksacks up in the dormitory on deck. During the trip we stopped at many incredible locations and spent the time in between sunbathing, sharing travel stories and eating delicious Indonesian meals.

On the first day, we stopped to snorkel above the beautiful corals around Kenawa Island. Then we headed inland up the hill for sunset. Unfortunately, the clouds rolled in just as the sun disappeared behind a distant volcano but we still had a great view of the surrounding islands. Although impossible to photograph, the night sky from the boat was absolutely wonderful; we could even see the Milky Way shining behind the twinkling constellations!

Day 2 involved 18 hours of sailing. On route we stopped to visit a waterfall on Moyo Island. It was nice to stretch our legs and jump into the fresh water pools. Climbing up the waterfall was surprisingly easy as the calcium deposits from the water made the rock pretty grippy! Later that afternoon we stopped for one more swim, this time in the sea; everyone took turns to jump in from the top deck before enjoying another Bintang sunset from the boat. The overnight journey was somewhat less relaxing. Huge waves rocked the boat from all angles which made sleeping a little challenging. As we were titled at a 45 degree angle back and forth for the hundredth time, Danielle began to fear being thrown overboard into the vast black expanse of water. Turns out these were warranted fears when we found out the following morning that the waves had indeed caused an identical boat to sink 5 years ago leaving 20 people stranded in the sea for over 40 hours!

Day 3 was one we will remember for a long time! We were up early as the boat had arrived at ‘manta point’ in Komodo National Marine Park. We put on our snorkels and awaited instruction... “MANTA, manta, manta, JUMP!” We all launched ourselves into the water, the extremely strong current whirled around us and dragged each group of people in different directions. Ross and I swam frantically towards the direction the crew pointed and were absolutely astounded to see 4 gigantic manta rays swimming beneath us. They glided effortlessly through the water, majestically flapping their wings in what seemed like slow motion. We were shocked by their sheer size; their huge 6m wingspan does not show in pictures as the current prevented us swimming down to get a picture close to them. After 40 minutes of flat out swimming, we returned to the boat with huge grins on our faces! As if seeing manta rays wasn’t enough for one day, we then pulled up to the island of Komodo - home of course to the Komodo Dragon! A local guide took us on a walking trail to see these beasts in their natural habitat. The largest were 3m long and seriously intimidating when they started to come towards us! Our guide explained how they kill water buffalo with one bite and eat an entire deer whole (including the bones). After a hot walk, we were all happy to stop off for a refreshing swim at ‘pink beach’, a white sandy cove with a pink hue caused by the red corals in the water. Having spent our day swimming with giants and walking with dinosaurs, we ended the day with a spectacular sunset on Padar Island. We should be payed for advertising as we captured another great shot with Bintang beer in hand! Looking down at the island below with its mountainous interior and multiple sandy coves was a wonderful end to an amazing day! The drinks on board continued into the evening with Bob Marley dominating the speakers.

Our fourth and final day on the boat began with another walk to see Komodo Dragons, this time on neighbouring Rinca Island. While most of the walk proceeded as yesterday, midway through the whole group began to fret and scream when the guide himself started flapping and screaming “Komodo, Komodo!” It turns out a tiny baby dragon was climbing up a wooden post behind us; a minimal threat compared to the huge adult that was nearly kicked in the kerfuffle! Our last stop was a visit to Kelor Island where we spent the time laying chatting as a group in the turquoise, shallow waters.

While we loved every single stop of the trip and really enjoyed spending time with a group of fantastic people, we were happy to be back on land when we docked in Labuhan Bajo on the island of Flores. It was nice to not to feel like we were swaying anymore and to have a proper bed for the night. Saying that, it only took us a day in Flores before we booked onto a scuba diving day trip!

Diving in Komodo National Park was absolutely spectacular. We met divers with 25 years of experience who all said it was the best diving they have ever encountered - we were truly spoilt on the three dives we completed there! On the first dive, we revisited manta point and were so lucky to see 4 graceful manta rays as well as 2 black tip reef sharks and an eagle ray. During the second dive, we felt like we had been dropped into a scene from ‘Finding Nemo’! We thought the coral was impressive in Gili but were blown away by the pristine condition and sheer variety in these stunning reefs. As we swam passed the colourful corals, we were in awe of the incredible array of marine life. On the third and final dive, we were amazed to see both green and hawksbill turtles ‘dance’ around us. We also saw: schools of black and yellow giant sweet lips, unicorn fish, huge puffer fish, lion fish and hundreds of other incredible tropical species! All three were drift dives, gliding with the current which really felt like flying. These currents in Komodo are exceptionally strong with many areas only suitable for experienced divers so we are already planning a return trip one day!