We rose early for our second attempt of the Komodo and Rinca islands boat tour, and this time, with a different boat, we had more success.

View back at land as the boat trip began

Arriving at around 11am on Rinca island we began the first activity of our two day adventure. Unfortunately, this did not get off to the best start when we all discovered the tour would cost 100k Indonesian Rupiah (idr) more than we had originally been told. Once this dilemma was sorted, several of us having to lend money to others, we were introduced to our guides for the trek.

Given advice by the guides that the middle length trek would provide the best opportunity to see the Komodo dragons and enjoy a scenic route, we agreed with their choice and set off on the hour and half journey. Not five minutes in, near the guides’ cabins (used by guides staying on sight), we came across a number of the dragons. Even our guides became excited when they all began to run, motivated by a scuffle or food. They didn’t move far but it was enough for us to get a great view of the dragons being active, which is apparently a rare sight.

After viewing the dragons for 15 minutes or so, we carried on with the rest of our trek. This turned out to be far less of a trek and more a small amble. Although we were grateful not to have been too exerted in the heat of the day, some of us were less than pleased that the majority of our ‘trek’ has been spent stood resting in one place or another around the small route. From the one hill we did climb we were rewarded with some excellent scenery of the national park and surrounding area. The vista of the sea amazed us, with beautiful light blue patches contrasting with the otherwise vast deep blue, created by shallower sandy areas below the surface.

So we left the first island having enjoyed what we had seen, but feeling this did not warrant the high entry fees we had been charged.

From here our boat took us to Pink Beach, so called due to red coral being mixed within the white sand off the beach. Though I have to say, it wasn’t nearly as pink as expected. Our main aim for being here was snorkelling, and while diving has taken away any real excitement I have of viewing aquatic life from the surface rather than alongside it, I did enjoy trying to remember names of different fish and coral.

Finally, we were onto Komodo island, where we were then told we needed to pay another 160k between us for two more guides. Due to us already having paid a fair amount more than expected, alongside the fact we did not actually have enough money left to pay, this news was not well receive. So we refused and requested to return to the boat. Although we would have been happy to leave it at this point the Captain then preceded to call our tour operator to rectify the situation. After much discussion we were told that we could go ahead with the tour, the cost being covered for us.

The dragons here were slightly larger than on Rinca island, again we saw a little movement among them but nothing compared to the previous time. For me, one of the highlights of our short thirty minute visit was finding a multi-coloured brick on my exit from the park!

Our final stop off that day was at sea, anchored down to enjoy yet another beautiful sunset and some flying foxes which occupied the area. Although we did not get frequent views of the flying foxes, the ones we did see were impressive in size.

As night drew in, we were taken to Komodo Village where we were to stay with the Captain and his family. The house was very different than the ones we had seen in Benjo’s village. It was built on a raised platform, with stairs to enter. Inside was a sofa and chair set with high rise backs and arm rests, creating an almost regal appearance. There was a large speaker system in the main room and a corridor which ran past several small bedrooms to the kitchen. One wall of the living room was created at half height, providing an amazing view of the village and sea beyond. For sleeping arrangements, we had three girls in one bedroom sharing a mattress, and the four boys sharing a mattress in a neighbouring room.

The food we ate had been cooked by the Captain’s wife and tasted incredible, especially after the busy day. It felt humbling that they had invited us into their home, though at times, a little intrusive. We are able to witness moments such as him playing with his youngest child, who took great delight in chasing grasshoppers around the room.

View from the home-stay window

The next morning we were up and out early to our final snorkeling destination, where we hoped to catch a sight of some manta rays. We were in luck, getting to see around six of them beneath us. One was moving around with a school of tiny yellow fish swimming at it’s mouth, presumably for protection. I was just a little gutted to be snorkelling instead of scuba diving!

Then, with time to spare on our return journey we were dropped at another small, uninhabited island in the middle of nowhere. The sand here was more pink than Pink Beach with red coral everywhere, it was an amazing sight, though a little sad to see so much dead coral. While there, we all drank in the moment, of how lucky we were for the experience, and how few people would ever set foot on that particular island.

Once back on Flores we headed back to our separate hostels to shower before meeting up at the Sunset Bar, aptly named for it’s prime position for sunsets. We were all going our separate ways the following day so we enjoyed one final evening on each others company, sharing stories from past experiences and ideas for future ones.