Day 110, Year 3: Fantastic Snorkeling, Komodo Dragons, Water Buffalo, and Monkeys
Date: Hari Rabu (Wednesday), Bulan Agustus 27, Pada Tahan 2008
Weather: Beautiful Morning; Cloudy Afternoon; Rainy Evening
Latitude: 08 degrees 39.132 minutes S
Longitude: 119 degrees 42.817 minutes E
Location: Lehok Buaya, Rinca Island, Komodos, Indonesia
What a fantastic day! Windbird decided to make a stop at Kelor Island on our way to Rinca. I had read that a couple of years ago there were really nice coral gardens there just teeming with fish and I just had to see for myself. There was a caution in the recommendation saying that the fishermen were winning the battle against those trying to protect the reefs, and when we arrived the first thing we saw were fish traps. So I guess the fishermen are winning. But even with fish traps there was
still some great snorkeling. I saw a few things today that I have never seen before. There were anemones with bright neon green and bright, bright blue bases. They were so bright that they looked unreal. And we saw a small white fish with a bright yellow top and turquoise pectoral fins. I can’t find this fish anywhere in the books, but I will keep looking. We saw Mustache Triggerfish which are just fascinating to watch as their fins flutter as they move through the water. I didn’t know what
they were until I got back and identified them and I am really glad the ones I was following were not mating or guarding a nest. Evidently these guys can bit through metal and can inflict a wound needing many stitches if you get too close to them at the wrong time. Good information to know. And the most outstanding fish of the day was a juvenile Harlequin Sweetlips. These beautiful fish look a bit like a clownfish except that they are brown with white splotches outlined in black. Klinton, Donna
and Gerry’s son on Scot Free, literally jumped ship and came snorkeling with us. We anchored Windbird and then circumnavigated Kelor Island pulling the dinghy behind us in case there were currents and we couldn’t make it around. We snorkeled for almost two hours and then headed to Rinca with Klinton.
Once we got anchored in Lehok Buaya on the north side of Rinca Island, we went ashore to check in with the National Park Service. Scot Free, Safina, and Shirena were all waiting for us on the dock. There was a good sized Komodo dragon lazing on the rocks by the dock to greet us and a family of long-tailed Macaques. These little monkeys are fascinating to watch and they look at you and study what you are doing with great intensity. Once we pulled ourselves away from the dock, we walked to the
park office. Indonesians have learned the value of their resources and are now charging the equivalent of about $38 US for an eight-day pass. Figuring this out was a bit of a hassle, but then we were taken on a two kilometer walk as our first introduction to the island. Raymond and Mister Monco were our guides and both men were actually born here on Rinca. We walked by the housing for Park personnel as well as the cabins for tourists and observed three good-sized Komodos who evidently live right
under the houses that are on posts that are about four feet off the ground. I guess this keeps the wildlife out. We then started climbing a hill that gave us a great view of the housing area and the anchorage. Rinca is a very dry, hilly island. This being the dry season, the hills are a golden brown and the green mangroves around the edges make it quite picturesque. We climbed up and then down to a dry river bed where we saw our first water buffalo. These guys have huge horns and are very substantial
creatures. We walked on and spotted our first dragons in the wild. We actually came upon a pair that was mating. July and August are the mating months, and the pair that we spotted allowed us to walk around them to take pictures and video. The guides carry a long stick with a fork at the end and are always ready to hold the head down of any dragon that becomes aggressive. Actually Mark, Jean-Pierre, and Robert also carried walking sticks today as well as the guides, so we were well protected.
As we walked we saw orange-footed scrubfowl like the ones we first saw in Australia, more dragons and monkeys, but no Timor horses or wild boar.
All in all, today was just great. I feel like I visited Disneyland and Epcot all in one day. We get up early tomorrow to go on the 6:30 am five kilometer walk around the island. It should take us two to three hours. The dragons are much more active in the morning, so hopefully we will see more of them as well as other wildlife. But even if we see none, we feel like we had quite a show today. When we get back to Windbird, we will pull up anchor and head for the Lehok Uwadi Dasami. This is the
southern bay on this island where we have read that we can sit on our boats and watch the dragons, water buffalo, and monkeys all foraging on the beach. It’s a wonderful life out here.
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| 080827 Day 110 Komodos, Indonesia – Kelor Island and Lehok Buaya, Rinca |
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| 080827 Day 110 Komodos, Indonesia–Labuan Bajo to Lehok Buaya, Rinca Island |
