Flores (Komodo Nat’l Park), Indonesia – Aug 2017
After returning from our road trip across the island of Flores, it was time to check out the islands of Komodo National Park. We spent a week on two very different boats exploring the beautiful park.
Komodo National Park is located between the islands of Sumbawa and Flores. It’s made up of three major islands (Rinca, Komodo, and Padar) and many other smaller ones, all of which are of volcanic origin. Komodo National Park is home to the Komodo Lizard, more commonly known as the Komodo Dragon. They are the largest living species of lizard, growing to an average length of 2 to 3 meters and weighing up to 90 kilograms. They are endangered with several thousand living in the wild. They exist nowhere else in the world and can best be seen on Rinca or Komodo Islands. Komodo National Park is also famous for the extremely healthy and rich coral reefs which host a great diversity of species and marine life, and the strong currents of the sea attract the presence of large animals like sea turtles, dolphins, manta rays, sharks, and many others.
See video and photos below highlighting our 7 days spent in Komodo National Park around the island of Flores, Indonesia. To see all images of this location click the link at the bottom of this post or go to our gallery.
Komodo National Park Map
Live Aboard Dive Boat – 5 Days Komodo National Park
We spent 5 wonderful days on the beautiful 25 meter (84 ft) boat, Wunderpus. She was traditionally built in 2014 from Ironwood and Indonesian Teak. Diving wasn’t in our original plans and spending several days on a live aboard certainly wasn’t either. But because Komodo National Park is said to have some of the best dive sites in the world, we inquired about a trip. What we found was she was fully booked for the entire month with the exception of only two available slots. We were told they do not generally have walk-in availibility as their trips are usually booked well in advance. So, after careful consideration, we decided the last two openings were meant to be ours, and we would splurge on what would most likely be a once in a lifetime adventure.
Our live aboard dive boat, Wunderpus. This was our home for 5 days / 4 nights.
Rick and the other 6 members of our group at breakfast time in the main dining area on the boat.
One of the boats upper decks for relaxing in between dives.
View from the fly bridge and the other upper deck where we could also relax.
Video – 7 Komodo Natl Park #1, Indonesia (Flores)
Rick and Alisa on the bow of the boat.
One of several beautiful sunsets on the water.
Dive Time
One of the Maps from our Dive Site Briefings
Before each dive, our dive master would give a briefing using a whiteboard map of the dive site. He would review every aspect of the dive including dive route, current strength and current direction(s), hazards, maximum depth, dive time, and of course ALL the marine life we might see.
“Crystal Rock” dive site. This dive was particularly challenging because the current heads straight into the rock face which is also the primary area of the dive site. The current strength required we have a quick entry into the water with a rapid decent to our maximum depth near 80 ft. Once at depth along the rock face, we used reef hooks to attach ourselves to the coral which allowed us to remain stationary for nearly 20 minutes against the strong current. This dive was amazing and like no other we’ve done…it felt like being in a wind tunnel except we were underwater. Once we were situated with our reef hooks secure, we looked up and WOW!!! There were many reef sharks, big tuna, and thousands of other fish all swimming around us. The current is what attracts the fish and never have we seen so many sharks and different species of fish so close and all in one place. Our dive master, who dives here often, said this was the one of the best dives he’s ever had at Crystal Rock. What an absolutely fantastic dive and what a great spot to log as Rick’s 100th dive 🙂
**All underwater photos are courtesy of Marion LeBastard. She was on the live aboard boat trip with us.
Reef Sharks at Crystal Rock dive site.
Manta Rays at Manta Point dive site.
This speed boat was our transportation from “Wunderpus” to and from each dive site and other onshore activities.
Rick, the other six members of our group, and our dive master (also one of the owners) having one of the very nice lunches after one of morning dives.
Rick and Alisa after a day of diving.
This dramatic sunset started out with very little color and within a few seconds the sky changed and looked like it was on fire.
Gili Lawa Darat
7 of the 8 members of our group did a sunset trek to the top of Gili Lawa Darat after a day of diving.
Trail leading to one of the view points on Gili Lawa Darat.
Our group (starting left: Doru, Angelo, Marion, Susi, Tobi, Alisa, Rick, and boat crew member) on top of Gili Lawa Darat.
View looking down at the Gili Lawa Darat bay. The opening between the islands is one of the dive sites named the “Passage”, also where Alisa logged her 100th dive 🙂
Sunset view from our Gili Lawa Darat evening hike. Note in the distance on the right the steam spewing from the active volcano located on the island of Sumbawa.
Rinca Island
Rinca Island is one of the few islands where Komodo Dragons still exist and can be seen in their natural environment. There are roughly 1300 living on the island today. We visited here for a short afternoon trek as part of our live-aboard dive trip.
Our group at the entrance to Rinca Island park (starting top left: Alisa, Tobi, Susi, Aya, Doru, Marion, boat crew member – from bottom left: Rick, Angelo, boat crew member). Getting ready to see Komodo dragons.
Komodo Dragons
The couple of Komodo Dragons we saw were very pre-historic looking, but super cool to see in person. There weren’t many dragons visible for a few reasons. First, it’s mating season and the dragons head away from the usual areas and deeper in the jungle during this time. Second, we visited on a hot afternoon when they are more lazy and sleeping vs the mornings when they are usually more active.
We ended our short afternoon Rinca Island visit with a trek up to a panoramic view of Rinca Island Bay.
End of 5 fantastic days on Wunderpus
What a great trip with an extremely fun group of people. You couldn’t ask for better mix of guests and crew to spend 5 action packed days in Komodo National Park!!! On our last day as we headed in, they hoisted the sails on Wunderpus as we cruised back to Labuan Bajo. The sails made for a nice ride in…
Sails up.
Rick and Alisa on the way back to town.
Wunderpus under sail.
Local Boat – 2 Days Komodo National Park
We spent 2 great days on a local Labuan Bajo boat with the boat captain, his son, and our overland driver/guide Jimmy. We booked these additional days following our live aboard trip to visit some of the islands we didn’t have the chance to see.
Our boat and transportation around the islands for 2 days.
Our “on deck” accommodation for the night. We had a fantastic view of the stars from our bed.
Another view of our “stateroom” for one night. The evening temperature was perfect with plenty of fresh air.
The sitting and dining area on the boat. The wheelhouse is directly behind Rick with the galley and head in the stern.
Rick and Alisa underway to visit Padar Island.
Video – Komodo Natl Park #2, Indonesia (Flores)
Padar Island
Padar Island is on the outskirts of the Komodo National Park boundaries and this time of year may be inaccessible due to strong southerly winds. We were extremely fortunate to wake to perfect weather and calm seas which made it possible to travel to the island and trek the ridge trail to one of the most beautiful viewpoints we’ve ever seen.
Beach at the Padar Island trail head.
Rick and Jimmy starting the hike up. The stairs didn’t last long, the rest of the trail to the ridge was mostly dirt with some rock.
One of the first viewpoints looking North on the way to the ridge.
One of the first viewpoints looking South on the way to the ridge.
View of Padar Island from the ridge trail. The shape of the island is amazing to see from above and is one of the most breathtaking views we’ve seen.
Rick and Alisa from Padar Island vista.
Panorama view of Padar Island from ridge trail. You can see Komodo Island in the distance.
Komodo Island
Komodo Island is one of the few islands where Komodo Dragons still exist and can be seen in their natural environment. As told by our guide, there are roughly 1700 living on the island today. We visited for a medium length afternoon trek as part of our local boat trip.
Komodo Dragons
We only saw a few Komodo Dragons here. We spotted a very large male almost immediately after starting our trek. He was roughly 80 kilograms and 3 meters in length. Our guide was very eager to get our photo with the large dragon. He kept saying “no problem” he won’t bother you, just step closer. So like typical tourists, we took our chances, got closer, and let him snap a few photos. Luckily, we had waited to watch “youtube” clips of “Komodo Dragon attacks” until after we were back to the main land. The Komodo Dragons we saw were very slow and lethargic, but per our guide the dragons can run up to 18 kilometers per hour. And, after watching a few “youtube” clips, we believe it…they can be fast when they want to. All in all, the Komodo Dragons were unbelievable to see in person and are well worth a visit on either island. However, we both preferred Komodo Island to Rinca Island as the scenery and park trails were much nicer.
Rick and Alisa behind the large male Komodo Dragon. We were roughly 5-6 ft. behind him, and we were definitely close enough for trouble if he got angry.
Large male Komodo Dragon. The same one our guide snapped our photo with…
Komodo Dragon rear foot close-up.
Komodo Dragon front foot close-up.
Komodo Dragon lounging around.
