Three days of boat tour in Komodo

After arriving in Labuan Bajo on Flores, we spent a night in the small town before starting our boat tour in the Komodo National Park. We set sail with a small cutter boat - to our surprise, we were the only guests - with four crew members. At the first stop on Kanawa Island, we went snorkeling. Although we are more accustomed to diving, we enjoyed swimming on the surface and were able to observe many fish in the coral reef. We then continued to Rinca Island, where we looked for Komodo dragons on land. It didn't take long before we encountered the first huge lizards - affectionately called Komodo Dragons. Due to the current dry season and ongoing drought, the animals stay near the entrance of the national park, where they can smell food. After taking some photos, we hiked a trail through the dry forests, but didn't encounter any Komodos along the way. The third stop on the first day was near a small wooded island or mangrove island, where many bats reside. We took a cooling swim break and waited for the sunset. Once it got dark, hundreds of bats flew up into the night sky and left the small mangrove forest to search for food.

We spent the night on the roof of our small boat under the starry sky and counted shooting stars. The rising sun and the humming of the ship's engine eventually woke us up. There are worse ways to wake up...

We started the second day with a short hike up a hill on Padar Island, from where we had a great panoramic view of the many islands and bays. The highlight on the second day was the landing on Komodo Island itself, where we once again encountered the huge Komodo dragons - this time near the water hole and three large specimens at the same time. Besides the dragons, you can also find wild boars, deer, and water buffalo that roam freely there. In the evening, we visited Manta Point - unfortunately, despite a long search, we did not spot any mantas. We once again spent the night romantically under the open sky.

We started the third and final day again with the search for mantas - but unfortunately, we had no luck once again. During the snorkeling excursion, however, we discovered a turtle and a reef shark - and of course, beautiful corals and many small and large fish.

In the afternoon, we returned to Labuan Bajo and settled down again in a hostel near the main street.