Dragons and Sharks and Hawkers Oh My!

We weighed anchor at 10:39 on Friday, 23^rd September bound for Rindja Island with a plan to sail on to Komodo Island the next day.  George and Hedley had been looking forward to visiting the Komodo National Park ever since we arrived in Indonesia. The famous inhabitants of the national park, the giant prehistoric monitor lizards known as Ora, (Komodo Dragons), are the largest lizard on the planet, and the stuff of every boy’s childhood dreams.

Indonesia’s best-known national park features jagged hilly islands blanketed in scrubby grassland, fringed with mangroves, and patrolled by Komodo Dragons. Warm and cold currents converge on the shores of these islands, resulting in nutritious thermal zones and rip tides that attract large schools of dolphins, sharks, manta rays and pods of blue whales.

The sail to Rindja, a trip of 230nm, was to be the first proper passage for Joe and Hedley. They were excited! With southeasterly winds barely blowing more than 5 knots, we motor sailed the whole way. It was a gentle, laid back and peaceful passage for all. George and Hedley fished a lot, but sadly, the local tuna are now on to George’s antics and are steering well clear. Nonetheless, we ate some of George’s catch out of the freezer, Waloo, or Spanish Maceral. Gado Gado, an Indonesian dish with fish and roasted vegetables with an intense peanut sauce, was gobbled up. George was hailed the best fisherman aboard.

We anchored just after dark in a quiet bay on the southern end of Rindja island. The water was too inviting to resist, George and Hedley dived in for a quick pre-dinner dip. Latobe, an Oyster 72, one of the biggest boats on the rally, beat us to the bay by an hour or so. We called them on the VHF radio, sang Happy Birthday to skipper Justin and invited them to breakfast the next morning. After a good night’s sleep, and an early morning swim, a Komodo Dragon was spotted ambling along the beach! Joe whipped out the binoculars, his favorite piece of equipment onboard, and confirmed the spotting. We saw a dragon in his natural environment, going about his daily business, autonomous and unencumbered by man! We were chuffed! Sadly however, the dragon was on a mission. He was headed for a large pile of plastic washed up on the beach. He rummaged through the pile apparently looking for a something to eat. Though he was untethered by man, he was instead compromised by man.

The Latobe crew of 4, Pete, Justin, Gillian, and Lars, arrived at 08:15. Accompanied by animated debate, much was eaten, and gallons of coffee drunk. Breakfast bled into lunch and then it was time to move on. The boys swam for a total of 5 hours that day! Red eyed and a little red skinned, Hedley slept, and George listened to music, both completely exhausted.

Komodo Island is the largest island in the Komodo National Park. The arrival is dramatic! Close to sunset the outline of the jagged hills is painted in sharp relief. The classic Indonesian gullets, with their elegant pointy bows, teak construction and huge outrigger wingspan are everywhere. It is hard to believe that there are enough edible fish in the water for them all. Like twinkling stars hanging low on the horizon, they fish at night in a long line not too far outside the bay. Kampung Komodo, a village of 2,000 inhabitants, stands high on stilts, raggedy, rickety, brightly colored in greens, red, and blues, homey, humming and ever welcoming.

Upon arrival we are instantly surrounded by small boats hawking local souvenirs, like flies buzzing on fresh meat. At first, we were charmed but soon, when the locals tried to board and push their wares in our faces, we called a halt. Hedley bought a small manta ray necklace for a few rupiahs, then we swatted them away.

Jhuna and Ajan, our Komodo Dragon tour guides, met us and 3 of the Latobe crew, at 08:00 on the jetty by the village. They greeted us with big smiles and ominously big, forked sticks. We set off through the village after a safety briefing – stay close together and do not panic when you see a dragon! The villagers are used to tourists and greeted us with big smiles and loud hellos as we walked by. On the outskirts of the village is a wide river gorge, dry now during the dry season, but gushing with water during the 3 months of the wet season. The gorge is filled with heaps of rubbish. We ask where it all comes from. It is washed ashore from the sea and then is pushed up the river. A sad sight. Very high gates span the river from bank to bank, like a lock or dam. We assume it is to catch the rubbish and dispose of it. Not at all explains Jhuna, the gates are to stop the dragons bothering the people of the village. Likewise, the houses on stilts are not to protect from flooding, but a precaution against nighttime dragon raids!

Komodo Dragons are not to be toyed with, they are dangerous creatures, many a human has perished or been maimed by these menacing yellow tongued beasts. We hear a story of a 7-year-old boy from the village who wandered off alone and was mauled by a dragon. He is alive to tell the tale, but only because of the bravery of the local men. The dragon in question is also still alive! The Komodo Dragon is sacred to the local people. He is said to descend from a dragon father and a human mother, so must not be harmed. Komodo Dragons are omnivorous and enjoy eating their young! Juveniles hide up in trees to avoid being eaten. Female dragons can lay up to 30 eggs a year, but needless to say, not many survive. Komodo Dragons are at the top of the food chain, with no known predators other than the aforementioned penchant for eating their offspring. Dragons can eat up to 80% of their body weight in one sitting, and then can take a rest from eating for up to a month, to digest their large repast. Ora, Komodo Dragons, rise up on their rear legs just before attacking, deliver a well-aimed whip with their long tails, finally delivering the deadly bite. The venom, situated in glands between their teeth, is highly toxic. The dragon follows the victim for up to a week as the poison does its work, reducing blood pressure resulting in excessive bleeding, and then eats his prey when the unfortunate animal finally drops down dead. Our guides are simply armed with forked staffs. The fork is placed around the neck of the beast to steer it away from us.

Within minutes of leaving the village confines, we see 3 dragons. We are cautioned again to stay close together and remain calm. A few in our midst find the calm instruction a little trying! Dragons are most active at dawn and dusk. One of the dragons seems to want to investigate this interruption to his morning routine. The guide prods him away. Certain members of our group turn on their heels and run. The guides chide, there is nothing to worry about. Bringing flapjacks (oatmeal, butter, and sugar cookies) had been suggested as a ploy to goad the often-inactive gargantuan lizards into wakefulness. Flapjacks are baked and brought along. We believe that this was the reason the teenage dragon turned in our direction, (some call this an attempted attack), the guides do not concur, but they did enjoy the early morning snack! Thanks to them we did not become a dragon early morning snack! We continued on our way, having snapped many photos and recorded several videos, through jungle, past village vegetable gardens, well secured by strong fences against dragon invasion, and over hills. The glorious views of the village and out beyond to the other islands of the Komodo National Park distracted us momentarily from a dragon galloping away in the distance. Dragons can grow up to 3 meters long, weigh as much as 150kg, and when the mood is upon them, run up to 24 kph! A hasty photo was taken with our group crouched behind a dragon lounging in the shade of a nearby tree.

We retreated back to the village happy to still be alive and in the possession of all limbs and appendages! The village is dominated both visually and aurally by a mosque. Ajan tells us that 100% of the villagers are Muslim. A new mosque is under construction, paid for entirely by villagers, so may take many years to complete. We are again struck, as we had been in Fiji and Vanuatu, that poverty does not seem to compromise quality of life. Villagers are content, living fulfilled lives, with a social structure that promotes taking care of each other.

We offer an eye clinic, they are delighted. Jhuna and Ajar, both local to this village, assemble a few older women to get us started, predictably, within minutes, we have a huge crowd. George and Hedley are instructed to take lots of photos and videos. They did a great job. Louis, Joe and I tested and delivered in excess of 50 glasses to needy villagers. A very satisfying project. Rob kindly went back to the boat to make sure all was well aboard. We had been repeatedly assured that security is not a problem, but we do not want to take the risk.

Exhausted we returned to the boat for a well-deserved lunch.