Rufus Elliott explores a slice of Jurrasic Park in the South East of Indonesia.
Written by Rufus Elliott
Last summer I decided to fulfill a dream of travelling to Indonesia. The motivation was simple; Komodo Dragons. At one of the far reaches of the earth sits the islands of Komodo and Rinca, the two last places on earth that these prehistoric creatures can be found in the wild. The islands are sandwiched between Flores and Sumbawa in the South East of Indonesia.
After days of travel we arrived at the island of Flores, the launch pad for everything in Komodo National Park. We rented a room and hired a boat for the following day. Our destination; Rinca!
After a sleepless night, the excitement was too much; we rose early and set off through the astonishingly beautiful Komodo National Park. The whole environment looks alien because it is so volcanic. After a few hours we reached a rickety wooden jetty and began our trek to the village; a dragon hotspot. It seems these creatures have formed an uneasy truce; if they are fed regularly they remain docile otherwise accidents do happen! Only a few months previously a dragon had entered one of the huts and bitten one of the guides. Now this isn’t to say this can’t happen because you’re free to roam these islands at your leisure, with a guide. There are no cages and no fences so you could say it’s like safari but without the jeep. That’s what makes it even more special, that element of danger, though our guide assured us attacks are beyond rare.
As we made our way past large reptilian footprints, etched in the mud, volcanic mud bubbled all around. This really felt like a land before time. We reached a hut, registered our arrival, paid the obligatory donation to keep these islands protected, and we’re given a guide.
Thirty feet ahead our first dragon came into sight. Peering at us through the bushes it studied us for a minute then seemed to lose interest and walked off. The same can’t be said for us; we were ecstatic! Days upon days of travelling had brought us to their domain but not a single guide could promise we would even see one. Over the next 2 hours we saw 17 which is apparently a record. Either way, if I had just seen one I would have been happy because every single dragon was magnificent. They range from a few feet all the way to the gigantic 7 footers — an awe-inspiring sight, it really is like looking at a living dinosaur and at a creature that wouldn’t look out of place in a natural history museum.
Despite the expense and substantial stress that travelling through Indonesia generates (a two day journey takes four to five days, there is no concept of personal space and people seem more concerned with taking photos of westerners than thousand year old temples), I would do it all again with no hesitation. Indonesia is wonderful place. If you enjoy exploring in the true sense of the word,you enjoy rare creatures and you want to be one of what can only be a few thousand people, if that, to see these creatures in the wild, then this is a trip you cannot afford to miss!
Rufus Elliott is an Event Organiser for Chillisauce. He also runs the travel blog community Epic Traveller.
