A early morning zodiac ride to the jetty and we visited the
Komodo National Park on Rinka Island.
As
we walked along the path in a small group towards the Ranger Station we saw
long tailed….. monkeys in the distance then a young Komodo Dragon.
Rinka Island became a National Park in 1992. At that time,
Komodo Island that is nearby stopped tourism due to the Komodo Dragons being
fed and then ceased which made them approach people very aggressively. Whilst
tourism to Komodo Island has returned it is far more commercial & crowded
than Rinka Island.
Being cold blooded the dragons needed to warm themselves in
the sun. Which was the case with this
young male.
We also saw a large female guarding her nest. Frequently
Komodo Dragons take over a scrub turkey’s nest mound. They lay up to 10 eggs
and after they hatch very few survive due to predators including other dragons
- even the mother.
The temperature decides the sex of the hatchling, males when
it is warmer.
For the first 2 years the live in trees to avoid predators.
Our group missed seeing the fight between two males however, Ewen, a Melbourne fellow traveller kindly provided some great shots.
After lunch we visited Pink Peach on Komodo Island and swam
& snorkelled. The silica from the soft coral is pink and when it finally
breaks, down it gives a pink hue to the sand on the beach.
The underwater view was specular.
Then a sunset cocktail party on the top deck and seeing fruit bats in the sky
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