Quick trip to Flores - Komodo Islands via Bali

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A spontaneous trip that came together very quickly (planned and organised the week we left for the USA in November).

Primary trip purpose- to take my parents (75 and 77) to see the Komodo dragons. They spend December/January in Bali every year so I flew to Denpasar from Perth with Jetstar. Not a cheap flight at the last minute and in the Australian school hols, but, there you go... AUD $560- eeek, so used to the specials that you can pick up in advance (going to Bali in March and that's about what we are paying for 2 people). Uneventful trip on a full plane. Scored a good forward window seat by sheer luck I think. Arrival was ultra smooth- no other planes and I tested out my new British passport in order to avoid paying the USD $35 VOA applicable to Australian passport holders. All good- absolutely no issues. Spent 2 pleasant nights at the budget friendly Swastika Hotel (don't let the name put you off- it's named after the Sanskrit symbol for the sun), in Sanur.

http://www.swastika-bungalows.com/



I booked directly with the hotel and negotaited a great deluxe room (#32) for Rp 550 000 including breakfast (not the $100/night advertised on various booking sites) . Below is my review from last year at the Swastika.

https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Hotel_Review-g297700-d609387-Reviews-Swastika_Bungalows-Sanur_Denpasar_Bali.html



Took a small Garuda prop plane (maybe 100 seats) on the Wednesday morning to Labuan Bajo; an hour and a half flight. It was a very straightforward procedure to check in at the domestic terminal and there are now very good facilities and shops at this terminal. My tip- have a flat white at the Pod chocolate shop- it's really good.

https://www.facebook.com/podchocolate/?fref=ts

Good flight- very smooth and great scenery all the way. Being Garuda the service was friendly and we recieved a lunch box and hot or cold drink. Arrived into a brand new airport- huge actually, especially for the low number and size of planes going in and out. It was inaugurated as an international airport by Mr Widodo in December and has a new runway (2.2km long) as well as new terminal building.

I had booked at a smallish hotel/guesthouse in Labuan Bajo called Golo Hilltop run by 2 Dutch women. I chose it based pretty much on TA reviews.

http://www.golohilltop.com/

They also organised the bookings for the Komodo trip. We chose Package 5 on their "menu". The communication was incredibly smooth and efficient, Highly recommended!

The driver collected us and took us the 10 minutes that it takes to the hotel. Checked in by the very friendly Marielle who was a font of knowledge. The location of the hotel was fantastic- up a long and winding hillside with sensational views of the bay- the topography reminded me a bit of Thailand with lots of small islands close to shore and lots of fishing boats around. Weather was really hot and dry- as in Bali, no evidence of the rainy season and water restrictions in place. Saw a small green tree snake and zillions of geckos around the lights at night. There were also lots of small birds flitting around in the bushes- sunbirds perhaps. If you are a bird lover bring binoculars. We had chosen the deluxe rooms at the top of the hill and they were awesome. Basic but super clean, super views and a super breeze. Rooms had good a/c and fans and wifi. Nice verandahs too. Water was supplied FOC for you to refill your water bottles. If you were infirm you might want to take the lower level ones. My parents managed them using the handrail (btw- good lighting at night too) on the stairs but said they'd take the lower level ones if they went back.

Spent a couple of hours in the afternoon wandering around the town. It was really quiet and had a very different feel to it than Bali- very small, less commercial, lots dustier, not many tourists but interesting all the same. The Main Street is about 3 km long stretching a km or so on either side of the port. Lots of boats of varying sizes and colours. The town was composed mainly of small warungs, dive shops and little shops selling electrical, car and clothing items and 1 small, but well stocked supermarket. Flores is, unlike the rest of Indonesia, predominantly Christian but I think the town is mainly Muslim, there were 2 mosques in that short distance and about 90% of the women were wearing hijab. the local people were quite friendly and always smiled and responded to a hello.

We just ate at the hotel that night- a small menu of Indonesian and Western food moderately priced.

Got picked up by Sylvester (our guide) around 0645 the next morning after an early breakfast and taken to our boat (we had rented the whole thing for our exclusive use) - it was really, really great- about 30 metres long with 3 little bunk bed cabins and a toilet. Lots of deck space, an upstairs deck and an open area at the back for a kitchen. There were 3 guys on the boat- engineer, captain and cook/all rounder plus our guide. We sailed for about 2 hrs or so out to Rinca Island (190 square km) which is national park. Checked in at the visitors centre and paid all of the various fees (All of the costs are detailed on the next blog entry). We had a good hike with a ranger looking for dragons (130 000 on the island apparently). We saw a baby one almost immediately - it took off up a tree which is where they spend a lot of time so as not to be eaten by the adults. There were about 6 adults hanging around the mess hut and we saw another 3 whilst trekking. Did the medium grade hike - I scaled down in order to keep within mum and dads abilities. Excellent views of the surrounding vegetation and many nests to be seen. Hot tip- you need a litre of water, sunscreen and a hat. Our guide was very keen that we wore enclosed shoes, long pants, etc. If I did it again I would wear shorts- there were no bugs or any real need for long pants IMO. There is a small gift shop at the end that sells souvenirs and drinks.

Back on the boat - Sailed another hour and a half to the next spot- Pulau Merah ( pink beach). the cook had produced a fantastic lunch which we enjoyed while sailing. Got to the island and Dad and I went snorkelling. It was true desert island stuff- we were very lucky as there was no one else there except the guys in the small boat/mobile souvenir shop who dropped us off (Our boat anchored out in the bay and we got the small boat from there). The snorkelling off the beach was awesome- probably the best that I have done to date. Thousands of fish, moray eels, coral reefs, etc- really awesome. The beach was really nice- the white sand was mixed with grains of red coral giving it a pink sand hue. Spent a few hours there, hiked up to the highest point, etc. Dad hadn't snorkelled for 30 yrs or swum in the ocean for 3 yrs- he was really happy with his efforts. Sailed another hour maybe and moored for the night at the Kalang Island, a mangrove island which is solely populated by flying foxes- 10's of thousands of them. They take a couple of trips over to the mainland a day- one trip was after 4:30 and the next at sunset. It was such an awesome spectacle sitting on the boat and watching and listening to them all fly. We were also incredibly fortunate to watch a couple of sea eagles and a brahminy kite fishing in the bay. Dinner was awesome. Spent hours and hours up on the top deck enjoying the solitude- it was particularly brilliant at night- no moon, no light pollution- amazing. Woke up super early the next morning (0430) and resumed my spot up on the deck. After breaky (banana pancakes) we sailed to Komodo Island, much bigger island, a really good hilly walk (medium grade- hillier than the Rinca walk- parents coped (just) with help) and lots of wildlife- wild pigs, monkeys, deer, buffalo and the dragons. We were pretty lucky and saw about 12 all up . They are sooooo massive. We saw lots of abandoned nests and a few active ones. Interesting stuff. Sailed from there out to a place where the manta rays congregate and had the opportunity to snorkel in the water "with" them- saw 2 while I was in the water and a few from the boat. We also spotted this massive fish (Giant Trevally) which was circling the boat, the guys on the boat managed to catch it after about a half hour chase- it weighed about 20kg and the plan was that they'd sell it at the market that afternoon. Also saw dolphins and turtles. Last stop for the trip was another island (Kanawa) for snorkelling and then a couple more hours sailing back to Labuan Bajo. Kanawa was set up with basic hut accommodation and a small cafe. Lots of shady platforms available. The snorkelling here was pretty good- lots of variety but the water quality wasn't nearly as good as the day before. Sylvester saw a dugong around near the rocks to the left side of the bay. Got back to the hotel about 5pm.

In summary, we were really, really lucky with the weather; there was almost no swell and we had a decent breeze. Stunning scenery. It would be such a cool trip to do with a group of friends. I can't recommend it highly enough.



Pretty relaxing time after that swimming, etc until leaving for Bali the following day.

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