KOMODO DRAGONS AND TEA

DAY 47……  NO, I didn’t have Tea with the Dragons!  I just wanted to get your attention!  We saw the Dragons and THEN I had tea!

We ported in Rinca, Indonesia, known mostly for the Komodo National Park which is home to many Komodo Dragons.  Komodo Dragons are the largest lizard in the world (weighing up to 300 pounds for a full grown male), are very fast, can smell blood from miles away and eat full grown animals such as deer, wild pigs, horses and water buffalo.  YIKES!  

Today in Rinca, the only excursion is a trip to the mangrove forests of Loh Buaya, within the Komodo National Park. The usual place for viewing the dragons is being refurbished so we are being taken to an alternate site and is claimed to be a much safer option for visitors since there is more protection there from the Komodo Dragons!  Again, YIKES!

We traveled by tender boat to the park.  It is supposed to be a very warm day, but since we are walking through a forest in the humid climate, we decided to cover up as much as possible and use bug spray to deter the possible mosquitos.  Mosquitos AND Komodo Dragons - YIKES!

It turned out to be a fun excursion - hot though.  The park was well done and had a boardwalk with fencing all around it, so we felt very safe.  No mosquitos in sight either so all was well!  Beyond the confines of the fencing, Komodo dragons, water buffalo, horses, deer and monkeys roam free.  One never knows what animals will be seen at a particular time of day because of the weather and the animals’ sleeping habits.  We actually traded our excursion time with another couple and they were able to get better animal sightings than we did.  They got better photos too, so I’m going to include some of theirs along with some that we took.

After tendering to the park we met up with our guide who led us along the boardwalk and pointed out animals along the way.  He kept mentioning that we “might” see some dragons so we were anticipating being disappointed.  First we saw a monkey and then some sleeping water buffalo.  They were awake when our friends saw them and they got a great photo!

Lovely view of the boardwalk taken by our friends.

Can you see the monkey in the tree?

Water Buffalo were sleeping on our tour.

Another photo taken by our friends.  The Water buffalos were awake on their tour.

I think they should be taking photos for National Geographic!

Our guide told us a little about the dragons before seeing the real thing. These skeletons show the size difference between male and female Komodo Dragons.

Next we did see a group of Komodo Dragons!  Some were sleeping but others were walking around and one was climbing a tree!  Our friends were able to catch two of them fighting.  Here are a few of the photos and a short video that we were able to get!

We really enjoyed our guide!  He had a great sense of humor and was also very informative.

Time to head back to the tenders for the trip back to the ship.  It was a quick 15 minute trip.

We arrived back to the ship and after showering, Mark headed to play some bridge and I did some laundry. Then I met up with my friend, Cookie, for Afternoon Tea in the Winter Garden.  Doesn’t that sound JUST LOVELY?It was!  (My friend, Cookie, hails from Philadelphia and she and her husband took the fabulous photos of the dragons, water buffalo, etc.)  Tea is served quite often in the Winter Garden but this is my first time going.  As usual, Viking did not disappoint.  Beautiful array of tea sandwiches, scones and little desserts were served along with a variety of teas.  We were serenaded by Viking’s Classical Duo, Neva and Peter.  

I told Mark that he should join me for Afternoon Tea sometime and here’s his response, “Are there other men there and are there sandwiches?” YES!

While having our tea, we also enjoyed the view of Indonesia with fishing boats along the seashore.  This is exactly how I pictured Indonesia in my mind to look like!  An end to a nice day!