Chasing the Dragon
Komodo, Indonesia
A great thing about travelling the long open road without a fixed agenda is the chance to act on impulse. Everyday, once-in-a-lifetime adventures present themselves, allowing us to make spontaneous, uncalculated, decisions. Like the time when my friends and I negotiated a passage aboard a local fishing boat from the south coast of Sumba to the dragon inhabited Isle of Komodo. Something my mother would never believe but, more importantly, it was an awesome experience we will never forget.
Sumba’s coastal fringe of dense jungle and turquoise surf is truly a backpacker’s paradise. It’s just a little difficult to appreciate with your nose involuntarily wedged beneath rancid armpits. It had already been a long week aboard Indonesia’s over crowded ass-jarring bus journeys from Timor and we were desperate for a new mode of transport.
Everyone was relieved to arrive finally at the small fishing village of Perukodi. It was here (through an amusing display of charades and a considerable wedge of rupiah), we managed to befriend some local fishermen into giving us a lift to Komodo.
On a temperate Monday morning, pleased to be continuing our journey on alternative transport, we rounded the southwest point of Sumba, dark and mysterious and veiled in a predawn mist. Skip (our frail captain) assured us we would be feeding the legendary dragons of Komodo by midday. For the next few hours we kicked back on the peeling, splintered deck and watched the rising sun illuminate our idyllic locale.
Through persistent nagging, Skip reluctantly stepped aside and permitted me to take the wheel – you should have seen the smile on my face. The chunky belch of the engine had become almost melodious, pushing us through azure waters beneath a bluer sky. I asked Skip how he managed to maintain a constant heading without land for visual reference. He pointed to a compass, the red plastic toy resembled a lucky dip prize you would find at a pre-school fete. I nearly asked about the life jackets and communication system, then thought better of it.
Grossly underestimating our journey time and failing to hook a single bloody fish all day, provisions for lunch were, well, let’s just say there were no condiments for boiled rice. It didn’t matter, eating took our minds off the fact that we had not seen life nor land for over seven hours. Quite a feat considering in-excess of two hundred million people and seventeen thousand volcanic islands make up this, the world’s fourth largest nation.
A faint silhouette of an island eventually appeared in the distance and we ordered Skip to cut the engine at once. You could almost hear our crisp, sunburnt skin hiss and crackle when we dove from the boat into the cool sea. Below the surface, the underwater realm was as eternally blue as the sky above – perfect conditions for scuba diving and snorkelling. Skip cranked the grumbling engine back to life and we started again for our evasive goal, content that by sunset, we would be ravaging a platter of seafood and numerous pints of lager.
We were stoked when a pod of bottlenose dolphins graced the water with a vivacious display of acrobatics – so close to the boat we could reach out and touch them. It was a magic moment in backpacker heaven.
When night fell my companions (and crew) and I shared the same emotional and fatigued expression. It had been a hard and enduring day, sometimes sobering, but we knew this intrepid adventure would remain in our memories forever and our newly forged friendship will last a lifetime. And it had been awesome fun. We moored up alongside a dark, rickety pier and fell asleep dreaming of seafood and beer. The dragons, they had to wait one more day to see us.
Fact File
The Komodo Dragons funnily enough reside on an Island of the same name. Komodo is nestled between and accessed from Sumbawa and Flores. Scheduled ferries operate services to Komodo from these two islands. The best time to travel in the region is October when there is little rain and low humidity (the dragons tend to venture further in this climate).
