Nature paints the perfect day on visit to Flores in Indonesia
Each week Dustin Jordan, who is currently living abroad, talks about his travel experiences. This week he talks about one of his best days.
Picture: Nathi
There are many days that are significant in life. Your first day on the job. Your wedding day.
Many are just part of the natural flow of things.
For travellers the perfect travel day is often very elusive.
Sometimes there are days that feel more like a film than real life.
On my visit to Flores, Indonesia, I got to experience one such day.
It started early in the morning with a ride to the pier for a trip to Komodo island.
Many people don’t know that this is one of the few places in the world where you can see Komodo dragons in their natural habitat.
Interacting with these creatures is like stepping back in time to the dinosaur age when animals were ridiculously big and scary.
A Komodo is 1 000 times bigger than a garden lizard. They’re huge and look scary. It’s said that one lick from a Komodo has so much bacteria in it that it can easily kill a man.
We sat waiting for the captain of what turned out to be a basic boat. When the man eventually did arrive he had the look of someone who had partied a bit too hard the night before. Nonetheless we boarded the rickety boat, captain and his sidekick at hand.
All of us looked on in horror as the only person who spoke English stayed on the pier as we took off. He was the English tour guide we were promised.
The weather looked a bit iffy for the most part and when the clouds opened and the water began to chuck down we all huddled under the little protection there was miffed that we had chosen this budget-friendly option.
As the boat moved through the storm at the pace of a glacier we came to the first island.
Padar island is a rarity with three beaches – a pink beach, a black beach and a normal beach – that you can see all at once from the top of an incredible mountain peak.
This place is magical and it’s got one of the most beautiful views I have ever seen. Just as we ventured off to hike to the viewpoint the rain stopped.
The weather was perfect so the first stop was a success! As we made our way back to the boat the mood was decidedly more upbeat.
The day wasn’t turning out to be that bad. After the surprisingly tasty packed lunch on the boat we were well on our way to the highlight – Komodo island. Then it happened.
A fin in the calm ocean jutting out. Was it a shark? A jump. No, it was a dolphin. Then another. Then another. Then a school.
Wild dolphins just there in the ocean. What a treat. Our spirits were soaring as we made our way to Komodo just as the sun showed its face.
To see two or three Komodo dragons was considered a good day in the reserve.
We had the incredible luck of interacting with nine.
The travel tables had definitely turned to our favour.
Bubbling with joy we got back on the boat and then… more dolphins! How could one day be filled with so much natural beauty?
Just as I thought it couldn’t get any better we got to see a double rainbow and a beautiful sunset.
You couldn’t script a more perfect travel day if you wanted to.
Mother Nature really showed off in this part of the world!
Dustin Jordan | Image: Supplied
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