Don’t Feed the Dragons!

This next destination was so much fun and it checked off one of Sara’s bucket list items…time to hopefully see some Komodo Dragons! But before we get to the stars of the show (spoiler alert we saw some) – we explored several islands within Komodo National Park. A truly special place!

Padar Island

Our morning got off to a crazy early start – we were up before the sun and by 7am had already completed a pretty brutal hike to the highest point on Padar Island – but the sweeping views of the area were definitely worth the effort (or so I keep telling myself 😂).

From this vantage point you could see the 3 coves of the island, each with a different colour of sand: white, black and pink!

Pink Beach

So it appears that I picked the right outfit for the day – I’m sporting my Barbie pink t-shirt on Pink Beach! The pink colour of the sand comes from eroded red coral – it really makes for a beautiful setting!

Komodo Island (and the Dragons)!

And now for the grand finale of the day – Komodo Island. We were warned by our guide that seeing Komodo Dragons is not guaranteed – and in fact his group the day before did not see any of them. But luck was on our side, we got to see 4 of them! There is even video footage of a younger dragon running around – with a guide trying to keep it away from the tourists. What you don’t see – off screen Sara is ducking behind the corner of the dining area because it was coming straight at her 😂 I was surprised by how lethargic they are during the day – but when they want food, they become very aggressive. And don’t worry mom – the picture of us “petting” the Komodo Dragon – just some well angled camera trickery. We were standing back at least 2 meters from it – haha! Their sharp claws and poisonous tongue…nothing we wanted to mess with!

After so much activity and action packed into a few days, we flew back to the island of Bali to enjoy a pool/beach day in Seminyak. It was a great end to our island hopping adventure! Sadly, it was time to say goodbye to Sara and for me to continue exploring Indonesia on my own.