Earlier this month we attended regional meetings in Indonesia and decided to take a few additional days afterwards to fly to Flores island to visit Komodo National Park. It was an experience we never thought we’d be able to have and we decided to go for it when we realized we’d be a little over a hour flight away.

Flores island is one of the few areas of Indonesia that does not have a Muslim majority but is majority Catholic instead. We flew to Labaun Bajo, a fishing town on western side of Flores, and spent three nights there.

The first day we walked to a Mirror Stone Cave while waiting to check into our hotel. This was a coral formation that had been thrust up by volcanic activity.

So while exploring the cave we walked through fossilized coral and sea life, including a sea turtle.

The coral formation was surrounded by a bamboo forest filled with unusual rock formations including what the tour guide said is usually called the “umbrella stone”.

The next day we joined a day-long boat tour to several locations in Komodo National Park. There were two Indonesians and a number of other foreigners on the tour with us; including some from the United Kingdom and Germany, as well as one from Brazil, one from Hungary, and one from Myanmar.

Our first stop was Padar Island. There are some Komodo Dragons living on this island but the park rangers kept everyone on the path and away from the wilderness areas where they could be found. Apparently the dragons on Komodo Island – at least near the visitor’s center – are more socialized to humans than the ones here. Padar offers a breathtaking hike up to breathtaking views.

We also got to meet the little deers that are one of the dragon’s favorite foods during our hike on Padar Island.

Next we took a short boat ride to another part of Padar Island to visit one of the island’s “pink beaches”. The sand here is from coral and red coral flakes give it the distinct color.

The girls went snorkeling here while Caleb wandered the beach. The water was as clear as a pool.

Next we headed to Komodo Island to meet the dragons. Our group was assigned a pair of naturalist tour guides while the boat crew prepared lunch for us.

After a 15 minute walk through the brush, while the naturalists shared about the dragons, we came across a large male Komodo Dragon laying on a rock. He was about seven or eight feet long. The naturalists explained that Komodo Dragons are ambush predators so they lay still near a food or water source, then charge at their prey in a quick burst.

The naturalists carefully positioned us for a family photo with the dragon in such a way that we look closer to it than we actually were.

We continued on through the brush for another hour and saw two more Komodo Dragons, including a large female. On our return to the visitor’s center we saw a number of teenage dragons lurking around. These young dragons are far less dangerous to humans but still had to be careful not to get too close.

Lunch was delicious local Indonesian food. The optional sauce was quite spicy and, unfortunately, Caleb grabbed some of it. As he was crying the teenage dragons who had been prowling the beach – which had an odd number of drowned rats washed up on it – turned our way and came closer to us. There was a study a few years ago that crocodiles are attracted by the cries of a baby in distress – possibly indicating an easy meal – and I guess that might be true of the dragons here as well.

On our way out to the boat Catherine spotted a sea turtle coming up for air but I was too slow to get a photo of it. Our next stop was a sandbank out surrounded by coral reef out in the middle of the ocean. It had the same coral sand as the pink beach.

Crystal and the girls went all the way out to the coral reef while Caleb and I stayed back. Charlotte got to snorkel over the coral while I panicked from a distance since she was out of the shallow water. She said she got to see so many different kinds of a fish and one even took a nibble at her so she had to bat it away.

While we were there the tide began to come in and the sandbank slowly began to disappear. Our next destination was a deep water channel where manta rays congregate. Crystal and Charlotte went snorkeling in the open ocean while the rest of us waited nervously on the boat.

The current was quite strong and the boat crew said that the water was murkier and rougher than usual due to a storm front. Some members of our group were still able to see the manta rays but Crystal and Charlotte were just happy that they’d given it a try. The last stop was a spot called Turtle Bay where sea turtles can often be found. We were too tired to go snorkeling here but enjoyed sitting on the boat and looking out over the water.

There are also house boat tours out of Labuan Bajo that take three days to visit all of the islands and sites of Komodo National Park. It sounded lovely but we decided that Caleb and Catherine aren’t quite ready for two overnights on a boat.