Flores and the Komodo Dragons

Flores is a place to wonderful contrast - bloody difficult to get to (and around) and absolutely stunning... and it is also the starting point for any non-painful (and less dangerous) trips to the Komodo islands. The reason the trips can be dangerous at this time of year is that it is the rainy season and the seas get rough... Whilst we have been here two major passenger ferries have sank in the seas around us killing well over 200 people (notably not one of the captains)... so we opted for the slightly more expensive but safer route of starting from Labuan Bajo.

Labuan Bajo is basically a rural Indonesian port that serves as a gateway to the Komodo islands. We found what turned out to be the best little boutique hotel in Flores as the two dutch women that ran the Golo Hotel we not only very knowledgeable about the area but also put us in touch with one of their workers (a guy called Piter) who set us up on a safe boat to the Komodo islands and then subsequently set us up on out 5 day overland trip across Flores with a good driver (Gusti) and english speaking guide (Mikhel).

There is nothing really to say about the Komodo islands (both Rinca and Komodo itself) other than they are absolutely stunning and it is a real Jurassic park!!! The photos I will post on Picassa will tell the story.

We saw the Komodo dragons on both islands in the wild although the ones on Rinca were noticeably larger (over 3 metres long and weighing in at a mere 250lbs). That is world record length and weight. We were also told not to go too near them as they had killed a boy about 6 months previously who was in the village... Note to self - don't go near the big f****rs!!!

The boat ride wasn't too bad barring an indident where the sea got a bit rough with the swells and I was catapulted across the boat to the other side and my chair was upended - minor wounds ensued and the boat captain and crew (3 of them to our 2 passengers) were given a lesser tip as a result...

Highlights of the Komodo trip were definitely the Komodo dragons, snorkling with 3 Manta rays and defending the boat from marauders (local fishermen who purport to sell you trinkets but actually come to scope out the boat for stuff to pinch) - I'm not sure they have seen a white person stare them down for 30 minutes but Erin found the whole incident very amusing. They even came back at night to try their luck again on our boat but to no avail...

Having got back to Labuan Bajo we took a day out to just chill out then hired a driver and Kijang (air con car) to take us to Maumere over a five day trip.

Along the way we managed the following:-

• Staying at a catholic nunnery which has got to be one of the cleanest and nicest places I have stayed at in a while
• Saw various different strata of rice padi fields ingeniously constructed wherever the l0cals can think of to get any land use out of it - and these can be on some pretty steep slopes I can tell you...
• We also saw the spider fields that have been constructed in such a way due to clan rivalries and historic ways of separating usable field space amongst local clans. It looks very interesting when you see it from above.
• We also went on two walks to see various different volcanic lakes (the Emerald Lakes near Moni/Ende and the Volcanic lakes near Bajawa that were created only 5 years ago when it last erupted. All very different colours.
• We saw various different tribes in their natural setting and went inside a few of the "king's houses" whilst the kings were not at home... thank god - imagine walking into my mothers place if you were a total stranger unannounced just for a snoop round... ;-)

Anyway, after the early morning rise (4am) to see the sun coming up and hitting the Emerald lakes we moved on to Maumere and to a hotel called the Sea Water Hotel - run by a retired priest who has an albino monkey as a pet (it doesn't like women as Erin found out!)

The latest medical report is that Erin has blonde(ish) hair but mow has a rash that has broken out and is causing her untold amounts of irritation, and crying (and unsightliness - think of lepers ;-) ) so I have come the 10kms back into Maumere to find some antihistamine medicine for her... on the back of an Ojek (scooter) and have taken my life into my own hands as the rider is weaving his way through the traffic dodging minivans and other riders along the way. I think it must be strange for foreigners to use this method of transport as the locals I pass all seem to find it VERY amusing and stare at me... Oh well - maybe its my good looks - then again - maybe not!

A & E

The Gili Islands

Well after the escapades in Ubud and the Kermit the frog episode, Erin (after not just a little waterworks) managed to get her hair fixed back to a slightly more normal shade of blonde (second time around and after much shouting at the hairdresser who profusely apologised for making it MORE green the first time he tried to fix it!!!)

We then set off in a Perama bus from Ubud to Padang Bai (on Bali) to get the Perama boat directly to the Gili islands - this cut off about 5-6 hours of travel time as we would have otherwise had to have gone via Lombok to get to the Gili islands via public boat.

When we arrived at the Gili islands (three small but beautiful islands in between Lombok and Bali) we found the locals very charming and friendly - and all of them wanted us to go into their bar to try the "magic mushroom milkshakes" - guaranteed to send you to the moon - no ticket required - is how they are billed.... you can imagine what the real ingredients are...

Anyway, we spent about a week on the Gilis whilst Erin got her Open Water and Advanced Diving certificates. Annoyingly, on her first dive she saw more than 12 turtles... (I hadn't seen that many in my life...) and then on her Advanced dives she casually mentioned that she had been swimming with 3 Manta rays - again, something that is very rare... she just didn't know how lucky she was.... I had a bit of diving but spent more of my time figuring out what the islands had to offer and meeting locals.... I also met a girl there who lives 100 metres from my place in London - another random meeting as she was my dive buddy for one of my dives...

If you are a diver this is definitely a great place to be - and quite easy to get to!

Incidentally - DVDs of new movies here at $1 !!!! Bargain if you want to see what has just come out in the U.S.!

When we finished up in the Gilis and decided we wanted to go to the Komodo islands we got our hotel (the Beach House if anyone needs a good recommendation) to book the flights from Lombok and a speedboat from the Gilis to Lombok - all very painless indeed...

We then stayed at a great beach hotel before jumping on a turboprop to Bali and the onward flight to a place called Labuan Bajo (on Flores) - the starting point for most trips to the Komodo National Park.

Next blog on Flores...

Sydney to Bali (via Jakarta)

Sydney - all I have to say is awesome city - we stayed in the RAC club's overseas cousin and it was about 200m from the Opera House overlooking the park - by this stage Erin has high expectations as to what is to come... damn....

As we were only here for one night we were intending to have a nice dinner overlooking the harbour (which we managed) and then meet up with Shane (which we failed as he got stuck drinking at his accommodation ;-)

We then exited SYD and headed on a 7 hour flight up to Jakarta.

Jakarta is an interesting place to start as it is cheap but we could stay in a decent (ish) Western hotel whilst Erin becomes accustomed to being stared at for having blonde hair.

We took the opportunity to wander around the city centre and went to the Central gardens, the Jakarta Museum (has some nice artefacts from the pre-English and Dutch times) and also has an ancient remains beleived to be the missing link in the evolutionary chain between upright man and monkey.

We also went to a proper Indonesian market where Erin was introduced to negotiating 1.01 (Indonesian style) - needless to say that tears ensued but a smile was had when she got the bargain she wanted - two nice modest (Muslim country) Indonesian shirts. We also decided to see how the other half lived so snuffled out the Gucci store in the "posh" designer building. Cab ride - $2!

On reconfirming our flight that was supposed to leave on December 31st and get us to Kupang on West Timor, I discovered that there was no flight (despite having paid for it) and we ended up seeing the New Year in Jakarta-style...

Booking with another company this time (Air Asia - nice one! no wonder you are the best Low-cost carrier in Asia) we ended up in Bali on January 1st. Slightly out of plan and nowhere to stay (and also finding that all the Ozzies had a monopoly on accommodation we headed into Ubud (Bali's answer to a spa resort) rather than Kuta (party hangout). Our villa couldn't be nicer - air con, view overlooking padi fields and little geckos that come and say hi whilst you are having afternoon or morning indonesian coffee (strong).

We visited the nearby Monkey forest where, just as one of the monkeys was trying to eat its way into my shorts to get my wallet, Jo and Jules from New York bumped into us!!!! Random!!!! so we had lunch with them in the middle of Bali!

We then spent the afternoon walking to the nearby Elephant Temple and cave - very hot and humid out but very random to see how the Balinese people in ancient times carved out some pretty big caves so that their priests could sleep and meditate in them.

It was all too much to take in so we went and got massages (for $8 for an hour) - the only nasty bit about this for Erin was that they may have been using some chemicals to rub her down that seem to have reacted slightly badly with her hair - so today I am now traveling with Kermit the Frog! (update on hair will be forthcoming)

Last night we went to a fantastic Balinese dance performed by the local dance troupe and this morning we went to a Balinese cookery class - Erin now has no excuses - haha! although she did dart off to the toilet pretty quickly so I'm guessing there may have been an aftershock! oops!

The current plan is to head to Lombok for a bit of diving on the Gili Islands so we may head there tomorrow or the day after (whichever day of the week that is anyway).

Hope you are all well - email us if you get bored.

A & E

Christchurch to Queenstown

Sorry its been a few days since we last checked in but it was all a bit manic over the Christmas period - we met up with Dad in Christchurch then Andy and Jo flew in from the Uk for their 3 week holiday and the fun began...

A lovely (and very scenic) three hour trans-Alpine railway journey across the mountains to the West Coast of the South Island brought us to a hire car and we continued south to the Franz Glacier and subsequently the Fox Glacier.

We stayed at a motel place and had an interesting time trying to cook a meal for 5 on a camping stove (subsequently downgrading expectations from previously purchased Steak to Spaghetti Bolognaise).

Next came the helicopter trip to about half way up the glacier and our trek around the glacier to find out how it was formed and how it is actually expanding in contrast to many round the world today (global warming anyone???).

We then headed down some very scenic roads to Queenstown (aka the centre of adventure in the South Island.) Very kindly my sister had bought my brother and I bungy jumps off a 134m bridge over a river - if you want to see someone scream like a girl look at the youtube and picassa photos of my brother and I and you will find out who it was! ;-)

We also managed the following:-

• Jetboating up into the National Park where Lord of the Rings was shot
• Luging on Christmas day against my brother (don't know where he gets that competitive streak from)
• Walking with Dad up to some veiwpoint that overlooked Queenstown.
• Feeding deer, goats and other furry creatures in a local reserve
• Randomly bumping into a university friend of mine - Sarah Gilchrist - on Christmas day who was just heading north in a bit of a daze (see you in London Sarah!)
• Lovely Christmas day with the family
  

Anyway - getting kicked off computer now so will update again later

A & E