I booked a leisure day trip for our second day in Labuan Bajo via
Traveloka. When I say leisure, I meant a non-diving trip. We have a live onboard trip booked for the 3rd to the 5th day but that one is a diving trip covering different places and adventures so we tried to cram the other must-visits of Komodo National Park in one day.
For breakfast that morning, we had breakfast boxes that the resort had prepared for us by order. The tour was operated by East Cruise Komodo and it was an open trip consisting of thirty-something people. East Cruise Komodo picked us up at Sudamala Resort where we stayed at 5:30 am and brought us to the harbour. The re-registration process at the harbour took about half an hour and after we were assigned a boat, we boarded. On the boat, our tour leader collected what was supposed to be the entrance fee for the National Komodo Park. It was IDR 150k per person for locals and IDR 300k per person for foreigners. We never saw the tickets but later on, we found out that the actual fees are a lot lower than that. But..., oh well...
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| The Harbour in the morning |
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| Sunrise colours at the harbour |
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| Ready for the trip! |
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| Sleepyhead |
Equipments
For this tour, we brought some of our own equipment. These we would recommend:
- Aqua Shoes - great for walking on the beaches and excellent to go trekking with.
Subea 500 Aquashoes from Decathlon - has more cushion but gave Miss Kiki blisters. I ended up using it and loved it. Takes longer to dry than the simple version
Subea 100 Aquashoes from Decathlon - no cushion on the sole but still comfortable and dries up very quickly. - Snorkeling Masks - full face masks are easy to use and it keeps you afloat. At the same time, not great for diving.
Subea Easybreath Snorkeling Mask from Decathlon
- Quick dry towel - very convenient and easy to carry
Nabaji Microfiber Towel from Decathlon
Sea To Summit Outdoor Towel - much thinner than the Nabaji towel, we got ours at the Eiger store - Dry bag - protect your phone, cameras, and others, and keep your dry clothes dry
EZ Life Dry Pak 20L - ours is the same brand but in red, bought in Ace Hardware many years ago - Kids Thermal Rashguard - protects Miss Kiki from the sun and keeps her warm while snorkeling
Subea Thermal Neoprene - Sunscreen - important to protect your skin!
Wardah UV Shield Sunstick - easy to apply, and it works! We used it for the face and neck.
Aveeno Positively Mineral Sunscreen - we use mineral sunscreen for the rest of our body because it's better for us in general and is also better for the environment. Not the easiest to apply, though.
Now let the fun begin....
Padar Island
Our first stop that day is at the Padar Island. This is one of the most famous hilltop view in Labuan Bajo with the circular beaches. To reach the top, there are about 800 steps to defeat. The first set of stairs were wooden and small, but as you go up it gets a little more difficult. Don't get scared by the sound of 800 steps. On the way up, I met an 81 year old man with a cane who went all the way up and was coming back down! We were given an hour to explore the island. It was more than enough to go all the way up, take pictures, and come back down. The island was super crowded. Seems like all of the tour boats landed there at the same time. Taking pictures is a little tricky with all the people there but with a little patience and a lot of excuse-me's we managed to get some nice ones. Was it worth the hike? Yes we definitely think so!
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| The climb up (easy section) |
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| Somewhere in the middle |
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| The view got more exciting |
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| And we made it to the top! |
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| Deer on the beach of Padar Island |
Pink Beach
We left Padar Island right on time and went to our next stop, the Pink Beach. In Komodo National Park, there are actually to beaches that have pink sand. The first one is the Pink Beach on Komodo Island, and the other one is the Long Beach on Padar Island. Which one is better? I'm not sure but the tour took us to the Pink Beach. Is the sand really pink? Yes! I would compare it to pink Himalayan salt. The photos below are taken with an iPhone and is unedited. The pink hue shows up more when the sand gets wet.
The sand on the Pink Beach got its color from Foraminifera, a microscopic coral insect with a deep red shell. When they die, the shells got crushed by the waves and eventually got mixed in with the white sand, creating the pinkish hue that we see.
We spent about an hour at the Pink Beach. There were many people where the food and drink stalls are, but if you are willing to walk further, you will find an empty space that you feel like it's private. We loved it there!
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| The sand up close |
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| Small pieces of Foraminifera shells |
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| Larger chunk of Foraminifera shells |
Komodo Island
Dragons do exist, and you can find them at Komodo Island in Komodo National Park! They do not fly nor do they breathe fire, but meeting a Komodo dragon in their natural habitat was still amazing! The months of May, June, July, and August is a mating season for these giant lizards. Normally, it's more difficult to see them because they would go into hiding. Some people would come and visit Komodo Island and not even see a single one. This time, however, we got really lucky. We walked in a group led by a Komodo Ranger, and we almost completed the checklist! First, we saw a baby Komodo from afar, and as we proceed, we found a couple of Komodos mating! How cool was that! We were told that this mating process can last up to 3 hours. Another thing we learnt during the trip was that the incubation period for Komodo eggs is 8-9 months, and when they hatch the baby Komodos run up the trees and stay there because Komodos are cannibal creatures. We also got to spot a large Komodo, about 3.5m in length. That is as big as they get.
Taka Makassar
Our next and last destination was Taka Makassar, a tiny, crescent-shaped white sand island popular for diving and snorkeling activities. The tide was too low for our boat to go to the island, so we were only able to look at it from afar. However, they did make a stop for snorkeling. They did warn us that the current is a bit strong and it's not a snorkeling spot for non-swimmers, so I think it deterred a bunch of people. DH still wanted to go snorkeling though, so he went and a few more people followed. Miss Kiki and I stayed on the boat. DH said it was one of the best snorkeling experiences he's ever had. The water was very clear with exceptional visibility and the variety of marine life was amazing.
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| Can you spot DH snorkeling? |
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| Just look at that water! |
This concludes our day tour with East Cruise Komodo. We were sent back to the harbour, stopped at La Cecile for sunset dinner, and went back to Sudamala Resort to retire. Don't go too far though, you wouldn't want to miss the Chakana Liveaboard experience coming up in the next post!
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