Labuan Bajo is the tourist 'epicentre' of Flores. The streets are lined with backpackers. Walking along the main drag, close to the ferry terminal, every other address offers a plethora of guided tours. The one most people choose is a day trip, which will take you into the Komodo National Park with visits to several islands. It would have been possible to take Skyfall to different anchorages, row ashore and hire a park ranger to be shown around each island. However, I found it far easier to book a day trip with one of the tour operators.
The first stop is an island called Pada. From the jetty is is a half hour stroll to a lookout point. The walk itself leaves something to be desired as you have to queue at various 'chokepoints' due to the weight of numbers of people. The views were not bad and the scenery typical of this part of Indonesia.
One advantage of the paid tour is that the boats move quite quickly. I used my Navionics app to record our machine doing 26 knots. The speed allows a programme with some distance between the stops and yet still allowing enough time at each place. Our second stop was at the 'pink beach', named after the colour of the sand. The idea was to relax and consume after the exertions of the short climb on Pada. Time for some coconut water in the shade.
The third stop was planned to be the 'highlight' of the day. We landed on Komodo island and were assigned a Park Ranger to show us the Komodo Dragons. I had not expected to get up close and had brought a tripod, proper camera with long lens. How wrong could you be? Close to the jetty there are stalls selling drinks and souvenirs. As we congregated, waiting a ranger, a Komodo Dragon decided to march along the beach, sending people scattering in all directions (top photo). Another was sleeping next to the kitchen for the Park rangers cantine. The Komodo dragons have keen noses and are always atttracted to the smell of food. In fact, we were told that they can smell a good meal from 5kms.
Their hunting technique involves stealth and camouflage. They wait by watering holes and try to get close enough to surprise their prey. They only need to land one bite. The bite does not kill instantly, but contains enough bacteria to kill humans within five hours without treatment. Wild boar can survive up to two days but the dragons track them and patiently wait for them to die. The dragons can be quite aggressive, particularly during the breeding season, and two tourists have been killed in the last five years. The secret is to stick with the group and the Park Ranger!
The Komodo Dragons turned out not to be the highlight of the day (at least for me). After a brief snorkelling stop at the 'sand bar' for some reasonable snorkelling, we headed to Manta point. The water was about 7m deep and crystal clear. As we headed towards the recommended place, we saw a huge manta ray, the biggest I have ever seen, swimming slowly against the current towards us. Once level with us, we swam alongside for a full twenty minutes. Unfortunately, I did not have my Gopro as the camera gear I brought to take pictures of distant Komodo dragons had filled my bag. So no pictures, unfortunately.
The final stop was at 'Turtle Point'. This is another good snorkelling and dive spot where both hard and soft coral is in great condition. There were many giant turtles to be found but, unfortunately, again no Gopro to prove it.
After Labuan Bajo, my next destination was the town of Bima. However the 85nm passage was not possible without night sailing. Fortunately there are a few potential anchorages along the route. I eventually settled for the shelter behind Pulau Sangeang, a quite impressive volcano. Most of the island was covered in cloud with the peak just managing to poke out the top.
There was a huge traditional wooden ship under construction on the shoreline. I shared the anchorage with three live-aboard dive boats. The reefs and dive spots just north of the anchorage are supposed to be very good.
The next morning I left early to try to get to Bima for a late lunch. The town lies up an estuary and I wanted to sail as much as possible without resorting to the engine. Continuing to sail in light winds, with slow progress when close to a destination is much easier when sailing alone. The majority of my crew have not grown up as sailors and do not have the patience or appreciate the pleasure in trying to coax life out of a boat in negligible wind. The last 12nm took me 5 hours but I managed to sail without having to resort to the motor.
Bima is on the island of Sumbawa, which is famous for both organised trips to swim with whale sharks and water buffalo racing. I was scheduled to do the whale shark experience the following day. To be precise, the experience started at 23.00 the same day. I was collected from the beach with a four hour drive across the island to the village from where the whale shark boats depart. Supposedly, I would be able to sleep in the car. However, given Indonesian roads and driving technique, there was little chance of that. The boats left at 04.30 for a two hour motor to the rendezvous with the whale sharks. It may have been difficult to sleep in the car but, once in a boat with the soft rhythm of a diesel engine, I was asleep within a few seconds. I awoke to find us tying up to a fishing platform with several other tourist boats and the sun just starting to appear over the horizon.
The whale sharks turn up to be fed. The local fishermen spend the night hoovering up small fish, storing them in massive tanks on the platform. At the pre-set hour they start returning them to the sea via two streams of water. The whale sharks know this and return daily to gorge on the food supply. Despite the artificial nature, the whale sharks are so big and impressive that it did make for an unforgettable experience.
The town of Bima itself was a little disappointing. There is a museum, Museum Asi Mbojo Eks., featuring collections of costumes, Indonesian building techniques and photos of life in Indonesia over the last 100 years. Unfortunately, all the explanations were in Indonesian and there was no guide, making the visit fairly pointless for me. Apart from that, there was little to do. My big disappointment was missing the water buffalo racing. Apart from during a festival in mid-September, the water buffalo racing takes place on Sundays in a few villages across the island. Even though I had to stay a further couple of days to extend my visa, I did not have time to wait until the following Sunday.
So on Wednesday; 14th August, having collected my passport and had lunch, I left Bima for Lombok. As I did not wish to travel along the coast through the night I was again looking for anchorages along the way. With a good wind, Skyfall sailed quickly out of the estuary, but within three hours the wind shadow from the island forced me to turn on the engine. There was a nice anchorage a little further along, off the village on Kilo, and I decided to stop there. I motored in just as the fishing fleet were leaving to work the nightshift. The crew were busy checking the lights which they use to draw fish to the surface.
I left early the next morning to continue my journey to Medano Bay Marina in Lombok. The route passes an island, Pulau Satonda, where the crater has become a large lagoon. There is a sheltered but rolly anchorage from which you can trek to either the lagoon, or to the top of the mountain. My original plan had been to stop there, hike in the afternoon, and then leave again in the morning. But I realised that I would arrive too late. Hiking would have to wait until the next morning and that would still leave me with a day sail to Medano Bay Marina. So reluctantly I decided to head offshore and risk sailing through the night to Lombok, arriving the next morning.
Heading offshore was a great idea. I found wind and no Fish aggregating devices (FAD's). By 10.00 the next morning I was tied up to a mooring buoy in the marina. I had hoped to sail from Flores to Lombok during daylight only. Although I did not succeed, my last solo night sail had passed without incident.
Medana Bay Marina is about the only place you can 'haulout' in Indonesia (for yachts up to 20 tons). In Tual, I discovered that Skyfall had developed a leak from the bow-thruster area and she needed to be taken out of the water to address it. I had ordered the required parts from Sleipner and they had already arrived at the marina. When you depart for a RTW adventure, a common warning is to be ready to fix problems yourself as technical support is not always available. Such was the case here. Peter, the owner of the marina, was very upfront. They had no experience with Sleipner bow-thrusters. He could assign a mechanic to assist me but would take no responsibility for the work. Skyfall was hauled out on the Friday afternoon and help would be available the following Monday. Therefore, I decided to try to solve the leak myself over the weekend. If it did not go well, then I could enlist help on the Monday. Fortunately, even with zero experience, with the various manuals available on the Sleipner website and a little common sense, it was straightforward to get the bow thruster apart, identify the source of the leak and fix it.
Renting scooters in Indonesia is interesting. There is no need to look for a rental business. Simply stop someone and ask them if they know anybody who wants to rent their vehicle. Either they will get off and offer their own, or they will phone a friend. The going rate is circa 6 euros/day with no check on driving license, insurance or identity! The best beaches, surf destinations are in the south of Lombok so I rented a scooter to go and explore. The most famous beaches are Tanjung Aan and Kuta. It was the first time in five weeks in Indonesia that I discovered 'tourism'. The lovely beaches were ringed with restaurants and cafes with sun loungers for rent on the beach. The beaches were relatively clean with teams of people to be seen collecting rubbish throughout the day.
There were many surfers being ferried to the reef in the middle of Tanjung Aan and my inexperienced eye concluded that this would be a good place to learn to surf.
Indonesian Independence day was on August 17th. There were several events going that day and the following weekend. In particular, on the Sunday, I encountered multiple parades where local groups or organisations would march through the towns of Lombok.
Lombok also has a number of islands (or Gillis) which are worth visiting. The three in the northwest are Gilli Air, Gilli Meno and Gilli Trawangan. They are well known for snorkelling and diving with crystal clear waters and good quality coral. Unfortunately, with the proximity to Bali, they are also very popular and crowded. It was possible to walk from Medana Bay Marina to the bay where the ferries took tourists from Lombok to the islands. I decided to take Skyfall and spent a couple of days on Gilli Air.
In the south west corner are the 'secret Gillis', still relatively undiscovered. I decided to sail to Marina Del Rey on Gilli Gede and go diving there. I liked the fact that there were no roads. The main street was a small track that ran around the island. Most transport was actually by water taxi. The infrastructure was typical for many parts of Indonesia.
The bay where High Dive, the dive shop I used, is located was fished with dynamite until a decade ago. They have taken it upon themselves to take cuttings of coral and propagate them. It is a slow process trying to repair the damage but I applauded their efforts by booking the 'Rescue diver' course with them.
Actually, the diving in this area was slightly disappointing compared to some of the fantastic places I have been recently, but I still enjoyed the days there.
The island is quite small and you can walk around it in a few hours. The beaches are pretty but the water visibility does not come close to what you can experience in the three Gillis in north west Lombok.
After completing my diving course it was time to move on to Bali, my final stop in Indonesia before leaving for South Africa. There was just one more 44nm solo sail to complete without mishap. But that is for the next episode.
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