Indonesia, August 31 2010, Rinja.

One thing is not to miss on Komodo or Rinja are the dragons.

They can get up to 3 meters long and weight 130 kg. They are not herbivorous.

To meet them all is provided, on the eastern side of Rinja in Teluk Soklooh, there are moorings to pickup; a ranger station to welcomes you and provide guide for the visit. Since they don’t feed them anymore it is not guarantied that you meet them.

A bit tired to spit in the bucket we decided to enter the back door to take our chance.

To do that we sailed (well I should say motor sailed) our way down the West side of Rinja and anchored in Lehookginggo Bay.

The way down was quite exiting. You can get currents up to 5 knots between the islands and the sea getting crazy.

A stoning landscape waited for us. We drop the anchor in front of a large sand beach that had a strange tracks heading to the sea, and waited.

It was worth the effort, later in the afternoon a dragon came along the beach. With Martin we went ashore to meet him closer.


When you know that the dragons eat water-buffalo, I didn’t feel comfortable. We grab a long bamboo stick, and as one of us was taking the pictures the other was keeping an eye on the beast.

It didn’t appear that the dragon was interested in us, may be because already fed or more looking for a shaded place to take his nap. But still if you look at his claws better don’t get a scratch from him.

It is said that they are able to run quite fast, for how long?

Sure I’m not gone a check!