Jumping Crocodiles!

I was not thinking of getting up close with large reptiles since my trip to Komodo Island, but another opportunity arose as I found myself in Darwin, Australia for work in September 2012, with a couple of offdays to explore the city.

Darwin is said to to be the drop-off point for the mining and offshore industry in Australia, and is also currently being used by the US Navy as a base for its Asia Pacific ops. This has resulted in a few things - rapid development of the city, better accessibility by budget carriers, more cultural diversity, and a lot more bars!

Upon further online research, I also discovered Darwin is the gateway to the Top End of Australia's nature parks. Due to time constraint, I opted for a full day tour of the wildlife and natural landscape of Litchfield Park, which included a jumping crocodile tour.

I'd have to admit this was possibly the best day tour I've had in my travels. The tour began at around 0630hrs in the morning with the crocodile feeding, and it was quite the experience cruising down the river and watching crocodiles jump over 1.5m high to grab a slab of ribs. A flimsy aluminium grill on the boat seperated us from the crocodiles, and had any of us tourists stuck an arm out beyond the grill, it was definitely going to be crocodile food. I'll let the pictures below do the describing. It was also interesting to know that the crocodiles were attracted by the sound from the boat motor, and had become "trained" to approach the boat whenever it brought its daily batch of tourists and meat.





The tour then continued with a visit to giant termite mounds, where the guide gave an extremely (information overload!) detailed account of how the termites created the mound, how they regulated the temperatues within the nest, breeding habits, why the mounds faced the sun etc... After an hour of his droning, roasting in 40 degree Celsius temperature and taking lots of pictures, we proceeded to have lunch at Wangi Falls, a lake fed by 2 waterfalls. The swim was refreshing, and the park rangers did a good job of keeping the crocodiles away. It was also nice to see a couple of attractive tourists get half naked and wet in the water ;)



Magnetic termite mounds - thought to have been built according to the Earth's magnetic field



Wangi Falls

After lunch it was a drive to the Buley Rockholes for some relaxing in the divepools, and then the long drive back to Darwin for a sunset champagne and shrimp dinner.



Sunset at East Point

Like I mentioned - Best daytour yet!

Komodo National Park - Dragons and Diving

Since young, I have always been fascinated with the Komodo dragon, Varanus komodoensis. I read articles about them in Zoo-Ed during primary school, visited them at the Singapore zoo, and always thought it would be amazing to see them in their natual habitat - much like how people went to Africa to see the lions and elephants.

The Komodo dragon is only found on a few islands in the Flores region of Indonesia, east of Bali. Their population is now considered vulnerable, and the dragons are a protected species by Indonesia law. Only recently did I find out that the Komodo National Park was an extremely popular area for diving, and access to this "remote" part of Indonesia was not as difficult as initially thought, with tourist facilities (basic accomodation, tour and dive centres) operating for more than a decade.

The big dilemma about going to Komodo was the diving. I had just completed my Open Water Diving course the previous November, and I read that Komodo had some of the best diving in the world, matched with some of the strongest down currents. Some dive operators I approached in Singapore, most internet resources, and all my friends discouraged me from diving in the waters of Komodo, as they were meant for experienced divers with at least 50 dives (I had just seven). It would have been a great pity to make the journey there and not experience the diving, and yet again, the dangers were true, where divers had been known to have been swept away by the currents, never again to be found. I decided that I would purchase my underwater camera, then speak with the dive operators there for an "expert opinion", and if they said no, I'd have to be contented with snorkelling.


I made my way to Komodo National Park in late April 2012. I gave myself 6 days to get myself there and back in one piece, to see the Komodo dragons and perhaps get some diving and snorkelling. Took a (Jetstar;3hrs) flight from Singapore to Bali, then a domestic filght (Lion Air/Sky Aviation;1.5hrs) to Labuan Bajo, a harbour town on the western edge of Flores.

Labuan Bajo is a small town with the bare necessities for tourists - a main street lined with not more than 10 bars (with wi-fi) and restaurants, a few simple hotels,and another 10 or so dive and tour operators to get them to see the dragons. I took the first afternoon to settle in a USD20 a night bamboo hut, booked my Komodo dragon safari tour, and spoke with a dive operator about diving in Komodo's infamous waters, and by evening I had the remaining days planned out - I was to go on a 2 day 1 night Komodo dragon tour with the following itinerary (very standard package almost all tour operators carry - approximately IDR 600,000 if you bargain well):

- depart Labuan Bajo by boat to Pulau Rinca for hiking/looking for Komodo dragons
- snorkelling at Pink Beach (Pantai Merah)
- sunset whilst awaiting thousands of flying foxes to depart their cave (did'nt happen that evening though, much to my disappointment)
- sleeping on the deck of the boat in a sheltered bay
- Hiking/looking for dragons on Pulau Komodo
- snorkelling with manta rays
- snorkelling at Angel Island (Pulau Bidadari)
- return to Labuan Bajo by evening

The remaining two days (yes, just two) in Labuan Bajo were to be spent diving and relaxing.

Joey, the dive instructor at Divine Diving, told me that they assessed tidal current conditions before every dive, and with a dive master to personally guide me (at an additional IDR 200,000 per day), that diving in Komodo's waters would be a relatively safe and amazing experience. And amazing it was, as the pictures will show...

Despite not having seen the flying foxes leaving their caves in the evening, and not seeing any manta rays at the Manta Point divesite, it was still a most fantastic trip. I had seen the majestic Komodo dragons in their natural habitat/kingdom, survived the strong currents, saw some amazing marine life, had my first attempts at underwater photography, and met some really interesting people, local and fellow tourists - Julian and Imogen - father-daughter team on a round the world trip; and Marie the French-Canadian - great company each evening over dinners and beers.



Komodo National Park

The peaceful harbour town of Labuan Bajo



The living conditions of the locals - simple and not the most environmentally conscious as yet

The locals were friendly and never bothered tourists

That's the closest I got to a Komodo dragon - Pulau Komodo

Eagle ray!

Diving at Siaba Kecil



Diving at Castle Rock



God will provide for Man; Man will provide for Woman

November 2011
Location: Boracay, Philippines

The title was derived from 2 seperate incidents which I experienced whilst diving in Boracay.

My Diving Instructor
She had been working in the banking industry for a good 5 years at least, and having gotten sick of corporate culture, quit her job to become a professional beach babe - teaching diving, playing frisbee and keeping fit on the beautiful beach of Boracay.

I got to know her better over the diving course and a couple of meals and beers. She enjoyed the carefree life on the beach, but also admitted to the significant lifestyle adjustments required to sustain a livelihood in Boracay as a dive instructor. Ultimately, she wished to have a place of her own to call home (she was currently renting a simple room with minimal amenities).

Attending mass in Boracay
Being on the island for a week, I fulfilled my Catholic obligations and went for english mass with a few of the folks at the diveshop. This is what I remember of the sermon that evening:
1. God has given all of us talents.
2. Manny Pacqiao had used his God-given talents to beat Juan Marquez again that morning.
3. God will provide Man, as long as he uses his talents well.

Piecing it together
1. God will provide for Man's needs
2. Intelligent and undemanding women will still have needs that she will not be able to fulfill on her own.
3. Hence, God provides for Man, and Man will provide for Woman.

:)