A last adventure in our big adventure. Diving in Komodo will be one of the best memories of this 8-month trip across Asia. Unfortunately we were not equipped with an underwater camera. So you can only trust us on this one : drifting in the current with giant manta rays, resting with sea turtles on a sandy bottom, swimming across all kinds of forms and colours of soft and hard corals, and sponges, and anemones, and watching white tip reef shark hunting in the early morning lights are just some of the exceptional moments we had the chance to live underwater.
Threats to this amazing world are visible too. Climate change has already put a deadly hand on some corals. They – and the myriads of fishes and organisms associated to them – have turned white and grey will never live again. Plastic and garbage. Yes, even in this remote place trash is quietly invading shores and bays. Overfishing : not so much as Komodo is a marine National Park and fishing is prohibited. For once I am relieved as I saw no big trawler or longliner on the horizon in five days. So sharks, tunas and all the other big teeth can still thrive.
On the island of the same name lives the Komodo dragon, the biggest living lizard on earth (up to 3 meters). They have been around for about 3 million years and if there are still wild buffalos, wild pigs and deers around on the island, they might well thrive for millions more, will we keep up ?
VB