December 2023

As you step ashore onto Komodo Island, you’re greeted by the scent of sea air and cloves. Local guides chain smoke clove cigarettes as they wait their turn in a shaded wooden hut.

Buildings are elevated here to keep out t Komodo dragons. Little ones are venomous and can climb steps, but big ones are not as agile.

The guides use forked sticks to protect visitors from dragon attack. Most of the time the sticks are not needed, but we saw them in action when a little guy came trotting towards our group.

You don’t want to mess around with Komodo dragons, not only are they the world’s biggest lizards but their bite contains venom (for which there is no antidote), anticoagulants, and a host of bacteria to makes sure your wounds get nice and infected. A single bite can land you in the hospital for months, and that’s if you’re lucky.

As cold blooded creatures, komodos spend most of their day regulating their body temperature by seeking sun, shade or even a swim at the beach. Like crocodiles and other cold blooded kin, they only eat once or twice a month.

Our guide, Jack (who jokingly asked us to call him “Jackie Chan”) grew up on Komodo Island in a village with 2,000 people.

“I am very happy,” he told me. “It is a good life here, with everything I need.”

Before our hike, Jackie warned us that we might not see any Komodo dragons. “They are wild animals. They come and go.”

Indeed, some visitors today only saw one or two of the beasts, and even then from a distance.

Maybe it was because were the last group of the day? But for whatever reason, we encountered lots of lizards of all sizes on our trek.

The biggest ones were basking at a watering hole. As newcomers approached, the Komodos would growl at them. If you watch my videos you can hear what they sound like.Weiterlesen