Obviously the thing to do in Loh Liang, Indonesia is a walk through the Komodo National Park. It would be totally foolish to not see Komodo Dragons while here. Right? World’s largest lizard and all of that. Also what should have been obvious to me but wasn’t till the port talk last night was that this was another tender port. The location of disembarking being a long pier next to the park entrance.
The choices today were “short tour” or “long tour” with the only difference between the two being a follow on trip to Pink Beach for snorkeling. Considering the bright sunlight, temperatures around 35*C and 100% humidity, spending time on a hot beach, even for snorkeling wasn’t high on my list.
The park provided two naturalists for each group. Both were knowledgable and polite. Too polite as there was also a “guide” from the tour company who couldn’t seem to shut his mouth. My recommendation to anyone would be to insist on being able to listen to the naturalists.
Anyway – there were also birds – one of the cardinal family (being more yellow than we normally see) and another of the raven/crow variety (black). We heard the yellow crested cockatiels, but none deigned to show off their feathers.
then there were the interesting insects –
who you can see hanging upside down on the branch….
But mostly we were there for the Komodo Dragons –
the first two we saw on our way in. The ground was dry – it isn’t quite the rainy season yet (3 months wet/9 dry).
frankly, I don’t find them particularly attractive at all.
Like most lizards – they swallow their prey whole/chunks without chewing, then spend a few weeks digesting. They don’t particularly care if their food is fresh, recently killed or pretty putrid. And yes, they are venomous.
This fellow would make a nice meal for an adult.
It was hot, extremely humid and I was more than delighted to get back on ship. 
not our ship, but passed in the tender on the way back.
