marine life and mountain views in nusa tenggara
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Bram
14 Juni 2016 | Indonesië, Komodo
Selamat datang,
By the time I’m writing this, my trip in Indonesia and actually in Asia, is finished. I am sitting in my brother’s house near the river, close to Buenos Aires, with a blanket wrapped around me. After 9 months of travelling through the tropics of Asia and Australia, I have to get used to the cold again. I thought it’s always nice weather in this part of South-America. It’s not. Last night was -1 degree! And next week I am going into the Andes mountains, so it will be even colder there. Can anyone send me some warm clothes please!!
In the meantime, I will tell you about my travels last month between Bali and Flores. I arrived in Bali semi-exhausted from the early rising trips to Mt Bromo and Mt Ijen. I took a shared taxi to Ubud, the cultural city on Bali. The landscape on Bali is completely different from Java and Sumatra. It’s the only Hindu island in Indonesia and everywhere along the streets you can find small temples, altars and many houses that resemble temples. The other big difference is the amount of tourists on the streets. There are more tourists than local people on this island. Fortunately, this didn’t affect the kindness of the people on Bali (as long as you stay away from the real touristic southern part of the island where only drunken party tourists hang around the beach all day and night).
The next days I rented a small motorbike and drove around the central part of the island together with some French and Dutch people whom I met in my hostel in Ubud. We visited some beautiful ricefields, hidden hindu temples in the jungles and also went to an official Kopi Luwak coffee factory. This coffee is famous and very expensive because before the roasting process, it gets a special treatment by the civetcats that eat the raw coffeebeans. I can tell you, you really taste the difference.
After these days in Ubud I made my way towards Lombok. On the boat I took, I was the only tourist who didn’t spend the time on the boat only drinking big bottles of local Bintang beer and arriving half drink on the destination. I also was the only tourist getting of the boat in Lombok, as the others continued to the Gili islands, three small islands close to Lombok, full of resorts, diving schools and party people. The moment I got off the boat on Lombok I got offered a “very nice and cheap tour” to the volcano on Lombok called Mt Rinjani. Normally I would never listen to these offers but I had planned to do this 3-day tour already before I arrived there and the price was indeed quite cheap so just a little time later I was brought by scooter for 1,5 hours all the way to the village at the start of the track. He drove very fast to make sure that after arriving I would still have time to walk to the waterfall close to the village before it would get to dark. The waterfall indeed was very beautiful, although the picknick area around it was terribly full of rubbish.
Next day after a nice banana pancake breakfast we drove by pick-up to another side of the mountain because the guide preferred to do the hike the other way around. After a short briefing by the park official about the hike and the importance of keeping it clean, where we started our trip in the full sun. Later it got more clouded so the stopped sweating but then the whole view was gone. After a few hours we had a 2 hour lunch break (much longer than appreciated but it took our staff a long time to prepare the food). All the groups were having lunch at the same spot which could be easily noticed by all the rubbish and food that was laying around the place. This problem turned out to be the same on all the places we stopped to eat and was a big disappointment on the whole tour. Not only did it look awful and smelly for the rotting food, also the monkeys and birds around came to find some food but unfortunately started eating all the plastic also.
At the end of the first day we arrived at the camp place on the top of a hill. The view from there was beautiful, looking the sun going down behind the crater rim of the mountain. Immediately after sunset it was cooling down terribly, and after diner everyone run into his tent and sleeping bag to get warmer.
In the middle of the night we had to wake up and start climbing for 3 hours to the top of the mountain so we would arrive there before sunrise. The trail was very steep and the last hour only on loose gravel, which made it quite tiring to climb. Luckily they gave us a big breakfast of 4 small crackers before we started climbing, to make sure we would make it without getting hungry and grumpy. Nevertheless I did get very hungry after a few hours but still made it to the top. The view from there was lovely and almost made me forget how hungry I was. Especially the fact that you can see about half of the island including the sea around it and the Gili islands that I passed two days before made it a new and special experience.
After sunrise and many top photos with our group, we went down to the campsite. This time they gave us a real breakfast so we could continue walking down another 3 hours up to the crater lake. We were all looking forward to have a little swim in the marine blue lake while walking under the sun again, but arriving at the lake we saw all the dead fish and incredible amount of rubbish in the water which immediately killed our desire to go swimming. After the lunchbreak we had to climb up again on the other side of the crater to arrive at the second campsite which was at the same altitude as the first one. Some of our group were getting tired so we had to stop many times and eventually we arrived at the camp when it was almost dark but still in time to put op the tents and watch the surroundings.
Next day was easier because we only had to walk down, although the loose stones on the steep parts of the decent made it tricky for some of our group to get down within falling all the time. Almost at the end of the track people were selling fresh water and beer cans so we started to celebrate our successful trip when we found out that the end of the trail was another 30 minutes walking, though on a paved road. At the end we arrived at the village where we were supposed to start the track and from there were brought back down by car to the civilized part of Lombok.
The next day I spent driving by motorbike to the south part of Lombok to relax at the beach. The actual driving took more time than the time to spend at the beach but was still enjoyable. In the meantime I had booked a 4-day boat trip towards the Island of Flores for the next day together with some other people from the place where I was staying.
When we got picked up to start the trip, we were first brought to the company office and then found out that we would go with another company then we booked with, because that one didn’t have enough costumers to be able to leave. This meant for us that we would be on a boat with 50 people instead of 20, that we would skip some parts of the original program and would have to pay more money. Of course we refused and after half an hour they accepted us without extra payment. When we finally made our way to the boat, we had to wait for another 2 hours before the harbor master gave us permission to leave. This meant that we wouldn’t make it to the first scheduled stop of the trip before it got dark so we missed the view of a rock full of fish and coral.
Next day we made a stop to go to a nice waterfall on an island close to Sumbawa and later do some snorkeling from another one (there are many islands in Indonesia as you might know already). After that we made our way to the highlight of the trip, the Komodo Island. We arrived there next morning and got onto the island. Together with some park rangers, armed with wooden sticks, we walked around for an hour to see at least 6 of these giant Komodo dragons. In contrary of what I expected, we could get very close to them without getting attacked. Apparently they only hunt at specific times during the day and normally won’t attack big groups. Nevertheless they looked very scary so none of us wished to get behind while walking through the park.
The last day of the boat tour we went to an island close to Komodo, called Rinca. This is the only other island where Komodo dragons live in the wild. (there are different theories about why they only exist on these two islands. If you want to know more, ask me later or look on the internet). On Rinca we saw even more dragons, also some baby ones, but also here they seemed really lazy, especially because they just had eaten some fish.
After a last snorkeling from another beach close to Rinca island, we were picked up by a small boat that had to bring us to Flores. Normally this would take about 3 hours. As the motor started to break down half way, they had to go on half power so the last 2 hours we moved at a speed of about 5 km/h. Already in the dark, we arrived in the harbor city of Labuhan Bajo, the only touristic place on Flores, and full of divingschools and komodo tour agencies. I didn’t go for diving though, but to find a little cave somewhere on the island where they found an old skeleton 20 years ago of a human species called Homo Floresiensis, a much smaller homo species that used to live on this island until the Homo sapiens arrived 50.000 years ago and the H. floresiensis got extend. Finding this cave was not so easy. It’s not touristic at all and although after some internet research I knew more or less where the cave should be, there are no signs and it’s a very bad, stony road to get there. After a 4hour drive by scooter the road got to bad to continue so I had to walk. I wanted to ask the people I met where the cave was, but they didn’t speak any English so I had to use my drawing skills to make clear where I wanted to go. After almost one hour I found a boy who knew it and brought me by his scooter. Initially the cave was closed by a gate but after a while a man turned up with a key so I could enter the cave and later also the small museum in front of it. Mission completed.
The next day I continued my way inside Flores to visit some traditional villages. After another 5 hours of winding roads up and down through the countryside, I arrived in the rain at the villages. Again I was the only tourist around. The people who live in the villages were just minding their own business instead of trying very hard to sell me the carpets and cloaks they made so I could really enjoy the relaxed and laid back sphere. I really enjoyed this off the beaten track opportunity and visit.
After driving back to the nearest city and having dinner at the only restaurant that was open, I took a good rest at a local homestay, because the day after I would have to drive back for 8 hours on my little motorbike.
The first hours of the return trip went very well, but halfway it suddenly started to rain. Rain in Indonesia can be serious, so after a few minutes I was completely soaked. The good part is that it only went on for half an hour and after that, the sun came back, so by the time I was back at the place where I rented my motorbike, I was dry again. What I mostly liked about Flores is that it´s not touristic and the local people are very friendly. During the 3 days I spent on the island, I got invited several times for tea and food when I stopped at a place to take a rest or look around.
From Flores I wanted to go to the Gili islands, which was not so easy. I could fly back to Bali but then would have to wait until next day to get the boat to Gili. Flying to Lombok would be a bit faster but was very expensive because I still had to fly to Bali first. Eventually I decided to take the cheaper and more adventurous option of going overland. This meant taking a 6 hour ferry from Flores to Sumbawa, changing to a minibus for a 1 hour right from the harborcity to another city. There, after waiting at the busstation for 1,5 hour and having a local dinner, I had to take an overnight bus crossing whole Sumbawa. Next day it arrived at the west point of the island, went on a ferry to Lombok and from there drove us to the capital of Lombok, Mataram. There I had to find transport to the little harbourplace where I could get a ferry to the Gili islands. So after about 1,5 day of travelling I finally arrived at Gili Air, the island closest to Lombok. As I wrote before, the Gili islands have become very touristic as they are easy to reach from Bali. Luckily the ambience on the islands is still relaxed and most parts are really quiet and some parts still uninhabited. I spent a day diving and another day snorkeling around the islands. Because of the very high water temperature, a lot of coral was dying or losing its bright colours, but some areas still have a big amount of beautiful colours and the turtles that swim around, compensated a lot. Although I planned to visit all three of the Gili islands, eventually I stayed most of the time on Gili Air, also because a friend of my brother runs a Mexican restaurant there with beautiful sunset views and great food.
The last days in Indonesia I spent again on Bali, first because I had to get my flight from there but also because I actually had not seen much of it yet apart from Ubud and surroundings. This time I went to the western part of the Island, to a place called Amed, again full of diving schools because close to that place there´s a US ship wreck right of the beach which is said to be the best diving spot on Bali. Well, I can agree to that, it´s a beautiful place full of corals growing on the ship rests, but especially there are many huge fish, upto 1,5 meter long and even some reef sharks that are even bigger. This was a nice last dive of my trip (I don`t expect to do much diving in the Andes of South-America). The last day I rented a scooter again (I am getting a real PRO by now) and together with a women I met in the hostel I visited some beautiful temples and palace. One of the temples was built around a fresh water source where you are allowed to go in. This was a very refreshing and welcoming activity during the (as always) hot and sunny day. With a very pleased and satisfied feeling I took the bus next day towards the airport. This bus went only one time a day and arrived at the airport 9 hours before I had to take my flight. Luckily I met a girl on the airport that I knew from the Rinjani hike on Lombok, so we could kill the time together.
After a last moment of frustration right before I got into the plane (I bought some water in the tax free area because the budget airline wouldn´t provide this and was not allowed to bring it into the plane) I said goodbye to Asia. I made my way to Melbourne to bring a last visit to my lovely family there and pick up some luggage I had left behind. Winter had started in Melbourne which had because something unknown to me after 9 months of hot and humid weather. Two days later I continued to Buenos Aires to visit my brother and his wife, crossing the dayline for the first time in my life and got really confused about whether I was going forward or backwards into time. The weather was clear in South-America so I could see the whole Andes range, but the clear sky also meant that it´s gonna be very cold here at this time of the year. But that´s for another time to write you how I hopefully have survived that.
The last thing I want to tell you is to please have a look at my facebook page and read the message about a request for donations I hope to collect by running the dam-to-dam rally in September, after being back in the Netherlands. Thanks for supporting me!
For those who are getting inpatient to see me again, write down in your agenda to go and pick me up at Schiphol airport on august 11.
By the time I’m writing this, my trip in Indonesia and actually in Asia, is finished. I am sitting in my brother’s house near the river, close to Buenos Aires, with a blanket wrapped around me. After 9 months of travelling through the tropics of Asia and Australia, I have to get used to the cold again. I thought it’s always nice weather in this part of South-America. It’s not. Last night was -1 degree! And next week I am going into the Andes mountains, so it will be even colder there. Can anyone send me some warm clothes please!!
In the meantime, I will tell you about my travels last month between Bali and Flores. I arrived in Bali semi-exhausted from the early rising trips to Mt Bromo and Mt Ijen. I took a shared taxi to Ubud, the cultural city on Bali. The landscape on Bali is completely different from Java and Sumatra. It’s the only Hindu island in Indonesia and everywhere along the streets you can find small temples, altars and many houses that resemble temples. The other big difference is the amount of tourists on the streets. There are more tourists than local people on this island. Fortunately, this didn’t affect the kindness of the people on Bali (as long as you stay away from the real touristic southern part of the island where only drunken party tourists hang around the beach all day and night).
The next days I rented a small motorbike and drove around the central part of the island together with some French and Dutch people whom I met in my hostel in Ubud. We visited some beautiful ricefields, hidden hindu temples in the jungles and also went to an official Kopi Luwak coffee factory. This coffee is famous and very expensive because before the roasting process, it gets a special treatment by the civetcats that eat the raw coffeebeans. I can tell you, you really taste the difference.
After these days in Ubud I made my way towards Lombok. On the boat I took, I was the only tourist who didn’t spend the time on the boat only drinking big bottles of local Bintang beer and arriving half drink on the destination. I also was the only tourist getting of the boat in Lombok, as the others continued to the Gili islands, three small islands close to Lombok, full of resorts, diving schools and party people. The moment I got off the boat on Lombok I got offered a “very nice and cheap tour” to the volcano on Lombok called Mt Rinjani. Normally I would never listen to these offers but I had planned to do this 3-day tour already before I arrived there and the price was indeed quite cheap so just a little time later I was brought by scooter for 1,5 hours all the way to the village at the start of the track. He drove very fast to make sure that after arriving I would still have time to walk to the waterfall close to the village before it would get to dark. The waterfall indeed was very beautiful, although the picknick area around it was terribly full of rubbish.
Next day after a nice banana pancake breakfast we drove by pick-up to another side of the mountain because the guide preferred to do the hike the other way around. After a short briefing by the park official about the hike and the importance of keeping it clean, where we started our trip in the full sun. Later it got more clouded so the stopped sweating but then the whole view was gone. After a few hours we had a 2 hour lunch break (much longer than appreciated but it took our staff a long time to prepare the food). All the groups were having lunch at the same spot which could be easily noticed by all the rubbish and food that was laying around the place. This problem turned out to be the same on all the places we stopped to eat and was a big disappointment on the whole tour. Not only did it look awful and smelly for the rotting food, also the monkeys and birds around came to find some food but unfortunately started eating all the plastic also.
At the end of the first day we arrived at the camp place on the top of a hill. The view from there was beautiful, looking the sun going down behind the crater rim of the mountain. Immediately after sunset it was cooling down terribly, and after diner everyone run into his tent and sleeping bag to get warmer.
In the middle of the night we had to wake up and start climbing for 3 hours to the top of the mountain so we would arrive there before sunrise. The trail was very steep and the last hour only on loose gravel, which made it quite tiring to climb. Luckily they gave us a big breakfast of 4 small crackers before we started climbing, to make sure we would make it without getting hungry and grumpy. Nevertheless I did get very hungry after a few hours but still made it to the top. The view from there was lovely and almost made me forget how hungry I was. Especially the fact that you can see about half of the island including the sea around it and the Gili islands that I passed two days before made it a new and special experience.
After sunrise and many top photos with our group, we went down to the campsite. This time they gave us a real breakfast so we could continue walking down another 3 hours up to the crater lake. We were all looking forward to have a little swim in the marine blue lake while walking under the sun again, but arriving at the lake we saw all the dead fish and incredible amount of rubbish in the water which immediately killed our desire to go swimming. After the lunchbreak we had to climb up again on the other side of the crater to arrive at the second campsite which was at the same altitude as the first one. Some of our group were getting tired so we had to stop many times and eventually we arrived at the camp when it was almost dark but still in time to put op the tents and watch the surroundings.
Next day was easier because we only had to walk down, although the loose stones on the steep parts of the decent made it tricky for some of our group to get down within falling all the time. Almost at the end of the track people were selling fresh water and beer cans so we started to celebrate our successful trip when we found out that the end of the trail was another 30 minutes walking, though on a paved road. At the end we arrived at the village where we were supposed to start the track and from there were brought back down by car to the civilized part of Lombok.
The next day I spent driving by motorbike to the south part of Lombok to relax at the beach. The actual driving took more time than the time to spend at the beach but was still enjoyable. In the meantime I had booked a 4-day boat trip towards the Island of Flores for the next day together with some other people from the place where I was staying.
When we got picked up to start the trip, we were first brought to the company office and then found out that we would go with another company then we booked with, because that one didn’t have enough costumers to be able to leave. This meant for us that we would be on a boat with 50 people instead of 20, that we would skip some parts of the original program and would have to pay more money. Of course we refused and after half an hour they accepted us without extra payment. When we finally made our way to the boat, we had to wait for another 2 hours before the harbor master gave us permission to leave. This meant that we wouldn’t make it to the first scheduled stop of the trip before it got dark so we missed the view of a rock full of fish and coral.
Next day we made a stop to go to a nice waterfall on an island close to Sumbawa and later do some snorkeling from another one (there are many islands in Indonesia as you might know already). After that we made our way to the highlight of the trip, the Komodo Island. We arrived there next morning and got onto the island. Together with some park rangers, armed with wooden sticks, we walked around for an hour to see at least 6 of these giant Komodo dragons. In contrary of what I expected, we could get very close to them without getting attacked. Apparently they only hunt at specific times during the day and normally won’t attack big groups. Nevertheless they looked very scary so none of us wished to get behind while walking through the park.
The last day of the boat tour we went to an island close to Komodo, called Rinca. This is the only other island where Komodo dragons live in the wild. (there are different theories about why they only exist on these two islands. If you want to know more, ask me later or look on the internet). On Rinca we saw even more dragons, also some baby ones, but also here they seemed really lazy, especially because they just had eaten some fish.
After a last snorkeling from another beach close to Rinca island, we were picked up by a small boat that had to bring us to Flores. Normally this would take about 3 hours. As the motor started to break down half way, they had to go on half power so the last 2 hours we moved at a speed of about 5 km/h. Already in the dark, we arrived in the harbor city of Labuhan Bajo, the only touristic place on Flores, and full of divingschools and komodo tour agencies. I didn’t go for diving though, but to find a little cave somewhere on the island where they found an old skeleton 20 years ago of a human species called Homo Floresiensis, a much smaller homo species that used to live on this island until the Homo sapiens arrived 50.000 years ago and the H. floresiensis got extend. Finding this cave was not so easy. It’s not touristic at all and although after some internet research I knew more or less where the cave should be, there are no signs and it’s a very bad, stony road to get there. After a 4hour drive by scooter the road got to bad to continue so I had to walk. I wanted to ask the people I met where the cave was, but they didn’t speak any English so I had to use my drawing skills to make clear where I wanted to go. After almost one hour I found a boy who knew it and brought me by his scooter. Initially the cave was closed by a gate but after a while a man turned up with a key so I could enter the cave and later also the small museum in front of it. Mission completed.
The next day I continued my way inside Flores to visit some traditional villages. After another 5 hours of winding roads up and down through the countryside, I arrived in the rain at the villages. Again I was the only tourist around. The people who live in the villages were just minding their own business instead of trying very hard to sell me the carpets and cloaks they made so I could really enjoy the relaxed and laid back sphere. I really enjoyed this off the beaten track opportunity and visit.
After driving back to the nearest city and having dinner at the only restaurant that was open, I took a good rest at a local homestay, because the day after I would have to drive back for 8 hours on my little motorbike.
The first hours of the return trip went very well, but halfway it suddenly started to rain. Rain in Indonesia can be serious, so after a few minutes I was completely soaked. The good part is that it only went on for half an hour and after that, the sun came back, so by the time I was back at the place where I rented my motorbike, I was dry again. What I mostly liked about Flores is that it´s not touristic and the local people are very friendly. During the 3 days I spent on the island, I got invited several times for tea and food when I stopped at a place to take a rest or look around.
From Flores I wanted to go to the Gili islands, which was not so easy. I could fly back to Bali but then would have to wait until next day to get the boat to Gili. Flying to Lombok would be a bit faster but was very expensive because I still had to fly to Bali first. Eventually I decided to take the cheaper and more adventurous option of going overland. This meant taking a 6 hour ferry from Flores to Sumbawa, changing to a minibus for a 1 hour right from the harborcity to another city. There, after waiting at the busstation for 1,5 hour and having a local dinner, I had to take an overnight bus crossing whole Sumbawa. Next day it arrived at the west point of the island, went on a ferry to Lombok and from there drove us to the capital of Lombok, Mataram. There I had to find transport to the little harbourplace where I could get a ferry to the Gili islands. So after about 1,5 day of travelling I finally arrived at Gili Air, the island closest to Lombok. As I wrote before, the Gili islands have become very touristic as they are easy to reach from Bali. Luckily the ambience on the islands is still relaxed and most parts are really quiet and some parts still uninhabited. I spent a day diving and another day snorkeling around the islands. Because of the very high water temperature, a lot of coral was dying or losing its bright colours, but some areas still have a big amount of beautiful colours and the turtles that swim around, compensated a lot. Although I planned to visit all three of the Gili islands, eventually I stayed most of the time on Gili Air, also because a friend of my brother runs a Mexican restaurant there with beautiful sunset views and great food.
The last days in Indonesia I spent again on Bali, first because I had to get my flight from there but also because I actually had not seen much of it yet apart from Ubud and surroundings. This time I went to the western part of the Island, to a place called Amed, again full of diving schools because close to that place there´s a US ship wreck right of the beach which is said to be the best diving spot on Bali. Well, I can agree to that, it´s a beautiful place full of corals growing on the ship rests, but especially there are many huge fish, upto 1,5 meter long and even some reef sharks that are even bigger. This was a nice last dive of my trip (I don`t expect to do much diving in the Andes of South-America). The last day I rented a scooter again (I am getting a real PRO by now) and together with a women I met in the hostel I visited some beautiful temples and palace. One of the temples was built around a fresh water source where you are allowed to go in. This was a very refreshing and welcoming activity during the (as always) hot and sunny day. With a very pleased and satisfied feeling I took the bus next day towards the airport. This bus went only one time a day and arrived at the airport 9 hours before I had to take my flight. Luckily I met a girl on the airport that I knew from the Rinjani hike on Lombok, so we could kill the time together.
After a last moment of frustration right before I got into the plane (I bought some water in the tax free area because the budget airline wouldn´t provide this and was not allowed to bring it into the plane) I said goodbye to Asia. I made my way to Melbourne to bring a last visit to my lovely family there and pick up some luggage I had left behind. Winter had started in Melbourne which had because something unknown to me after 9 months of hot and humid weather. Two days later I continued to Buenos Aires to visit my brother and his wife, crossing the dayline for the first time in my life and got really confused about whether I was going forward or backwards into time. The weather was clear in South-America so I could see the whole Andes range, but the clear sky also meant that it´s gonna be very cold here at this time of the year. But that´s for another time to write you how I hopefully have survived that.
The last thing I want to tell you is to please have a look at my facebook page and read the message about a request for donations I hope to collect by running the dam-to-dam rally in September, after being back in the Netherlands. Thanks for supporting me!
For those who are getting inpatient to see me again, write down in your agenda to go and pick me up at Schiphol airport on august 11.
Reageer op dit reisverslag
Je kunt nu ook Smileys gebruiken. Via de toolbar, toetsenbord of door eerst : te typen en dan een woord bijvoorbeeld :smiley
