Pint size dragon hunters
On one fine Friday morning in June, a troop of fearless buccaneers took to the seas in their fine vessel Diana for a one day trip, in search of a fearsome beastie – the Komodo dragon
The team of explorers were Alena and Thomas, who were joining the Jaya for a liveaboard and had just completed their SSI Advanced Adventurer course with Wicked (congrats guys!), DMT Calle, Instructor Jo and a couple of pint sized heros – Omi and Yana.
Omi and Yana have recently joined the Wicked team in Komodo as interns. They study in a nearby tourism and hospitality school in Ruteng, called Swakarsa. As part of their education, to help with their future employment and to improve their English skills, the students of the school are advised to complete internships in the area. Omi and Yana have been helping out in the shop in Labuan Bajo, purchasing supplies, assisting with equipment, meeting our guests and they have also played an integral part in ensuring that the Jaya is stocked up and ready to go for the liveaboard trips.
Also, not to be overlooked, are the big wide smiles and sense of fun which is always present in Indonesian culture.
Although Omi and Yana both live in the nearby town of Ruteng, neither of them had visited the fabled dragons, so we thought it was time for them to have a day trip away from Labuan Bajo. They also seemed to be just the right size for dragon food – we jest, we jest!
During the day Omi and Yana learnt that the dragons can run up to 18 km per hour, that the baby dragons live in trees and eat geckos until they are 1 year old to avoid being eaten by the bigger, scarier adults, dragons can live for 50 years and would have no qualms in taking on a water buffalo should the situation present itself.
We were lucky enough to see a number of dragons large and small on the trek and also were lucky enough to witness a large water buffalo grazing just metres away from us. All in all it was a fun and educational day for all and luckily we all returned in one piece.
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