Indonesia: Komodo + Raja Ampat - July 2016
Dear English-speaking readers, this page is an automatic Google translation from a post originally written in French. My apologies for the weird sentences and the funny mistakes that could have been generated during the process. If you can read French, the original and correct version can be found here:
Français Drones are the new fashionable gadget for travelers & #8230; On the boat that takes me to Komodo, Indonesia, two of my little diving buddies have one!
Komodo filmed by a drone
So I have these wonderful images of Komodo seen from the sky at Christoph Würbel, a German expatriate in Asia, based in Singapore, who was like me on vacation in Indonesia in this month of July 2016. (He post other aerial photos here.)
Two months after my return from this new diving trip to Indonesia, I tinkered with a small montage for the blog from its drone videos. So I rediscover them on the screen of my computer & #8230; How beautiful & #160;! & #160;! & #160 ;! & #x1f62e;
It must be said that this volcanic archipelago of Indonesia is really the perfect place to shoot magnificent spectacular aerial images, in fifty shades of blue & #8230;
It is made up of three main islands (Komodo, Rinca and Padar) and a number of other smaller ones. To help you locate, this is where & #160 ;:
This is my second stay in Komodo. I had already dived there during a previous trip in 2011.
The pretty little red and white two-masted on the video is my new princess boat, the Duyung Baru. I chose, like six years ago, for a small pinisi (a traditional Indonesian boat), all comfort & #8230; I boarded with five other divers for a week-long cruise (another one solo trip where I never ran out of company). Great boat, great international atmosphere (Germans, Finns, Indonesians, Australians and I, the little French girl), I came back delighted & #8230;
In the incredibly fishy waters of the Komodo archipelago, you can observe manta rays very closely, whether you are a simple swimmer in fins-mask-snorkel or scuba diver or freediver (more photos under water to come in a next mantas special post) & #8230; We can see them well in the video of the drone & #160 ;: these are the black diamonds which are exposed on the surface, around the annex & #160 ;!
See also on the blog → In the middle of manta rays in Komodo
The images taken from above also show the typical landscape of the archipelago: steep hills covered with savannah, which tumble down to white sandy beaches and azure waters, where the coral is exposed. We can see from the vegetation that the climate here is much drier than in other regions of Indonesia.
Even if the archipelago has become quite touristy, you really have a very exhilarating feeling from the end of the world when you sail in this intense blue sea dotted with deserted and wild, rather preserved islands. Komodo is a national park, inscribed on the list of World Heritage and UNESCO Biosphere Reserves.
How to get to Komodo? The region is very easy to reach from Bali: there are many daily flights to Labuan Bajo, the port located on the western end of the island of Flores, just in front of the archipelago. The duration of the flight is approximately one hour. I prefer for companies Garuda and Lion Air / Wings (schedules and rates are on their websites). Update (October 2016): Since Jakarta, there is now a direct flight Garuda for Labuan Bajo !
Jurassic Park
Komodo belongs to another world, almost a lost world. Located at the junction of two continental plates, the archipelago is on a “& #160; ring of fire & #160;” volcanic between Asia and Australia. Unique terrestrial and marine ecosystems have developed there, there are species that do not exist anywhere else & #160 ;!
The most famous, you may know it & #160 ;: this is the Komodo dragon, a very large lizard (a monitor lizard) looking like a dinosaur & #8230; Tourists are allowed to disembark on the islands of Rinca and Komodo to observe them, accompanied by rangers now dressed in a jacket flocked with the words "& #160; Naturalist Guide & #160;" in the back.
Rinca (pronounced "rine-cha") really has a small side Jurassic Park. Listening only to my courage, I gave up mantas and sharks for a few hours to return to see the dragons - old friends, who I went to say hello in 2011... 😆
The Komodo dragons are very impressive, especially if we are lucky enough to meet them during the trek on the island (and not asleep near the trash bins of the rangers). But I admit, it's still the creatures that live in seawater that I prefer to admire and photograph & #8230;
The adventurers of the lost path
To conclude this little overview above the surface (while waiting for the underwater images), I leave you on a few images of another island, the very photogenic Gili Lawa Darat. This is the one we see at the end of the drone video, with our small group of divers at the top of the high hill overlooking the bay.
What the video does not show is more ... Playing drone pilots in beautiful landscapes in broad daylight is one thing. To orient oneself overnight on a desert island is another.
With the other two girls and one of the guys, we left the other boys at the top of the hill with their equipment, because they wanted to stay photographing the sumptuous night sky (I put you above a photo posted on Facebook by Christoph).
Due to poor choice of path, our panoramic climb was transformed, during the descent back, into an endless junglesque expedition & #8230; Yes, Indiana Jones style, in impassable undergrowth - in shorts, canvas sneakers and flip-flops, of course - by the light of two headlamps and an iPhone loupiotte!
I renamed "The Adventurers of the Lost Path" ... 😂
We ended up succeeding in reaching the beach, without breakage. Fortunately there were no dragons on this island & #8230; We would probably have been less intrepid.
