While on vacation, plan another one

What do you do when you’re on vacation? If you’re anything like me, you book your next vacation. Much to Garry’s disdain, I’ve done this a few times now. For example, I once booked a weekend in Gibraltar while on vacation in Dubai. Our current trip to Indonesia is proving no exception. I’ve booked two vacations this week. Although, in my defence, I’d been researching both in detail for more than a month.

The first vacation is a month in Africa between March and April next year. We’ll fly into Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, and spend the next 10 days on safari in Kenya and Tanzania, before flying to Zanzibar for five days. This is a privately guided tour arranged through a local tour company that I found using AI. This private, customised itinerary costs us the same as, or slightly less than, small group tours I’ve been investigating. It’s honestly not a cliché to describe our itinerary as value for money.

I must admit that I was incredibly dubious about using a local firm. However, Emnel Adventures has rave reviews online and has proven to be true to its word, never attempting to upsell me, and often recommending more cost-effective alternatives. For me, the highlights of our itinerary include straddling the Equator, tracking Rhinos, learning the Aduma initiation dance with Maasai Mai tribesmen, watching Elephants wander by with Kilimanjaro in the background, and witnessing Wildebeest herds calving in the Serengeti.

We then fly to Windhoek, the Namibian capital, where we’ll join a 14-day overland serviced camping tour through Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, before resting and recovering in Zambia on the banks of the Zambezi River. This tour will see us staying in tents in the bush while getting up close with the wildlife wherever we go. However, unlike most overland camping tours, staff will set up camp, cook our meals, and pack up each day. Highlights for me include seeing the Skeleton Coast, two days deep in the Okavango Delta, and possibly flying a microlight over Victoria Falls during its peak flow season.

This second tour is being booked through a South African company which seems a little less service-oriented. I’m hoping our experience on the ground is more rewarding than the slightly aloof correspondence I’ve had with the company’s representative to date. Once we’ve finished our time in Zambia, we’ll be heading home with another string of blog posts and memories to last a lifetime.

Garry has already completed this entire itinerary as part of an overland tour he did from Namibia to Kenya in 2000. Sadly, this means no new countries are added to his growing tally. For me, I’d clock up another four, including Namibia, Botswana, Tanzania and Kenya.

That’s our first holiday, booked while on holiday. The second vacation is a little quirkier. A month or so back I stumbled upon a cruise from Bali to Hong Kong that sails along the Borneo coast of Malaysia, before island hopping its way through the Philippines, then onwards to Hong Kong via Taiwan. Garry and I have talked about visiting the Philippines, so this itinerary should give us a good feel for the nation and perhaps identify a few places we might want to revisit in future.

This cruise departs Bali on 3 March 2028. We’re now debating how long we’ll stay in Bali before joining the cruise and deciding where we’ll go when we land in Hong Kong. Garry is keen on visiting Macau. I’ve also realised that we can nip over to Guilin for a few days using the new high-speed train from Hong Kong. It takes about three hours by train to reach this iconic river valley. Likewise, another seven hours by train and you can add in a week touring the Avatar-inspired mountain region of Zhangjiajie, Fenghuang and nearby Furong. Both destinations are bucket list items for me.

I wonder how many more vacations we’ll book while we’re enjoying these next two adventures?

Komodo Island = Komondo Dragons

We’ve ticked off another bucket list item in spectacular style. Garry and I have finally seen Komodo Dragons in the wild, and what an encounter it was. I think this post’s opening image speaks for itself..!

We landed on Komodo Island shortly after 9:00am on Saturday. Earlier that morning, I’d climbed Pandar Island to watch the sun rise. The experience was pure Instagram fodder, so anything that followed would be hard to beat. However, Komodo Island didn’t disappoint.

Two local rangers greeted us as we entered the National Park, armed with little more than forked sticks. They took us on a trek into the forest for about a kilometre before we came upon a waterhole shaded by several large trees. In front of us lay an enormous Komodo Dragon resting in the shade. We’d seen our first full-grown dragon, one of only 1,380 adults left in the wild.

 

However, what came next was truly breathtaking. The ranger pointed out two, even larger creatures nearby, and a fourth, even more massive beast lurking in the bushes. We couldn’t believe our eyes. In a matter of minutes, we’d encountered four adult dragons. The ranger explained that it was near the end of the dry season. The island had also had a very mild wet season. As a result, Komodo Dragons spend more time near water sources around the island.

The dragons were magnificent. Apparently, a fully grown male can measure more than three metres in length and weigh up to 110kg. The beast we were photographed with was close to this size and scale. One of the males we encountered briefly got up for a stroll, hissed dramatically before calling it a day, and slumped under a shady tree. Garry couldn’t believe how close we got to them. Neither could I. Like most cold-blooded creatures, as long as we kept our distance, they were content to lie around soaking up the morning sun.

On our way back to the boat. we encountered two female dragons. The ranger told us they’re more active than the males. He was right. As we watched, one of them delivered a superb display of Komodo Dragons in action. She wandered across the path ahead of us, strode through the forest, and finally settled into an iconic pose, with her head held high. It was National Geographic stuff through and through.

All in all, we encountered six dragons on Komodo Island. Our guide told us this was an unusually high tally. Most days, visitors see only one or two of these creatures, occasionally none. Before returning to the boat, Garry and I briefly wandered through a shoreline market by the wharf. Eventually we bought a nifty little carved wooden dragon for our growing kitsch collection. I'd have to put this wildlife encounter up there with the Leatherback Turtle that Mum and I saw in Africa more than a decade ago.

I'm also pleased to say that we never experienced any of the dubious conduct I've read about online. That is, stories of rangers provoking dragons to move in a dramatic, aggressive manner.  Our rangers were incredibly respectful and surprisingly protective of the creatures we encountered. Thank goodness for that. According to the Smithsonian Institution, a Komodo Dragon's strong jaws can snap a man's leg in two.

Sailing the Flores Sea

We’ve just spent three incredible days exploring islands in the Flores Sea. As I shared in my last post, we booked a two-night, three-day cruise on a brand-new boat called Andalusia 3. The boat was launched in July, so we’re among the first to sail on her. You see images of our awesome cabin in an earlier post here.

The boat itself was an impressive vessel. It’s 32 metres long and is built entirely by hand from Ironbark and Teak timber in the style of a traditional phinisi ship. The ship has two masts, but we never saw a single sail installed while we were on board. Instead, we sailed from location to location by motor.

Andalusia 3 has a maximum capacity of 28 guests, accommodated in ten cabins equipped with private bathrooms. However, only 15 were on our cruise, so we never felt cramped. The boat’s advertising campaign seems to have targeted a specific demographic. 11 guests were Chinese, leaving just four native English speakers, including Garry and me.

Our itinerary was full but never hectic, delivering a well-established short-list of popular sights. The crew did their best to visit each location during an off-peak time, thus avoiding the swarms of day-trippers doing our itinerary in a single day. However, even then, we were never alone. We always encountered a small crowd on shore, and often dropped anchor among dozens of boats offshore.

On our first day, we sailed to Pulau Siaba Besar, an island east of Komodo Island. Here we donned our snorkel gear and spent several hours floating with the current along the rim of a stunning coral reef. As we drifted, giant manta rays silently glided across the sea floor. We saw at least six of these majestic creatures. It was truly breathtaking. Elsewhere, others spotted a couple of turtles enjoying themselves.

From here we headed to the Instagram-famous Pink Beach on Pandar Island. The sand here is flecked with grains formed by ruby red coral. Its stunning colour is rather subtle at first glance. However, as the late afternoon sun dipped towards the horizon, its colour really started to come alive. While on shore, we also scored a bonus visit from a juvenile Komodo Dragon. It ventured out of the coastal scrub and wandered through the grassy dunes behind the beach before quickly disappearing.

We finished our first day on board by sailing around Pandar Island to a sheltered bay. Here we joined dozens of boats that, like us, had positioned themselves for a trek at dawn the following day. Shortly before 5:00am we made our way ashore, ready to join hundreds of others in climbing Pandar to witness the sun rise over the Flores Sea. The trek to the final viewpoint about 230 metres above sea level involved at least 815 steps. Fortunately, they’re either wooden stairways or sturdy paved stone steps.

The view from the top was well worth the effort. Honestly, I’ll let my photos do the talking. It really was one of those Instagram-worthy destinations that genuinely delivered in real life. Sadly, Garry slept in and missed the entire experience.

Our first stop of the day was truly jaw-dropping. A last-minute decision saw the boat divert to Komodo Island for our much-anticipated Komodo Dragon encounter. Most boats go to nearby Rinca Island to see these giant reptiles, so I was delighted we were going to see Komodo Dragons on their namesake island. Our encounter was a true bucket list moment worthy of its own post, which you can read here.

With dragons ticked off the list, it was time to head to Taka Makassar, a series of reefs and sand cays off the northeast coast of Komodo Island. Here we spent the rest of the afternoon snorkelling along some of the most diverse and pristine coral reefs I’ve ever seen. As we drifted, Garry and I spotted giant gropers, stone fish, clown fish, sea anemones, starfish and more. It was truly mesmerising stuff.

We finished our day with a leisurely stop on a tiny white-sand cay. I walked out to a tidal spit at one end of the mini island where I encountered a baby shark trawling through the shallow waters. We then spent much of our time sitting in the sea watching the sun go down.

The following morning, we rose early for a short sail to Kelo Island. The island was promoted as an ideal for spotting more baby sharks. However, Garry and I only encountered one little guy. Instead, the highlight of our swim was a series of aggressive little fish that kept biting us. Garry decided they must be protecting their offspring. Some cruise guests climbed the island’s modest peak for a scenic view. Garry and I decided to give it a miss, and spent time sitting in the sun.

Shortly after 11:30 a.m., we docked back at Labuan Bajo, where the cruise company transferred us to the airport for our flight to Bali. The flight was delayed. We eventually landed more than an hour behind schedule. However, the flight itself was a handy lesson in Indonesian geography. As we flew west, I was astonished by the sheer number of volcanoes we passed. I counted at least ten prominent peaks before losing count.

We’re now comfortably settled in a spacious room at the Sofitel Nusa Dua, on Bali’s southeast coast. More about that in another post.

Labuan Bajo

Garry recently found this amazing package deal online for the Sofitel Nusa Dua. We’ve talked about returning to Bali, but only if we found something suitable in Nusa Dua, Bali’s more upmarket resort district. This area, south of Denpasar, is like Fiji’s Denarau Island, a coastal enclave we’ve enjoyed many times in recent years.

On a whim, I checked the Accor website and discovered an even cheaper deal if we booked directly. However, I told Garry that if he booked for 14 days, I couldn’t lie on the beach for two weeks. Instead, I’d do a side trip to the nearby islands of Flores to spot Komodo Dragons in the wild and join him when I was done. Garry decided this excursion sounded rather interesting. We ultimately compromised on 4 nights exploring Flores, followed by 11 nights at Nusa Dua.

By chance, I found a fabulous cabin on a new boat offering a three-day, two-night tour around the Flores islands. The boat, Andalusia 3, was launched in late July. I booked us the Ocean Suite, a spacious top-deck cabin with a private balcony and ensuite. Despite this decadent accommodation, the entire cruise only cost about $1,600. This included our cabin, all meals and non-alcoholic drinks, guided tours, a full-time photographer and airport transfer.

On Wednesday we caught an early evening flight out of Sydney, bound for Denpasar. We decided to make the most of it by checking in early and enjoying a late lunch in the Qantas First Class Lounge. We arrived in the lounge shortly after 2:30pm; our flight didn't board until 4:35pm. Lounge regulars know that Qantas keeps a few bottles of Taittinger out the back. It’s never published on the menu, but it’s almost always available. We duly ordered a glass each. By the time we were done, I think we’d polished off the entire bottle. A fine start to our vacation.

Our flight landed shortly after 8pm. We had an early flight to Labuan Bajo the following morning, so I booked a discounted room in the airport Novotel, a short walk from the international terminal. The following morning, we talked the staff into starting breakfast service ten minutes early. This meant that we enjoyed a more leisurely meal before walking across to the domestic terminal.

Our flight to Labuan Bajo landed ahead of schedule, and our luggage was almost first off the plane. As a result, we exited the terminal in time to catch the hotel’s complimentary shuttle bus, which runs once an hour. I decided to splash out and book us a sea view room at the Meruorah Komodo Labuan Bajo. This is the top hotel in town and offers stunning harbour views. Our room wasn’t ready, so we filled in a couple of hours lounging by the pool.

Our room rate included complimentary afternoon tea, which we enjoyed before heading to dinner at Le Bajo Flores, a fabulous restaurant at the end of a nearby pier. Weeks earlier, I booked a table on the deck outside where we watched the sunset over cocktails before dining on a tasty seafood platter.

 On the way back to our hotel, we wandered through the local fish market. It’s one of those classic venues you stumble upon that’s dull and desolate by day, but comes alive at night. The market features a ramshackle row of small stalls extending along the waterfront, each selling a colourful selection of fresh fish. Out the back of each stall, a chef beavered away in a tiny kitchen cooking your purchase, which you then ate at communal tables overlooking the water. 

We spotted some enormous lobsters, alone with repeated stacks of mantis shrimps displayed inside large plastic bottles. Apparently, these shrimps are rather aggressive so their solitary confinement isn’t as cruel as first appears. They’ve been known to break a man’s finger or cannibalise one another if kept in the same tank. Garry confirmed that the seafood on offer was top-notch and freshly caught.

The following morning, we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast on the hotel’s rooftop terrace overlooking the harbour, before the tour company transferred us to the local wharf. By 10:30am, we’d boarded the vessel and were on our way to explore some of Indonesia’s Instagram-famous sights. I’ll share more about our adventures in my post.