A Komodo dragon seeks out shade on Komodo Island, Indonesia.
Credit: Jacqui Hayes/COSMOS
A juvenile Komodo dragon in a tree.
Credit: Jacqui Hayes/COSMOS
It's not even dawn but I'm wide awake, sweating. Chickens cluck madly and the Muslim call to prayer rolls out amid the humidity. I eye the small rips in the mosquito net around my bed before resigning myself to the day.
I've joined three friends in Labuanbajo, a port town on the western tip of Flores - one of Indonesia's 18,000 islands that was made famous after the discovery of the 'hobbit' (Homo floresiensis) by Australian and Indonesian scientists in 2003.
It is also the launching point for divers and adventure seekers who want to explore the World Heritage-listed Komodo National Park - home to the iconic Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis).
Scientifically described less than 100 years ago, the dragons only inhabit the small islands of Komodo, Rinca, Padar, Gili Motang and Flores. There are 3,000 to 3,500 wild dragons, estimates Tim Jessop from the University of Melbourne, who in 2002 with Indonesian colleagues started monitoring the different island populations within Komodo National Park.
Despite their infamous reputation, they face threats from loss of prey through poaching or other factors, loss of habitat and changes in the climate, says Jessop.
Access to the dragons is restricted, but tourists can pay for a permit to see them. We charter a boat for three days, and plan to spend a day hiking on Komodo and Rinca.
Before long, the boat is loaded and we're on our way, cruising over the park's notorious whirlpools and deadly riptides. Komodo Island has always been a wild place. At the turn of the 20th century, the Sultan of Bima, in the neighbouring island of Sumbawa, allegedly exiled convicts to Komodo.
As the boat pulls into Loh Liang, mountains rise steeply out of the ocean, their ridges dotted by tall, fanned palm trees. Part way up, monsoon forest gives way to a scrubby savannah.
I feel like I've been transported, not to another place but another time. There's no more fitting habitat than this for a monstrous reptile.
"Welcome to Komodo Island, the only place you can see Komodo dragons in their natural habitat," Doni Parera says.
He works as a guide on Komodo, giving tours to guests aboard luxury cruise ships. Or the occasional passing journalist. He shows off by saying the same line in German, then jumps off the boat, walks onto the island and chooses a big, forked stick from a collection.
The sticks, used for defence, are the first sign that what we're about to do is a little bit dangerous.
