Heading For Flores Island

Flores island is blessed with areas of stunning natural beauty that run to white sandy beaches, deserted islands, terraced rice fields, thick rain forests and an impressive array of volcanoes, of which fourteen are still active.  Ok, I know, technically there aren’t any dragons on the island of Flores itself but I promise, more of the big scaly fellows later. This trip was long overdue and so it was with great excitement that I landed in Ende, the old capital of this Flores island, which lolls about at the base of the archipelago.

The impressive land mass of Flores island is comparatively large and extremely mountainous, about 360 km east to west as the crow flies but, for those travelling overland it’s best to remember that you are not crows!

Ende and Mount Kelimutu

Ende itself is a mish- mash of government buildings and a plethora of shops selling…not very much really so it was good to leave it behind and head for the first of the destinations, the extinct Mt Kelimutu volcano on Flores island in Indonesia, with its famed three ever changing coloured crater lakes.

To reach this impressive young volcanic mountain entails travelling along a road that winds in a series of hairpin bends that rise ever higher to the small hamlet of Moni which clings, limpet–like to the side of the volcano itself.

Accommodation here is, at best basic and between June – September rather scarce, meaning I ended up sharing a room with three others in a modest guest –house painted bright green. If you are after rain head showers and fluffy white robes you are out of luck as you won’t find them here.

Apparently, the best time to see the crater lakes is at sunrise and so a 4am start was the order of the day.

Being a touch unfit I was the last of our small group (by a long way) to reach the top which seemed to be populated mainly by vendors supplying hot chocolate, tea and coffee to ward off the freezing winds and extremely low temperatures.

The early morning sun was trying desperately to penetrate the clouds that were rolling in like an invading army and so we had but a brief glimpse of the coloured lakes (blue, green and brown) before all the early risers were enveloped in a thick mist that reduced visibility to about 3 feet!

In hindsight I should have stayed in bed and waited for a clearer sky!

Blue Stone Beach

The misty morn over I headed back down to sea level to a pebble beach that is made up entirely of blue coloured stones. These are piled high by the locals of Flores island, sorted by size and shipped to Bali and beyond where I was told they are used as floor coverings for showers of elegant villas and hotels. The unique feature of these stones is that when wet, the pale blue colour instantly changes to emerald green…. strange but true!

Bena Village – Traditions of Flores Island

From there it was on to the village of Bena, which once again involved a tortuous climb into the mountains. This pristine settlement of the Ngada people is a little like stepping back in time with its eye–catching stone shrines and megalithic formations coupled with rich ceremonial lives where ancient belief systems co – exist with latter day Catholic doctrines.

What makes this society different from the rest of Flores is that this is a matrilineal culture whereby the Ngada people determine their heirlooms through their maternal lines.

Aimere and Ruteng

Back down to sea level and the village of Aimere where it seems the entire population is involved in the distilling of arak. A couple of shots of the 76% proof clear liquid does tend to put a nice rosy glow on the afternoon. A night’s stay in the mid-sized town of Ruteng and I check into a homestay with the unusual name of Edelweiss no doubt inspired by its elevated setting, (or named by some intrepid missionary).

The following morning I am finally ready to take to the waters and head for the home of the dragons. At this point I have to say that in the east of Flores island, accommodation is all rather basic and is technically backpacker style or homestay so don’t expect too many internationally renowned resorts to rest your weary bones after a long days drive.

The other thing to note is that the entire road network between Maumere in the east and Labuan Bajo in the west of Flores island, has undergone a huge upgrade.

I mentioned as the crow flies earlier, well at land level these roads twist and turn and make their way ever upwards around the soaring peaks where one is confronted with vertiginous drops of up to 1000ft to the valleys far below.

The port city of Labuan Bajo is the departure point to the Komodo National Park and the oversized lizards (see I didn’t forget!). Slowly but surely the landscape begins to change and the thick jungle recedes to be replaced by almost Savannah like terrain; it’s definitely drier and less lush on this west side of Flores island.

Spider Web Ricefields of Flores island

Before the final descent to the port, the road skirts a vast valley, home to the famous ‘spider web’ rice terraces. The hike to the top of the surrounding hills is well worth it as the shape of the fields are clearly visible – which look a little like an oversized collapsed umbrella.

This unusual configuration is known as moso, based on an elaborate system whereby each family in the village is allocated a certain portion of the land, working from the centre of a huge circle outwards. The structure is so perfectly symmetrical that it is a mystery as to how the original layout was conceived and constructed.

Labuan Bajo

The bustling port city of Labuan Bajo is the touristic driver of Flores island. It has also seen quite a renovation effort from its charming, rather seedy and run-down origin, to a modernized concrete elegance prepared to welcome back mass tourism. Waterfront buildings used to have the feel of a pirate town with dock- workers sitting around chatting, smoking and picking at their beetle nut stained teeth.

The bay itself is like a scene out of Peter Pan’s “Never Land” complete with an eclectic array of sailing vessels, large and small bobbing at anchor like horses in harness and beyond, scores of small islands dot the horizon.

The dragons home is Flores Island

Komodo National Park (about a four hour sail from Labuan Bajo) was founded in 1980 with the aim of protecting the endangered Komodo dragon. The park itself is not only the last resort of the dragons but also a unique area of marine biodiversity to the west of Flores island, making it one of the world’s finest destinations for scuba divers.

Flores island is simply stunning!!

In 1991 the park was listed as a UNESCO world heritage site. The dragons themselves can only be found in Flores, Indonesia, on the islands of Rinca, Nusa Kode, Gili Motang and Komodo itself and it was to the large island of Rinca that my boat headed on the first afternoon out.

Once I had been introduced to a local park ranger we took the 3km hike into the island’s interior through the rolling hills. It wasn’t too long before we came across one of the mythical creature in the scrubby forest.

The Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis) is the world’s largest and oldest living monitor lizard with adults reaching lengths of three meters and sometimes weighing up to 120kg. Our first encounter was with a female who was in the process of digging a large pit into which she would eventually lay her eggs.

They are loners (being that ugly I was not surprised) living solitarily except during the mating season. The eggs hatch after nine months and the small hatchlings will head for the trees to spend the next two years hiding from the larger lizards that treat their baby cousins as a tasty snack.

Rinca is a wonderful experience with well-defined walking trails that are not too taxing and take one high enough to afford expansive views of the bays and the surrounding countryside.

On to Komodo which involved a ‘night sail’ through waters that swirled and formed mini whirlpools due to the treacherous currents for which these straits are renowned, however our illustrious skipper was more than up to the task. I awoke the following morning in a crystal clear bay replete with beaches pink in colour. I went ashore onto an island that I had read about since I was a boy. It turned out to be a huge disappointment.

The main National Park camp of Komodo Island is a collection of buildings with local vendors selling all manner of things, from teeth to rather elaborate carvings. Cruise ships now visit this island…. that’s right, cruise ships!!

After two days puttering around the waters of the national park and snorkelling in the impossibly clear, blue waters it was time to leave this paradise and head back to Bajo (as the local expat community calls it).

A beachside resort provided a jaw- dropping sunset: a fitting end to another splendid adventure in Flores island. Flores, it’s a surprise at every hairpin turn but, if you don’t go, you’ll never know.

Paul v Walters is the international best selling author of five novels and when not cocooned in sloth and procrastination in his house in Bali he scribbles for several travel and vox pop journals.

Reach out to Paul:

Email: walterspaul7@gmail.com

Web: paulvwalters.net