Komodo

Komodo on Pindito with Simon Mustoe

Offer: Contact Simon Mustoe for details. Call +61 (0) 405 220 830 or email simon@wildiaries.com

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If you had to compare Komodo to anywhere it might be the fertile plains of Africa. You get the feeling animals are roaming everywhere. It's a more dynamic environment than Raja Ampat; a younger landscape shaped by volcanoes with a mixture of white and black sand reefs, iron-red sea cliffs and dry forested hillsides.

Between volcanic boulders is a difficult place for coral to hang on so it falls to other animals to reap the rewards and keep the system in balance.

If swimming with whale sharks us your thing, don't look past this trip. It's unlikely to be anything like you can imagine. Guests who have been to Ningaloo settle for a few seconds exhausting swim alongside a shark in the open ocean. We often have numerous sharks swimming around us for hours.

Beyond that, Komodo is one of the most spectacular places you'll ever visit. That's to say, as long as you go with a group who know wildlife.

This trip will suit snorkelers and divers.

The colours and texture of the landscapes in Komodo are remarkable. Sailing in the warm breeze at sunset towards the twin volcanic peaks of Sanguang while sipping G&Ts and watching dolphins bow-ride last year was incredible.

The whale sharks and manta rays are big drawcards. Add in chance of Napoleon Wrasse, Mobula Rays, White-tipped and Black-tipped Reef Sharks, Spinner Dolphins, Melon-headed Whales, Risso's Dolphins, Sperm Whales and other cetaceans, and the possibilities seem endless  The trick is knowing the right locations, timing and conditions. This is key to maximising the chance that everyone gets extended time in the water with these majestic creatures.

No trip to Komodo would be complete without seeing the dragons. We do an early morning visit to Rinca with the local guides. This is before most other people arrive and it's a better time to see and photograph these animals.

Komodo is packed full of colourful little critters that you might miss if you are not carefully guided. It's the fertility and diversity of the volcanic sands that make this a very special place.