Lots of Diving and Dragons!

As intended, we split from the other yachts in the group and headed south to Hoga Island. After a lot of tacking against the wind, we arrived and had quite a job to find an anchorage as it's all very deep. We anchored near the jetty in 30 metres but the following morning the dive resort told us we could move to their mooring ball so that our anchor did not get stuck in the reef. Along the reef there were mooring balls marking the dive sites so we were able to secure our dinghy and dive very easily. The reef was lovely and we saw lots of Crayfish and Rays as well as lots of small reef fish and some lovely coral. There were some lovely Nemo's and we also saw some amazing purple shrimp sharing an anemone with one set! However, there are very few reef fish of any size as the fishermen catch them all.

We were the only boat there so became the local attraction. This was OK except that one of the fishermen ( a boy around 10 -12) took my bikini bottoms. I left the top hanging up but he never came back for it! It was a shame as after that we had to ensure everything was locked up or taken below, especially our snorkels and goggles which they were very interested in. Still, we had a good time there.

Our next stop was Takebone Rate Atoll where we anchored behind a small island called Tinabo. It was a lovely sandy beach with palm trees and only a rangers hut on land. There were lots of baby sharks in the shallows and they did not seem afraid of our dinghy or our feet! We had a lovely walk around the island and picked up a lot of lovely and unusual shells. It is a national park but this does not stop the locals from fishing and there are lots of them out every day and night. Another boat saw them still dynamiting reef which is amazing for a supposed national park. The other depressing thing is that the whole island was covered in plastic rubbish which is washed ashore and no one bothers to clean up. We went out diving with the ranger to a reef on the western side of the atoll behind Latondo Island. We did some lovely dives on the reef which was amazing and probably the best we have seen in Indonesia as we saw sharks, turtles, rays, lobster, eels and stunning coral.

It was very relaxing and peaceful at Tinabo but unfortunately time was pressing on and we had to leave. We sailed south to Labuan Bajo which is on the western end of Flores. Here we met up with friends Chris and Dave on CD. We had decided to extend our visas while in Labuan Bajo so we set off to the immigration office with our sponsor letter and passports.

We were anchored outside of the town so this involved a boat ride to shore and then a taxi through the town. When we got there the immigration officer would not accept our sponsorship letter because it did not have our sponsors stamp on it. So we were sent away to get the correct letter plus copies of lots of documents and to buy a pink folder each to put it all in! The following day we went back and waited over 1 hour just to get a receipt to say they had our documents and to be told to come back on Monday at 9am to be fingerprinted and photographed. We went back on Monday to be told our passports had not been stamped and to come back at 2.30pm. We refused to leave and said we would wait. With this, our photos and fingerprints were taken and our passports arrived duly stamped 2 hours later. We then had to walk to the photocopy shop and get a copy of the stamp they had just given us and then take it back to them for the pink folder! Its very bizarre that they have sophisticated electronic finger printing equipment but cannot afford a photocopier.

While we were waiting for our visas (this has been just as frustrating at every place where cruisers have decided to go through the process!) we organised a dive trip in the Komodo National park. There are big currents so it is unwise to dive without boat cover and a leader who knows where to take you. Our first dive was like swimming in an aquarium there were so many fish, and we saw some big ones too. The second dive was a drift dive and we were being carried along at about 3 knots hoping to see Manta rays. We saw one manta briefly. We had been told to get down low and hold onto the bottom to stop when a manta was spotted. Unfortunately, the current was so strong that you ended up still moving but taking the bottom with you!

As soon as we got back to the boat with our completed visas we went to Rinca to see the Komodo dragons. We anchored close to the rangers station overnight and were ashore before 7am the following morning for a 2 hour guided walk around the island spotting Dragons. Before we had left the dock we had monkeys in our dinghy and as soon as we rounded the corner we saw our first Dragon sunning himself by the entrance. The guides stay on the island and lots of the Dragons hang around the kitchens waiting for scraps. So at the start of our walk we saw lots of dragons, wild pigs and deer. On the walk we saw a few water buffalo and then we saw one that had been bitten by a dragon and was being guarded by it. They bite their prey and will then guard it for weeks until it dies. They are not poisonous but their saliva is full of very nasty germs so bites are always fatal (eventually). Friends who went a few days later saw the remains of the Buffalo so it must have died not very long after our visit.

The next few weeks we spent sailing from Komodo to Lombok along the north coast of Sumbawa. One of our anchorages was in a very deep bay on Banta Island where the anchorage is a narrow shelf. We found a nice spot and were fine even though it was windy. Unfortunately, overnight the wind changed and we had to leave at 1am. The up side of this was seeing a lovely sunrise behind the volcano just off the coast of Sumbawa. The anchorages on Sumbawa were also very deep and you ended up anchoring very close to the beach to find water shallow enough to drop the anchor. Needless to say we didn't spend very long in any anchorage as wind shifts make them all a little too exciting!

Our first stop on Lombok was on the NE corner behind 2 off lying islands. The coast was full of fishing villages and at night the whole channel was full of big fishing boats. There lights were so close together they looked like street lights and we wondered how a fish ever made it through the channel alive. Great flat anchorage and no worries about wind shifts.

Our next stop was Medana Bay 'marina' on the NW side of Lombok where we anchored initially but then switched to a mooring when one became free. Here we met up with Sue and Stefan from Charlotte and later CD. It was a little rolly sometimes but had a nice restaurant, laundry services and a very helpful English owner/manager. We stayed a few days and the 6 of us (Charlottte and CD) organised a tour of the island. We visited 2 temples which were a little disappointing, fed the monkeys (fun but they would snatch!) and visited a traditional weaving village. We asked to have lunch somewhere where the locals would eat rather than a touristy place. It was very nice but a few of our stomachs thought differently the next day!

We left Lombok and did an overnight sail to Bali which is where we are now. It was quite a bumpy crossing with 25 knots gusting 40 knots of wind and we couldn't relax at all as we had to dodge all the fishing boats. Most of the boats do not have proper navigation lights. If you are lucky they have a flashing red, green and white light so you haven't got a clue where they are going! We have met up with all the Sail Indonesia rally boats in Bali and there are about 35 boats in the anchorage. Over the next 3 days there is a festival for the rally with lots of traditional dancing which we will be going along to. Then we have a trip in land organised to see something of the island. We are just hoping it is not too touristy.