20 MAY 2016
THE FIRST THING WE DID (before any diving) was stop at Komodo National Park on Rinca Island to see the Komodo dragons! We saw a group of adults, a juvenile and a nest. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and spoke English very well. We learned that like turtles, the female lays eggs and then pretty much goes off and leaves them. The baby dragons LIVE IN TREES! The older dragons are cannibalistic and, like alligators and crocodiles, given the chance will eat the young. We also saw some monkeys and a native bird much like a chicken, called a scrubfowl. It's these birds' nests that the dragons commandeer; like owls, they are not adept at finding suitable nesting areas. The dragons we saw were about nine feet long. though where there is more abundant food and water, they can grow to two or three times that size. Dragons hunt solo, and can run very fast for short distances, so the larger ones take down a deer or a water buffalo. Once prey is down, any nearby dragons will come for a meal.
	The dock at Komodo National Park, a national park in Indonesia located within the Lesser Sunda Islands in the border region between the provinces of East Nusa Tenggara and West Nusa Tenggara. There are three major islands: Komodo, Rinca and Padar, as well as numerous smaller islands creating a total surface area (marine and land) of more than 1,800 km2.
As well as being home to the Komodo Dragon, also known as the Komodo Monitor, or Ora (to Indonesians), the park provides refuge for many other notable terrestrial species. Moreover, the Park includes one of the richest marine environments.
The long path back towards the Park office and grounds (restrooms, etc.)	Treks on Rinca Island start from the ticket office at Loh Buaya. You also have the option to choose between three trails. The shortest trek takes 30 minutes. It is an easy, shaded walk that passes an artificial water hole before ascending to a small hill with a view over the bay. The one-hour medium trek winds between dragon nests and out into the sunshine across an exposed savannah that is studded with lontar palms. For the best opportunity to see dragons and their prey, choose the two-hour trek past a permanent water hole and across steep, exposed slopes that offer breathtaking views.
(IT WAS SO HOT that we all opted for the "short" tour, which was plenty.) Gate and sculpture (still not there yet; keep walking) . . . More signage and some skulls (from dragon kills) Signs of a different sort
	The Ranger (guide) giving us the introductory talk.
These dragons collect around the cookhouse just like the lizards on Lizard Island did! THEY ARE NOT FED, but the smell of meat draws them just the same. Also they lie on the COOL GROUND under the building, or in the shade of the building, which helps them to digest their food. These are about nine feet long, though where there's more water and food they can get much larger. Another view of all the dragons around the cookhouse . . . The BEST view . . . We also saw a young dragon on the ground; seemed either brave or reckless as dragons are carnivorous. But like snakes they don't eat every day. They can go weeks without eating. Young dragon . . . . . . out for a stroll . . . Mature dragon drinking from groundwater

FINALLY SOME DIVING . . . HERE