Seven Days - Six Nights Bali-Komodo-Bali
The classic Komodo expedition
Day one Bali
Embarkation on to the Sea Safari in Benoa harbour. Departure at 09:00
AM. Lunch will be served as we pass by the majestic Agung volcano
on the northeastern part of Bali. After sailing out of the Lombok
Strait the vessel settles on an easterly course and we enjoy the first
of many sunsets as we pass the Gili Islands off the northern coast
of Lombok.
Day
two Moyo and Satonda
In the early morning we make our first landfall on Moyo, a small island
off the north coast of Sumbawa. We stop at one of several fine snorkeling
sites along its west coast and go ashore at the village of Labuanhaji.
Around mid-day we hoist the anchor again and a few hours later we
reach the uninhabited island of Satonda, which is separated by a narrow
strait from the Tambora volcano on the Sumbawa mainland, the site
of the largest eruption in recorded history. Going ashore we discover
that Satonda itself is a small volcano as well and that a salty lake
fills its crater. We spend the remainder of the afternoon swimming
and snorkeling. At sunset we find that the island is home to a large
colony of fruit eating giant bats, or flying foxes, and after dinner
we set sail again.
Day three Banta and Misa
As the day breaks we realize that we are at anchor in front of a stunningly
beautiful beach and looking on the chart we find out that our captain
has moored the vessel off Banta, another uninhabited island which
lies at the entrance of the Sape Strait right on the boundary between
West and East Nusa Tenggara provinces. We spend the morning swimming
and exploring the island and if we are lucky we may spot some of the
giant turtles that are known to congregate near Banta. Around noon
we go underway again and in the course of the afternoon, once we have
entered the Linta Strait, we anchor off the small island of Misa and
visit one of the two colonies of the Baju, the “sea gypsies”,
the indigenous people from this area. In the early evening we arrive
at our final destination when our ship anchors in the calm and peaceful
Bay of Komodo.
Day four Komodo
Early in the morning we go ashore where a park ranger will escort
us across the island (about 4.5 km there and back) to a viewing spot
where we can safely watch the “Komodo Dragons”, the giant
monitor lizards, at close range. Komodo National Park is the only
place on earth where one can see the dragons in their own habitat.
After this encounter with the species from the Jurassic Age, we will
spend the remainder of the day beachcombing and snorkeling on the
beautiful “red beach” of Komodo with its amazing marine
gardens. After dinner we hoist the anchor and go underway again.
Day five Bima and East Sumbawa
As the sun rises we arrive in the busy traditional harbor of Bima,
which is situated at the end of a long inlet deep in the heart of
Eastern Sumbawa. We spend the morning exploring the town and the Donggo
Highlands west of Bima Bay. Around lunchtime we leave the quay and
after sailing out of Bima Bay we go on a westerly heading again for
our overnight passage to Lombok.
Day six Lombok
In the course of the morning we anchor at Amoramor Bay on the north
Coast of Lombok, where we go ashore for an excursion to the Sendang
Gile Waterfalls in the lush foothills of the Rinjani volcano. After
the sunset the crew will prepare a BBQ dinner on one of the beaches
near our anchorage. During the night the crew will raise the anchor
again to proceed to the Gili Islands of West Lombok.
Day seven Bali
We spend a last morning snorkeling and swimming anchored off one of
the Gili Islands. Around noon we set sail and we arrive back in Benoa
around 17:00. Disembarkation.
