New Zealand Part II

NEW ZEALAND PART II

New Zealand

More of the Shaky Isles!

Springtime in NZ


I followed the signs in the Auckland airport to the ‘All Departures’ gate to catch my flight to Christchurch. I was asked to fill out a Departures card....’For a domestic flight?’ I asked. Oh no. There is another terminal for domestic departures and it was either a 15 minute wait for the shuttle or a 15 minute walk. I was already running late....so I ran. I arrived just in time to hear the announcement that my flight was delayed. What a surprise!

An hour and a half later, I landed in Christchurch. I could take a shuttle for $20, a taxi for $40 or a public bus for $7. All three of these options seemed ridiculously expensive after SE Asia of course, so I opted for the bus.

I got to the Bus Exchange where I was to call Anthony, my very first couch surfing host (couchsurfing.com) but could I find a payphone anywhere? No. And when I finally did, would it take coins? Nuh uh. So I had to use my credit card again after already spending $10 in Auckland just to call Tash for 5 minutes and was freezing with just my bunny hug, light pants and sandals! Why didn't I wear jeans on the plane or buy REAL shoes before I left? I guess I had forgotten what cold felt like after 6 months of heat in SE Asia.

While I sat waiting for Anthony, I noticed a seagull stroll by me. This seagull looked...PRISTINE. Its feathers were so white and it’s beak so red. After being exposed to so many animals that were mangy, diseased and unkempt in Asia, this seagull looked like it belonged to the royal family.

I stayed up chatting with Anthony and his roommate, Michelle, until I finally collapsed into bed at 1 AM. The entire journey from Denpasar ended up lasting 20 hours...as opposed to the original duration of 9 hours.

The next day, Anthony took me to Sumner Beach! A quaint little town by the ocean. We had a fabulous lunch there – eggs Benedict, apricot coconut crisp and espressos! I don't have any photos of this leg of my journey because my camera equipment was locked up in my baggage....which was lost somewhere between Australia and NZ (of course).

Michelle, Anthony and I went for breakfast the next morning before Michelle drove me to the airport. I hope that someday I will be able to return the hospitality to them.

When they announced that my flight to Rotorua was delayed, I actually laughed out loud after all that had already happened. I had specified a window seat on the flight to Rotorua, and had another chuckle when I realized my 'window seat' had no actual window!

I can't explain what a comfort it is knowing that someone you love is waiting for you at your destination. I had landed by plane, arrived by bus, tuk-tuk, sangthaw, boat etc. in so many places not knowing what to expect, where to go or who to trust completely alone. Although it's exciting and adventurous, it makes you appreciate a friendly face so much more. Knowing Tash was waiting for me at the airport when I arrived had me smiling the whole plane ride!

We had met and became fast friends way back in 1995 in Camrose, Alberta. The last time we had seen each other was in Edmonton about 4 years prior but had always stayed close through letters, email and telephone calls. At that time, her and her husband, Jono, had both graduated from Rhodes in South Africa and were immigrating to New Zealand with plans to later move to Australia. And here they were, livin' it! New Zealand provides a pretty beautiful life for those who take advantage of it, and they are a prime example of that.

The car ride from Rotorua was filled with stories, laughter and making up for all our lost time. We got to Whakatane (pronounced 'fuckatawny'...my mom had fun with that one ) and met Jono for a coffee at 'The Bean', where they roast their coffee beans in-house - I was in love with Whakatane already!

Their home was exactly as I had envisioned..cozy, comfortable and full of character. I spent the next 3 weeks there looking for work, editing photos, visiting and EATING! It wasn't until my clothes from Canada arrived and I tried to put on my favourite jeans that I realized just how MUCH I had been eating. I blame Tash. Her cooking was out of this world, gourmet, scrumptious and irrefutably deee-lish!

One weekend when Jono was away, Tash and I watched all of the Harry Potter movies back to back while eating curry, cookies, popcorn and drinking chai all wrapped up in arm warmers, housecoats and slippers. Divine!

I then spent a couple of weeks in Tauranga, which is also situated in the Bay of Plenty. The homeowner, Lisa, owned a pet sitting co. as well as a dog kennel so it was an absolute dreamy housesit for me! I took care of about 6 dogs for 2 weeks as well as Pickle, the cat. I was walking for about 3 hours every day so each of them could get a good jaunt in. It was so nice to have them around and they kept me reallllly busy!

At the end of it, Tash and Jono came to Tauranga to pick me up and we went to Mt. Maunganui. Tash and I walked up the mountain and quite typically, Jono ran! The summit offers a view of the vast ocean scape, paragliders, grazing sheep and surrounding city.

Kate and Graham Currie, Tash and Jono's friends from Hamilton came to visit that weekend in Whakatane. When they arrived, I was on my 'bird walk' – an amazing hike right beside their place – lots of stairs and elevated views. A great workout for someone who spends most of their time in front of a laptop.

We had a serious spread that night with much laughter and many stories of Jono and Graham's homeland, South Africa, as well as little tidbits about the Maori culture from Kate, the only Kiwi of the bunch.

Kate, Tash and I had a lovely morning drinking tea over girl chat and then got dressed and went to the carnival across the street. Tash and I giggled and screamed like little girls on the Rock and Roll! We then went to Ohope Beach for coffee and lunch and a walk at Otiwarari Bay. The beach was beautiful – so many seashells and so smooth. I was madly in love with life in New Zealand.


The next morning, we had another bbq but this time with French toast! We ate in their cute little backyard complete with garden, lots of flowers and trees. Jono would surprise Tash with things like making a flower bed or converting the garden path from straight to curvy.


I returned to Tauranga for another housesit taking care of 2 dogs and 3 cats. Pam worked with Lisa (my last housesit) and her parents were going 'across the ditch' to Australia. During this time I was going up to Auckland trying to find a company to sponsor me so I could stay in NZ without having to return home to obtain a work visa. This proved much harder than I had hoped.

By this time, Cait had arrived in NZ! I had met her in Thailand with Ada at the beginning of my trip and we had gone on to travel to Cambodia together. She had just spent 4 months in Thailand teaching English and we found a place in St. Helier's Bay, Auckland with 5 awesome roomies. I stayed with her when I was there and we got to catch up on all our travel adventures since we last saw one another.

My last house sit was in Muriwai Beach with 2 dogs, Neo and Pixie and Mog, the cat. I had no idea what a dramatically stunning place this was going to be. When I went down to the beach for the first time with the dogs, I was overtaken by the 50km of black sand beach, tumultuous waves and stormy nuanced sky.

The dogs and I went to the beach everyday to frolic in the surf and run up and down the beach...ok that was more them than me, but I had fun watching!


Cait came up to visit and we had a lovely day of eating ice cream, hanging with the dogs, checking out the Gannet colony and later making dinner and watching a quirky movie.

I came back down to Whakatane just in time for Halloween! Apparently Kiwis aren't big on dressing up for Halloween, so Tash was determined to show her friends what a great time they were missing out on. We decorated the entire house and Tash baked up a storm of Halloween goodies.

There was a vampire, a ghost, a smurf, a mummy, pirates, a Barbie, the Joker, hippies, a fly, an oyster catcher (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oystercatcher) and the cat in the hat!

There was limbo, there was dancing, there was eating and drinking - a great party made by the spectacular people who attended and hosted the event.

And then it came....the 3 months in NZ that I had to secure a work visa and a job were up. If I had any hope of working in NZ, I was to return to Canada to apply for and obtain the visa. I returned home November, 2009, 9 months after I had set out to SE Asia, hoping only to stay for 5 weeks....at least that was the plan.

New Zealand Part 1

Arriving in Christchurch felt much like home and I wasn't too sure how to feel about that. When I was taking the bus into town from the airport, the first thing I noticed were the houses. They look like any old house that you would see in Canada. It’s now new. It’s not different. And I guess I got used to diversity to a point of needing it to to satisfy my wanderlust?

Maybe it was just the realization of leaving Bali and my dreamy life there. I think it was a good balance for me. I felt like there were a lot of dissimilarities that made it feel like I was traveling in a foreign land yet it had all the amenities (such as toilet paper) for me to feel comfortable...but not TOO comfortable.

The seashell wrapped in a little net that I purchased in Pai, Thailand at the beginning of my trip fell off my ankle literally minutes after arriving in NZ. A couple hours later, the seashell ring I had made myself also released itself off my finger...metaphors signaling a new phase.

I got myself comfy cozy in my seat for the flight from Denpasar, Bali to Sydney, Australia. I thought I was going to have the whole row to myself when ‘REALLY drunk Australian guy’ plopped himself down beside me. He was well aware how drunk he was, and kept apologizing in between telling me about how much he loved his wife but sounded like he had a bit too much fun with the ladies in Bali. Ugh! After I had politely told him that I really just wanted to go to sleep, he proceeded to babble on. His friend across the aisle finally gave him a firm talking to and he passed out cold for the duration of the flight. Yes!

Little did I know that this was just the beginning of a hullabaloo of a journey ahead of me.

Our plane landed in Sydney, Australia about 6 hours later in the wee hours of the morning. We then sat on the tarmac for 30 minutes before we were offloaded. I then had to sprint to get to my next flight leaving within 10 minutes. When I arrived, I got serious attitude from the Quantas agent because he had paged me 'several' times. Um...dude – I was on a plane! I ignored his prissiness. He then asked me to show him my onward ticket from NZ. What? Onward ticket? Why would I have one of those? I am a fly by the seat of my pants backpacker? How am I supposed to know where I am going after NZ? That could be days or even years away?

I was unable to produce said ticket. So he told me to wait until someone was available to escort me back through security while he radioed the baggage people to ‘offload’ my luggage (of which I am sure had not even arrived from the other plane yet). I stood there feeling like a complete ASS for not knowing that I needed this documentation to enter the country. Being a member of the commonwealth, I wasn’t so particular about researching this type of stuff as I was within Asian countries. Aren’t we all friends here?

The Quantas lady escorted me out of security. She told me I would have to purchase an onward ticket out of NZ as well as book another flight into Christchurch. This was really....upsetting. We were almost to the baggage department when she asked me if I had an Australian visa, to which I replied, 'no'. She told me to have a seat while she went to talk privately on her radio. Things were either looking hopeful or desperate at that point. I glanced at her to see if I could read her body language...am I going to jail or hopping the next plane to Christchurch?

She came back over and walked me in the opposite direction to the transit desk to my friend Drew. This guy needs to have a reality TV show all his own.

Apparently, Jetstar could incur a $5000 fine for letting me board the plane in Indonesia without checking to see if I had an onward ticket. Now I was in Australia illegally without a visa or a flight out of there. This was now an immigration issue and their problem, not mine. Drew made some calls and put it to them straight – he told me he doesn’t 'take any BS from these people', as he sat with his arms folded behind his head and chest puffed out – they can either pay for my $300 flight or the $5000 fine. Their choice. Within minutes I was booking a 'refundable' flight back to Vancouver so I could continue on my way (I refunded it later when I got to NZ but with the currency conversion, I lost $500 CDN..I could have spent a week in Fiji for that!).

During this process, Drew bought me a coffee and entertained me until my flight to Auckland. It took 2.5 hours to get there arriving 2 hours before the next flight was to leave for Christchurch. In that time I tried to rent a car and locate my baggage to see if I could just stay in Auckland and drive to Whakatane myself instead of flying all the way down to Christchurch on the South Island and then all the way back up to Rotorua on the North Island, where Tash was to pick me up. In the end, I was told my baggage was en route to Christchurch from Sydney already and there were NO rental cars available for neither that night OR the next day. And so the journey to Christchurch continued..

Teeny Little Update!

Well hello there! My apologies for being stupendously tardy with the blogging, but I will resume reporting the rest of the adventures when time permits - most likely on the plane to NZ (which will be fitting as my next installment is of the Shaky Isles)!?

So I just wanted to touch base with a little update to let you all know the things and stuff that are going on. I hope to see some of you in AB and SK this summer as well as in NZ at the exhibition (and there's also a slight chance I will be in Bali mid June to July as well)!


EXPOSURE GALLERY EXHIBITIONS - 'Streets' and 'Salon'


I have 2 exhibitions coming up at Exposure Gallery here in Vancouver.

Their are 2 images in the 'Streets' exhibition tonight - the show starts at 8 PM. I am also volunteering at the gallery on Saturday from 12-5. So if you miss tonight, you can pop in for a visit tomorrow!

Also, I will have 4 images in their next exhibition called, 'Salon', starting June 19th, but won't be able to attend that one as I will still be abroad at that time. I will send out a facebook invite soon.

http://www.exposuregallery.ca


ENCOMPASS - A Photo Book


I FINALLY finished putting a photobook together entitled, 'Encompass'. It is 120 pages and includes photos from NY, Hawaii, Saskatchewan, SE Asia and New Zealand. You can take a preview of it here: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/682406.

View it in Full Screen! Many of you were thanked under the acknowledgments:)

It was put together to sell at the exhibition in NZ.


NEW YORK PHOTO FESTIVAL


I just returned from the New York Photo Festival. It was a glorious week of seminars, lectures, photo exhibits, book launches and reuniting with friends met in SE Asia. Rosie and Duncan (from UK) who I met in Malaysia, Cait (from NY) who I met in Thailand and Carolina and Rodrigo (from NY) who I met in Vietnam, were all there to catch up with when I wasn't attending the festivities.

A lot of great things came out of going that I will save for a posting down the road - for now I will say that the trip was absolutely a worthwhile jaunt:)


AUCKLAND PHOTO FESTIVAL, NEW ZEALAND - 'In Transit'


I leave for Auckland next Friday, May 29th. The opening is on June 6th at 2 PM and runs through to June 18th. I am amped for this one! My friend Cait's old roomies have graciously offered up their home in St. Helier's Bay for me to stay at during the length of the exhibit. Having known the starving artist experience for awhile now, I am so thankful and over the moon grateful for their hospitality:)

See promo here in D-Photo Magazine.


CAMROSE ARTWALK
I am exhibiting at both Artwalks in Camrose, Alberta at Ronda Shott Photography! Big thanks and love to my mom for helping not only to fund the printing and framing but also in putting it all together and to Ronda for letting me use her studio as an exhibit venue! The dates are from June 5th-July 15th and July 20th-August 28th. Those in the area can drop in anytime during business hours.


ALBERTA AND SASKATCHEWAN VISIT!!

I will be shooting a friend's wedding in Jasper, AB on July 15th and then my cousin's wedding in Saskatoon, SK on July 25th, so I will be in those areas for a couple of weeks at least. Let me know if you want to get together and we can start to make a plan now. Also, if anyone would like to book in some portraits (family, baby, wedding) while I am there, let me know!

Thanks so much for supporting and encouraging me along the way - it really is what keeps the mojo running and means the world to me!

Tracey

Ripcurling Cosmos and Highlights

I haven't been everywhere, but it's on my list.

- Susan Sontag


"When we get out of the glass bottle of our ego and when we escape like the squirrels in the cage of our personality and get into the forest again, we shall shiver with cold and fright. But things will happen to us so that we don't know ourselves. Cool, unlying life will rush in..."

- D.H. Lawrence

See photos of Surfing Kuta and Rip Curl Pro Search

See photos of Last Days of Bali...



We were all very happy to get back to Kuta the next day...or more rather, the surfing, beach and nightlife! That night, we went for dinner at our usual place and then to Ocean Beach for the FREE FLOW – free flow is 2 hours of free drinks...not of the watered down variety - very popular! Marj and I danced ourselves into a frenzy, as we always did. I don't think I have ever had so much cardio what with all the surf days and boogie nights. We called it an early night so we could get a good surf day in before Marj left.

The next eve, Julien got some snacks and drinks and we had a floor picnic at d'Kubu to say goodbye to Marj. We went out for dinner and then to Paddy’s, a nightclub on Legian Street for one last night together. The 6 of us danced, took pics of each other, made fun and hung out. Marj and I went off to the Bounty later in the evening and danced til our heart's content.

We shared one last banana pancake together the next morning before she left and said our goodbyes. I wondered when I would see her again and what this leg of my journey would have been like without her. Marj and I had created a real female bond, one I had been lacking in my life and made stronger by our love for surfing, eating, drinking tea over endless conversation, dancing several consecutive hours until reaching complete exhaustion, traveling together and sharing the same digs for most of the previous 2 months in Bali. There have been many amazing things to come out of this journey, but the friendships made along the way, will be embedded in my mind and heart for years to come.



But as they say, every exit is an entry to something new. Lindsay, my extremely tall, provocative, outspoken, rambunctious, fabulously good looking friend arrived a few days later to continue on with the surf/dance debauchery. Lindsay is a writer, so we are collaborating on a contribution to Geist magazine using my photos and her scribblings from Bali! See her website here: http://lindsaydiehl.com.

On August 1 – I caught the biggest wave YET! This feeling is one that is difficult to put into words. It happens so quickly but the high remains for days, making you crave bigger and better waves. It is not hard to see why surfing becomes so addictive and has officially been declared a religion.

At night, I would lie awake and could still feel the momentum of the waves rocking me back and forth until falling into a deep slumber. Gliding along on the ocean's memory is understanding the power of nature, a catalyst in experiencing a unity with the universe and being totally immersed in the moment while everything else disappears around you.

I got a tattoo 7 years ago - a Celtic swirl, meaning, 'To rise above the material world and become one with the cosmos." I didn't know it then, but this would be the most accurate description of what the act of surfing means to me now.

Please read 'West of Jesus: Surfing, Science and the Origin of Belief' by Steven Kotler. Surfer or not, if you are the slight bit interested in science or religion, you will be more than enlightened and entertained.

Ernesto was always around to give me his constructive feedback – 'you look like a gorilla when you surf!' He was always after me to keep my hands up but I always had them flailing below me. I was just excited to stay on my board and graduate from surfing whitewash to REAL waves!

There were also days when I questioned whether I belonged on a board or not. I suffered numerous accidents and injuries while surfing as well: a broken finger, water in my ear canal, bruises, scratches, near drownings, collisions with other boards and my own, scrapes, broken leashes etc. These are the moments when you are reminded of who the boss is. But you keep getting back on the board despite the bad days you might have because it's all forgotten once you get back up again. And you always can get back up again.

Dan made his way back to Bali so we got to catch a few more sunrises and dances together. I was so happy to see him again – was sort of like seeing an old, familiar friend after having so many fleeting friendships on the traveling circuit.

As my flight to NZ drew closer, that feeling crept up on me - sort of like when you started seeing the back to school commercials on TV signifying that summer would be over soon. I knew inevitably that I would have to move on but it was going to be really hard to bid that charmed life adieu.

Ernesto, Rikkard and I took in some of the Rip Curl Pro Search at Padang Padang. The likes of Kelly Slater and Andy Irons were competing, but it was Bruce Irons, Andy's little brother, who claimed the trophy. There was some nice looking glass there - I had some serious lens envy and dreamed of what it might be like to couple my photography with surfing someday - ahhh a girl can dream.




Padang Padang is near Uluwatu, a famous temple, dedicated to the spirits of the sea, and known for the monkeys hanging about. Ernesto and I explored the temple which looms 70 meters above the Indian Ocean, and enjoyed the seascape. I avoided the monkeys this time around after my near death encounter at the monkey sanctuary!

SIDESTORY (you may not relate to this if you're male, but the females out there will! There was also a funny bikini waxing incident - funny NOW but not so funny at the time and not really fitting for a public blog):

I must mention doing one of the stupidest things I had done in Asia yet – I got my hair highlighted! I had been wanting to do it since I came to Bali and kept putting it off because I was afraid of what they might do to me . I was just going to go to Gloria Jean's to edit photos as I did every morning. I walked by one salon and resisted and then the next one, but the next had 3 extremely friendly ladies in front that said hello to me. They lured me in and had me sit down...and once you are sitting – well good luck getting out of there!

Perhaps deep down I knew it could end really bad but I had a small flicker of hope that it just might turn out ok. No more risky than getting my hair cut in Cambodia – which turned out a little lop sided but better than I thought!

After about 10 minutes of highlighting, she asked me if that was ‘good’? Ummmm....she had highlighted about 5 pieces and we had agreed on all over highlights. This scenario replayed itself several times with me having to ask her to add more. She of course then had to mention that 100,000 rupiah is very 'cheap cheap' for what I wanted. This is when I knew things were not going to end happily, for either party.

When going to the salon at home, I look forward to kicking back with a coffee and a magazine and listening to cool tunes....this was just plain stressful and SCARY.

When she washed it out and I sat down in front of the mirror, I kept my eyes closed for a long time, imagining the worst, so that perhaps the reality would then seem not quite so bad. It didn’t work. I opened my eyes to sheer horror. This was the most ungodly orange colour I had ever laid eyes on.





I asked her to shut off the hairdryer, moved ahead in my seat and all that I could say was, ‘IT'S ORANGE!’. I followed that up with, ‘It looks....awful!’ I pointed to the lady on the poster with the beautiful ash blonde hair and asked if my hair looked anything like that? She of course had the upper hand because she replied in Balinese again and I had no idea what she said, therefore could not come up with any kind of response that would mean anything. She then grabbed one of the foils and shook it in my face while I assume saying some not so nice things to me. She was PISSED. But so was I! I again had to remind myself, ‘T.I.A.!’ ...'This is Asia’. I made a motion to get out of my chair and she put her hand on the handle of the door and placed her body firmly in front. Apparently, I wasn’t going ANYWHERE.

She phoned her boss and went OFF on the phone. I then asked to speak to her boss who was surprisingly very apologetic and suggested I pay half – I agreed, threw the bill on the counter and hightailed it out of there!

As with all of my stories about previous conflicts with the locals, it's not the money, it's the principal! I went straight to my guest house and wrapped my hair in scarves until I could get my hands on some dye – another lesson learned in SE Asia (the hard way)!

Lindsay, Ernesto, Rikkard and his lovely and beautiful Balinese girlfriend, Ratih and I went out for dinner before my departure. Julien and Tom had left a few days prior and we were the only ones left. Ernesto walked me to Legian to hail a cab so I could catch an overnight flight to Sydney, Australia.

I said goodbye to Ernesto - one of the sweetest, most considerate, completely chivalrous, intelligent and passionate males I have ever met. He restored my faith that their are some good guys out there and I feel so lucky to have met him.

Farewell to warm waves, cheap food, boogie nights, beachy days, living in a bathing suit and sarrong, being surrounded by flowers, art and new friends...heaven on earth. I was upset, but so grateful to have been given this gift. I looked forward to what adventures would lie before me on the Shaky Isles...goodbye to my new friends and hello to a new country, climate and old friends.


I think that wherever your journey takes you, there are new gods waiting there, with divine patience -- and laughter.

- Susan M. Watkins

Boat Trip Day 3 and 4

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart."

-Helen Keller



See photos from Boat Trip:

Boat Trip Day 3

Boat Trip Day 4


Day 3

We docked at a small island and hiked up the top of the mountain. It took some time getting used to the overwhelming beauty that lay before us. The mountains poking out of turquoise waters and clear blue skies serving as a backdrop to the stunning ocean scape that beckoned our eyeballs!

Much time was spent taking in the view until again we were torn away to go back to the boat.


Our next stop was Komodo National Park. We were told that no tourists had been killed by Komodo Dragons since the 70s but a villager was killed only a month prior. Was this supposed to be comforting?

We did our small hike around the island and no sign of Komodos but were told that we may have better luck at the next island – Rinca. We were really excited to find public restrooms with real toilets and running water. This was the first time any of us had seen ourselves in the mirror. I have to say, it was quite freeing not having a reflection of yourself to deal with – an excellent excuse to be au naturel and we were all in the 'same boat'.


Back on the boat, we made our way into a little cove just in time to watch the sun set behind the the large mounds surrounding us. Marj and I took this as an opportunity to go swimming. We were told to do so at our own risk as there is always a chance that Jaws could be lurking beneath. The water was deep and we were quite literally in the middle of nowhere but it was so much fun that we had little time to worry about it. I love Marj for always bringing out the little girl in me!


Day 4

I woke up the next morning and watched the sun rise. The sea was rough and the wind whipping. My hair blew all over my face and I laid their on the deck peering out to sea in complete bliss before anyone else awoke. I love being near, in or on the ocean and the experiences with her on this trip had been deep and memorable..I counted my many blessings. I thought of my mom and dad a lot on that boat because I was there only because of their unending support.

We were called to breakfast (banana fritters!) and set off for a hike around Rinca Island where we got a healthy dose of Komodo Dragons seriously getting down with their bad selves! Even if we hadn’t seen them, the island itself was uniquely beautiful – a landscape that I could not liken to any other.

Komodo Island National Park, a World Heritage Site, is 200 nautical miles east of Bali and is located between the islands of Sumbawa and Flores, all of which are part of Nusa Tenggara. About 3 to 5,000 Komodo dragons live on the islands of Komodo, Gila Motang, Rinca, and Flores. The species is in endangered status due to a lack of females for reproduction, human encroachment, natural disasters and of course poaching.




Komodos can live up to 50 years. The first 5 years of their lives are spent high up in a tree where their mother cares for them - after that they are on their own, spending most of their time solitary, until mating season arrives. Males outnumber females 4 to 1 (sounds much like Kuta!)...so come mating season - the women look a little worse for wear.

Komodos lie in wait for their prey camouflaged in the grass. When the unlucky victim wanders by, the dragon flings its serrated teeth and sharp claws at its prey. If its prey escapes, its luck will run out within about 24 hours for it is not the bite that will kill them but the saliva, which has over 50 strains of bacteria. Komodos will follow their dying prey for miles until blood poisoning sets in.

A Komodo dragon can eat up to 80 percent of its body weight in a single feeding and males can measure up to 9 feet and weigh 550 pounds after a hefty meal.

Marj and I spent most of the rest of the afternoon under the sea in a plethora of multi-coloured sea life. Our interests are so similar it makes it ridiculously easy to have fun with her. If you are ever in need of constant giggling and high spirits – Marj is your go to girl!

We got to Flores, our final destination, in the late afternoon and set out to find accommodations. Even though the situation had grown more favourable due to the boat being in the harbour without the wind, constant yammering of the boat engine and random wave spilling over us, none of us were too keen to sleep on deck again.

Despite its name, Flores was not what I had hoped. It reminded me of the Asia I dislike – the garbage. The concept of putting garbage in a receptacle just isn't a high priority. Their was only a handful of guest houses to choose from and after walking around for almost 3 hours, we accepted defeat and looked forward to another FIRM sleep on old faithful!

Our disappointment was offset by a having a nice little dinner together filled with laughter and chattering. Ernesto tried to teach Marj and I ze French accent – frustrating for Ernesto, funny for us! It warmed my heart to be part of this little group. I couldn't remember the last time I had felt this happy.


The sleep was not surprisingly much deeper when the boat was still, and we were awoken at 5:30 AM by the crew. On the bright side, this was prime picture taking time and I took full advantage of it.

We had breakfast and got transport out to the hotel that we booked the night before which was out of town. We watched the sunset and took photos of the fishermen on the beach that night and all the kids running amok. I had to take a moment to remind myself how lucky I am to have had this experience. I thought of what I would be doing in Vancouver at that moment....and didn’t miss that life one teensy smidgen of a little tiny bit.

"Travelling is like flirting with life. It's like saying, 'I would stay and love you, but I have to go; this is my station.'"

-Lisa St. Aubin de Teran