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Komodo National Park Nominated for New 7 Wonders of Nature

Komodo Island is famous as home to the komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis), a fierce creature with a prehistoric appearance, tough hide, and sharp claws. In 1980, the Indonesian government designated it as a national park in order to protect the komodo dragon and its habitat. In 1986, UNESCO designated it as a biosphere preserve. And in 1991, the national park was officially declared a world heritage site.

This year, Komodo National Park has been nominated as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature, representing Indonesia in the national park category. This selection process is being conducted by the New 7 Wonders Foundation in an effort to mobilize participation by the world community to support documentation and conservation of the wonders created by nature and humankind on this planet.

Komodo National Park is a strong contender in this competition. It’s the ideal home for around 2,500 giant lizards, commonly called komodo dragons. It extends over 1,817 square kilometers of land and sea, comprising two large islands, Komodo and Rinca, the small islands of Padar, Gili Motang, and Kode, and many other smaller islands, such as those in the Sape strait beween the islands of Flores and Sumbawa. The terrain includes savanna, mangrove forest, grasslands and beaches, and the seas are an enchanting turqoise.

The komodo dragon is a unique creature, believed to be a direct descendant of an even larger lizard species (Megalania presca) that lived in Java or Australia 30,000 years ago. Komodo dragons can be more than three meters long and weigh 70 to 160 kilograms.
Their large size is apparently the result of island gigantism; the lack of carnivorous mammals on the islands has caused the lizards to become huge. They are the chief predator, dominating their ecosystem. Nevertheless, they are endangered.

Komodo National Park is also an excellent tourism destination for diving. Enthusiasts can access the diving spots by luxury yacht or on simple sailboats owned by local dive operators. The islands offer dramatic landscapes and a wealth of maritime assets such as coral reefs, mangroves, seaweed, sea grass, and over 1000 fish species, 385 species of reef coral, 70 species of sponge, 10 species of dolphins, large tortoises, sharks, and mantas.

Exploring the Wonders

Arriving at Labuan Bajo, the chief city of West Manggarai district, I had only four hours to visit Komodo National Park. Obviously, more time would be better to fully appreciate its beauty, but I still managed to get some satisfaction from my short visit.

From the dock at Labuan Bajo, a speedboat took us over to Komodo Island in around 30 minutes. Islands covered with dry savanna dominated this passage; I saw colors one doesn’t usually see on an ocean journey. The pink sand beaches never fail to impress visitors heading toward Komodo Island. I was told that the sand is pink because it is mixed with fine grains from damaged red coral reefs. Tourists usually use these beaches for diving or snorkeling to observe the beauties of the coral reefs and the many fishes that dwell therein.

The pink beaches are very close to Komodo Island. Our friends from PT Putri Naga Komodo (PNK) were ready and waiting to take me and the group from our international cruise operator to explore the surrounding area and, hopefully, catch a glimpse of the charismatic and fearsome dragons.

All visitors to Komodo Island and the other islands within Komodo National Park must be accompanied by a local forest ranger throughout their stay. This is essential for the visitors’ own safety. The rangers and guides also provide important information about the places being visited.

From among the various trekking options, I and a friend from Singapore chose a short hike of around 40 minutes, while the others chose a medium-length route. They would have preferred a longer, more challenging hike, but time constraints prevented this.

Setting out from the PNK home base, my friend and I were accompanied by four rangers, each carrying a long wooden pole with a Y-shaped end. “This shape resembles a komodo’s tongue, and is useful to ward off any komodos that might try to approach or attack us,” a ranger told us; they really care about visitors’ safety.

About 300 meters along, we found many birds perched in the trees, and as we headed into denser forest, we saw a group of deer enjoying the shade.

Throughout our hike, all of us were constantly scanning every corner and byway that we passed, hoping to see a komodo emerging from the forest, and not simply to assuage our curiosity. My friend and I were actually a bit scared by this prospect, since we’d heard tales of tourists being killed by attacking komodos.

“That’s why you must never go hiking here without a local escort. Often tourists are so excited about the idea of seeing a komodo that they go off by themselves. It’s very dangerous to do so, especially if you meet a dragon that happens to be hungry,” said a ranger, repeating the message he always conveys to the visitors he escorts.

He reminded us that as well as being accompanied by a forest ranger, visitors must maintain a safe distance if they encounter a komodo and must never wave any objects such as knapsacks, as doing so could atract the dragon’s attention and motivate it to attack.

Komodos have extraordinary capabilities. They can see 300 meters and can smell a rotting animal corpse up to 10 kilometers away. They can also run up to 20 km per hour, swim, dive, and climb trees.

“We’re almost back to the base,” our PNK guide told us. My friend and I were resigned to not having seen a komodo. “I guess we’re just not lucky,” I remarked to the PNK personnel who were fixing lunch.

I and my friend from Singapore assumed that the other groups had encountered komodos, because they had taken longer hikes and therefore had a better chance. I climbed the stairs to the PNK restaurant to find a place to rest. All buildings on Komodo Island have this platform design, for safety’s sake.

Half an hour later, the other groups arrived; they, too, had seen no dragons, but had enjoyed seeing the other animal species on the island.

Eventually, we decided to have lunch. As we were enjoying our meal, we heard a scuffling noise coming from below where we were eating. It turned out there was a komodo right below us. We immediately grabbed our cameras and headed to where the noise was coming from. The rangers readied themselves to protect us, while trying to coax the komodo to come out.

As we gazed at the creature, which seemed calm but still showed fierceness in its eyes, someone shouted, “Look, there’s another komodo!” And indeed, another one was coming from another direction.

“Look over there – what kind of animal is that?” We thought it might be yet another komodo.

The creature loped slowly from the beach; as it came closer, the PNK people said, “It’s a boar.”

The rangers told us that the komodo that created such an impression during my visit was a medium-sized one and had eaten fairly recently; that’s why it seemed so calm. This komodo appeared quite unexpectedly; I was very lucky. I hope that one day I can visit the other islands in Komodo National Park and see more of these creatures, who truly deserve to be one of the wonders of the world.

These four territories ruled by the kings are now known as Pulau Waigeo, Pulau Misool, Pulau Batanta, and Pulau Salawati. Together with around 600 smaller islands, these four major islands now comprise Raja Ampat Regency.

Administratively, Raja Ampat lies within the province of West Papua; geographically, it extends north and northwest from Sorong, covering 4.6 million hectares of waters.

Since 2003, Raja Ampat has been a newly-created regency, separate from Sorong. The administrative capital of Raja Ampat is Waisai, on Waigeo, the largest island in Raja Ampat, which is roughly the size of Bali.

Raja Ampat is a maritime region located within the world Coral Triangle, which includes parts of the Philippines, Indonesia, and the Solomon Islands.

In 2007, Raja Ampat Regency was declared a Maritime Regency by the Indonesian Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.

A Diver’s Paradise

The islands of Raja Ampat were visited by several European explorers in the nineteenth century. In 1860, the renowned British researcher Sir Alfred Wallace spent three months in Waigeo studying birds and insects.

Diving activities began in Raja Ampat in the early 1990s, but the area remained relatively unknown until the 2000s.

Attracted by the reports of biological diversity in the Raja Ampat Islands, since 2002 several world conservation organizations have been conducting research. The survey results are amazing; Raja Ampat is home to at least 537 species of coral – 75% of all coral species known in the world – as well as at least 1074 fish species.

Thanks to these discoveries, Raja Ampat has been declared the center of the world Coral Triangle, with the greatest biodiversity found anywhere. A renowned scientist, Dr. Gerald Allen, says that in just one dive he recorded 283 fish species, far higher than the average diversity level of 183.6 species.

With these survey results, the eyes of the world turned to Raja Ampat. Over the past few years, Raja Ampat has become known as one of the world’s best diving regions. The limited facilities did not deter enthusiasts from diving at Raja Ampat. These underwater explorers were enticed by the chance to encounter rare creatures or even discover new species.

The islands of Raja Ampat extend over quite a large area; to explore the islands properly, you need highly mobile transport facilities. More than 15 diving ships now operate regularly, enabling visitors to explore the entire Raja Ampat area. As well as providing transport to diving sites, these tour ships also offer full accommodation, just like floating hotels. And if you’d prefer to relax on the beach and interact with the local people and their culture, resort accommodation is available on several islands near Waisai and Misool, which are surrounded by extraordinary diving sites.

Live-aboard and land-based accommodations each have their advantages; together, they complement one another and offer a truly different experience.

All foreign tourists entering the area are required to pay an entrance fee of Rp 500.000, which entitles them to visit for one year; for domestic tourists, the fee is Rp 250.000. The entrance fee can be paid at a counter at the airport or through any live-aboard or land-based dive tour operator in Raja Ampat.

The 36-nautical-mile journey from Sorong to Waisai takes 2 to 2½ hours by speedboat. We docked at an area near Waisai to visit Waiwo, an area managed by the Raja Ampat regency government as a local development facility. Waiwo has several guest houses, and diving facilities such as scuba tanks and air compressors.

Waiwo is located near Waisai, just ten minutes away by speedboat; it takes only 20 to 30 minutes to reach the best diving sites in the area. To visit the Manta Point at Arborek Island takes around 90 minutes.

The diving sites near Waiwo include Sardine Reef, Mike’s Point, The Passage, Cape Ri, and Mansuar Reef. Here you regularly encounter schools of fusiliers, jacks, snapper, and anthias. Though reef damage is evident in a few places, most of the reef coverage is still excellent.

One unusual species that can be seen here fairly easily is the pygmy sea horse, a tiny creature (±1-2 cm) that lives in symbiosis with gorgonians and in the gaps between hydroids living in the coral reefs. Another rare species found here is a shark seldom found elsewhere, the wobbegong shark, which conceals itself among the reefs and plays dead. You can get quite close to them, but mustn’t touch them or disturb them in any way; though they seem very passive, they are very dangerous and likely to bite.

To the south of Waiwo is Pulau Saonek, the administrative capital of South Waigeo District. For those who enjoy “muck diving” (diving to dig for unusual creatures in the sand, dead reefs and/or slime), the dock at Saonek is the perfect place. Living in the shallow waters below the pier are several rare species of octopus, such as the mimic octopus, often called the “wonderpus”, which camouflages itself by imitating various fish species to avoid detection by predators.

Also found here is the blue ring octopus, a small but highly venomous octopus that can be recognized by the blue rings that appear when it is stressed or otherwise disturbed. Never try to touch this beautiful creature! Other exotic species found here include the ghost pipefish, mantis shrimp, and crocodile fish.

A short journey to the west takes us to Pulau Arborek, home to schools of manta rays. The currents run swift here, and you can see the schools of mantas playing while seeking food. Below the simple pier at Arborek you can find many other schools of fish, ideal subjects for photographs.

There’s always more to say about the beauty of Raja Ampat; every time you dive, you discover something new and unusual.

You can see the official sites that provide all information about the most commercial theater shows such as Westendtheatrebreaks.com. There is certainly a list of next theater shows that are going to be held in the theaterlands in London. Where location, location is Leicester Square area. The most recent shows are:

• Mamma Mia musical show has already nine years in West End. They have played all around the world including playing the major cities in Europe and America.
• Billy Elliot which win six of the nine Olivier awards and Enhance score from Elton John. Neither say I can say but you must watch it.
• Oliver . This drama is excellent show . The actor and the actress it very famous you can see Starring by Rowan Atkinson (Mr.Been) as Fagin and Jodie Prenger as Nancy.
• Hairspray played by Adam Price as Edna but just In the Monday Evening. This is musical comedy, has box office records
• Boyzone Ronan and boys will show their best performance at the O2 next month theatre
• Sister Act This comedy musical show will give you the best . May be you have ever seen on movie but now you can see live at theatre.

There are also other choices of theatrical shows tickets. Just book the ticket online. And you will not have a chance to watch it if you purchase the tickets a moment before the show at Uktickets.com and westendtheatrebreaks.com. Just book the tickets online these site.