We took off up the hill to Rainforestation to ride the Duck and take the Dream Walk with our Aboriginal hosts. So, about the Duck. Rainforestation owns and maintains 12 original World War II amphibious vehicles known as Army Ducks. They were built by General Motors between 1940 and 1946. An intrepid Duck Driver takes groups down through the rainforest tracks and directly into the lake. Yup, just drive into the lake...throw a switch to turn on the propeller and there you go, afloat amongst the lily pads. The old vehicles struggle to make it back up the hill, but they get there.
The Army Duck afloat:
View from our Duck:
What the heck kind of flower is this?
After that, our hosts performed native dances and demonstrated how to throw a boomerang (they do really return), use a spear to catch a kangaroo for dinner, and play the digeridoo.
Next stop, Kuranda Village, which is basically a shopping and restaurant center in the rainforest that grew up from a hippie colony that started a swap meet in the 60's. Really, a nice place to stop and walk around.
The ship anchored off Cooktown and some people went ashore to steam. Really, one of the entertainers said he rode the tender to shore and by then he was so hot and miserable that he rode the tender right back to the ship. We stayed aboard.
Onward to Darwin and the Territory Wildlife Park. They turned us loose to check out the place independently. Highlights were Wallabies, nocturnal animals (mostly rat-like marsupials, by the way), and a bird show at the Flight Deck.
Wallaby (kind of a small kangaroo):
This one had been chewing on some type of flower. He never moved from this position the whole time we were there. Stoned Wallaby, we think:
Smart bird! Using a stone as a tool to crack the Emu egg!
If you'd seen Gordon's glasses, you'd know why this owl is staring at him!
A day at sea and we're at Gordon's favorite place, Komodo Island. Once again, into the forest with the "naturalist guides". Indonesian guys with sticks who aren't really worried about the Komodo Dragons, which are actually the largest monitor lizard, even though the dragons can run faster than they can. Us geezers would be dinner.
There are about 1300 dragons on the island and they are living in the wild. They feed on wild deer and wild pigs and do just fine since when they eat, they eat the whole whatever-they-catch. It then takes them about three days to digest their dinner and they don't need to eat again for three weeks to a month. They mate in April or May, and about 20% of the hatchlings actually survive. The mother protects the nest but when the eggs hatch, the little guys are on their own. If they make it to a tree without becoming another dragon's lunch, they climb the tree and stay there, living on small animals and birds until they are big enough to fend for themselves on the ground. They grow to be 10 feet long and weigh over 150 pounds. They have a lifespan of about 50 to 60 years.
Now, last time we were at Komodo Island there were several of the big 10-footers around. This time, no. The only dragons in sight were younger ones about five or six feet long, so no dragon riding. Such a disappointment.
We left Komodo under a full moon and headed for Bali. Lots of excited crew members because Bali's home and they get to see friends and family.
