Naturally we were keen to cast off from Bajo so we headed out to the gorgeous anchorage of Sebayor Kercil, where we stayed for about 4 nights. Each day the dive boat Tree Bucca Dua came by to pick us up for our scuba trip and we returned fatigued before sunset. The diving was stunning to say the least, with many highlights. One of these was the Cauldron dive near Gililawalaut. It is a narrow shallow channel strongly affected by currents. Inspection from the surface revealed nasty overfalls which would normally make me hesitant to go anywhere near it in a boat, let alone in the water. Nonetheless, we plunged in and soon found ourselves in the 20m deep bowl of the Cauldron. The exit is a short ascent to 16m where the current really gets a grip on the diver. We rocketed along at about 7 knots over a coral/rock shelf known as the Shotgun. A drift dive on steroids!! Andrea saw a manta during this dive whilst I saw the obscure pygmy seahorse, as well as many other wonders. Other great dives included Batu Bolong, a small rock pinnacle in the middle of the Selat Lintta. Strong currents rip around this spire creating dangerous conditions but we were well guided by the dive team. I did my deep dive to 32m for the course here and watched as the dive master cracked a raw egg at this depth. The yolk sac stays nicely intact at 2-3 atmospheres of pressure and you can chase it round with your hand â€�" sort of like water droplets in zero gravity on the ISS. The fish species here were prolific thanks to vigorous efforts by dive operators and National Park rangers to prevent dynamite fishing. At Makassar Reef we had an excellent view of an eagle ray feeding on the bottom as well as sting rays and finally a massive manta ray. (Manta is Spanish for blanket, which is quite apt) After the dives we needed a rest so it was over to Gililawadarat, just south of the Cauldron site, then down to Rincja island for our dragon experience. We had an enthusiastic local ranger give us the guided tour. We saw a small juvenile within five minutes of landing, but it was the large adults that really get one’s attention. They were clustered under the elevated kitchen hut in a small community. We found this quite intimidating, particularly if you wanted to enter or leave the kitchen. These adult Komodos are up to 2.5m long and 125kg in weight. They are monitor lizards and are directly related to the goanna as they are still on the Australasian side of the Wallace line. They feed on goats, deer, water buffalo, chickens, humans, other Komodo dragons, and anything with blood. They can smell blood from miles away. Their bite does not cause death immediately. The bitten animal dies a slow death of sepsis due to the bacteria and viruses in the saliva of the dragon. Once the animal is dead, the dragons begin to feed. And they don’t leave much on the table. Entire skull bones and other long bones are easily digested by the dragons, leaving only a telltale white smear of calcium in the scats. They can disarticulate their mouth or gullet in some way to permit swallowing hole of suitable creatures such as pigs. Apparently they can even regurgitate them if challenged, with the successful opponent getting to chow down on the predigested pork. Females can lay up to 50 eggs at a time but only about 17% survive the transition to independent life. Once hatched the baby lizards live in the trees to escape predators, particularly the adult Komodo dragons who cannot climb trees. We found these goannas-on-steroids to be remarkably frightening and when encountered in the bush their camouflage was excellent making them look like fallen timber. One yacht encountered a dragon swimming next to their small inflatable tender. Yikes. We enjoyed the tour immensely but were glad to move on. Just before we left I asked the guide whether the dragons flew and breathed fire as depicted in Game of Thrones. He looked incredulously at me, presumably thinking I was nuts, and replied authoritatively in the negative. Just as well, I say.