PANTAI MERAH: Where dragons dwell
Komodo Island, Indonesia
The heat on the rocky outcrop of Komodo Island builds rapidly as the sun climbs higher, so it�s best to get here soon after sunrise. This is the home of Komodo Na�tional Park and the world famous pre-his�toric lizards which take their name from it. Although they are technically monitor liz�ards, their immense size they can grow up to three metres long and weigh as much as 200kg carnivorous appetites and fearsome appearance makes �dragon� a far more appropriate moniker.
Just around the shoreline from the Rangers� Station lies another reward for those who journey here: an idyllic little beach called Pantai Merah. The remains of red corals washed ashore have tinted this short stretch of sand a beautiful deep rose colour, giving rise to the beach�s other name: Pink Beach. Crystal-clear, blue wa�ter laps at the sand and massive headlands shelter the shallow bay from swirling cur�rents in the channels.
But snorkel and lounge here with care. Komodo dragons (Varanus komodoensis) indigenous only to Komodo and the nearby Rinca islands � swim well and run fast, and are known to frequent Pantai Merah. And they do eat people: only the camera was found of a Swiss visitor who overstayed her welcome here two decades ago.
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