10 Day Komodo Island Schools Program

• Seeing the almost prehistoric Komodo Dragons in the flesh. The largest lizard on the planet, they can grow to be 3 metres long and 150 kilograms in weight!
• Paddle amongst some of the most remote and pristine islands in Indonesia that few people have ever visited
• We get to see local village life up close and first hand, among the islands of Flores and Komodo
• With no commercial fishing allowed within the National Park, you get to snorkel amongst pristine coral reefs with large schools of fish 
• The consideration given to environmental impact, so everything taken into the islands is brought back (and our crew clean the beach of litter left by others)! We've added waste disposal bins to the islands for any visitors to use, and provide all guests with environmentally sound water bottles
• Connect with a different culture, spending a day working with school children in a remote island village
• Experience sleeping out under the stars in spacious Safari tents on a deserted beach!
• Leave a sustainable (and muddy) footprint, participating in mangrove planting on Pungu Island

If you are looking for something out of the ordinary for your schools' next International Trip and you need an operator that has years of experience dealing with school requirements in Papua New Guinea, then we may have something you are looking for. Have a look through our amazing Komodo Island page and please if you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us.

Can you imagine taking your school to a place where they will sea kayak to some of the most remote beaches on earth, accessing areas rarely visited because your sea kayak is the only way in or out. Can you imagine drifting over magnificent coral reefs and dodging small whirlpools that dot the seas in which you are paddling. Can you imagine visiting islands that are uninhabited and ones that are still inhabited by mythical Dragons. Can you imagine immersing your students into not only the magnificent ecology of the area but also the sophisticated local culture by staying and learning with the villagers. If you can, then our Komodo Schools Program is for you.

The Komodo National Park is made up of over two dozen islands between Sumbawa and Flores. These prehistoric looking islands are home to the Komodo Dragon, a creature that time seemed to forget. These mighty beasts are over 3m long and weigh up to 150kg. But don't let their slow nature fool you, when food or mating are involved, the Dragon can run nearly 30km per hour.

The Komodo Dragon however is just one attraction of the park. The area boasts some of the best marine life on the planet, with dozens of reefs in which we will snorkel. We will visit sites where manta ray and turtle are common. It is also home to uninhabited islands and glorious beaches.

We will visit small stilted villages and experience life on the sea like nowhere else.We will also visit remote water falls and stay for 2 nights in a small village on the main island of Flores. There we will learn about local village life, how they grow crops, how they cook and feed the population, how they make clothes and how they teach their young. We will be welcomed warmly into their village life and stay with them so that we can fully appreciate their way of life and open our minds to other possibilities.

This 10 day expedition from Bali is one of a kind. We are the only operator running kayaking expeditions in the National Park. You will be part of something that very few have experienced before, kayaking the Komodo Islands and staying in a local village.

As part of this expedition, you will be helping to preserve the local eco-system through donations from No Roads and cleaning the park of all plastics as we go. Through the work that we and other like minded organisations do, we hope that the Komodo National Park will remain an attraction for our children's children.

Day 1: Arrive in Bali and transfer to hotel. 
Day 2: Fly Bali/to Labuan Bajo (B)
Day 3: Labuan Bajo - Seture - Pungu Island (B, L, D)
Day 4: Pungu Island - Kukusan - Gado - overnight in KNP (B, L, D)
Day 5: Overnight KNP spot - Rinca - manta Point - Labuan Bajo (B, L, D)
Day 6: Village Stay (B, L, D)
Day 7: Village Stay (B, L)
Day 8: Waterfall & rest afternoon(B,L,D)
Day 9:  Day trip to Mt Mbeliling (B,L,D)
Day 10: Labuan Bajo to Bali and then home (B)

Expedition Dates 
This expedition is open between March and December for group sizes 6-16 (including 2 teachers for 8 or more).

THE KOMODO DRAGON
Komodo dragons are the largest lizard still living on earth, but they are not the largest reptile. Alligators and crocodiles get bigger than Komodo dragons.

Komodo dragons are a monitor lizards. Their scientific name is Varanus komodoensis. They grow to 3m in length and can weigh as much as 150kg. While they are usually slow moving, they can put on spurts of speed equal to a dog.

Komodo dragons drool copiously. Their saliva is not venomous, but the mouth of a Komodo dragon is so full of bacteria that a bite from one almost always leads to infection. If untreated, the infection is usually fatal. This is one way in which the dragons get food. They hide in the scraggly jungle and wait for a victim to pass by. The victim is most often a deer, carabao or goat. The dragon attacks the prey, and may succeed in killing it on the spot. Otherwise, the bites sustained by the victim will generally kill it eventually, and the dragons will then eat the carrion.

The giant lizards have powerful claws which they use to devastating effect in fights with other lizards. Males have scratching fights with each other during mating season.

Komodo dragons are excellent swimmers, and can swim from one island to another. The island of Komodo has many beautiful beaches where a visitor can play and swim, but the presence of Komodo dragon foot- and tail- prints in the sand warns the visitor to be cautious and watchful.

MARINE LIFE
Some of Komodo's beaches have beautiful pink sand, tinted by fragments of red coral mixed in with other shell and coral fragments. Other beaches have gray sand derived from cliffs of rhyolite. Heavy black sand composed of nearly pure magnetite accumulates next to the cliffs.

The snorkeling and diving around Komodo are some of the best in the world, especially for seeing soft corals. A professional diver told us, "You know, when you're a diver, you spend your life dreaming of and searching for the best dive site in the world. Well, Komodo is it."

• Risk Management Document for your school
• 1 Free of Charge seat ex Bali for Teachers for groups of 8 and above
• Kayak use with all safety gear including vest, paddle etc
• 1 nights accommodation in Bali twin share
• 4 nights accommodation in Labuan Bajo twin share
• 2 nights in a local village
• 2 nights camping
• All domestic flights
• National park fees
• Professional guide throughout expedition
• Tour to Cunca Wulang Waterfall
• Ranger and local guide fees
• All meals on expedition - as per itinerary
• Toilet tent
• Airport ransfers to and from accommodation in Bali and Labuan Bajo.

• International Airfares
• Travel Insurance