Hoosier Cruiser

February 19, 2026

Rinca is one of five islands in Indonesia where Komodo Dragons live. The dragons are both carnivorous and cannibalistic. The young dragons spend a good part of years1-3 living in the trees to avoid being eaten by the adults. Other menu items include macaques, timor deer and water buffalo. The dragons are patient hunters. After biting their prey, they follow it around for weeks waiting for blood loss and infection to take its toll.

Our guide and two park rangers accompanied our group along an elevated walkway thru the park. We stopped at various points to spot dragons and learn more about their habits and conservation efforts. There are fewer than 5600 Komodo Dragons in the park system.

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Leaving Rinca we passed a number of gorgeous islands presumably uninhabited. There are over 17,000 islands in the Indonesian archipelago. The thought of living on one of them isolated from the world crossed my mind.

Next: Bali