Surviving 24 Hours on KOMODO ISLAND Challenge (Komodo Dragon)
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00:00 but we're gonna be living with them for the next two days.
00:03 But take it all in mate, we're walking with a living dinosaur right now.
00:07 Welcome to Komodo Island.
00:25 So we're currently over here in Indonesia and we've just hired a boat.
00:30 Matter of fact a pirate ship known as Eternity and what we're doing is over
00:34 the next three days we're going to be sailing to Komodo Island, staying there
00:39 for 24 hours and trying to find some deadly animals. The Komodo dragon, the
00:43 largest lizard in the world. Big enough to take down a full-grown buffalo with
00:48 their venomous bite and a species that is very special to me, a species that
00:52 I've been wanting to find since I was little and hopefully we'll be able to
00:56 get one this trip. So I'm 19, I'm at a point in my life where all I want to do
01:00 is travel, experience awesome animals from all around the world and although
01:04 we do want to find a Komodo on this trip it's about the journey of getting there
01:08 and finding it that's really important to me. So I'm gonna try to show you this
01:11 experience through my eyes and hopefully we'll be able to find the Komodo dragon.
01:16 We're staying on this boat all day going swimming, snorkeling, we've got an awesome
01:20 crew on board as well. Tonight we'll anchor up just near Komodo and tomorrow
01:23 is when we get on it and hopefully find these big lizards. So yeah let's get into
01:27 this adventure, it's gonna be more of a vlog style video this time but yeah I'm
01:31 keen to show you Indonesia through my eyes.
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01:38 All right and we've just left but we're gonna park up on this little island
01:54 because I think all the boys are pretty keen to go grab a coconut before we
01:58 start this trip.
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02:31 So we jumped on a plane and got over here to Flores and on the way in we saw
02:36 so many islands including Komodo Island that we flew over when we landed in the
02:41 airport and I'm pretty sure there are a few different islands that hold these
02:45 Komodo dragons at the moment but believe it or not it's thought at one point that
02:49 these dragons lived in Australia whether they came across from Indonesia when the
02:54 countries were much closer years and years ago and when they came to
02:57 Australia they grew into a huge dinosaur like lizard which we found fossils of
03:02 and they were absolutely massive. Nothing like the lizards that we have in
03:06 Australia today but hopefully when we go to Komodo we'll be able to find the
03:10 biggest lizard in the world and I'm so keen for that.
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03:25 Apparently there is a cave with lots of snakes in it near here.
03:29 We have one of the cave here and then in the cave before you're going to enter inside so one of the local people here
03:36 they make a little bit the ceremony and then after that you can going to enter
03:41 inside the cave. Inside the cave you can see like different color of the snake
03:47 like white one, red one, black one and then blue one so starting from the door of the
03:54 first of the cave under the finish is like five kilometer and there's lots of
03:58 venomous snakes in there. Yeah. I feel like it's a place that I'll have to go to one
04:04 day and film. I hope we can go together to go in together. Yes maybe next time we're back in
04:09 Indonesia. Yeah. So apparently around this area there is a cave filled with heaps of
04:14 highly venomous snakes. He was saying there's white, blue and green ones. As
04:19 soon as he said blue and green ones I straightaway knew that these were
04:22 white-lipped pit vipers which are a species that I've seen before when I was
04:26 much younger. If you got bitten all the way out there there's no way you're
04:30 making it out of that cave and you need to get blessing from the locals in the
04:34 village to go in that cave and he said it's very possible to make that happen.
04:38 So maybe next year we're going to be going there. It's a massive trek into the
04:43 cave but that would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience and yes
04:46 stay tuned for that. Early next year we're going to make that happen. Storms
04:50 rolling in at the moment. It'll be interesting to see what it's like out
04:54 here on the boat while it's raining. I'm open to whatever though and I'm just
04:58 flowing with this trip seeing where it takes me. I think that's the best thing
05:01 about traveling.
05:03 So it's late afternoon at the moment and we're just getting to a place where we
05:15 can anchor up and stay for the night but apparently there's a heap of fruit bats
05:19 that sleep in the mangroves and come out just on dusk. There's supposed to be
05:23 thousands later on so we're just going to wait here till it gets dark, film them
05:27 and yeah tomorrow morning is the time that we go to Komodo.
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06:23 So we're just heading out in the little boat at the moment to climb up a
06:32 mountain this morning. We're going to get some really cool drone footage and then
06:36 after that head to Komodo after sunrise. But on this island that we're heading to
06:40 there's actually heaps of venomous snakes so we're going to try to get a
06:43 few of them as well.
06:48 That's a good spot.
06:51 So just down in front of us here on the track up to watch the sunrise is a green
07:00 pit viper sitting right next to the path believe it or not. This is something that
07:04 you would not want to get bitten by out here and there's probably been a hundred
07:08 people walk past it already and not even notice it. If I wasn't looking off the
07:12 track I wouldn't have seen it. First animal in Bali, so cool to get them on
07:16 this trip over to Komodo. We're going to leave them be and keep going up to the
07:19 top. So it's about 5 a.m. at the moment we're just hiking up this massive cliff
07:25 to get to the top where we'll get the drone up. We've already seen a white-lipped
07:28 pit viper on the way up here. So many snakes on this little island. You can see
07:33 where our boat is just down the bottom there. That's where we're going to be
07:36 heading back down after and going straight to Komodo to look for these
07:39 dragons. Yeah pretty beautiful morning.
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07:47 So we just got the drone up in the air at the moment and this is the environment
07:58 that these pit vipers are living in. It's crazy to think that there's so many
08:02 venomous snakes on this island.
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08:54 So we're just going to give you a quick tour of the boat this morning.
09:09 So this is what we're going to be staying on for the next three days. It's
09:13 the second morning at the moment and we're on route to Komodo Island. But
09:16 there's nothing more beautiful than waking up to this. This is probably one
09:19 of the coolest adventures I've ever been on. I'll show you where we're staying
09:23 upstairs. Captain. Here's the captain in here. And these are the rooms that we're staying in.
09:31 It's pretty crazy we've actually got a room on the boat itself. Just a little
09:35 bedroom, bathroom. We were originally going to get a much smaller boat but they
09:39 were all sold out in the harbour and it was really stormy so we wanted to get
09:43 something a little bit bigger just in case some massive waves came through. But
09:47 the weather turned out to be amazing. Not a bad view when you're going to sleep at
09:51 night. Not that you can see anything. Not a bad view when you wake up in the morning.
09:56 You should see this in pitch black. There's three cabins up top and then the crew are
10:02 sleeping down below. We have a crew of eight. They're absolute legends as well.
10:05 And we're towing this boat behind us because we normally anchor up just off
10:10 these islands. We'll jump in that, go onto shore and we can do a bit of exploring on
10:14 these islands on this archipelago. I've always wanted to use that word. But we
10:18 just left Padar Island and we're heading straight to Komodo before the
10:22 crowds get there. It's Saturday morning at the moment. I think it's estimated
10:26 that there's going to be about 500 people on the island this morning. So
10:30 we're trying to get there before them. But we'll also be there overnight into
10:34 tomorrow and we'll have all of tomorrow to explore it as well. This is a
10:37 traditionally built Indonesian boat which was built in Sulawesi right up the
10:42 north of Indonesia. And this is the only way that you can get to Komodo Island.
10:46 There's no airport there. You can't fly in. And we had to fly from Bali to Flores.
10:51 Go down to the dock and negotiate a boat which ended up being this. But yeah I
10:56 would definitely recommend checking this out if you ever go to Bali. It has been
11:00 so worth it so far and we haven't even got to Komodo Island yet. We've got about
11:04 a one and a half hour boat ride until we get to Komodo Island and we're going to
11:08 jump off there and try to find some Komodo dragons.
11:13 So we just got over to Komodo Island and from the boat we've spotted our first
11:32 Komodo. It's a fair way away but I'm trying to get some footage of it at
11:36 least. First Komodo dragon I've ever seen in the wild. So we're gonna jump on the
11:40 little boat, get over there and hopefully get some good film of it. Have a cool
11:44 experience.
12:04 And we are here. Komodo Island. We're just walking down the jetty. Just got off
12:11 the boat and there's already two massive dragons walking back down it.
12:17 [Music]
12:42 First experience with a Komodo dragon and as soon as I got here and saw it up
12:49 close I realized how much bigger these animals are than I thought. They are
12:53 absolutely dinosaur lizards.
12:56 So we're just hiking across the island and we're going to come out on the beach
13:05 and there might be some big Komodos hanging around there. Fingers crossed.
13:11 Well okay so before we go I want to explain to you, let you see the
13:16 palm tree. Yeah this is the palm tree that really you need to leave. Just only
13:21 one time produce flower the fruit after the finish fruit they leave the top of the
13:24 palm tree just falling down. Really it flowers once in its lifetime.
13:29 You see? Yeah. The whole inside. Yeah. The palm tree is just really important for
13:33 the baby. When the baby dragon the bone yeah and then the baby in the nest and
13:38 then the baby directly after the tree. To hide from the bigger Komodos. Yeah
13:42 Komodo dragon that kind of evolved. Yeah. So that could even be baby dragons in
13:46 that palm tree now. Sometimes you see them sometimes. Yeah.
13:51 So we're on the right track. This right here is a dragon nest but these dragons
14:00 don't actually build them. There's a couple bush turkey like birds that live
14:04 around here build these nests and the dragons will actually come in take over
14:09 them. There's not much that the bush turkeys can do when a massive dragon
14:12 comes and lays eggs in there and it's actually active at the moment. It's
14:16 really likely that there are dragon eggs inside this nest. So there are dragons in
14:21 the area. What we're going to do is keep walking around head out to the beach and
14:25 see if we can find any. You follow the dragon behind. Yeah. So we're just walking with this
14:32 massive Komodo dragon right now. As soon as we got here we followed him from the
14:37 beach and he's just walking up here. We're keeping our distance and this isn't
14:41 even a big dragon. Maybe a female and this is amazing to me. Seeing an animal
14:47 I've wanted to see since I was little. Behind us we've got a big dragon walking
14:52 and this guy's just chilling down here on the beach. Do you think this is a big
14:55 male? The males get a lot bigger than the female dragons and I'm looking at him up
14:59 close right now. He's got a body of armor, massive feet, massive claws and a
15:04 venomous bite. So these dragons are actually cannibalistic. They will eat
15:09 other dragons especially the smaller ones. When they get to this size they
15:13 can't necessarily climb up a tree. So that's where all the small ones are
15:16 hiding. Way up in the canopy hiding from a big guy like this. Because this species
15:20 would love to eat a small dragon. He's pretty happy just chilling right here.
15:24 But when they do eat they can eat up to 50% of their own body weight in one
15:29 sitting. So he's totally not worried about eating any food right now and he's
15:33 pretty used to people on this island as well. And this isn't even one of the big
15:36 ones. We've been told they get a lot bigger than this on the island and
15:39 hopefully we're going to be able to track one down. That's a bit bigger than
15:42 this one but I'm absolutely stoked with this. Coming to this island, going on this
15:47 sailing trip, coming all the way out here and finding these lizards. This is what
15:51 we wanted to do and within the first 10 minutes of being here we've done it.
15:56 Have you seen Komodo attack deer before? Yeah.
15:59 It's not a video.
16:01 Sometimes once a month, one time a week, sometimes a month.
16:04 Yeah.
16:05 Oh, he's a big one.
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16:33 Now while you come over here to Komodo Island you do have to have a guide with
16:38 you. So he's out there making sure it's all good and he knows these dragons. He
16:42 lives on the island with them. And you can see what he's doing is he's flicking
16:47 out that massive tongue and what happens is he'll actually put the tongue back in
16:51 its mouth and put those two forks back into something called a Jacobson's organ.
16:55 And that will be able to tell him where his food is, where potential prey is,
16:58 what's going on. So that's what he's doing at the moment. And this is a big
17:02 male dragon. Looks like he's recently just fed and he's still hungry. And these
17:09 animals, they carry a big presence with them. They're not scared of you at all.
17:13 They're just here doing their own thing because they know that they're the apex
17:16 predator on this island and nothing can touch them. And you wouldn't want to get
17:20 on the wrong side of this guy. He's a big lizard, could do some serious damage. And
17:25 this is so surreal to me, seeing these dragons in the wild. Definitely something
17:31 I'm gonna remember for a long time and so blessed that I'm able to come out to
17:34 this island and show you all these dragons up close because they are
17:37 beautiful animals and they are endangered. They only live on these
17:41 islands over here. Of course they have to be the biggest lizard in the world and
17:44 be venomous as well. The biggest lizard we have in Australia is known as the
17:48 Perenti and this guy absolutely dwarfs them. And how these lizards will actually
17:53 get their food is they'll run after a deer or they'll run after a buffalo and
17:57 they'll bite it. And although the animal may think it got away, the infection that
18:02 follows will eventually kill that animal and they'll follow it around for days
18:06 until that animal dies. And then you'll see a bunch of dragons coming over and
18:10 swallowing that animal in pieces, ripping it off. Hey mate.
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19:15 Well, we did it. The Komodo dragon. We came all the way out here and we found
19:24 one. This is a massive dream for me that I have achieved today and the adventure
19:30 is not over yet. Matter of fact, probably the coolest part is just starting. So I'm
19:35 only 19 but one thing that I have learned with traveling is to be friendly
19:40 and don't be afraid to talk to people. We met someone there today who's gonna
19:44 take us way up into the mountains and try to find some big Komodos tomorrow
19:48 morning up there, away from the village. Because these Komodos that we found
19:52 today, so cool, but they were hanging around a lot of people. We're gonna try
19:56 to find some fully out in the wild. Now there has been fatalities from this
20:01 species. It is a dangerous animal and people need to give it respect. Because a
20:05 bite from a Komodo that size can break your bone. They're not a species that you
20:10 want to mess with but I absolutely love them. But yeah, we're back on the boat at
20:14 the moment. We're just gonna be chilling out here for the next couple hours doing
20:17 some snorkeling, swimming. Such a beautiful day. Normally what happens is
20:21 it's really sunny in the mornings, it's really humid and then there's a big
20:25 storm that comes through the afternoon. But yeah, just gonna chill out in the
20:29 boat, go for a swim. Mate.
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20:57 So it's currently day two and that over there is Komodo village. Where the
21:03 locals actually live on Komodo Island. And it'll be interesting to see what
21:08 life is like when we head over there in the small boat in a minute. Living with
21:11 these Komodo dragons. And then we're gonna head up into the mountains behind
21:16 the village and try to find some dragons out there in the wild, away from the
21:20 people. Let's go.
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21:43 So we just made it to the village. That's him mate. Yeah, our guides waiting for us.
21:48 Just on the deck. We're gonna go try find some dragons.
21:53 Hello, good morning. Good morning. Welcome to Komodo village.
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22:13 Komodo food.
22:16 So we're just walking through the village now to get up to the hills to go
22:22 and find these dragons. So keen to see if we can find some really big ones. You can see
22:26 we're walking past heaps of livestock, chickens, goats. Apparently the dragons
22:31 will actually come into this village and eat the goats.
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23:00 So we've just spotted the first Komodo of day two. Just down here on the hill.
23:05 We're gonna head down, see how big he is. And this is an animal right near the
23:13 village. Like literally right there. Which is why they come in contact with people's
23:18 livestock so much. And sometimes even humans. There was a young boy who got
23:23 bitten in the village. He was about four years old on his arm and they had to
23:26 amputate his arm because the infection got so bad. So they're not a lizard that
23:31 you want to mess with. And we've got one right down in front of us.
23:34 So this lizards body armor is actually made up of little bones. And the reason
23:40 why they have this and those claws and those teeth is to not only take down
23:44 massive prey, but also they get in fights with other dragons. They can be seen
23:49 battling each other on the beaches here at Komodo. And it's something that I would
23:54 love to see. And something that I'm definitely gonna come back to Komodo
23:56 Island and try to film. But these lizards that we're finding today in this part of
24:02 the island are much more wild than the ones that see humans over there. And it's
24:07 crazy to think that this guy might have even gone down to the village and eaten
24:10 goats before. So there are over a thousand Komodos that call this island
24:15 home. The biggest reaching well up over three and a half meters. And to put that
24:20 into perspective, the one that we were filming yesterday over at the main part
24:24 of the island was a meter smaller than that. About a two and a half meter dragon.
24:28 And to know that they're somewhere around here on this island is so cool.
24:31 They're the ones that are taking down buffalo. And I'm keeping my eyes on him.
24:35 Don't want to get chased by a big dragon like this. I'm sure it may look funny but
24:41 you wouldn't want to get bitten by one this size. And one thing that amazed me
24:45 seeing the dragons yesterday, and this one right here, is they're the same size
24:49 as crocodiles. And they're actually walking around on the land.
24:54 Walking with dinosaurs right now. And goats. And you can see where we're
25:07 finding these dragons at the moment is so amazing. We're up on the top of this
25:12 village, up on this grassland. And the dragons know that there's food down
25:16 there. So they wait up here, wait for an opportunity to go down there and eat a
25:21 goat or eat a chicken from the village. So throughout the past couple months
25:24 we've filmed inland Taipans. We've filmed saltwater crocodiles. And now Komodo
25:29 dragons. So what I want to ask you now is what animals do you want me to film next?
25:34 Yeah, just enjoying this moment. Taking it all in. Living in it. Walking with this
25:42 dragon right now. It's pretty amazing.
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