2 minute read
Wildlife of Indonesia with Mike Dilger
Visit the remote islands of southern Indonesia for fascinating encounters with Sumatran orangutans, black-crested macaques and one of the world's most extraordinary reptiles.
It’s not just the world’s largest lizard, a 3-metre behemoth that inspired stories about mythological dragons, but it’s also the top predator on the islands where it lives. And while the Komodo dragon may not be able to breathe real fire, it does possess a toxic bite that's just as deadly to its prey.
If an encounter with such a beast is not a reason to fly halfway around the world, then the rest of this trip with renowned wildlife expert and presenter Mike Dilger certainly is. The strange, unique fauna of Sulawesi, the aweinspiring Sumatran orangutan in one of the world’s oldest rainforests or the fabulous snorkelling on the island of Komodo itself, are just a few of the many highlights.
This unique trip will also be an introduction to Alfred Russel Wallace. It was Wallace’s natural history expeditions to the Malay Archipelago that helped him establish a theory of evolution that almost stole Darwin’s thunder.
We first explore Tangkoko National Park at the northern tip of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, where the endemic black-crested macaques, along with the tiny insectivorous spectral tarsier, curious bear cuscus and colourful knobbed hornbill will be among our targets.
From Tangkoko, we fly to northern Sumatra to discover the biologically complex rainforests of the vast Leuser ecosystem.
Here we explore Gunung Leuser National Park, one of the last strongholds for some of the island's most iconic, yet endangered mammals. The awe inspiring Sumatran orangutan and acrobatic siamang gibbon will be among the targets.
For the finale, we head south to Flores, where we board a traditional Indonesian phinisi – a two-masted wooden yacht – and set sail for Komodo itself. It won’t be long before we encounter the dragons that bear the island’s name. We have ample opportunity to admire the magnificent lizards, while looking out for the other wildlife. During our final days cruising, we have the chance to enjoy world-class snorkelling, where we’ll find a great diversity of corals, fish and even manta rays.
Itinerary
Day 1: UK to Jakarta.
Day 2: Overnight in Jakarta.
Day 3: Fly to Manado, Sulawesi.
Days 4-5: Excursions in Tangkoko National Park.
Day 6: Return to Jakarta.
Day 7: Jakarta to Medan & on to Bukit Lawang, Sumatra.
Days 8-10: Excursions in Gunung Leuser National Park.
Day 11: Return to Jakarta.
Day 12: Fly to Labuan Bajo.
Day 13: Board the Tiger Blue & sail to Sabayor Kecil.
Day 14: Day to explore Rinca & Manta Point.
Day 15: Mauan & Kode’s reefs.
Day 16: Komodo & Padar Islands.
Day 17: Final morning on Komodo. Sail back to Labuan Bajo for flight onto Jakarta.
Day 18: Return to UK, via Dubai.
18 days, from £9,995 (incl. flights) £9,195 (excl. flights)
Departure date: 6 Oct 2025
Embark/Disembark: Labuan Bajo (Flores)/Labuan Bajo
Vessel: Tiger Blue, a traditional two-masted boat sleeping 12 guests
Tour Leader: Mike Dilger
Why book Wildlife of Indonesia with Mike Dilger?
For close-up encounters with the world’s largest lizard, plus a chance to get to know the unique wildlife of this unexplored part of the world.
ཀྵ Fascinating range of primates
ཀྵ Traditional yacht
ཀྵ Island hopping
ཀྵ World-class snorkelling
Wildlife Highlights
ཀྵ Black-crested macaque
ཀྵ Bear cuscus & spectral tarsier
ཀྵ Sumatran orangutan
ཀྵ Siamang gibbon
ཀྵ Komodo dragons
Activities
Wildlife walks, snorkelling, birdwatching
This awe-inspiring Indonesian odyssey through the Malay Archipelago will take in the finest wildlife this island chain has to offer. Visiting everything from Sumatra in the west, to Lombok in the east, we’ll be ogling at orangs, listening to lar gibbons and of course dining with dragons!
Mike Dilger, Tour Leader
