Most Inspirational Moment
The main highlights were obviously seeing the orangutans and Komodo dragons and we saw both.
We were lucky to have the opportunity to watch several orangutan mothers with their babies in close proximity and we saw plenty of dragons on both Rinca and Komodo islands.
Other highlights were watching the fruit bats fly at sunset and watching the playful monkeys in Ubud. I also did an optional horse riding excursion (from Sanur) which unexpectedly included a visit to a turtle conservation area where we saw just hatched baby turtles.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Wira was an excellent guide. He usually does the activity based trips in Bali, but had stepped in to take this tour as Elly was unavailable. Wira was always laughing, approachable, organised, practical, knowledgeable and sociable, he was always prepared to go the extra mile for you. Additionally, the local guides that accompany you in Sumatra and Flores are excellent.
Wira had to deal with a couple of situations which he did quickly and effectively and he couldn't apologise enough for a couple of issues that were completely beyond his control.
He helped to arrange some optional excursions that were "not on the list" and even joined a few of us on one of them.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Take decent walking boots, I'm glad I did especially for the 2nd day "long" walk in Gunang Leuser National Park. They provide walking sticks (no need to pack one)- I was grateful for the one I used though it does become a liability when trying to take photos !
If you are offered the opportunity to visit the Bat Cave - it's not for the faint-hearted, lots of rocks and scrambling (I had to bail part way through)
A few of us wanted to do different excursions to those presented to us on the list. So from Sanur, 5 of us went horse riding on the beach with Bali Horse Riding who were very professional, taking time to assess your ability and matching you with one of their well looked after horses.
Most of us slept on the boat deck for both nights. If you go July, I recommend taking something warm to sleep in. I wore my jacket and leggings both nights and many of us added socks for night two ! Some of our group got the chance to see Manta Rays at Manta Point, so make sure you are "snorkel ready" with your underwater camera when the boat gets there.
Some of us also wanted to visit Ulun Danu Beratan Temple, so Wira arranged a driver for us and actually came with us. He even arranged the hotel to do breakfast e=half and hour earlier so we could leave and get there before any of the tourist buses. We watched the locals go about their prayers, saw a cremation purification ceremony and got "classic" photos of the temple (minus hoards of tourists). We then went onto the Jatiluwih rice terraces which were beautiful and so much less touristy than the ones we'd seen the previous day on the itinerary trip. We left at 7.15am and we were back for 1.15pm and it cost us about £7/8 each (including driver's trip) well worth it.
If you want to do the optional half day trip to Tanah Lot temple from Sanur, I would ask your guide if you could arrange to leave earlier than scheduled, we left at 8.15am and got stuck in the dreadful traffic and consequently we were rushed around the temple.
