Lake Rana Tonjong is located in Nanga Mbeling village, Sambi Rampas district, some 3 kilometer north of Pota. The lake spans 2,200 square kilometers and lies in low plains surrounded by hills in the west, north and south and paddy fields in the east. The whole lake is covered by the giant lotus (Victoria Amazonica), which bloom once a year from April to May. The lotus are endemic to the area.
This place can be reach by car from Ruteng for about 4 hours, can stay overnight in Pota at Teratai guest house.
Flores Exotic Tours Creating Awareness in ITB Berlin
The travel trade world is centered in Germany this month for the ITB (International Tourism Exchange) Berlin. The founder of Flores Exotic Tours, Leonardus Nyoman shares his experience in attending the world’s leading travel show.
This year is the 3rd time for Flores Exotic Tours’ representative participating in ITB Berlin. As a travel agent, Leo – so he’s called - finds it crucial to attend the travel show. Through the event, he is able to promote Flores not only to European market, but worldwide.
Leading experts in tourism field company representatives from 180 countries will crowd Messe Berlin from 6-10 March 2013. Topical debate, interactive seminars, and presentations are available during the five-day event. As a result, participants will be able to get new ideas and see the trends on tourism development, management and marketing strategies – a goal Leo has in mind to grow his business.
He notes the most significant thing individual participants and exhibiting companies need to do is strengthening their business networks by getting into profitable partnership deals with industry peers. And in ITB the networking can be done through ITB Virtual Market Place - a special online feature provided to search and establish contacts with the right persons or companies’ representatives during the event.
ITB Berlin is definitely one of the great opportunities to promote Flores to the world. Leo uses the platform to spread information about Flores’ nature, culture, and traditional tribe to the global market. It is also the right place to create awareness by distributing Flores’ marketing materials such as brochure, booklet, video, and picture slides to targeted partners and clients.
All in all, Leonardus hopes to build new partnerships with more contacts and companies in ITB Berlin this year. He also wishes that his presence in the travel show strengthens the awareness about Flores among the travel industry throughout Indonesia and around the globe. As a result, the numbers of visitor to Flores will increase and in turn help Flores become a more developed destination.
Article and images by Leonardus Nyoman
Contact:
Flores Exotic Tours
Jalan Kakatua 8, Ruteng 86511
Flores, NTT, Indonesia
www.floresexotictours.com (English)
www.komododragontours.com (German)
Skype: leonardus.nyoman
Mobile : +628123662110
http://www.florestourism.com/news/flores-exotic-tours-creating-awareness-itb-berlin
Cunca Rami waterfall
The impressive Cunca Rami waterfall, with its many pretty pools that offer a refreshing, natural swimming experience, makes a fantastic day trip from Labuan Bajo. Starting from Werang, which is located 35km southeast of Labuan Bajo, it takes you about a 1½ hour scenic walk through an area which seems to be relatively untouched by modern civilization. Hiking through small villages and agricultural land, this walk is also a lesson in culture and agriculture. If you are with a local guide, it will be easy for you to get involved in conversations with villagers and farmers along the way. The trail leads you across various villages before it stretches out into open farmlands with water buffaloes, pigs, and goats grazing freely in the fields.
You can observe the various stages of rice cultivation and the traditional drying methods throughout the trail. Keep an eye out for banana, cacao, vanilla, and avocado plantations – it is amazing how everything grows and prospers seemingly effortless in this fertile area. A local guide will help you to identify the different plants that line the walk through this Eden-like setting. In line with tradition, the farming huts and village houses are made out of bamboo: a very durable and renewable material that is also used in many other Southeast Asian communities.
Facilities
Because of the poor condition of the roads that lead to these sites, the tour is rarely offered to tourists. Correspondingly, the tourist facilities are still very basic. There are no restaurants; so be certain to bring your own water and food supplies. However basic the circumstances, the stunning natural environment is well worth the bumping trip. The local guides in Labuan Bajo are familiar with the area around the waterfall, and gladly organize your trip according to your needs.
Text by: www.florestourism.com
Photo by: Leonardus Nyoman
Tour available to this place: www.floresexotictours.com
The ikat patterns are geometric or human and animal figures. East Sumba ikat cloths are characterized by striking figures of horses, deer, lions, birds, fish, skull trees, stars and other motifs. Stars, symbolizing descent from a celestial deity. Sea animals, shrimps, lobsters, represent the local coastal environment. Typical for East Sumba weaving is the skull tree motif.
Horses are a great feature in Sumba, symbol of heroism, being of economic and ritual value. Certain designs were restricted to aristocracy particularly the patola raty pattern, taken from Indian patola trading cloths.
The ikat textiles in East Sumba are important in life-cycle rites when they were exchanged between families and groups in the community. In marriage exchange of goods, the woman lineage counter the gifts of the man´s lineage with, among others, woven cloths.
text by: http://www.ikatland.com/category/15-east-sumba.aspx
Photo by: Leonardus Nyoman
Wae Rebo: Rumah Kerucut Flores yang Tersisa
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Letaknya tak terlihat dari keramaian dengan pegunungan hujan tropis dan lembah hijau yang mendekap hangat dusun ini. Adalah Wae Rebo, sebuah dusun yang menjadi satu-satunya tempat mempertahankan sisa arsitektur adat budaya Manggarai yang semakin hari semakin terancam ditinggalkan pengikutnya. Mengapa berbentuk kerucut dan dari mana asal muasalnya masih sebuah tanda tanya besar, kecuali secuil informasi dari tradisi penuturan masyarakatnya sendiri yang merupakan generasi ke-18.
Wae Rebo berada di Kabupaten Manggarai, tepatnya di Kecamatan Satarmese Barat, Desa Satar Lenda. Di sini, satu desa dengan desa yang lainnya jauh terpisah lembah yang menganga di antara bukit-bukit yang berkerudung kabut di ujung pohonnya. Dusun Wae Rebo begitu terpencil sehingga warga desa di satu kecamatan masih banyak yang tak mengenal keberadaan dusun ini. Seperti Kampung Denge, desa terdekat ke Wae Rebo belum seutuhnya menjadi desa tetangga karena belum semua pernah ke Wae Rebo. Sementara warga Belanda, Perancis, Jerman, hingga Amerika dan beberapa negara Asia sudah sangat terperangah keindahan kampung yang rumahnya seperti payung berbahan daun lontar atau rumbia yang disebut mbaru niang.
Mbaru niang sudah punah sebelum memasuki awal tahun 70-an saat pemerintah mengkampanyekan perpindahan masyarakat pegunungan ke dataran rendah. Seorang antropolog, Catherine Allerton mengenang pembicaraannya dengan tu’a golo, pemimpin politik dan kepala kampung, juga tu’a gendang, kepala upacara adat. Warga Wae Rebo saat itu tak memutuskan meninggalkan dusunnya. Sudah generasi ke-18 hingga kini Wae Rebo bertahan dari seorang penghuni pertama dan pendiri Wae Rebo lebih dari 100 tahun lalu, Empo Maro.
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Leluhur Wae Rebo, termasuk Empo Maro, mewariskan 7 buah rumah kerucut yang sangat menawan meskipun telah dimakan usia dan beberapa di antaranya telah rubuh dan belum dibina kembali. Sebuah yayasan dari Jakarta diberitakan telah memberikan bantuan pertanda kasih sayangnya pada keaslian Wae Rebo dengan mendirikan satu rumah yang sama bentuknya dan dinamakan Tirto Gena Ndorom, dimana Tirto adalah secuil kata dari nama yayasan donatur tadi.
Rumah yang disebut mbaru niang terdiri dari 5 tingkat yang semua ditutupi atap dan menjadi sebuah kerucut. Di tingkat pertama, lutur, atautenda adalah tempat tinggal penghuninya. Di tingkat kedua, lobo, atau loteng ialah tempat menyimpan bahan makanan dan barang. Tingkat ketiga ialah lentar yang berfungsi menyimpan benih jagung dan tanaman untuk bercocok tanam lainnya. Tingkat keempat ialah lempa rae, yaitu tempat untuk menyimpan stok cadangan makanan yang akan sangat berguna saat panen dirasa kurang berhasil. Sedangkan tingkat kelima, hekang kode, yaitu tempat menyimpan sesajian untuk para leluhur.
Di Wae Rebo, tidak seperti di dusun tradisional lain yang terkadang memiliki berbagai klan. Di sini hanya terdapat satu klan atau marga saja. Klan tersebut memiliki gendang pusaka di rumah gendang di tiang utamanya. Mereka memiliki pantangan untuk tidak makan satu binatang, yaitu musang. Dari penuturan tetua, leluhur mereka datang ke Wae Rebo dengan bertemankan seekor musang sehingga dipercayai bahwa musang adalah bagian dari leluhur mereka.
Berkembangnya penduduk Wae Rebo membuat keberadaan sebuah desa baru dirasakan harus dibina. Sebagian masyarakat Wae Rebo dibagi tempatnya dengan desa baru yang disebut Kombo. Tak banyak wisatawan mengetahuinya, walau Kombo dan Wae Rebo adalah masyarakat yang sama. Akan tetapi, karena lingkungannya dipertahankan sesuai aslinya, Wae Rebo seolah permata di atas lumpur. Kombo dipandang berbeda karena tidak berasal dari leluhur yang merintis keberadaan kampung itu.
Warga paruh baya dan anak-anak sekolah tinggal di Kombo, sedangkan orang tua dari para pria muda serta belasan tahun yang menginjak dewasa tinggal di Wae Rebo. Mereka semua memiliki kepercayaan yang sama. Katolik adalah agama yang dipeluk masyarakatnya, walau kepercayaan animisme masih kental terasa dalam kehidupan mereka.
Mereka yakin bahwa tanah atau hutan memiliki emosi dan perasaan. Sebelum bercocok tanam dan mencangkulnya, sebuah ritual harus dilakukan untuk meminta izin pada penunggunya. Bila tak berizin maka tanah akan menjerit dan merintih. Bercocok tanam pun harus rutin agar tanah tidak ‘menangis’ sedih. Warga Wae Rebo memandang tanah sebagai bagian dari mereka dan seperti manusia yang harus dihormati.
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Di tengah dusun terdapat panggung batu yang dikisahkan telah dibina atas bantuan penunggu hutan yang berupa manusia gagah menawan yang mampu mengangkat batu besar dengan satu tangan. Masing-masing tangan dan kaki penunggu hutan ini memiliki jari berjumlah enam. Rambutnya dikisahkan sangat panjang dan parasnya cantik rupawan. Setelah panggung ini selesai, tarian caci digelar dan juga tabuhan gendang dilaksanakan (mbata).
Dari Ruteng, perjalanan dengan kendaraan selama 4 jam yang berkelok sehingga penumpang tak henti bergoyang. Sampailah di sebuah desa pesisir bernama Dintor. Jalan terus dilanjutkan menuju tanjakan ke pedalaman pulau menempuh pematang sawah dan jalan setapak di Sebu sebelum sampai di Denge. Dari Denge langkah terus dihentakkan melalui hutan kecil, melalui Sungai Wae Lomba. Setelah mengatur kerja paru-paru di sepanjang jalan setapak, dari Ponto Nao, terlihat pusat Wae Rebo, sebuah dusun yang mengepul asap dari kerucut-kerucut aneh yang berkumpul di sebuah lapang hijau. Itulah sisa-sia mbaru niang yang hampir punah.
Perjalanan panjang menuju dusun ini membuat masyarakatnya sedikit terasing dari peradaban, terutama pendidikan dan kesehatan. Seorang anak bahkan dewasa dirata-ratakan telah berjalan kaki selama 4 jam sekali keluar dari dusunnya dan kembali membawa sesuatu seberat 15 kilogram untuk dijadikan bahan makanan cadangan karena terbatas sumber daya alam yang bisa dimanfaatkan. Dalam satu tahun, diperhitungkan seorang anak akan membawa barang dengan total berat hingga 2 ton.
Tiba di dusun ini, sambutan hangat adalah sebuah keniscayaan. Ubi, talas, dan jagung akan disajikan termasuk daging ayam. Menginap di sana seperti sebuah mimpi berhari-hari. Ada kesan khusus dan tak akan tergantikan oleh perjalanan apapun, karena memang hanya satu kali pengalaman ini terjadi di Wae Rebo. Di sini semua berawal, dan akan terus berlanjut sebagai tanah tumpah darah warga Wae Rebo yang disebutkan dalam bahasa daerah sebagaiNeka hemong kuni agu kalo.
Diramu dengan bersumber dari catatan perjalanan Leonardus Nyoman, Martinus Anggo, dan hasil penelitian antropolog, Catherine Allerton.
Foto Crourtesy : Leonardus Nyoman
sources: http://indonesia.travel/id/destination/444/flores/article/125/wae-rebo-rumah-kerucut-flores-yang-tersisa
Tour available to this place:
“The Komodo dragon, as befits any creature evoking a mythological beast, has many names. It is also the Komodo monitor, being a member of the monitor lizard family, Varanidae, which today has one genus, Varanus. Residents of the island of Komodo call it the ora. Among some on Komodo and the islands of Rinca and Flores, it is buaya darat (land crocodile), a name that is descriptive but inaccurate; monitors are not crocodilians. Others call it biawak raksasa (giant monitor), which is quite correct; it ranks as the largest of the monitor lizards, a necessary logical consequence of its standing as the largest lizard of any kind now living on the earth…. Within the scientific community, the dragon is Varanus komodoensis. And most everyone calls it simply the Komodo.” Claudio Ciofi
The Komodo dragon is an ancient species whose ancestors date back over 100 million years. The varanid genus originated between 25 and 40 million years ago in Asia. The Komodo descended from this species and evolved to its present form over four million years ago.
The Komodo is long lived (as are most of the larger reptilian species) with an estimated life expectancy of over 50 years in the wild. In keeping with its longevity, the Komodo matures late in life, becoming sexually viable at five to seven years, and achieving maximum body density in fifteen years. Komodos are sexually dimorphous, which means males are bigger than females. The largest recorded specimen was 3.13 meters in length and was undoubtedly a male. Females rarely exceed 2.5 meters in length. What is perhaps more important, is that the characteristic bulk is achieved by older dominant males in clearly delineated territorial areas. As an adult Komodo can consume up to 80% of its body weight in one gorging, weight is a highly variable factor, and is largely dependent on the most recent feeding. A typical weight for an adult Komodo in the wild is 70 kilograms.
Komodo dragons are first and foremost opportunistic carnivores, and predators second. Although the Komodo can sprint briefly at 20 kilometers an hour, it does not chase down game as do the larger mammalian predators. The Komodo is a stealth predator, which lies motionless and camoflouged alongside game trails for the unwary, which tend to be the very young, the old and the infirm. In an attack, the Komodo lunges at its victim with blinding speed and clasps it with the serrated teeth of the jaw. Prey are rarely downed in the initial attack unless the neck is broken or caratoid artery severed. The more likely outcome is escape, followed by death a few hours or days later from septicemia introduced by the virulent strains of bacteria found in the saliva of the Komodo dragon (the Komodo survive primarily on carrion and ingest the bacteria when feeding).
The Komodo has two highly developed sensory organs – the olefactory and the Jacobson’s - which allow the dragon to detect rotting carcasses from distances as great as 10 kilometers. The yellow forked tongue is
constantly being flicked in and out of the mouth, “tasting the air”, and inserted into the Jacobson’s organ located in the roof of the mouth. The individual tips are highly sensitive and are capable o f discriminating odors in the magnitude of millionths of a part. Using the information garnered, the dragon wends in a seemingly random, winding path which becomes straighter the closer it approaches to the carrion. The Komodo is typically a communal feeder and any number of dragons might arrive at the site of the carcass.
Socialization occurs during feeding at carrion sites, as does mating. The abdomen is slashed first and the intestines and stomach contents scattered. Young juveniles roll in the fecal matter to mask their scent from aggressive adults, which attack and sometimes kill juveniles during feeding. The dominant male feeds until sated, followed by other dragons in order of size. While the dominant male is gulping down hindquarters and ribcages, the braver dragons chance foraging a few scraps. Virtually the entire carcass is consumed in the process– head, fur, hooves and bones. After feeding, the Komodos become quiescent and approachable while their digestive tracts are converting the food into fat energy stored in the tail.
Between the months of May and August, mating occurs at and around feeding sites. As males outnumber females in a ratio of nearly four to one, the dominant male must fend off other suitors before mating. Males will engage in slashing, biting and bipedular rearing onto the tail, until the dominant male is acknowledged by displays of subservience and the vanquished flees. The female is forced into a prone position while the male tongue flicks her body, and in particular, the fold between the torso and the rear leg close to the cloaca. With Komodos, the male hemipenes are located here as are the female genetalia. Once prone, the male mounts onto the back of the female and inserts one of the two hemipenes into her cloaca , depending on which side he is perched. The month of September is when a clutch of 15-30 eggs is buried in a nest dug with the powerful claws of the female dragon. A typical nesting site is in the composting vegetative mounds of the maleo birds which are indigenous to Komodo.
The gestation period for the eggs is eight to nine months. Hatchlings, which average 40 centimeters in length and weigh 100 grams, emerge from the nest in April and immediately scramble up the nearest tree to avoid being eaten by the adults. There are plenty of small lizards, insects and mammals in the canopy after the brief rainy season in January and February to sustain the juveniles until they descend to the forest floor roughly a year later. This period of change between an arboreal and a terrestial habitat, when the juveniles are a meter in length, is a time fraught with danger. The juvenile Komodo is just too bulky to safely ascend many trees, and not big enough to outrun a ravenous and determined adult. Cannibalism is a fact of life for this species, and perhaps is an evolutionary response to the harsh, arid climate of Komodo.
Prey species for the dragon on Komodo island include deer, boar, wild buffalo, the maleo bird, snakes, reptiles and small mammals. On Rinca, the monkeys and wild horses found there are also constitute prey, as do the goats raised by the local people. On the odd occasion people are also attacked by the Komodo dragon. There have been eight recorded instances of attacks on humans since Komodo has become a national park, almost all of which occurred on Rinca.
Penti is one of the major ceremonies in the Manggarai district. It is a thanksgiving celebration for the past year’s harvest and an expression of hope for a prosperous, new agricultural year. The event is filled with series of ancient rituals that usually last for one full day and night. The celebration is of such huge communal importance that all village members, even the ones living outside the village, should join these festivities. Penti used to be an annual event closely related to the agricultural cycle. Nowadays, many villages celebrate Penti on a five-year basis due to the intensive preparations and high costs.
Location :
Komodo National Park lies in the Wallacea Region of Indonesia, identified by WWF and Conservation International as a global conservation priority area. The Park is located between the islands of Sumbawa and Flores at the border of the Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT) and Nusa Tenggara Barat (NTP) provinces. It includes three major islands, Komodo, Rinca and Padar, and numerous smaller islands together totaling 603 km2 of land. The total size of Komodo National Park is presently 1,817 km2. Proposed extensions of 25 km2 of land (Banta Island) and 479 km2 of marine waters would bring the total surface area up to 2,321 km2
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