The tourists mostly fly to Flores and then take a boat from there, spending a couple of nights on board. Several boat loads were offloading or collecting some with only 6 passengers and larger double deckers with perhaps 20. So when we reached the water hole there was already a group watching a very sedentary dragon. The picture on WhatsApp is the guides fabrication as I am sadly not patting the dragon but kneeling a few metres behind it. The dragon looked quite lean and hungry. They eat about once a month and this one looked ready for a meal but didn't seem to fancy any tourists. The island is stocked with wild pigs and deer to keep the dragons happy. The last person to fall victim was from Singapore. He was staying in the village and found a dragon eating a goat. He got too close trying to get a good photo and was bitten. The poison did for him before he could get to hospital. 

We could have saved ourselves a walk and just gone to the cafe as there were 3 dragons lounging outside hoping for some titbits. Apparently the smell of food attracts them. There was excitement when one did get up and waddle a couple of yards before sagging back down. Hard to imagine them chasing a pig or deer but the guide said they can do 20 kph in short bursts. I managed to get through the gift stalls without being sold anything and then thought a dragon was going to use my dinghy for a bed as it was heading along the beach towards it. Fortunately it carried on past and joined another dragon in a dark hollow under the end of the pier. Dragons laird in their dungeon.