/Pink Beach (Long Beach)-1-v4.webp)
/Sebayur Island (Turtle Point)-1-v4.webp)
Rhiannon Yevele
Queenstown, NZ
Komodo’s Wild Heart, Framed
I’ve stayed in remote lodges across Southeast Asia, but Lamima redefined intimacy with landscape. Positioned between Komodo Island and Castle Rock, the yacht became a viewing platform for the raw pulse of the park. One dawn, we watched a dragon stalk a wild boar from the upper deck—no commentary, just binoculars and quiet. The naturalist knew when to speak and when to let the scene breathe. My cabin’s window framed passing islands like living paintings. Snorkeling at Taka Makassar, the coral health was exceptional—dense staghorn thickets undisturbed. The crew’s environmental ethic was evident: no single-use plastics, dive weights coated to prevent leaching. Dinner one night was served on deck beneath a blood moon; the kitchen produced a slow-braised beef rendang that lingered in memory. My only note: the tender could be swifter for distant drop-offs. But delays meant longer conversations with the captain about monsoon patterns—no complaint. Lamima doesn’t just visit Komodo. It listens to it.