GETTING UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH KOMODO DRAGON IN WELLINGTON?
YES, YOU CAN!
Are you familiar with Komodo, the giant lizard native to Indonesia and famous for being the largest lizard in the world? Have you seen one or heard about it?
You can definitely check it out and Google this amazing creature. This giant lizard, also known as Varanus Komodoensis, is endemic to the islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, and Gili Motang in East Nusa Tenggara or NTT for short, the eastern part of Indonesia. I haven’t got a chance to visit those islands yet but I have seen these giant lizards in Komodo museum at the Indonesian Miniature Park, Jakarta.
Recently, as summer is coming to New Zealand, I got up close and personal with Komodo Dragon in Wellington again. Yes, you read it right, I saw Komodo in Wellington, not in Komodo Island, East Nusa Tenggara, their native home. I have to say this giant Komodo Dragon even attracted people’s attention in the middle of the rain!
If you get confused, I am talking about the giant Komodo dragon lantern here in Wellington. We have concluded Lumino City - Wellington Lantern Festival 2022, one of the big festivals we have in this windy Welly.
Claimed to be the biggest lantern festival in the country, this event can finally be conducted after being postponed for about 2 years due to the pandemic. Held in the waterfront area, near Te Papa Museum Wellington, there are stalls from many countries joining this event. I noted there were giant lanterns from Australia, Italy, Egypt, Samoa, Thailand, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, India and more. These giant lanterns come in different designs, picturing the unique and famous items or landmarks from the countries.
Besides giant lanterns in unique designs, we also have stages with various entertainment scheduled for two days. Various dances, traditional music, bands, and group performances were listed.
We were privileged to be able to open the Indonesian stall and had some food and munchies as well as Indonesian souvenirs being sold during the event. As for the food, we have martabak telur, pukis, risol, pastel and wingko babat. Those are famous Indonesian munchies and looks like Wellingtonians love them too, as it didn’t take too long for these snacks to be sold out during the festival. Many stalls were selling their food and drinks also, in addition to food trucks which frequently sell their food in the water front area.
I also joined the performance of Angklung on the stage, where many performers from different countries joining the festival. Angklung, the famous traditional musical instrument from Indonesia made of bamboo, has fascinated many as it is unique and it produces beautiful sound as well. We played around5 songs, Indonesian, Maori’s and western hits, like Manuk Dadali, and Can’t Help Falling in Love. After the performance, we also distributed some sets of angklungs to the audience on the spot so that they can try and play angklung together interactively with us on the stage. It was fun hearing the exquisite sound of bamboo playing familiar songs and tunes and I could see people get excited playing it too. Hope we can get more similar experiences here.
So, that’s a little adventure I get in windy Welly.
Do you have similar festivals as well in your area? Share with me here if you don’t mind.
