Kalong Island sunset: the flying fox stream, watched from the deck

Kalong is a mangrove islet between Komodo and Rinca. Thousands of flying foxes roost in its trees by day. At dusk they leave in a long stream, heading out to feed, and the show is the stream itself.

It is not a landing stop. The show is watched from the boat, which sits off the mangroves, so there is no beach to walk on and no path to follow. It is also not a dragon site and not a swim. The bats are large, wild and loud, and the guide asks guests not to shine bright lights at them.

Think of it as an appointment with the sky. If you miss the window, you miss the show, and the boat cannot go back for another try the same evening.

Sunset falls between about 17:49 and 18:27 depending on the month, and the table above gives the day for your month. The bats start leaving about 15 minutes after sunset, then keep going for roughly 30 minutes. Be on deck before the sun drops, because the sky colour comes first.

A long lens helps, and so does a charged battery. Phones capture the sunset but not the bats, which are small dark shapes against a darker sky. Use a camera with a fast lens if you have one, and set it before the stream starts.

Insects are active near the mangroves at dusk. Bring repellent, and cover your arms. Crowd months are July, August and December, when several boats share the same view, and the best deck position goes early.

Stay still when it starts. The stream is loud, it is long, and it asks nothing of you except attention, which is rare enough on a trip where most of the stops ask for effort and a good pair of shoes.

On the 2D1N, Kalong is the first evening's main stop. The route runs Kelor, then Manjarite for a snorkel, then Kalong, with a leg of 50 to 70 minutes from Manjarite. On the 4D3N it is also on day one. On the 3D2N it is the end of day two, after Padar, Pink Beach, Komodo and Pimpe, and dinner follows.

The 1D day trip does not include Kalong. It returns to Labuan Bajo at 20:00 after Padar, Pink Beach and Komodo.

What happens next matters for sleep. On the 2D1N, an overnight leg to Padar follows, of roughly three to four hours. On the 3D2N, the next morning's stop is Kelor, so the boat will want to be on that side by dawn. The brochure names no fixed anchorage, so the captain decides on the day. Read our night-anchorage guide before you book.

Kalong is not tide-dependent, and weather matters in a different way. Cloud mutes the sunset, but the bats still fly. Rain is more serious: a heavy shower can shorten the stream or hide it. Wind adds chop at the anchorage, and cameras struggle in a rolling boat.

The other risk is time. A long afternoon at an earlier stop can bring us in late, and the captain may skip a short activity to keep the appointment. A snack can be lost. The bats cannot be rescheduled.

If your photographs matter, choose a dry-season month and a route that puts Kalong early in the trip. If you want a quiet sunset without a boat crowd, avoid July, August and December, and accept that the bats are the same all year.