An unforgettable adventure in the forest in Kalimantan.

Gabriel and David left us in Bali and we sailed alone to Kalimantan (Borneo). There was very little wind but plenty of squalls, so we motored most of the way. Indonesian fishing boats were everywhere, so night watches were interesting. We anchored in the Kumai river outside the town of Kumai. Kumai is fascinating though somewhat primitive. Here we were able to refuel and organise a tour to the orangutan rehabilitation centre at camp Leakey, in the Tanjung Putting national park. We went with 2 American cruisers Paul and Sima, spending Thanksgiving with Americans again. We went for the 2 day guided tour on a local boat known as a klotok, spending the night on board on the river listening to the sounds of the surrounding jungle and the torrential rain (it being the transition between dry and monsoon season).

Orangutans are found only in Borneo and Sumatra. They are solitary animals, only coming together to mate. Males are mature at 20 years old when they develop the characteristic cheek pads. There is a dominant male in each territory. The largest group is a female with 1 or 2 babies and they spend most of their time in the forest canopy where they feed on fruit and make their nests. Females reproduce from 15 years of age, having a baby every 8 years. Babies stay with their mother for 8 years. This low reproduction rate plus loss of habitat due to logging and gold mining mean that they are endangered. Hence it is difficult to see truly wild orangutans.

It took about 4 hours to reach Camp Leakey, where there are about 150 orangutans in the surrounding forest. The rehabilitation center takes orphaned orangs often rescued from the illegal pet trade and rears them. These apes would find it difficult to survive in the wild without help, so they are fed daily at a feeding platform in the forest. They come very close and take food from the rangers who know them individually and how to handle them. One female called Princess is particularly intelligent and has been taught to use sign language. She signed thank you when given food and water. Tourists are told not to touch them.. However a female carrying a baby, decided to hang onto my leg. I didn't want to upset her since she is at least 4 times as strong as me, so we stood together while the rangers traded a grapefruit to get her to let go. It was a great privilege to be touched by one of these wonderful creatures.

We saw proboscis monkeys, gibbons and very cheeky long tailed macaques, which tried to board the boat at the dock and were repelled by our cook with a bucket of water. Indonesia is a Muslim country and we witnessed the slaughter of a cow at a local village to celebrate Eid al-Adha. The whole village was there and everyone would get a share.

From here we motored most of the way to Batam island staying two nights at the very nice Nongsa point marina before going to Singapore.