Orangutans in Kalimantan

Our first Christmas gift to the kids this year was a family trip full of adventure, new experiences & memories. We traveled to Kalimantan, on the island of Borneo, to visit the Tanjung Puting National Park.

Over a year ago we started planning this trip for when the Leadbetter's and Wisneski's came to visit us, so it was a tad bittersweet that we were now taking this trip solo. But it has been a bucket list trip for us for since arriving in Indonesia and listening to neighbors tell me about it, so off we went!

We spent 3 days on a river boat trekking through the rainforest in search of wild orangutans. And boy did we find them! Plus 3 other types of monkeys, crocodile, many rare birds, lots of flora & fauna. We went on night hikes in the park each night to visit all the nocturnal creatures. We planted trees to do our tiny part to help with reforestation, and visited a local village where orangutans are sighted in the trees as often as owls!

The National Park was empty, we only saw 3 other families of tourists. Pre-pandemic there would have been close to 100 boats on the river we were told, so that alone was a gift.

We saw 4 types of primates- orangutan, silvered langur, proboscis monkeys and long-tailed macaque. We went on 2 nights walks- one was two hours long and our flashlights started fading- and saw sleeping king fisher birds, bats, glow in the dark mushrooms, the cutest tree mouse and lots of spiders.

Here is our boat-

We had a 6am direct flight, so we were on the boat headed down the river enjoying a fabulous breakfast (4 staff on board and one was a dedicated cook) by 9am!

As we were leaving the port, we saw a lot of these tall, mostly windowless grayish buildings on the shoreline and could hear lots of loud birds-

Turns out what we were hearing were bird recordings, piped out of these bird nesting houses. They are built to attract the swiftlet bird, who's nest is harvested to make birds nest soup in China. 

The nests were formerly harvested from caves, principally the enormous limestone caves at Gomantong and Niah in Borneo. With the escalation in demand these sources have been supplanted since the late-1990s by purpose-built nesting houses, usually reinforced concrete structures following the design of the Southeast Asian shop-house ("rumah toko"/"ruko").^[11] These nesting houses are normally found in urban areas near the sea, since the birds have a propensity to flock in such places. It has become an expanding industry as is evident in such places as the province of North Sumatra or the Pak Phanang district in Thailand. 

We were only on the boat for about 30 minutes and we saw our first orangutan- a statue at the entrance of the national park-

We were on the boat for about 4 hours cruising up the river very slow until we would arrive at our first spot- an afternoon feeding of the orangutans in one of the 3 feeding stations in the national park.

We always say that the first thing Tate does when he gets on a boat, is take a nap-

We are here! Time to get off the boat and venture deep into the Borneo jungle to hopefully spot some orangutans

Our wildlife guide, Arief was always with us. He used to be a researcher himself in the national park. When we arrived, the local ranger met up with us to take us deeper into the jungle-

And suddenly- orangutans all around us waiting for their bananas! Yup, bananas. Bananas actually are not grown in Kalimantan, so they have to be brought in special for the orangutans- who are wild, but come in once a day for bananas at the feeding station-

We were always the only people at the feeding stations. In fact, Arief said we were the only boat with a permit that day. Prior to the pandemic, 100 permits would have been issued per day. 

Back on the boat, we saw lots of other primates and birds. Long tailed macaque-

This is the Storm's Stork, and there are only 500 left in the world-

We had several sightings! Lucky us. 

Proboscis monkey- 

more orangutans- 

A very large crocodile spotted from our boat-

Did I mention we would be sleeping on the boat for 2 nights? Each time I got up to go to the bathroom overnight in the dark, you know I was looking around for a crocodile on the boat!

Locals harvesting the palm fronds for baskets, roofs, etc- 

from the boat we saw silvered langur monkeys- 

check out their babies- they are bright orange!

we were so lucky to see lots of babies! 

Whatcha lookin' at Tate?

Our hikes through the woods were fascinating-

This ranger was a tiny guy. And his backpack was HUGE and so heavy, full of bananas-

Even though the sign says "you may not see them" there was a little guy just waiting there for us when we arrived to this feeding station-

LOTS of peaceful downtime on the boat-

Macy had a lot more energy than the rest of us. She spent many hours playing in the hammock-

I loved seeing how gentle the orangutans were with the rangers-

And playful-

Just a nice peaceful walk in the woods-

And then we spot this guy-

We didn't care one bit about us, and lead the way-

By day- dining area and living area-

The only other boat/tourists we saw-

I thought it was so funny that they had river traffic signs posted in the jungle- 

Local fisherman-

The 3rd floor of the boat was a viewing platform, so when Arief would see wildlife up ahead, the captain would cut the engine and we would go up to the 3rd floor for a closer look

Nightfall on the 1st night.... would we see sunrise?

We sure did! At night our livingroom was turned into a bedroom for us-

It was like camping on the water. 

Our food was absolutely amazing-

I loved the fried cassava, but the "drink" was not my favorite-

Boat doesnt work anymore? Just junk it by pushing it into the palms!

Parts of the river were becoming a bit overgrown because of lack of use- 

This giant, destructive, floating island was no small feat for our captain to get around-

Brian captured the most excellent picture of a proboscis monkey from the boat-

We stopped the boat to go for a hike and my first thought was oh how cool, there's an orangutan waiting to greet us-

We'd later learn that he is named "Atlas" and is known to the rangers as a naughty teenager. He would try to climb aboard our boat when our engineer was tying us to the dock- 

The poor kid actually jumped in the water (remember there are crocodiles!) to escape from Atlas and climb back on our boat. It was crazy!

This is how low our boat sat to the water, and why I was constantly checking for crocodiles onboard-

Camp Leakey is the research center where it all started. In 1971 it was started as a base camp for orangutan observation  and conservation-

Sadly, it was still closed due to Covid when we visited. 

AS you are cruising down the river, you will differences on the two sides of the river. On the right, is the national park- which is protected, where the orangutans roam freely and the jungle is lush. On the left, palm oil plantations have taken over. Palm oil is terrible for many, many reasons. Mainly the environment, but it is also a cut throat business for the locals. They have been pushed out of their land, and are now forced to build homes over the water-

Not ideal, but it is a way to survive when your land has been taken from you. And if people have been forced out, so have has the wildlife. The orangutans have lost their forests, and are seen as destructive nuisances. Therefore, they are killed by the palm oil farmers. 

Sadly orangutans can not swim, so it is heartbreaking knowing that if they could just get to the other side of the river, they would be protected there. And even get bananas!

Our last day we went to see a tree farmer, who has lived alone in the jungle for over a decade in hopes of replanting the forest-

Ever wonder where rubber comes from? It was fascinating to watch him score this tree and see the rubber come out-

We each picked a tree to plant with him in the forest-

Several friends have visited since we went and it's been fun to see when they send a picture of our trees that they spot when they stop in to plant their own!

Last stop- a local village-

Set right along the water, and extremely remote, they have orangutans walk through their village like some people have deer walk across their lawns- 

We were told that the orangutans will often come into their outdoor kitchens and cause havoc. Years ago, one even stole a boat and made it down the river somehow!

Our last wonderful meal- 

As we were headed back to the port, a giant storm came in- 

Praise God for good weather! We had some light rain at times, but nothing serious. This storm made me feel very uncomfortable, so I was pleased that it happened at the very end of our trip. 

And last but not least, covid testing to fly home-

But first, please take off your shoes to enter the clinic. Local customs sometimes make me shake my head. 

Oh what a trip that was! Truly something right out of a magazine or a tv show. It was so simple, so peaceful, so amazing.