No sooner had we dropped anchor off Kumai Town, Kalimantan, when Mr Bain arrived alongside in his speedboat to sell us our trip up the river to visit Camp Leaky. The reason we are here, to see the Orangutans . In Malay Orang - person (H)utan - forest / “person of the forest”. After talking to him for a while we arrived at a good price for Klotok (boat), skipper, crew, cook, guide, meals and a boat boy to sit onboard Tigress Too and watch over her for the 2 days we would be away. Our tour was booked for 8am the following day.
That evening we went ashore and tied our dinghy up to Mr Bains riverside home, dropped our washing off with him and explored the town for something to eat. Kumai is a busy working port so very different to any other place we had visited. The people were friendly and spoke a little English. We had a very basic dinner of fried chicken, plain rice and a few veggie, we also stopped at a roadside stall and had a Murtabak to eat, which I can only describe as a sort of omlette?? They are delicious, freshly cooked and a must if you ever get the chance.
We were picked up at 8am, and we watched with heart in mouth as the skipper pull up alongside in the Klotok (16m in length), he had obviously done this before and no damage to TToo. We then pulled alongside Basanti & picked up Chris & Phil.
Our first day was to take us 4 hours up river into Tanjung Puting National Park and our first stop at Camp Leaky. Along the way our guide Nina, who spoke excellent English explained our tour and a few of the “rules” we should stick to for our own safety.
The river started of quite brown and murky and this is because further upstream is a gold mine and there is quite a bit of run off from this. But it was not long before we turned of the main river and into a narrow tributary. The water changed from a murky brown colour to very dark clear water, the river narrowed and we were in the jungle. We watched for wildlife and saw proboscis monkeys swinging through the trees, colourful butterflies, a hornbill bird, a monitor lizard and of course the obvious…mosquitoes!! It was hot and sticky but it was not until the boat stopped we realised just how humid it was, 98% humidity Nina told us. What else can you expect in the jungle.
Lunch was served and we were so surprised by the quality of food and the amount considering the small galley and lack of equipment the cook has. All our meals were fabulous and by the end of the trip we were so very full our tummies were bursting. We had fish, chicken, lobster, nasi goreng, vegetables, tempeh, tofu, soup, cucumber, tomato and fresh fruit. All cooked and served in traditional Indonesian style.
Toilet & Loo Our amazing cook & her galley
At Camp Leaky we went ashore for the 3pm feeding. At first I thought that maybe we were going to see these animals who were so tame it would be like visiting them in a zoo. It is not like that at all. The Orangutans are described as semi wild and wild. My understanding of this is that they live in a National Park so are protected but also free to roam and come and go as they please. They do feed them once a day but I think this is mainly for the tourists to see. As we walked through the steamy jungle we could watch the orangutans swing from tree to tree or meander along in front of us eating termites along the way. If they stopped in front of you then you stopped as well and until they move you stay put as you cannot pass, so you get to spend sometime in close proximity of them.
We were lucky to see “Tom” the dominant male at Camp Leaky and Queenie who unfortunately cannot have babies but was desperate to mate and constantly showing herself off to the males who just ignored her. She has a cut on her side, an injury of some sort, and Tom spent some time with her bathing the wound by licking it. We were told that many of the Orangutans come to Tom when they are sick.
I did not know that Orangutans live a solitary life and are very territorial. The female chooses the male with whom she wishes to mate with and once they have copulated he is then sent away. They make a nest in the tree for resting sometimes as many as 3 a day as they never stay in the nest for longer than they need to rest.
We spent the evening tied up to the palms on the edge of the river. We enjoyed a cool mandi (Indonesian bath) with water from the river, a pre dinner drink or two and a delicious meal. We sat in candlelight so we could enjoy the ambience of the jungle and at the same time not attract too many bugs. By 7.30pm we were all feeling quite tired from our first day and the crew set up our beds and mosquito nets on the deck of the boat. On the side of the boat next to the shore the canvas blind was lowered “to stop snake” we were told. We fell asleep to the sounds of the jungle and dreamt of friendly orangutans and sssssnakes!!!
Day 2 was as good as day 1 visiting 2 more stations. We also visited a traditional village where the locals seem to live in a swamp. An old lady showed us her hand where she had just been bitten by “insect with 1000 legs”. I understood someone had gone to find medicine for her in the hope of reducing the swelling. Kids played in murky water, the same water that they bathe in and also where their toilets flow out. It seemed so sad to us that people live like this, but these people are happy and always smiling. They are planting the palm oil tree which is good for their village. One tree drinks 16L water per day and since planting the village does not flood so much.
It is days like this that make all the bad sailing days vanish into thin air, forgotten for the time being. I could rave on forever, we enjoyed it so much, but instead I shall just leave you with some photos and if you get the chance to visit the “people of the forest” do so, it will be one of the best things you ever do.
Next island stop…BELITUNG
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