Kalimantan, South Borneo, Indonesia - October 2009

Our sail from Bali was a mixed bag. We were expecting a slow motor sail. Day One was true to form. On Day Two the wind picked up and so did our average speed, with talk of an early arrival. But in the distance was the low rumble of a squall that gradually surrounded us. In the following five hours we progressed very little but steered the yacht to keep ourselves as comfortable as possible. Once out the other side we were windless again. Kumai river entrance was finally in our sights and luck was with us that the tides were in our favour to sail the 16 kms straight up to the town.

Shopping..................................................................Traditional boat

Kumai was a quaint little port with a friendly feel. Before long we had booked a river boat for three days to take us,, along withToshio and Syuri from ‘Wanderlust’,into the rainforest. The little klotok had three crew – a captain, a cook and a guide. I don’t think I’ve ever been so pampered in all my life. And the food they produced from their tiny kitchen was out of this world. With all our basic needs taken care of we were free to make the most of the time in the Tanjung Puting National Park. The river was lined with pandanus palms beyond which proboscis and macaques monkeys were regularly seen.

Our klotok river boat ..............................................Heading up river

Heading towards Camp Leakey-lunch time..............Local boat

With our guides at Camp Leakey..................................Princess and baby chatting with Daryl

When an abandoned nest of an orangutan was spotted, anticipation grew. By lunch time we arrived at Camp Leakey, the main orangutan feeding station and research centre. At 2pm each day camp rangers feed any orangutans that come. When no orangutans come to the feeding the staff is pleased as this means the orangutans are getting enough to eat by themselves. Although we too should be pleased, the truth is we would have been disappointed. Luckily for us October is not a plentiful time for fruit so there were orangutans to be seen. We spent time at the information centre learning about the devastating impact of mining, palm oil plantations, fires and forestry are having on the orangutans’ habitat. The commitment of rangers and volunteers is impressive but change is frustratingly slow. Walks in the rainforest revealed wild orangutans, hornbill birds, gibbon monkeys, wild boars, the giant Bornean butterfly, storkbilled kingfisher, tarantula nests (luckily they only come out at night) porcupine nests, a beehive destroyed by sun bears and clouded leopard footprints.

Gibbon monkey........................................................................Macaque monkey

The first night we shared a drinks and a meal on our friends’ (Threeships) klotok, while our living area on the upper deck was transformed into our sleeping area. We slept on mattresses, shrouded in mosquito nets, nodding off to the many sounds of the rainforest. We were pleased we had opted to have our second night in an ecolodge. A private shower, flushing toilet, an air conditioned room and a comfortable bed saw us bright eyed and bushy tailed for the third day.

Laurel at the Ecolodge..............................................Tom the king orangutan


Play time....................................................Nurturing

We visited three different feeding station sites in total and were luck enough to have time with the current king male, Tom, at one of the Camp Leakey feedings. His dominance wasn’t hard to observe. We saw the nurturing mothers, the playful young, the rough and tumble teens. We observed their curiosity, problem solving, eating habits and mischief making.

Tom the boss

Daryl did get an intimate encounter with a leech. It must have attached itself when it was so small it could get through sock fabric and came out the size of his little finger!!! Then he bled and bled -a minor distraction!!

I think the trip is nicely summed up with the old cliché ‘it was a once in a lifetime experience’.

We have been running a bit behind schedule for the organized rally events but did manage to catch a bus tour to Pangkalan Bun to see the Traditional Palace, some traditional cooking demonstrations and traditional games which were interactive. One activity, traditionally organized for after funerals, is putting two teams of two at either end of a long canoe and had them paddle against each other. They paired Daryl and another cruiser up against two young locals and ……go…… I thought Daryl might have a heart attack if he had to paddle any longer!!! Crowds of locals cheered them on and it was a lot of fun.

Daryl doing the canoe boat race................................. Laurel trying to spin the top

Then after the usual haggle at the local markets for our fruit and veg we are heading down the river and across the waters to our next destination……. Nangka Island, 200 miles away. Oh, to have clear water and it didn’t take long for the snorkelling gear to hit the dinghy. There was even a deserted island with the possibility of unfound shells to be explored. Idyllic.

Morning views at Nangka Island

Heat and humidity have increased since Bali and I hope this is not a pattern of things to come. I am pleased with the way I’ve coped with the weather so far but sweat dripping into my eyes is not my idea of a good look. Just yesterday I was looking at some photos and observed a great sweaty patch on the front of my cotton shirt…. Lovely!

It’s a day sail and we are in Belitung, the final stop in the Sail Indonesia Rally.

If you want to see our current position on Google Earth go to http://waterrat43.wordpress.com and then click on ‘links’. David who is aboard at the moment has a spot locator and pings it each day.

Bali, Indonesia -October 2009

The sail from Lombok to Bali was typical of the last few passages we have made in the South of Indonesia – the weather we encounter doesn’t resemble at all what the forecast predicted. We set off early morning to a brisk wind from the aft quarter so we were optimistic for a great sail making good time. About half way the wind suddenly drops and we find ourselves with the current against us and then a head wind. At times we were only making 3 knots of headway. But we finally arrived at the anchorage at Lovina Beach in North Bali, just on dusk. We were on shore in time for the welcome dinner but had missed the speeches (‘good timing’ we tired sailors thought).

Lovina Beach is a tourist town but without the bustle of the south. Always a plus for us is having an anchorage where we can swim off the back of the boat and have easy beach access. Daryl has had a few quiet days after managing to get a cold and ‘Bali belly’ all in one go. Also the boat is showing her age by seemingly having one thing after another go wrong. The cruising community is great support with much sharing of knowledge and parts.

Young David has departed from Cool Bananas and is crewing for Bill on ‘Liaison’. Also Anne has needed to return to work in Australia so we are down to only three aboard ‘Cool Bananas’. Aussie Dave will come through to Malaysia with us.

So apart from maintenance jobs we have been very much ‘the tourist’ while in Bali. To hire a car and driver is inexpensive and we can easily fill a car so we have done some day trips visiting the inevitable temples but also going up into the hills seeing volcanoes and lakes, villages and farms. We thought the temple on the lake that is featured on the 50,000 rupiah note was beautiful. You can see that it must be a peaceful place for meditation and prayer.

Fiona at Gitgit Falls......................Cloves out drying on the side of the road

The temple at the lake...........................................Buddist Temple

Buddist Temple...........................................................Chris and Fi contemplating

We did a two day tour with a night stop in Kuta. Boy, has that ever changed since we last saw it ten years (or so) ago. It is like a modern city. Ubud also was full of designer shops that I thought could be found anywhere in the world.

One highlight was visiting an 11^th century temple carved into the rock. Still in tact were the rooms that the king and his mistresses lived in. It was in the most gorgeous setting down in a valley with a stream running through it and surrounded in paddy fields. A lovely walk, despite the hundreds of steps.

Daryl and I at 11th century Temple............................Daryl in the paddy fields practising being a buddist monk

Ploughing up the paddy fields....................................Dragonfly

We visited old cruising friends of Chris and Fiona’s (SV Three Ships)who have a 2 year contract to oversea the building of a new 150ft traditional Bugis trading ship. It has an American owner and will be fitted out as a luxury commercial diving boat. It is made from solid timber and will weigh more than 140 tons and will hold 60,000 litres of fuel. The Bugis people are the pirates of Indonesia but in fact they were only trying to get back some of what the spice traders and the like were taking from Indonesia. Apparently it is where the expression 'the boogie man' comes from.

Traditional Bugis boat........................View from the helm -to be.

We also went to see the traditional Barong dancing in Sanur which we thought was well worthwhile. The written explanation in English that we were given on arrival was a great help in understanding the story line.

I went into town this morning and look at some wrap around shorts. By three in the afternoon the lady had made me two pairs in the fabric of my choice, plus a dress. The shorts are great but the dress was a mistake. She did exactly to my instruction but the end result is far from flattering!!! making me look as wide as I am tall.

We are heading off into town for one last dinner at Lovina Beach before our 5 am departure tomorrow. We have a 400 mile motorsail north to Kalimantan, more specifically the Kumai River, where we are doing a river trip to see the orangutans.

Barong character...............................Barong dancer

Lombok

Traditional Indonesian sailing boat....................Relaxing before dinner at

As far as ease for cruising yachts we think that Medana Bay should get the prize. We had a great little booklet given to us prior to arriving that gave us all the info we needed to know about – fuel, water, groceries, tours, bike hire, rubbish disposal and somewhere to gather a drink a cold beer. Medana Bay had it all. We felt Lombok is probably like Bali was 20 years ago and felt we were going to enjoy it.

I went out of my comfort zone and agreed to hire a bike for the day and see the country from the pillion of a motorbike. The coast road is hilly and I wondered whether we would make it up –but make it we did and I have to admit I enjoyed it.

Another day we hired a car and driver for the day (a 12 hr day at that) and did the tourist thing, visited a weaving village, pottery village and one of the many temples. We stopped to watch the workers in the paddy fields and learnt all about the growing and harvesting process. Our observation while we have been here in Indonesia is that the women seem to be the ones who do most of the manual work, carrying up to 50kg supported on their heads.

The same car a different day we visited a different temple, cane furniture making, the making of palm sugar, a local honey shop and this time Daryl and Dave helped with the rice planting, much to the amusement of the locals. We love to be out and about merely watching the everyday living.

The motorbike is by far the most typical mode of transport and recently we saw one adult and four small children on one bike. The horse and buggy is still often used around the towns, especially to and from the local markets. They travel within a 3 km radius for less than a dollar per person. Many a time we have felt sorry for the pony as he hauls the bulging buggy load.

So I am now having palm sugar in my porridge and we still laugh over the guide trying to explain that the honey is used as an aphrodisiac.

Eating out isn’t expensive with local dishes being only a few dollars each and most western meals costing less than $10 each. So you can imagine what happy hour costs!! Daryl ordered local chicken the other day and got a whole chicken but he reckoned it had less meat on the whole thing than a NZ chicken drumstick. I don’t think he’s getting used to the spicy food but he’s managing.

The bargaining and bartering I am still finding somewhat tiresome. We are trying to relax and not react to their initial high price but just come in real low and the barter to something reasonable in the middle. But all that for a few tomatoes when you’re standing in 35 degrees is a test on the patience!! The hawkers can be persistent and most of the time we both loose out because I won’t even start the process. By the way, is anyone needing a Rolex watch for a mere $5?? or a hand woven wall hanging for not much more??