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.