Overview and highlights orangutan Borneo for Sailing vessel in Kumai
Dear Gilang
Thank you very much for a fantastic trip to visit Orangutan. The 4
of us had a great time. And Yusuf our guide was wonderful. I will
totally recommend him and
your company to our friends and on our blog. He was very
knowledgeable and we were very impressed.
Regards
Vicky S/V Silverlining
from VE0RIK@
sender-time Sent at 9:32 AM (UTC). Current time there: 8:13 AM.
reply-to VE0RIK@winlink.org
to info(at)korindo-network.com
date Wed, Oct 5, 2011 at 9:32 AM
subject Re: Dikenga arrival update
Hi Gilang:
We are back from our river trip and getting ready to depart for
Bali
this morning. We had an excellent time. Desy was an excellent guide.
We all had a really good adventure and will highly recommend you to
everyone we talk to. Well done! We are so happy with the entire crew
of the boat and especially the food! We did not appropriately thank
everyone so please pass on our gratitude.
I will stop in again if I ever sail through here in the future.
Would love to do the trip again with my wife.
Cheers!
Rik Dove + crew
sy Dikenga
Borneo is the world’s third largest island and home to some of
the most unique eco-systems and creatures on this planet.
On our
Orangutan Borneo Expedition we will travel to the
Tanjung
Puting National Park,which is found in central Kalimantan. We travel
from the Kumai rivers of Kumai, to the remote place of Kumai. Here
we will travel up river into the park and into dense jungle, home of
the Orangutan. Tanjung Puting National Park is a unique place in
itself. It is not only home to the Orangutan,
but also the rare Proboscis monkey (which we see plenty of) and the
false gavial crocodile.
The park houses two different organizations that are trying to
protect both the eco-system of the area and the Orangutan
themselves. These groups are the Orangutan Foundation International
(OFI) and Friends of the National Park Foundation (FNPF). We will
visit their camps and take a look at the work they are doing.
Your home for two days will be our river boat or kelotok. It is
equipped with a shower and sit down toilet and at night you will
sleep on deck on comfortable mattresses. Our captain and crew will
cook up delicious meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
While we are not walking through the Kalimantan jungle or visiting
orphanages, we can relax on deck watching the wild life and read a
book. The Save the Orangutan Expedition can be a life altering
experience. The sheer size and gentle nature of the Orangutan will
leave many with not only fond memories but a real desire to help one
of our closest relatives.
The instructions for yachts wanting to sail upriver to Kumai are as
follows:
Using Admiralty chart 1964, proceed to the green buoy at 02 57’ .5
South,
111 41’.0 East. As you approach the buoy, look for the leading marks
(white
Triangle) on the shore, bearing 023 True. Leaving the buoy to
starboard, steer 023 True, parallel to the shore, for about 3 NM to
Tanjung Keluang point, avoiding the shoal that extends from the
shore. At Tanjung Keluang, alter course towards the next leading
marks, which bear 335 True (small white post in front of white
triangle on the far shore). These marks are difficult to see. After
about 1 NM on this heading, you will see leading marks on your port
side (white post and triangle) – when these are in line bearing 023
True, alter course to 030 True.
Ahead you should see the next set of leading marks (two tall white
posts) on this bearing, but they may be difficult to identify.
Continue upstream for about 3.5 NM, towards the leads, then continue
further upstream, staying mid-channel, to Kumai. There are no other
leading marks or buoys. Do not anchor opposite main harbor of Kumai,
just anchor down or up from the harbor. Big ship is coming often
from java. Anchor opposite the town, close to the eastern bank of
the Kumai River. Also just up from main harbor of Kumai, there is a
office of national park and they have a jetty where you can put your
dinghy
We had a wonderful trip thank you
Gilang
- this is what I wrote
03.00.598S 111.39.067E Friday 31st October We woke at 4.30am this
morning and lifted our anchor at 6.00am having successfully filled
up with diesel last evening. We organized for cans to be filled for
us and Glendora and brought to the boat: thankfully it was very
clean and free of water. We ordered 250 liters in total and paid
2.000.000 in local currency which was pretty good as it included the
excellent delivery service.
Our four days in the heart of the Borneo jungle I would describe as
a life enlightening experience and for the first time since
beginning to write this blog I feel a real personal responsibility
to 'get it right' - to 'get it wrong' would somehow be tantamount to
aiding and abetting man's greed and the sure destruction of the wild orang-utan ape (pongo
pygmaeus) on this planet, probably within the next ten years.
Massive tracts of jungle are being destroyed every day - the
ironwood timbre is valuable for boatbuilding and furniture - but
more importantly the trees planted in its stead provide the largest
and most valuable export the country has - palm oil. Know we in the
'Western World' have been bombarded all our lives with pleas for
monitory aid - so much so that animals threatened with extinction,
insects facing crisis, humans enduring starvation and deprivation,
oceans emptied of fish and mammals, even global warming and the
repercussions don't really make the impact on many of us that they
could or should. They are things that most of our generation see on
T.V. - like war and famine or floods and earthquakes. yet when you
get up close and personal you do feel awhile lot different!
Borneo is the world’s third largest island and home to some of the
most unique eco-systems and creatures on this planet. With an array
of cheap
airline tickets available in the market, going to Borneo is now
made cheaper and more affordable. Today, anyone can enjoy the
beautiful scenery this paradise has to offer. There are various tour
packages in this area. There also other means of going to Borneo as
this may be reached by boat. Kalimantan is one of the world's last,
vast wilderness areas offering the very last refuge to wild
orang-utans and home to ancient civilizations including Dayak tribes
that struggle to balance modernity with their traditions.
In 1971 Canadian
Dr. Birute Mary Galdikas (mentored by the legendary
anthropologist Dr. Louis Leakey) began, with her then husband, to
research the only great apes living outside Africa, founding a
research and rehabilitation station named Camp Leakey within the
Tanjung Putting National Park on the banks of the Sei Sekonyar (Sekonyer
River). Her purpose included the study of orphaned
orangutans and
at the same time she oversaw their nurturing and training so they
could be released to re-live in the wild (sometimes known as
referalisation). Her discovery relating to the ape's eight year
birth cycle confirmed the species is highly vulnerable to
extinction. However, orphaned orang-utans, many with a traumatic
past and hideous memory of their parents being murdered, before
being kept in caged captivity themselves for years, - and with a
genetic blueprint 97% equal to man, grew so close to their
rehabilitators they never fully integrated back with their wild
cousins. Flitting between their two lives they spread man's
diseases, to which they are high susceptible, into the wild
populations and the whole project came under closer scrutiny. The
controversial Camp Leakey centre is consequently being phased out
now but the grown up orphans remain, many with babies clinging to
them, and their whole family social structure, including the role of
the dominant male and female, is played out daily to small
fascinated audiences at specified feeding times in the heart of the
jungle. The males build up their testosterone levels at puberty
until their cheek pads become huge - all part of the quest for
dominancy. As few as15,000 orang-utans, mans third closest relative,
survive today, compared to250,000 a century ago. Who knows the
answers? - four days of exposure certainly can't make us experts but
awareness is a heavy weight.
When we arrived at the mouth of the Kumai River on the 26th with
Glendora we both ran aground - our electronic chart plotters were
not reading true and even paper charts can't predict the moving sand
banks and bars in that shallow estuary. No matter, we made breakfast
and readied ourselves for our four day adventure whilst the tide
ebbed and flowed. We finally made it up the river, a two hour
journey, at sunset anchoring just opposite Kumai town- the first of
the Blue Water Rally yachts to arrive. The banks of the river were
alive with boat building, children playing, residential homes and
businesses seemingly sinking into the river. We were puzzled to see
dozens of very large grey buildings with no windows (resembling
prisons); these we found out are 'rumah walet' tall dark buildings
housing thousands of swiftlets whose spit produces the high priced
nests (worth hundreds of US $per kilo) savoured in Hong Kong and
Taipei but fuelling fear and debate locally with regard to the
implications of developing bird 'flu. Despite millions of birds
producing their spittle, not one bowl of birds' nest soupcon be
found in Kalimantan! Apparently the birds are extremely aggressive
and bird nest collectors enter the buildings in full body armour and
helmets which protect the head and eyes.
We all had a good night's sleep before being collected by our two
traditional river boats - Klotoks - powered by diesel engines - at
8.00amthe next morning. With room for four on one boat and three on
the other we teamed up with Glendora and our children followed
separately. Our painted ironwood crafts were around 12 meters long
and 2 meters wide with a roof which formed the upper deck - it was
where we lived and slept for four days and three nights. The crew
lived and worked and slept inside the boats -six on ours (our guide
Kris, the Captain, two cooks plus two assistants) -three on the
other. We all harmonised happily in very close proximity; the
children travelling and eating with us but sleeping and conducting
ablutions on their own boat. The days and nights passed seamlessly
in our new universe which we soon became acclimatized to. The loos
cum showers were challenging- a high sided wooden box on the back of
each boat with no ceiling - which everyone could peer over from the
jetties or the top floor of the boat -but again we all managed, even
enjoying a number of 'river showers'. Mushrooms, fungi, spiders and
crew knickers pegged onto nails jostled for aplaee in the cubical
but surprisingly it all seemed very normal very quickly. Slightly
more challenging at night of course but candle light hida million
truths. The breakfasts, morning snacks, lunches, teas and suppers
included a delicious variety of scrambled eggs, Spanish tortilla,
fish, chicken, shrimp, vegetables, noodles, rice, potatoes, home
made vegetable crisps, pineapples, banana fritters, mangos and
oranges. We brought our own beers, wine and milk plus a few nibbles
- they provided bottled water and soft drinks. At night two single
mattresses were placed for each couple under a large square mosquito
net 'box' - thank goodness I remembered sheets, pillows and towels.
Our mattresses were the only let down - it feltas though we were
sleeping on twenty year old ex army issue bags full of small lumpy
rocks...needless to say the children had brand new plumpy pink ones
six inches deep!
Chugging slowly up the Sekonyer River - a very small narrow
tributary leading into the Kumai river - was incredible - the light
and reflections in the dark water, the dense yucca like vegetation
all around us - the Proboscis monkeys swaying on branches just above
our heads screaming and chattering before throwing themselves into
the river right in front of the boats for a cool swim - babies
attached (they wait anxiously, knowing that the noise of the engines
will scare away the crocodiles partial to their plump flesh): none
of this prepared us for the shock of seeing our first wild
orang-utan..awesomely huge! Dwarfing the tree she was standing up in
-red with the sun behind her burnishing her long hair like a hallo
of glowing fire - she watched us go by - as much fascinated by us as
we of her. These apes build nest platforms to sleep in, high in the
trees - a new one every single day! We thought the river would be
full of tourists but there were surprisingly few - small rowing
canoes with villagers fishing and the occasional local speed boat
were our only human companions. We were told the Kumai River was
full of mercury but it was unclear whether this small tributary was
affected.
There are three camps along the river; we arrived at
Camp Leakey
just after lunch and walked around fifteen minutes down a a very
long ironwood jettyand entering the jungle to find a rough platform
where the orang-utans who have re-entered the wild gather for a
daily hand out of bananas. The Camp favorites - Princess (the
brightest) with baby Percy, Unuk (the naughtiest), Samson (gentlest)
Thomas (the show off) were there to meet the Klotok on the pier -
eyeing up the guide's backpacks for treats...they still stay close
to camp and some have learnt to open doors with keys, row canoes,
bail out when necessary as well as all sorts of other human
behavior. When a orang-utan looks you in the eye there is a high
level intelligence there; they have facial expressions like ours and
they can read your mind as you can theirs. It's a haunting
experience.
Over the four days we visited all three camps with Kris our
wonderful guide, often more than once, and observed the apes for
hours, spending extra time alone with them when other visitors had
departed. They discourage human contact for obvious reasons
including the spread of our diseases but Samson followed us
persistently and eventually with her ranger's consent reached out
voluntarily and held our hands in turn...the hand holding had
meaning -she had a firm and friendly grip and she was reluctant to
let go! It was not done for reward - just companionship.
Our evenings were great - emotional even - sitting there just a few
feet from the monkeys we could see with our infra red telescope.
Candle lit dinners for the seven of us, cross legged around the low
table, discussing and debating until Lee would get out the guitar
and play long into the night. Our cohabiters, namely our crew, loved
this addition as much as we did and we ritualistically lit and
shared our joysticks and beer, drank our wine and marveled at the
sheer wonder of it all: WE HAVE SAILED 18,000MILES IN OUR OWN BOATS
AND WE ARE SITTING IN THE BORNEO JUNGLE whilst the monkeys screeched
and chattered in competition with the deafening bullfrogs.
Bugs?...... We had a few.. too few to mention...no actually there
were a lot of bugs - particularly drawn to the candles at night. Day
two began at5.00am and included quite a long walk (nearly three
hours) through the' woods'. We saw a good dose of fire ants, python
holes, tarantula habitats, wild boar, hornets, ..and one leech...yes
just the one.. which Kris kindly picked up and placed on his arm to
show us how it attached itself to him and drew blood. I had in my
imagination a sort of tick with lots of little legs which would
attach and suck...in fact this leech was (without any blood in him)
like miniature slinky.. once suctioned on his long wiggly tail acted
asan ever moving probe searching for a new blood source.. quite
disgusting! Anyhow, after tramping through the swamp and
experiencing lots of close encounters and getting very hot and
sweaty we unanimously voted not to do the ten hour trek the next day
which would entail waist high swamplands filled with hundreds of
hungry leeches. We already felt like pioneers.. enough is enough.
So! Instead, we lazed our way down the river, visited an extremely
poor but extremely happy village, read our books, listened to the
BBC World News which was pretty incredible in our location, painted
a picture, watched arrow boat being hand made and generally
congratulated ourselves on narrow escape. We moored up beside the
village overnight and buckled down the tarpaulins when the heavens
opened at the start of the monsoon rains.. even all enjoying a shower
in the cubicle with extra water pressure!
The next and final day we were invited to visit the village school
which we were all slightly reluctant to do (voyeurism?) but then
found it an absolute treat when the children found us as interesting
as we did them. Vic gelled his hair into a pointy bit and wore his
cool sunglasses and the children might as well have seen the pied
piper...they followed him and giggled and laughed, running back and
forth to tell their friends about the apparition which had arrived
in their midst - it was all highly entertaining; the kindergarten
children (maybe fifty?) all wore a smart uniform of red shorthand
white shirt with emblem emblazoned on their top left pocket; they
looked clean, intelligent, happy and very healthy.. And why not? The
little village had water, simple electricity, satellite dishes in
most of the pretty flower and herb filled gardens, cows, chickens,
dogs and cats in the yards and many wooden boats mainly used for
fishing in the little estuary. There were two schools, junior and
senior with an attractive play area in front of each.
Worryingly the forest behind the village was gone - the illegal
loggers had already moved in and in a film shown to us at the
information centre we saw' secret' film clips of the Head of the
Tanjung Putting National Park standing astride a massive illegal
logging operation directing operations...what hope can their be for
Borneo's future wildlife?
Anyhow, we eventually returned to our Klotoks and made our way back
to Kumai- where the captain of our boat squished us all into his
people carrier and took us to the nearest supermarket to replenish
stocks. What a place! What an adventure! We said a sad goodbye to
Kris - he is a very special man -who quietly looked after us and
tended our every need, giving Lee and Paul a Dyak woven ring as a
memento - and a temporary 'goodbye' to the Glendora sour jungle
poddies.. before being taken back to our yachts in time for the
diesel delivery. and normality (?) Written by Hurriet S/V Anahi -
31st of Oct 2008.
2 Days / 1 Nights
Orangutan Sailing Vessel Program
Start / Finish: Kumai River Borneo
Tour Code: KNLR-SYT-2D
Departure: You may arrange your own date
Itinerary
Day 1: Kumai - Camp Leakey - Pondok Tanggui/Croc lake
by 9am we will pick you up on your yacht by our wooden boat 12m
length and 2,5 width called Kelotok. Here are get ready for the most
beautiful experience of your life. It will takes 4,5 hours to arrive
at Camp Leakey, on the way to Camp Leakey. There are many nice
things to see such as the plantations, birds and proboscis monkey.
Sometimes we may see wild orangutan in the river bank. On arrival,
while our own cook preparing lunch, we go sightseeing surrounding
camp, hoping to see the king of Orangutan. after lunch, relax and do
soft trekking. Afternoon we will see the rangers feed the Orangutan
we are not allowed to feed them and follow the regulations for your
safety. late afternoon back to boat and boating slowly down the camp
Leakey river to Pondok Tanggui or croc lake. overnight on boat. L D
Day 2: Pondok Tanggui/Croc lake - Tanjung Harapan Village - Tanjung
Harapan Camp - kumai.
After 7am breakfast, we would do for trekking and sightseeing the
wilderness of Tanjung Puting National Park. and also we will see the
morning feeding for juveniles and orphaned baby Orangutan. After
enjoying and take photograph, we go back to the boat and floating
down to First camp, Tanjung Harapan. on the way down, we stop to the
village. Lunch will be served by our own cook. at camp one, we will
see the clinic of Orangutan, seeing the rangers re-introducing
Orangutan to their natural habitats, information's centre and some
of Orangutan are in quarantine for recovery after being in captivity
or being ill. By 2pm we will leave camp one to Kumai and arrived in
Kumai before the sun goes down to the west. B L
Please email us to receive Orangutan Sailing Vessel Tour Dossier
Included:
Tour Guide, S/V Guard, Accommodation on wooden boat based on sharing, Park
permit, Entrance Fee, Camera & family video fee, Police Permit,
Meals (Bx1 , Lx2, Dx1), Mineral Water, Cook, Soft Drink (1 soft
drink/can each per meals - Lunch & Dinner only), Fresh Fruits,
Snacks, Tea/Coffee.
Excluded:
Laundry, Alcoholic Beverage, Other personal expenses, SY Guard, not
mentioned in included.
Note: If you need longer trip to visit Orangutan tanjung puting,
please visit our
List of Activity and Adventure Travel
Quick Links:
-
Orangutan Tanjung Puting Tours - 3 Days
- Borneo Orangutan Trip - 4 days
-
Orangutan Borneo Tour - 5 Days
- Borneo Indonesia River Cruise Trip - 5 Days
-
Orangutan Camp Leakey Tours - 6 Days
-
Orangutan Trip and Beyond - 10 Days
-
Adventure Indonesia - 30 Days
- Orangutan Tanjung Puting and Palangka Raya Essential River Cruise - 10 Days
- Kahayan Jungle River Cruise and Dayak Longhouse Tour - 10 Days
- Orangutan Tanjung Puting, Yogyakarta and Bali Trips - 12 Days
-
Orangutan
Tour - 6 Days
