Stories to tell . . .: Indonesia

October 2011

Central Kalimantan

We flew from Denpasar, Bali to Jakarta to pick up our flight into Pankalan Bun, Central Kalimantan-Borneo. We were soon on our way to our own klotok for 5 amazing days cruising up & back on the Sekonyar River to Camp Leakey in the Tanjung Puting National Park. We were about to find the Orangutans of Borneo!

Typical klotoks ready for passengers

Raman the owner & captain of our klotok was a pleasant, cheerful man who managed his crew to provide top notch quality service. The crew kept the klotok in immaculate condition, the meals were outstanding, & we cruised at a leisurely pace to take in all the incredible wildlife of the river.

First day, settling in. We lived on the top deck day & night - eating, sleeping, viewing wildlife. The crew lived below but were so attentive to us.

We travelled down a branch of the Sekonyar River to reach the narrow branch leading to Camp Leakey.

Sekonyar River

Within 30 minutes of traveling down a narrow branch of the river we spotted our first orangutan. One this far from Camp Leakey had not been habituated to people. He/she kept pretty hidden but stealthily gathered a palm root to eat. You can spot just a portion of his head just below the upended palm root below.

All along the river our guide, Isy, showed us proboscis monkeys, crocodiles and a variety of tropical birds. Isy spotted all sorts of creatures we never would have seen.

Several times a day we stopped to hike jungle trails to viewing stations. The least habituated orangutans would only reach for bananas on the feeding platforms.

Orangutans in the park

Percy - our favorite

Tom - the largest male at Leakey Camp

Itué, our boat chef treated us royally with amazing dishes - even mid-day coffee & treats. Meals often included fresh fish caught by Madé in the evenings. One evening Itué served up the most amazing banana soup - incredible!

Itué actually cooked 6 meals a day - for each meal she cooked for us, she prepared a separate meal for the crew.