Tanjung Puting National Park - Kalimantan

The driver organized through Grab arrived 15 minutes early at the hostel, but well, something great awaits me, nothing holds me back so let's go. Within 30 minutes, he took me to Juanda / Surabaya Airport. From here, I took a 1-hour flight to Pangkalan Buun / Kalimantan. There, my guide for the next 4 days welcomed me and we went directly to "Kumai" by taxi and then boarded my Klodok (boat). I was warmly greeted by the crew, I had my first hearty lunch and we set sail.

After a short ride on the "Kumai River," we entered the small "Sekonyer River," and I was now in the "Tanjung Puting National Park." A swampy peninsula which was declared a National Park in 1982 and has an area of 4150 square kilometers.

In the afternoon, I settled in the front of the boat and we leisurely cruised along. Occasionally, we could see the first monkeys in the trees. When it got dark around 6 pm, we docked, had another hearty meal, and with a full stomach, I relaxed and enjoyed the evening sounds of the jungle.

In the morning of the next day, I woke up from a wonderful sleep in my open-air bed under the mosquito net. A perfect breakfast awaited me to start the day. And then we set sail and went further up the river. After about an hour, we interrupted the journey, tied the ropes, and I walked about 1 km into the forest with my guide. We were here at Camp "Pondok Tanggui," where I finally met the first "Orangutans" as it is feeding time at 9 am. You can see them climbing down from the trees one by one, and there are cracking sounds in the forest. It is simply beautiful to observe these peace-loving animals in what seems to be a free nature.

Unfortunately, this was not always the case because the forest was actually completely destroyed here, and the little Orangutans were kidnapped and kept as pets. Until one day, reforestation, rehabilitation, and the release of the animals began. Today, there are about 6000 Orangutans, Proboscis Monkeys (endangered species), Malayan Bears, and Clouded Leopards living here. But also deer, wild boars, and many species of birds. It is also always warned not to swim here because there are crocodiles.

We continued our journey, and after 2 hours, and as a rain shower approached, we reached Camp "Leakey" (a rehabilitation center), where we walked again for 30 minutes and reached the next feeding site. We were there on time, but the Orangutans weren't there yet. But then you could already hear the ranchers coming from afar, calling them, and as soon as the ranchers arrived with their baskets full of bananas, you could hear crackling sounds in the trees, and the first wonderful animals appeared. A gibbon also sneaked in and took its share of bananas, which the Orangutans were not interested in at all. It is quite interesting to watch the family structures here, first there is one male with females and a young one, until they stuff their mouths and leave the field, and then you already hear it, and the next family enters the feeding platform.

After that, we continued downstream, and at around 4 pm, we docked again and went for a night walk. This was a bit spooky because the forest came to life in the darkness. I encountered spiders, tarantulas, scorpions, beetles, and as a real highlight, I spotted a clouded leopard in the undergrowth. Afterwards, I went back to my sky bed and fell asleep again to the sounds of the jungle.

On the third day, we first stopped at the reforestation area "Pesalat," where I left my footprint and planted a tree. Then we visited Camp "Tanjung Harapan," a release station where I was welcomed by a male on the way to the feeding site.

On the 4th and final day, right after breakfast, I started with a canoe ride and visited the village of "Sekonyer" with 350 inhabitants. Afterwards, we slowly and leisurely headed towards the end of the tour and thus the destination of Kumai.

I would like to thank my guide "Ponco" and my 3-member crew on board, and I would also like to mention "Fardi" who booked the tour for me (www.orangutanhouseboattour.com), as he invited me to spend the next and therefore last night here on Kalimantan / Borneo in his new guest house.