A TRIP OF A LIFETIME: PART 3 (TRAVEL DIARY IN BORNEO)
Last year we hosted a major competition for “A Trip of a Lifetime” with our friends at The Orangutan Project. In October 2018, our lucky winner, Cathy Parker, went on an 8 day Orangutan Odyssey Riverboat Adventure in Borneo hosted with Sumatra Orangutan Odyssey Tour!
In our Part 2, the Parker Family documented their epic day of river boating, rainforest walking and orangutan sightings! Follow along for Part 3 of their amazing travel experience…
Day 4
Day 4 saw us cruising down the river once more looking for animal life. We come across many proboscis monkeys.
We saw lots of water snakes cross the river in front of the klotok, and lots of colourful birdlife like this kingfisher..
This afternoon we got to give a little back to the rainforest. We visit Pesalat Plantation, an area that was devastated by fire 20 years ago. Ever since then locals have dedicated their time to regenerating this piece of forest in an effort to bring it back to its former state.
After a discussion on the plantation and some of the trees that were being planted, it was our turn to plant some trees…
As we travel down the river, each day Leif gives us talks about orangutans, their physical attributes, their culture and their plight in Borneo.
This was an invaluable part of the adventure as we were learning not only about the animals and their habits, but more importantly we learned about what can be done to help save this region – and it is not as straight forward as you would think.
For example, eliminating palm oil is not necessarily the answer, the local farmers will simply move on to a different crop that becomes more profitable as the demand for palm oil reduces.
Leif could often be found deep in his own thoughts…
We also had the opportunity to visit a village on our journey.
Our time on the klotok was coming to an end…
We say goodbye to the klotok just on dark, but there was still enough light for a group shot back at the port of Kumai. We also say goodbye to the klotok crew for looking after us so well.
Day 5
We get the chance to visit a local beach near Pangkalan Bun. Here we get the chance to release some baby turtles back to the ocean. These turtles were collected as eggs to ensure their survival. This was a real highlight for Tate and Bronte.
To be continued…
We love a good monkey sighting! Day 4 and 5 was highlighted with more monkey spotting, participating in regenerating the forest, more klotok-riding and an adorable release of baby turtles! Did you enjoy following along?
Continue reading about the Parker Family’s Orangutan Adventures here – Part 4.