Advertisement
Published: March 24th 2009
18th March 2009
Like the previous day we’re up for 6:00am for a river cruise and the river & jungle is covered in mist giving it an eerie feeling, then we return for breakfast. We see some new species this morning, a Jerdon’s Baza which is basically a crested Hawk and a large Monitor Lizard, also some more iconic Pied Hornbills. Never the less we all have a really pleasant time and are starving and in desperate need of caffeine by the time we return.
After we’ve had our 10:30am breakfast (dodgy pancakes, wiener sausages & toast) our guide returns to inform us that its time for our jungle trek to a large ox-bow lake. This seems a little crazy to me. If we’re going to see animals around the lake or even in the jungle we should have started before day break and not arriving in the midday sun. I tell everyone that this will be a tough 2hr walk and the chances of seeing anything of interest is practically zero.
I hate to be right but it was as I expected, horribly hot and humid, ankle deep in water and mud and all the way and
plagued with leeches and insects. Not a creature was seen apart from a few millipedes & butterflies. We arrived at the lake exhausted. It’s all very beautiful but as I feared the animals have long disappeared back into the forest. We sit in a covered pontoon over the lake, take in liquids and try and cool down. There are a few species of large butterflies around including the massive, black and white Tree Nymph which floats around like tissue paper of the wind.
On the return our guide cuts us a new path with his parang to try and avoid the mud, and he’s mostly successful.
Back at the camp we have lunch and then everybody washes and hit the bunks for a afternoon siesta. Pili and I stay with a Canadian guy called Steven and an English guy called Ryan and we talk all afternoon about the state of the World, Politics, and the current financial crisis. Last but not least we go into the most controversial subject Religion & Faith. Steve is a devout Catholic and we exchange views about Life, Death, God and the Universe, all in the middle of the Borneo Rainforest. It’s an
afternoon and a meeting with two great guys I won’t forget for a long time, I’m sure they feel the same also.
In the evening we have another river cruise and basically see the same animals in their same territories, all is good but I’m a little disappointed with the lack of varied bird life with the exception of a brief fly over by the rare Wrinkled Hornbill and a small colony of Darter’s which are a snake necked bird of the Heron family. My conclusion is that we’re probably too close to the palm oil plantations or the birds have been hunted out.
I then spend the rest of the evening sat on my bunk making a photo DVD for my French friend Harvey as we go our separate ways in the morning. Pili plays poker with Steve and Harvey. Pili does come and fetch me at one point to take some pictures of two massive Butterflies that fly into the eating area. I have no idea what species they are (I will find out though), they land on Harvey & Zbynek and I get some great photos. I finally get to sleep about 1:00am.
I
almost forgot, while talking this afternoon I again get hammered by the bugs, and again just like in India they bite me through my t-shirt, my skin crawls all night!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.057s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 11; qc: 22; dbt: 0.0362s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
ann hodges
non-member comment
brilliant blog
as i read through all these blogs i am so proud that it is my son writing them OK im biased this is one of the best blogs i have read from start in sept 08 keep up the good work i know you are doing this straight from the heart and hopefully the compasion in protecting such amazing wildlife will be picked up by other peoplecant wait for the BOOK!!!