Blogs from Derawan, Kalimantan, Indonesia, Asia

Nunukan was one of the anchors of my trip, because it was essentially a deserted island with a huge house reef and lagoon, located near a top site for manta rays and a jelly fish lake (aka lake full of jellies that have been isolated from predators for so long that they don't sting any more). We arrived on a Saturday afternoon and it was beautiful. Perfect. Tropical paradise. And that afternoon was the last we saw of the paradise weather - thunderstorms, rain, more rain, clouds, wind, etc. set in for the rest of the week. It was still really pretty...but that first afternoon was so amazing! The manta rays were no shows (although I can't complain at all after the bonanza at Komodo). The jellyfish were interesting - there were four different kinds...it was ... read more

from samarinda we flew to berau and then by boat we reached the island of derawan where we stayed a week. we visited the other island of the archipelago - kakaban with its incredible lake and jellyfish, maratua. everyday we went snorkelling on the reef and swam with dozen of green turtles which were grazing a metre from our bungalow on stilt. at night we and the park guard released babies turtles in the ocean... read more

Everything about Pulau Derawan is a dream. The palm fringed island glows with tropical colour. Stilted homes hover over the crystalline waters below that literally teem with marine life. Turtles peruse the islands' seabed whilst sharks and manta rays patrol it's outer reefs. Locals gleam with the luck of their island life and tourists are few and far between. The only nightmare is trying to get there. We had travelled from Malaysian Borneo the day before and it was once again a case of 'what a difference a border makes'. The Indonesian side of Borneo had less infrastructure, the roads were pot holed, it was rougher around the edges and people spoke no English. All this when just a ferry ride away in Malaysia, English is the second language. However it just so happens we liked ... read more

To look into the eyes of ‘Princess’ - a rescued and rehabilitated Orang Utan in her home environment was a spine tingling, magical experience. She is one of over 200 Orang Utans that have been returned to their natural habitat by rangers working at Camp Leakey deep in the rain forest of Borneo. Truth be told ‘Princess’ has not been fully rehabilitated - she had too much contact with humans in her early days of rehabilitation and now tends to hang around the camp. She was once part of an experiment to see how much language Orang Utans can master - she has a vocabulary of over 140 words in signing. She is mother to a baby of 6 months, which still clings to her, and a juvenile of 6 years who still stays with her ... read more