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Published: August 27th 2007
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Death Mobile
Flat tire? But of course...this IS indonesia...and the driver DOES seem to be a mental hospital escapee. So, Guillaume and I vowed that since we totally cheaped out and didn't go to Komodo Island it would be OUR duty, as professional travellers, to go on a jungle adventure and see wild orangutans.
I have to say that the adventure started long before we even set foot in the wild Sumatran jungle.
First we had to endure the terrifying, uncomfortable (yet somehow hilarious) 6 hour minibus ride from Berastagi to Gurah (where we would begin the trek).
With two new friends in tow, Eyal and Mirit, and an expression of sheer terror plastered on each of our faces, we made it to our destination and surprisingly without colliding head-on with any gasoline truck, motorbike, rooster, dog, child or other bus.
But when we got out of the minibus we weren't quite there yet, just at Kotacane, a mere few kilometers from Gurah.
From that point we had to switch our mode of transport to something a little bit smaller, a little bit more dangerous and alot more Indonesian; the motorized BECAK.
Essentially a motorbike with a sidecar attached, large enough for 2 passengers. We barely made it up the hills and had to get out and help the driver
Becak
Our preferred method of transportation. push a couple of times.
But we finally made it to Gurah Bungalows, in the dark, in the rain, like we ALWAYS seem to arrive at our destination in Sumatra.
We were quickly introduced to Samsul, the local trekking guide. He fed us dinner and then we struck a sweet little deal with him to start a four day trek the following morning.
This was also the time when the four of us decided it could be great fun to have a little contest going between us during the trek, and WHAT better contest to have in the jungle than
"Who will have the most bugs in their eyes, ears, nose and mouth INVOLUNTARILY during the trek"
Let the games begin.
That night we barely slept, we were way too excited for the trek, that and excited for the contest to begin...heh heh heh.
We had a very relaxed start, not leaving until 9:30am. The going was very easy which was good because we had to cope with the heat and humidity.
After precisely one hour Samsul told us to stop talking so that the animals wouldn't hear us.
Low and behold, just moments later, Samsul turned around again and
Get ready
for the most fun ride EVER!! WE LOVE BECAKS!! especially on the highway! at night! in the rain!! silently mouthed to us
"ORANGUTAN"
The next moment we were all staring straight up into the jungle canopy at 2 massive, beautiful, rust-red orangutans with...a BABY!
They were just slowly swinging above our heads, it was so incredible to see. They weren't very afraid of us, they only tried to plop on our heads and throw branches at us, in an extremely relaxed manner, I might add. They are amazing animals and seeing them in the wild made it that much more magical.
After sometime they travelled away from us, searching for fruits in the trees, and we continued on as well.
That morning we saw some other species of monkies and also hornbill birds (like the one that was on my arm in the Kuala Lumpur Bird Park).
We stopped for lunch, and also our campsite for the evening, and had alot of fun discovering all of the leeches who had miraculously made their way through our clothing and attach themselves to us during the morning.
Lucky for us, Eyal has a secret passion for burning leeches off of peoples skin so we made that his official job for the rest of the trek.
After lunch we went trekking
We Begin
Day one..smelling so fresh...not for long. again, but this time it was SERIOUS...no path, just Samsul leading the way with his BIG knife, chopping through the vines and keeping his senses tuned to any sound, smell or movement that would give us a hint to where the animals were hiding themselves. After an hour of trail blazing Samsul decided that we should go back to camp, have a swim in the river and watch for monkies who would pass through the area.
So we did just that, and also played some cards, ate some stinky stinky durian and Eyal discovered a snail in his nose....one BIG point for him.
Day 2 started just as relaxed as the first. We slept in, lounged about and ate some banana pancakes for breakfast.
The trekking started with a river crossing, a PERFECT way to truly wake up.
We only trekked for a little while and then we arrived at our next campsite.
Situated on the river, again, but at a point with some geothermal activity going on underground, which meant..
hot springs for us to bathe in, scolding hot water to boil eggs and potatoes in for lunch, and a warm ground to nap on.
Lovely.
After lunch we
SO BRAVE!
Is that the Guillaume YOU know? willing to pick up gigantor bugs?!?!?! went for a soak in the hot springs and then another afternoon adventure looking for wildlife.
Samsul had us sit up, silently, in the thick of the jungle for about an hour, while being eaten alive by black flies.
Eventually we DID see some hornbills and something VERY exciting indeed....
a JUNGLE SQUIRREL!!
It was huge and fiesty.
That night we soaked some more in the hot springs and realized that we were on more of a jungle bathing trip than a jungle trekking trip.
No matter...we were having a fabulous time.
Day 3 was our day trek into the "elephant area"....where Samsul saw elephants sometimes..but we wanted to give it a chance.
We were SO SURE that we would see one. I even brought peanuts to lure them in.
After trekking the most gruelling part of the trip yet, completely straight uphill in the most slippery. Wet, deep, jungle mud, for 3 hours....
Samsul said that we would have to turn and go back to camp or else it would get dark while we were still out.
So...we DIDN'T see any elephants but we DID see plenty of elephant shit and footprints, so we had evidence that they actually
Jungle stuff
Just a random crazy sumatran flower. live there.
You would think it would be EASY to see a massive elephant in the jungle!
Yes, we were disappointed, and the trek back to camp was extremely difficult. We were all slipping and sliding our way down.
But that all seemed to fade away when we got back to camp and back to our good ol' HOT SPRINGS!
And it was the most magical soak yet...with huge colorful butterflies fluttering all around us and gangs of monkies playing in the trees above us.
We had a lovely dinner that night of mung bean porridge...something that I would NEVER eat at home but completely fell in love with here. Thats why we travel, no?
To try things that we wouldn't normally try at home and to be pleasantly surprised.
Day 4 was a quick one. Just 2 hours of trekking, and with another orangutan spotting. We got back to Gurah with enough time to shower (we sure were smelly funky), eat a little something, and then catch the bus to take us to our next destination.
Eyal was declared the winner of the most bugs in his eyes, ears, nose and mouth.
Mirit won the biggest leech contest, and
Orangutan time
Where is he sneaking off to? Guillaume and I tied for the most leeches attached to skin....
So, our trek ended as quickly as it began. With one goal ATTAINED....
having seen orangutans in the wild.
Outstanding.
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Alice Smith
non-member comment
sigh....you guys look like you're having so much fun. Pictures and stories are great. keep them coming.