Ape Attack!

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Bukit Lawang

We caught a short flight from Jakarta to Medan, northern Sumatra, cutting out long overland journey that would be required, but we did as most people do in Medan and passed straight through. We caught a public bus to our next destination, Bukit Lawang and the journey happened exactly as the guide book explained it would, starting with a friendly local asking us about ourselves. From there it turns out he’s going to the same destination and just so happens to be a guide for the trek we plan to do in the national park. Thankfully there was no hard sell, and in the end he introduced us to another guide, Eru who would take us into the forest. Once we were settled into our accommodation in the village we signed up for a two day trek, starting the next day and relaxed, enjoying the sight of the rainforest behind our ‘eco’ lodge.

The main attraction in Bukit Lawang is the Mt. Leuseur National park and its associated rehabilitation program for Orangutans. Similar to the famous Sepilok in Sabah, Borneo, this rehabilitation centre prepares Orangutans that have been unfortunate to be kept as pets/zoo attractions for a life back in the wild, and teaches them independence from humans. It’s been so successful that many of the rehabilitated Orangutans are home in the park and have bred with the wild population; the park is now considered saturated with the animals though, so any newcomers are sent to alternative centres in the area. As Faye and I have been lucky enough to have visited Sepilok, (on our honeymoon) we were interested to see the similarities between the sanctuaries and also see if we could spot the difference between Borneo and Sumatran Orangutans. All this, plus the fact that I love all things monkey means that this has been high on my ‘to-do’ list since starting this trip.

Due to the dwindling tourist numbers in Indonesia as a result of the Bali bombings (amongst other things) it turned out Faye and I would be on our own on the trek, and in the morning Eru introduced us to our assistant guide Indrah, who would accompany us to our campsite, the four of us then set off down the trail at the back of the lodge. On our way to the national park we passed through some latex trees dripping their milky sap into containers, and Eru told us all about ‘condom plantations’ with a smile on his face. You never really think where the material comes from when you’re slipping on your…………. Gloves, ready for a messy job coming up! 😉

It was only a few minutes before we passed the boundary of the park and continued on the trail into the forest and almost immediately came across a group of Thomas Leaf Monkeys. Although they were a little wary, they didn’t seem too interested that we were below them trying to take photos, they’re a really strange looking monkey with crazy punk hair. A short while later, looking out over a valley we could see a large group of brown gibbons swinging around in the trees on the opposite side but they were moving away from us, so sadly we couldn’t get a really good look.

The trail was fairly easy to start with so we moved through the forest quite quickly and soon Eru told Indrah to go round on a different trail to look for Orangutans, the main reason we were in the park. He soon came back and we were told to slowly make our way round as there was one foraging on the floor next to the trail. We crept up the path to be confronted by one crossing the path and then climbing up a small tree. As it was preoccupied with whatever it had found, it stayed still, just slowly scanning around not paying us any attention whatsoever, so we quietly watched it, snapping away with our cameras.

All of a sudden a loud crashing came out of the forest by the side of us, and a huge female Orangutan marched onto the trail about 10m in front. Our assistant guide recognised her immediately, telling us her name was Meena, she’s known to be quite aggressive and we should slowly work our way back down the path away from her. Of course she had other ideas and quickly bounded along the trail and grabbed my backpack. I tried to keep walking hoping she would let go but she just stood still stopping me in my tracks. Faye worked her way round and tried to gently pry her fingers off but then she bared her teeth, so Faye moved further up the trail to safety. Then I felt the full power of these animals as she literally pulled me off my feet and slammed me down on my butt, clambering further onto my back and shoulders. At this point I just thought it was funny, like this was some kind of game they play on tourists, it was only when I felt my arm get pulled behind and felt her jaw clamp around my elbow and teeth press into my skin that I thought “hang on, surely that’s not right”. As soon as our guides saw how bad this could get they gave up trying to coax her away with fruit, Indrah started trying to wrestle her off me, and got swiped across the face with a big fist, grazing his cheek. Eru came up behind her trying to make himself look big (as big as a small Asian guy can make himself look), and screamed at the top of his lungs while throwing bananas at her, this seemed to really surprise her because she let go, allowing me to quickly slip out from under her and dash off down the trail. I didn’t look back and Indrah and I ran a hundred meters or so down the trail, around in a loop so we could meet back up with Faye and Eru, who had bolted in the other direction.

We got together, checked my arm over and I was very lucky indeed as there was no broken skin, Eru then explained that there has been a lot of problems with that particular Orangutan, as it has attacked several villagers, him included. He even showed me the scars from the bite and told me in graphic detail about the rabies injections he had to have in the stomach. Hmmm now I’m thinking I should have run a bit faster. The funny thing is, at the time, I really wasn’t all that bothered, it’s only now when I look back, that I think “jeez, that could have been really bad” especially as I’ve been told before that if it really wanted to, a fully grown Orangutan is strong enough to tear your arm off. Still no harm was actually done and it’s one of those experiences that I’m sure I’ll remember forever and boring the grandkids with many, many years from now.

The rest of the hike was completely uneventful, and we actually didn’t come across any more of the larger wildlife in the forest. While we were eating our lunch at a beautifully clear stream we did see a few turtles swimming around which was cool. The trek also got a lot more difficult as we had to scramble up and down steep muddy valleys, repeatedly slipping in the mud, much to the guide’s amusement. After a few hours we made it to our campsite for the evening, where a guy was cooking up our dinner over an open fire. It was at this point that Indrah said his goodbyes and left to go back to the village. Our home for the night was an open bamboo frame with some polythene tied over it so we dumped our things, and made our way to a small river running past the campsite so we could go for a swim and freshen up. Once back at camp it was time for dinner, and it was amazing what the chef had managed to rustle up with only a pot and a wok, it was a feast of local dishes with some forest food thrown in, like stewed fern, which was actually really tasty.

Just as we finished our meal, a storm blew in, and it started raining heavily so after some quick adjustments to the shelter (it was blowing away), we settled down for the evening, playing cards, and trying to figure out some crazy matchstick logic puzzles that chef set us.

The next morning we woke to breakfast, which consisted of omelette and banana pancakes with chocolate sprinkles on, it’s a really hard life, this rainforest trekking, but you make do. It was amazing being in the forest, especially as we had troops of Thomas leaf monkeys, racing through the forest canopy above our camp, and some Long Tailed Macaques, trying to sneak past chef, to steal his bananas. Sadly all great moments must end and it wasn’t long before we packed up camp, getting ready to head back to the village.

Thankfully getting back wasn’t going to be as strenuous as getting there as after the camp was packed, chef met us down by the river with some inflated inner tubes on his back, and changed hats to become ‘riverboat captain’. He strapped them all together and with Eru at the front, us in the middle and him at the back steering; we made a quick exhilarating journey through the rapids down river all the way to the village, washing most of the mud off our clothes in the process. Once back in the village we bid farewell to Eru and Riverboat captain, thanked them hugely and made our way back to our lodge to wash the remaining filth off us.

The next morning we visited the sanctuary to watch some of the semi-dependant Orangutans being fed at the feeding platform. The sanctuary is on the other side of the river and because they don’t want the Orangutans to cross the river and go into the village there is no bridge spanning it. The only way to cross is by small dugout canoe, which due to the high water level could only take a couple of people at a time. Although there was a wait while people were slowly ferried across it wasn’t all bad as a few young Orangutans were hanging around in the trees opposite, being incredibly cute and keeping everyone amused. Once across the river it was a steep climb up a muddy cliff to the feeding platform, passing a few more Orangutans preparing themselves for a free feed on the way. Once at the platform the feeding began, with milk and bananas, food considered ‘bland’, which encourages the animals to go and forage for tastier food in the forest. After watching for twenty minutes or so, everyone was grudgingly ushered back to the river as feeding time was over, but it wasn’t all bad as the younger ones were still by the entrance playing up for the cameras.

Lake Toba

After leaving the Orangutan sanctuary, Faye and I headed straight to the bus station to catch the bus back to Medan, but once again, we only stayed overnight, ready to catch another public bus south to Lake Toba.

Lake Toba is a huge volcanic lake, the largest in SE Asia, with an island the size of Singapore in the centre. It and the surrounding area is home to the Batak people, who are mostly Christian, and it was strange to see the usual Mosques replaced by churches in the villages we passed on the bus. The Bataks are also famed for their distinctive saddleback roof architecture and hospitality, and our sole reason for visiting the island/lake was for some serious rest and relaxation. Although we had four days to fill, we soon packed them with some serious idleness; reading books, watching movies, eating and just generally lazing about, it was awesome. We did manage to watch some traditional song and dance at our hotel which was fun as it had a bunch of old guys crooning away, and some young girls dancing and getting the audience participating.

After Toba, we headed back to Medan where we were catching a flight to Kuala Lumpur the next day. We were really sad to leave Indonesia as it’s proved to be one of our favourite countries so far, there were some amazing sights, the genuine friendliness of the local people simply blew us away and it was great to feel like we were off the beaten trail, even though a few years ago we would of been right on it. They really need to sort out the visa situation though, 30 days really isn’t enough time, we feel like we’ve seen very little of what this diverse country can offer, but hey there’s always next time, we’re definitely returning.

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Photos

Meena...
Moments before the savage attack! You can almost see the bloodlust in her eyes! :)

Thomas Leaf Monkeys - Bukit Lawang
These were running past our camp!

Long Tailed Macacque - Bukit Lawang
He's eyeing up our bananas!