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Published: March 19th 2005
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Our home in Bukit Lawang
Pretty cosy really. There are cockeralls around to wake you up in the morning and goldfish in all the Ponds. Fortunately for Cindy the water was so muddy that you coudn't see the fish Before I go on just a quick note to say Hi to Rob and Jaks and happy Birthday Rob you old git :-) Your present is in the post but you know what the South-east asian postal surface is like. Take care
6/03/04 - Now
DEAR ALL
We spent a night in Medan before meeting our course leader, Anthony, and two other volunteers Saskia and Franz poo poo pants from Holland before heading off to Bukit Lawang. The first 3 days were spent acclimatizing to both the weather, and the toiletry customs (yes Baby wipes were used!) We also carried out some field assistant tasks, which included filling test tubes with preservative (used to keep Orang poo) and data entry. Cindy and I amused ourselves by talking in silly voices the whole time we were entering data. This also served to keep us sane (boring). We also met up with Hannah, another Field assistant that will be trekking with us. She has taken a year out from Nottingham Uni to do some traveling.
On Friday 11th March, 5 unsuspecting volunteers ventured into the Sumatran Jungle in search of Orang Utans or, at least, some Orang Utan Poo. Sorry I’ll
Hairy moment with an Orang Utan
He came pretty close but he knew I'd have him if he over stepped the mark! get the terminology correct, Faecial samples! Unfortunately 5 days later we returned without finding either. However we did find some new nests so we new they were nearby, probably having a good laugh at us. It is very difficult to look up into the trees when you are concentrating all your energy on staying up right and leach spotting. At one count, Wanda (a local guide) counted twenty leaches on his feet. If you look at the photos carefully you can probably see the blood where he had pulled the bloodsucking critters off with his machete. Us volunteers rubbed tobacco onto our boots and around our socks to deter them. It seemed to do the trick.
The first 2 days work was spent making transects through the jungle. This involved walking in a straight line along a known compass bearing distances of up to 720m. Sounds easy but over the harsh terrain it is quite difficult and you find yourself grabbing at anything possible to keep your balance and stop from tumbling down. All the while you are looking upwards for new Orang Utan nests and those that have been noted before on these transects. Our two guides Wanda
and Bra (Wanda-Bra!) cut the way forward using machetes. These guys actually managed to do the trekking in flip-flops, can you believe! Between us we managed to find 2 new nests on the first day and one new nest on the 2nd day. We also took some bark samples of a tree that our guide was unable to identify for us. On one occasion a Thomas leaf monkey charged us. We heard lots of commotion up ahead and then from out of nowhere the monkey was running along the ground towards us at lighting speed. Cindy and I froze on the spot but Bra spread his arms and screamed! The poor monkey did a U-turn and scampered off.
The next 2 days were spent trekking the jungle looking for Orang Utans. In the evenings we swam in a lake next to our camp and played cards. Usually turning in at about 8pm because of the poor light and the bad weather. One night it rained so bad that the River rose by a meter and nearly washed us all away. Kenda was our local cook and was an absolute star, considering what little he had to cook with, he
The volounteers
Volounteers From left to right, Eric (trek leader), Cindy, Saskia, Frans poo poo pants (all 2m of him) and Anthony (Project leader). made some delicious pumpkin curries. The guys also made a delicious lemon tea, which I was glad to be supping after a day in the jungle. Passion fruits and pineapples were also consumed with great pleasure during the trek. On the third day we returned to base and ate Pizza and Ice cream washed down with Ice cold Bintang Beer. Beer has never tasted so good!
The rest of the team were all quality people and we got on extremely well. Eric was our leader for the trip. He is Canadian and is hoping to complete his PHD in the Sumatran Jungle studying the movements and dietary habits of a semi-wild orangutan. The semi-wild orangutans congregate down at the feeding platform twice daily and I was lucky enough to have a close encounter with a 15-year-old adult male (don’t worry he was gentle with me!) When we first arrived at Bukit Lawang we visited the River nearby to the feeding platform. We were all merrily splashing about when out of the Jungle came a Mother and Baby orangutan. Franz and I swam over to the riverbank on the other side and were soon greeted by a 15yr old male
and his new girlfriend. As he passed by me I remember feeling very scared but I noticed a very calm look in his eyes and knew that he meant me no harm.
Cindy and I are now in a small village called Tuk Tuk, which is right next to Lake Toba. There is stunning scenery here and it reminds us of being in the Alps. Apparently the lake was caused by a large volcanic eruption 100,000 years ago and has created an island the size of Singapore.
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Savage
Mark Savage
Poo!
Thank you for sharing! Excellent read. Good tip about the Tobacco, I'll keep that in mind if I ever find myself anywhere near leeches.