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Published: June 13th 2008
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So after a good (ish) night's sleep we piled into the back of a pick up truck with our other intrepid explorers and headed off on the 2 hour journey to Boeko nature reserve. We'd heard so much about the Gibbon Experience (living in the trees, lots of trekking, zip-wiring from tree to tree and the very slim possibility of seeing real, live black gibbons) that we we couldn't wait to get stuck in.
Arriving at the village where we were to begin our journey, we wasted no time in starting our trek into the unknown. About 40 mins in and we ran into the group returning from thier 3 days in the jungle and boy did they looked terrible. Slightly unnerved about hearing thier stories of rats in the treehouses and leeches along the trail, and at thier general dishevelled appearance (quite frankly they looked a little like death), we nevertheless soldiered on unperterbed in our quest for adventure. We soon realised that our guides (worringly) spoke very little English and insisted on marching on at thier own pace, but we all learned to compromise and soon found that although heavy going (a lot of the 4 hour trek
Treehouse no.1
Our gaff for the first night was up hill and in sweltering heat) we kept reminding ourselves that our group were getting the hardest trek out of the way on this first day. Eventually we reached our first zip-wire and witnessed our guides' vague demonstrations of how to attach and use the wires safely. Glad that we didn't have to go first, Kelly and I stood back and watched a couple of our group take the plunge before us. And when we ourselves stepped up to give it a go, it was actually really exhilarating and not at all scary (well not after the first time anyway). We were soon in our element, ziping here and there from one side of the jungle trail to the other- in true Tarzan style. It was so cool- and the views from the wires were absolutely amazing- you could see the whole of the jungle canopy as well as the river and waterfall a few hundred feet below. It's the only way to see the jungle!
4 zip wires later and we'd reached our accomodation for the next 2 nights- a treehouse, suspended 50-60 metres up in the jungle canopy. And very nice it was too- we had
Home for the night
View from our first treehouse clean, running water, a kitchen area, matresses and sheets to sleep on and a batroom that opened out into the treetops and mountains around us- there's nothing quite like standing starkers while showering against the breathtaking backdrop of the jungle environment. It was quite something! Exhausted from our hike, we took some rest before visiting the nearby waterfall (more of a trickle down some big rocks if I'm honest) for a dip in the freshwater and some more zip wiring. Our meals were brought to us by our guides via zip wire (by day 3 the insipid greenstuff and sticky rice that greeted us every single time we lifted the lids on our meal dishes was somewhat soul destroying). On the first night, we even managed to stay up until a respectable 8.30pm (as there's not that much to do in the jungle once the sun goes down other than dodge the giant bugs that seem to appear from nowhere). Not before of course, heaving all our matresses around to construct a sleeping area and taking care to create an inpenetrable barrier with the outside world by way of the thick, cotton mosquito sheeting that was provided ('I'm a celebrity'
After the trek - day 2
No, someone hasn't just poured water over us both- that my friends, is sweat eat your heart out). Feeling safe and snug we drifted off. However, a word of advice- if you're ever in the same situation (well, never say never), just be sure to pee before you go to bed- the 'golden' rule of the nocturnal jungle which I had to learn the hard way. It's no fun leaving the safety of your bed and bug sheeting to go and attend to your business in the pitch black (and i do mean pitch), in the middle of the jungle while being set upon by many a nocturnal insect/creature.
As promised, the next day was a slightly shorter trek (not that we sweated any less) to treehouse number 2- our home for the second night (swapping with the other group of 8 people). Again, we took full advantage of the zip wires- most of us going around a couple on them in circuits like we were on some kind of extreme sports funfair ride. Our guides managed (just about) to explain to us that if it was dry tomorrow morning we'd get up at 4am and trek back to the village- when it was cooler and when we'd have more chance to see
Float like a butterfly...
Amers prepares for a smooth landing some wildlife (we were beginning to think that these gibbons like most of the other wildlife was imaginary out here in the sticks- although we did manage to see some kind of gliding rodent which we nicknamed the 'fat flying racoon'- the only bit of notable wildlife on our 2 and a half days out on the jungle). However, if it rained, we'd stay in bed and trek back later. Happy with either scenario we only manged to stay awake until 8pm this time, before we skulked off to bed- too knackered to do anything else. And as if on cue- at 3.30 am, the mother of all storms broke out. Lightning, thunder and rain, rain, rain! A little bit disconcerting when you're suspended in a wooden structure, high up in the trees and surrounded by metal wires- however there was something pretty spectacular about it as well (though try telling that to Kelly who turned into a gibbering wreck beside me!) The storm subsided some hour and a half later, and we all gently drifted back off to sleep.
The trek back to the village the next morning was sludgier and messier than we'd experienced so far. And
Treehouse no.2
Our gaff for the second night it bought out the little bloodsuckers in force- leeches! In fact so many were out to get us that we'd renamed this whole gibbon expedition 'The leech Experience' by the end of it. They were persistent little blighters- on the trail, in the leaves beneath our feet and burrowing through anything they could attach themselves to- including walking boots and thick socks! 2-3 hours later we arrived back at the village where we'd started off our adventure. We did the obligatory leech check in our boots and now truly appreciated how the group we crossed paths with a couple of days earlier could look so much like a pile of crap. Because that's exactly what we looked like.
All in all, it was a great experience and we're so glad we did it, however I think we felt we got the short straw when it came to our guides who weren't able to communicate to us anything about our environment, the history of the Gibbon Experience or the wildlife that we were so unlucky not to see (apart from the fat flying racoon). We were just looking forward to getting back to (some kind of) civilization, getting showered and
Incoming!
An action shot of our second treehouse- mid flight getting our heads down without being bitten by scores of insects.
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