Laszlo
27-Oct-2003 13:29 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
The question of where to see orangutans in South-East Asia has been asked so often on this forum that I have decided to write a standard post about it.
Now I have added some practical information that people often asked me about in PMs (like prices and volunteering possiblities), and repost it expanded with that so at least some of the information here should be new to most readers.

First you should decide whether you want to see wild orangutans or are happy with the more circus-like experience offered by the so-called "rehabilitation centres" (the accessible ones of which in fact exist to serve mass tourism much rather than to rehabilitate apes). As outlined below, I strongly argue in favour of seeing wild ones.

The next decision is whether to visit Malaysia or Indonesia. Orangutans, both wild and "rehabilitant", can easily be seen in both countries. The main difference is that Malaysia is more tourist-oriented and therefore offers better facilities, while Indonesia is much cheaper and offers far greater scope for non-commercial, off the beaten track travel.

PLACES TO SEE WILD ORANGUTANS

It would seem so logical to me that people who come all the way to South-East Asia to see orangutans actually wish to see wild ones in their natural habitats like national parks and other reserves.
Actually there are more of these places than of "rehab centres", but since seeing the apes in the wild often involves more inconvenience like having to reach such reserves away from the cities, then having to walk in humid, muddy rainforest and actually spending time looking for the apes, most tourists seem to think it is too much trouble to bother. However, easy possiblities where you can count on seeing wild orangutans within a day or two without even having to walk also exist.
Some people also argue that wild orangutans should be left alone by tourists, though this is naively overlooking the fact the loggers destroying their habitat pose a far greater danger to wild orangutans than do tourists peeking at them from below. By visiting habitats of wild orangutans you will actually contribute to their continued preservation by demonstrating outside interest in them! This is especially true in Kalimantan, where the lack of attention actually seems to have encouraged illegal logging in many reserves.
Well, your options include the following:

Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary (Sabah, Malaysian Borneo)
Perhaps the most popular (which doesn't necessarily mean the best) option, where wild orangutans are the easiest to see. Sadly the reason for this is that there is only such a narrow strip of forest left sandwiched between the oil-palm plantations along the river that they just can't hide! That said, a range of other wildlife, notably crocodiles, proboscys monkeys and elephants are easy to see here too. And since most wildlife-viewing here is done from boats, this is one place where anyone (children, elderly or simply lazy visitors included) can see wild orangutans without having to walk in the forest and getting their feet muddy. Serious nature lovers however will probably enjoy other, more pristine and extensive reserves more.
The main tourist area is near the village of Sukau, which is where wildlife is easiest to see. While most visitors here go to expensive lodges (like the Sukau Rainforest Lodge) on a tour, Sukau can in fact be reached by public transport (5-10 RM) from a turn-off at the Sandakan - Lahad Datu road, and there are 2 cheap accomodation options in/near the village: a very basic 10 RM Rest House that can be booked via Karim's Coffee Shop, and the scenically located 20 RM Sukau B&B outside the village by the riverside. Travellers have also reported being able to arrange cheap homestays in the village. Boat rental can also be arranged independently in Sukau, from around 60 RM/ride for a whole boat - not per person! This would in fact be the cheapest way to visit Sukau for independent travellers - especially for 2 or more people sharing the coast of boat-rides. Just don't expect to be able to book any of these budget options online! ;-)
Instead, many less wealthy travellers/tourists opt to visit one of the "Jungle Camps" further up the river, booked online or through guest houses near Sepilok. They are very basic but away from the crowds. Uncle Tan's, the oldest one, can still get very busy - check the Nature Lodge Kinabatangan if that bothers you. However, wildlife is somewhat less plentiful than near Sukau, and if you only want to stay a day or two, their ever-more-expensive packages (currently advertised for 320-350 RM for a 2 nights' stay with transport, food, accomodation and boat-rides, additional nights 50-60 RM) also work out more expensive than going to Sukau independently.
The very cheapest way of visiting the Kinabatangan for independent travellers is basing themselves at the Miso Walai Homestay in Batu Putih village, described in reply #17 below.
Either Sukau or Batu Putih is also a good base from which to visit the Gomantong Caves (just off the road to Sukau), that are surrounded by the last patch of primary forest in the area. I saw more orangutans there than along the river itself!

Danum Valley Conservation Area (Sabah, Malaysian Borneo)
Probably the very best place in Malaysia to see wild orangutans in pristine habitat (though the forest outside Danum is logged). Apart from orangutans, it has just about the complete range of Bornean wildlife and great trail-systems.
It is relatively little visited as guidebooks tend to describe only the very expensive option there: Borneo Rainforest Lodge, costing from around 120 USD/day.
Fortunately, in the past years it has also been possible to stay at the nearby Danum Valley Field Centre, where costs are more reasonable (from 30 RM/day for "camping" - no tent needed, and you can cook your own meals to bypass the overpriced restaurant).
Both the Rainforest Lodge and the Field Centre have their offices in the Fajar Centre area in the nearby town of Lahad Datu, where both accomodation and transport to either can be booked.
Don't bother DVFC by insisting to try and book through email or phone - unlike BRFL, they are not a tourist operation, and aren't there to serve you! The best strategy is to show up at their Lahad Datu office in person and ask politely.

Tabin Wildlife Reserve (Sabah, Malaysian Borneo)
This is another important area of lowland rainforest located near Lahad Datu. Like Danum, it is home to the complete range of Bornean wildlife. However, the forests here have been logged in the past and are mostly secondary, which makes Danum a more appealing option. Accomodation is provided by the expensive Tabin Lodge, whose website is very inspiring - see reply #37 below for a personal experience with this place though.
It may or may not be possible to visit Tabin without going through the resort - ask at the Wildlife Department office in Fajar Centre in Lahad Datu, and post here what they say.

Batang Ai National Park (Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo)
The only place to see wild orangutans in Sarawak, it is a very underrated and undervisited park indeed, thanks to the fact the info on it in guidebooks like LP is misleadingly wrong, and the few upmarket tour-operators going there prefer to keep it their own domain, too.
Even Sarawak Tourism Board could tell us no useful information about visiting, so we had to find out the hard way!
You can reach the park by taking a bus from Kuching to Sri Aman or Lubuk Antu, then another one to the Batang Ai Reservoir. From where the bus stops, boats can be hired (ca.200RM) for the very scenic ride across the reservoir (passing several islands, one of which has the expensive Batang Ai Resort, still well outside the park)and upriver to the park entrance at Nanga Lubang Buaya, where there is a ranger post and 2 Iban longhouses. One of the longhouses has a guesthouse for drop-in tourists for just 15 RM, but remember to bring in all your food as there is none available at this very remote place! There are 4 trails in the park, but to attempt the 2 longer ones you would probably need to hire a ranger-guide (officially costing 11 RM/hour). Seeing orangutans here is more difficult - plan on staying several days. However even just the remote, unspoilt atmosphere and the gorgeous scenery alone would make the trip worthwhile!

Kutai National Park (East Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo)
This park could be Indonesia's answer to the Kinabatangan, where wild orangutans (an estimated 700 live here) are very easy to see and access is also very easy - yet visitors are very rare. Proboscys monkeys and gibbons are also easy to see here.
Unfortunately the forest itself, particularly the easily accessible parts, is badly devastated in the park, which is partly the reason why the wildlife is so easy to see here.
The park is just a few hours up the coastal road from the East Kalimantan capital of Samarinda. First visit the park office (Jl. Awang Long) in the town of Bontang to pick up your permit and the latest info on prices.
The road north of Bontang to Sangatta provides access to 3-4 different places you could visit.
Your first stop in the park could be Teluk Kaba on the coast (an hour's walk off the road), which has great board-walks through beautiful mangroves where you might see otters or monitor lizards. There is basic accomodation here, but the forest is devastated.
The next possible stop is the Sangkimah ranger post just off the Bontang-Sangatta road. It is located in some of the least damaged forest in the park, and has short trails to explore.
Then go on to Sangatta, where there are several cheap hotels. Here a boat must be hired to see proboscys monkeys dowstream from town (50.000 Rp), or to go upstream to reach the orangutan research station at Mentoko (150.000 Rp), which has the best trail-system in the park, and offers the best chances to see orangutans, hornbills, pheasants, etc. You may see these from the boat itself! If you want guides (not compulsory here), they cost 50.000/day here, too. Bring your food to any of the above places except Sangatta.
See the park's official homepage for more information, though unfortunately only the Indonesian version of it seems to be working currently.

Gunung Palung National Park (West Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo)
Just across the border from touristy Sarawak this place is as yet very little visited. In fact, apart from Danum it is probably the best park in Borneo! The trail-system and and the density of wildlife seen here is unparalelled. Gunung Palung's profile may rise now that it has been included in Lonely Planet's latest Indonesia guide.
The park is home to an estimated 2000 to 2500 orangutans - perhaps 10% of the world's total!
Several wild orangutans here have been habituated to observers by researchers who follow them daily, so they could usually lead you to one if you didn't find any on your own. Agile gibbons, maroon langurs, hornbills are all over the research area in greater numbers than anywhere else.
The gateway to the park is the coastal town of Ketapang, where permits and guides must be arranged at park office (Jl. Kh. Wahid Hasyim 41/A) for a stay at the research centre at Cabang Panti (hopefully!), which is reached by a short bus-ride from the city, followed by a 20 km hike through partially logged forest. Ketapang can be reached by daily speedboats (6hrs) from the West Kalimantan capital of Pontianak.
Accomodation in the park is very basic. You will also have to take a compulsory guide from the Ketapang office, whom you shouldn't expect to be of any real use - but with trails at Cabang Panti usually marked every 50 metres, you could easily explore the area on your own anyway.
Sadly, this great park has in recent years been heavily encroached upon by illegal logging operations, and visitors have only been able to visit a less developed part of the park at Lubuk Baji instead of Cabang Panti.
See the websites of the park itself (updated info, but in Indonesian only!) and the Gunung Palung Orangutan Project for more information.

Betung Kerihun National Park (West Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo)
A vast and remote reserve along the border with Sarawak, this park has no visitor facilities as yet, but those ready for adventure could visit it by hiring boats and guides in the surrounding Dayak villages. Start by visiting the park office in the town of Putussibau (Jl. Komodor Yos Sudarso 130) where you can get your permit and advice. The parts of the park nearest to Putussibau could be reached along the Sibau and Mendalam rivers, however the area richest in wildlife, and also supporting the highest density of orangutans, is along the upper reaches of the Embaloh river and its tributaries. To get there take a bus from Putussibau towards Badau, but get off at the junction for the Iban longhouse village of Sadap. There you can hire a boat (from 500.000 Rp) and guides to explore upriver. You will also have to take all your own food and camping equipment - though if you are not fussy, basic stuff could be found in Sadap.

Bukit Baka Bukit Raya National Park (West & Central Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo)
Another remote and very scenic reserve, this park straddles the border between two provinces and includes the highest mountain in the southern half of Borneo: Bukit Raya (2278 m). Despite its remoteness, it is easily accessible, and offers excellent (though tough) hiking on hills covered with beautiful primary rainforest. While the orangutans here are elusive (plan on staying several days to have a chance to spot one), there is lots of other wildlife like agile gibbons, maroon langurs and hornbills.
First visit the park office in the West Kalimantan town of Sintang (Jl. Dr. Wahidin S. No.75) for permits and information, then take a bus to Nanga Pinoh, from where public riverboats travel up the Melawi river, providing access to the park. The area with most orangutans is along the Ella river beyond Belaban village, where you can find accomodation and guides among the local Limai Dayaks. Those wishing to climb Bukit Raya should go by boat to Jelundong via Serawai.

Danau Sentarum National Park (West Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo)
This newly declared park protects the largest natural lake system in Borneo. Its swamp forests are also home to orangutans and other wildlife. There are are no visitor facilities as such, but you may still be able to stay at the former research centre at Bukit Tekenang. Access is by boat from the town of Semitau.
Since this park has no office yet, you should call at the office of Bukit Baka Bukit Raya National Park in Sintang for information.

Tanjung Puting National Park (Central Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo)
This most famous (and overrated) of Kalimantan parks covers 4000 sq kms of peat swamp along the coast. While it was established to protect wild orangutans, those are very rarely seen here by visitors who will generally only see "ex-captives" at Camp Leakey. Details are given under "rehabilitation centres" below.
This is also a good park to see proboscys monkeys though.

Gunung Leuser National Park (Sumatra, Indonesia)
The only park with a wild population of Sumatran orangutans.
Most tourists get no further than touristy Bukit Lawang (see under "rehabilitation centres, below) on the park's SE edge, but those who wish to see wild orangutans usually go on to Gurah (also known as "Ketambe", a name that techincally refers to a research area across the river), right in the central part of the park, reachable by bus via Kutacane from Medan. At Gurah there is a good trail-system in hilly rainforest with a range of cheap guest house accomodation, and guides who are far less pushy than those at Bukit Lawang. In fact you can explore most of the trails without guides, or even find just walking along the quiet main road cutting across the park worthwhile. Wild orangutans are quite easy to see around here, though other wildlife, apart from primates and birds, is scarce. You may also see Rafflesia flowers or use Gurah as a starting point for longer, multi-day treks. Several of the parks highest mountains can be reached from here, though for seeing wildlife the area around Gurah itself is best.
If you find Gurah too far out of the way, consider Tangkahan, a more recently developed new ecotourism site 4 hours by bus from Medan (or by hiring an ojek or 4 WD from Bukit Lawang) on the south-eastern edge of the park. Facilities here are still more limited, but this is bound to change if the area gains in popularity.
Other places that were sometimes used as access points to the park by travellers, mostly back in the 90es, are near Blangkejeren north of Gurah, and Tapaktuan on the west coast. Both of these are dull, biggish towns, but there was basic accomodation at the park's edge nearby. They were pretty much forgotten during the troubles in Aceh that ended a few years ago, but may still be worth considering if you've already visited the other spots and still want to see more of Leuser. Should you go, any recent info on these would be welcome!

Other nature reserves in Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo)
There are more protected areas in Kalimantan where wild orangutans are still found - including the Gunung Niyut and Muara Kaman nature reserves.
Some info on these parks can be found at the Indonesian Nature Conservation Information Centre's website - in Indonesian.

"REHABILITATION CENTRES"

These places were originally set up to raise orphaned/captured baby orangutans and teach them live in nature again. A noble idea certainly - but unfortunately a very naive one that doesn't work, it turned out.
Most orangutans raised by humans have never learned to fend for themselves. Fully-grown adult males and mothers with babies still showing up to be fed regularly are the most obvious testimony of this.
And where many such tame orangutans have been relesed into a habitat occupied by wild ones, the latter were effectively eliminated by the newcomers who outcompeted them for food in the area and introduced human diseases.
The fact that these centres have also become major tourist attractions has also contributed to their failure. At some it is even possible for visitors to touch or feed the apes, in complete contradiction to the stated aim of "rehabilitation". The orangutans in these situations are also constantly exposed to human diseases. In fact these centres have attracted so much criticism in the past years that all but one (Sepilok) of those regularly visited by tourists have officially stopped the rehabilitation work altogether and now ONLY exist to serve the lucrative tourism industry that has grown around them - though this is not loudly advertised!
Another thing one should consider is that visiting "rehabilitation centres" rather than natural habitats probably undermines conservationists' arguements that preserving large areas of rainforest is important to attract eco-tourism. Loggers can rightly counter that far more tourists visit rehab sites where tame apes are seen in a tiny patch of forest, than do large conservation areas where wild ones live. The high profile these centres have also tends to divert attention from the far more important issue, which is preserving the wild orangutan populations and their habitats.
Of course I know that no matter what I write, "rehab centres" will always remain popular with the crowds, so here is the list of them, with a few thoughts on each one:

Sepilok (Sabah, Malaysian Borneo)
The only centre open to tourists that still insists it is doing rehabilitation, and the most popular of all. It is very easy to reach from Kota Kinabalu or Sandakan, and there are varied acomodation options nearby. It tends to be very crowded with visitors (100 tourists screeming and flashing cameras at half dozen apes isn't unusual). It has a mere 43 sq km forest around it, where there is little /no(?) evidence of wild orangutans despite claims that the "orphans" are rehabilitated into the "surrounding wild population".

Semenggok (Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo)
Long cited as the worst of the centres where apes were kept in tiny cages and there is only the most minimal of forest patches to release them into, Semenggok finally closed as "rehabilitation centre" a few years ago (that job being handed over to the Matang Wildlife Centre in nearby Kubah NP) but remains open for public viewing. It is an easy day-trip from Kuching and there is no reason to stay longer.

Bukit Lawang (North Sumatra, Indonesia)
The more popular and accessible of the Indonesian centres, it has long been given over to mass-tourism. Unlike the two Malaysian centres, it is situated on the fringes of a huge national park which is home to wild orangutans. However, tourism (especially the feeding of apes on jungle-treks) made rehabilitation work here meaningless long ago, and a few years ago Bukit Lawang was also declared closed as a "rehabilitation centre", with its official staus now as a "viewing centre" existing purely to serve tourism.
Only 3 hours from the North Sumatran capital of Medan by bus, it had until recently about 100 different losmens/hotels and just as many eager guides that pestered every visitor to go on highly overpiced "jungle treks". That changed drastically when a huge flood in late 2003 virtually wiped out the entire village, killing many people and destroying most accomodation. Nevertheless the village was rebuilt quickly, and several new guest-houses have also opened. However with visitor numbers having plumetted, those who have gone to Bukit Lawang recently complained that they had to endure extra agressive sales tactics by would be guides desperate for business.

Camp Leakey (Central Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo)
Originally started as a centre for research on wild orangutans, made famous by Birute Galdikas, it also became another rehabilitation centre. Located in Tanjung Puting National Park near the twin coastal towns of Pangkalanbun/Kumai (easily reached from Java by air or Pelni ships).
Once again, Galdikas' approach to "rehabilitating" orangutans into an area already occupied by a wild population has attracted so much criticizm that even this place no longer takes in new rehabilitants (100 of whom are now kept in Galdikas' backyard in nearby Pasir Panjang village technically illegally). Orangutans already "rehabilitated" still live at the centre and readily show up to be fed and photographed.
Despite what guidebooks or tour-operators claim, don't expect to see any wild ones though - when I was there the Indonesian staff discretely admitted they had not seen a single wild orangutan in the area for a month!
Due to its relative remoteness from main tourist routes this centre at least feels less commercialized and circus-like than the ones mentioned above, though both backpackers and expensive package tours (run in affiliation with Galdikas/OFI, and often euphemistically called "study-tours" or "volunteer-programs") both visit regularly.
Before visiting the place, you are supposed to get a permit from the Tanjung Puting National Park office in Pangkalanbun (Jl. Malijo No.3).
You may want to read Galdikas' beautifully written Reflections of Eden about the early years of Camp Leakey, but also Linda Spalding's disturbing A Dark Place in the Jungle to learn about what has happened here later.

Wanariset (East Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo)
Now, if you found my comments on the above places disheartening, here is something different!
Having learned from previous mistakes, this new centre was set up by The Orangutan Conservancy (known in the rest of the world by its original name, BOS) with a radically different approach. Here the well-being of the hundreds of orangutans cared for has the priority over their lucrative tourism potential.
Please note that to minimize exposure to human contact and possible infections, Wanariset is off-limits to would-be visitors whether they wish to come as volunteers or as tourists! Without a very convincing reason or some personal contacts, you can only see a visitor centre.
Another important difference is that the orangutans raised here are released into areas without existing wild populations, thus preventing any harmful impact.
Of course the exclusion of visitors means that this centre has a much lower profile among the public, but if a rehabilitation centre ever deserved support, this is the one!

VOLUNTEERING

Several people have asked me about possiblities for volunteering in the "rehabilitation centres".
Well, the bottom line is that because in Indonesia or Malaysia hard-working locals can be hired for as little as 1-3 USD/day to do manual work, there is certainly no REAL need for Western workforce.
However, recognizing that many rich Westerners wish such an alternative holiday, a few agencies (including OFI itself) offer "volunteer-programs" at rehabilitation centres. For paying a handsome sum you will get the opportunity to get even closer to cute apes and get those even more impressive photos and tales for your friends at home.
Just don't fool yourself into thinking you were actually doing anything needed/useful there - at best a fraction of the money you paid might trickle down to conservation, though you will never really know.

BUT if you are GENUINELY serious about doing REAL help and don't insist on petting/photo opportunities in "rehab centres", the Sumatran Orangutan Society actually offers volunteering possiblities in the USA.
The Orangutan Conservancy also needs similar help.
Note that these don't involve "hands-on" work with orangutans though!

FURTHER READING

Websites
The National Parks of Malaysia and The National Parks of Indonesia both offer a basic and tourist-oriented overview.
The Orangutan Conservancy is probably the most credible organization working on saving the orangutans of Borneo. Their BOS Indonesia website actually contains more info than the US site, including a link to elusive info on the Wanariset centre and links to their branches worldwide!
The Sumatran Orangutan Society does a similar job in Sumatra.

Books
Our Vanishing Relative: The Status of Wild Orangutans at the Close of the Twentieth Century is the best, most up to date reference on all aspects of orangutan conservation, including a rather critical review of "rehabilitation" efforts.
The National Parks and Other Wild Places of Indonesia is the best overall reference for ecotourists planning to visit Indonesia, though its coverage of Kalimantan's reserves is poor.
The National Parks and Other Wild Places of Malaysia is a similar and more complete coverage of Malaysia's reserves.
Southeast Asia Wildlife covers the major reserves of both countries - and more.
The Ecology of Kalimantan is a great reference on the ecology, flora, fauna, conservation issues and nature reserves of the entire island of Borneo.
The Ecology of Sumatra provides similar data on Sumatra.

ANY FEEDBACK?

Prices in particular may well have changed since my last visits to these places. Let me know if you have more recent info!
I am particularly interested in hearing the experiences of those who get to the rarely visited national parks in Kalimantan!
OTOH, the previous version of this post has also attracted some emotional and naive criticizm by former volunteer-tourists disagreeing with my comments on the rehab centres they "worked" at.
While I don't mind INFORMED criticism, please consider that I based what I say on over a year spent in Borneo (plus many months in Sumatra), having visited all but two of the reserves described (and many others) myself, and speaking to the local staff (usually in Indonesian/Malay) working in them.
RedApe
28-Oct-2003 17:07 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Good that this updated version of your earlier post has been submitted! I'm sure people will find it extremely helpful. The distinction between rehabilitants and wild orangutans is one that needs to be continually made...as does the need to preserve orangutan habitats as a primary measure. Good work for making these points.

One added point about the Sarawak Rehabilitation Centers. Semenggok no longer has an active rehabilitation program, but several of the individuals that were released in the area still roam freely around the grounds and the Forestry Research Center. In Matang the rehabilitants have access to large walled enclosures. To my understanding the rehabilitants are not released locally into the surrounding park...so you are unlikely to see a "feral" ape there. Both centers are convenient to Kuching by bus. Matang and the nearby Kubah NP have inexpensive hostel facilities (RM15/person) though you should bring your own food to cook. Both sites are good for birding...but have little large wildlife (outisde of the enclosures at Matang...which is really Kuching's "Zoo".
etcap
12-Jan-2004 05:56 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
About Matang, I wanted to say that we did meet the reintroduced orangutans while walking in the reserve, more than an hour away from camp. We were without a guide (certainly don't need one) and, as you can imagine, we were very surprised as no one had told us about them. They came up to us, and one of them followed us all the way to camp. Now, I know you can't really call them wild, as they were born (or grew up) in captivity, but they are certainly free, and the experience was mind-blowing for us. I agree with László that the ones in the enclosure are extremely depressing to see.
Laszlo
21-Jan-2004 21:09 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Below is an interesting question by some ambitious Americans, posted on 22/Jan/2004 as a separate thread - it might be of interest to others too, so I copied it here:

Borneo Itinerary- How Long is Needed for This?

I'm trying to figure out how long I should set aside for this itinerary, the main purpose is to see the best wildlife Borneo has to offer, though a cultural stay with one of the tribes would be a welcome addition:

Fly from Jakarta to Pontianack
boat to ketapang
visit Ganung Palung
return to Pontianack
fly to Kuching
Visit Batang Ai
Travel to Miri
Visit Mulu/native tribes
Travel to Brunei
To Kota Kinabulu via Labaun
See Danum Valley
See Kinabatangan River
Possibly go to sepilock and labuk bay but only if we haven't seen Proboscis monkey and orangutans in the wild

Any alternative parks, suggestions? All very welcome.

hunwagner, you seem to know the area well any thoughts? Is this doable in a month long trip, two months?

My Reply:

Great and VERY ambitious itinerary!
When is it supposed to be done?
Please do post updates to my orangutan posts once you've returned. :-)
Updates on rarely visited Gunung Palung & Batang Ai are particularly welcome.

I'd say you need a MINIMUM of 1 week for Pontianak & GPNP, 1 week for Kuching & BANP, 1 week for Miri, Mulu & Brunei, 1 week for KK, Mt. Kinabalu & Kinabatangan and a final week to give Danum justice.
So that is already well over 1 month even if you rush and stay short in each park, making 2 months a more realistic alternative - especially as the above didn't include any time specially devoted for "native tribes". Nor did it include much time to relax anywhere in cities or on beaches along the way or much time for transit.
I have to admit that I have never heard from anyone who has visited all of the above in 1 trip - all the more reason to proudly report back if you do!

You can CERTAINLY skip Sepilok & Labuan Bay as you will SURELY see both Orangutans and Proboscys Monkeys if you visit all the others.

As you see I added Mt. Kinabalu as an absolute MUST for nature/wildlife lovers - even if you are not keen on actually climbing the peek, the Headquarters area offers great trail system in montane forests (the only on your route) with much unique/endemic birdlife, though mammals are admittedly scarce there (I did see my only Malay Wiesel there though).

Another worthy addition is Bako NP for 2-3 days - it is a great place to relax walking easy trails, see your first Proboscys Monkeys, and the best place for Flying Lemurs anywhere.

In Kalimantan Kutai is another very interesting park (if only too see how much devastation of forests wildlife CAN survive) though a bit out of the way unless you are ready to fly to get there.
But if you do visit it, pause to visit the Derawan/Sangalaki Islands off Berau in East Kalimantan on the way - the best islands in all Borneo by a VERY long shot - lots of Mata Rays and turtles seen just by snorkelling, not to mention unparalelled coral reerfs and the unique Jellyfish Lake of Kakaban!

Closer to your route, Bukit Baka - Bukit Raya NP and Betung Kerihun NP (both in interior West Kalimantan) are interesting, but you'd need a good week for either, and some knowledge of Indonesian as they are not developed for tourism at all. Starting your Borneo trip with these would be quite rough!

One more thing - no need to fly from Pontianak to Kuching as it is only 1 day or overnight by bus.

wench
18-Feb-2004 13:47 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
I am really keen to get some experience in primate conservation and rehabilitation in Borneo or Sumatra, with the orangutans. I am new to this forum but have read some of the comments already posted, particularly by hunwagner. These have been really informed and insightful, but the strong criticisms of the state of rehabilitation and the intentions of volunteers has left me a little disheartened.

I am still really keen to go as i feel that it is worth learning about conservation in other countries, and see how it compares to more successful attempts, and even to see how orangutans in these centres compare to orangutans in the wild. I do want an educational experience so i was looking for a more reputable centre.

I thought that Sepilok sounded like a good place to volunteer, but after reading some of the comments i am not sure at all now! Would appreciate some advice, and if anyone can inform me on where you can definitely volunteer, and stay long term, am looking for about 3 months.

Thanks!
dlumenta
29-May-2004 18:44 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Maybe another place to spot wild orangutans is the Betung Kerihun National Park in Indonesia's West Kalimantan, particularly if one goes to the upper branches of the Embaloh river. I spotted many of them (in 2002) on the Tekelan, Teliyai and Dajoh branches, all close to the Sarawak border. In fact, the national park itself adjoins the Batang Ai and Lanjak Entimau Nature Reserve in Sarawak.

The recent threat, however, is that illegal logging has begun to reach these areas around 2002.

Arik
27-Sep-2004 14:43 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
As for Kutai NP (Kal-Tim), I'd like to share my fresh experience. The summary posted in the OP is great and useful. Thanks László.

However, in Bontang almost nobody knows the park office (the full name and address is: DEPARTEMEN KEHUTANAN Direktorat Jenderal Perlindungan Hutan dan Konservasi Alam BALAI TAMAN NASIONAL KUTAI, Jl. Awang Long Tromol Pos 1, Bontang). There you should tell them how many days you intend to stay in the park (your permit will be issued for 3 or 4 etc days, nobody checked it for us). We payed 100.000 Rp for two persons as entry fee. And then they will try to persuade you to go to Sangkima (there are buses even in the afternoon, the lodging is on the left side of the road if you are heading to Sangata), where there is a "tourist" trail - short and not worth the time, we saw no bigger animals there. Better to bring your own food, though you can buy some basic stuff in the shop. The accommodation is simple, but has a quite great atmosphere (50.000 Rp).

Then we went to the Prevab (next to Mentoko, the Japanese run orangutan research centre). From Sangata go to Papaceri (that's the small village next to the river, and there ARE buses from town), here charter a boat to go upstream. For us the 30-minute-long ride was 150.000 Rp (round trip). At the Prevab the accommodation, on the riverside, is more than basic (free of charge). There's no electricity, no water. Bring all the stuff you need, including some candles. You can take a shower at the Japanese center, they installed it only a few month ago. Be polite, as the owner, Mr Suzuki doesn't like tourists. So, first ask whether you can use it, and leave some money (10.000 Rp) there. It's really easy to spot orangutans here, just follow Suzuki's employees. They know where the orangutans are.

It goes without saying, that we did meet no tourists in the park. The local people are nice and friendly, and the forest is not as demaged as you'd expect. It's a beautiful, calm place to see those wild orangutans.

Daag!
dabreu
25-Oct-2004 10:31 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Last week I have visited the kutai national park (1 day), here is my fresh info....

I used both information in the previous posts of Arik and Laszlo....very useful, tnx both.

NP entrance fee: free of charge (nobody checked our permission)
Boat from papaceri to prevab:100.000rp (round trip)
In the prevab: Mr Suzuki left to Japan but they say he will return someday. There is a generator that gives electricity 2-3 hours a day (from 6PM-9PM). Nobody speaks English. Water purification tablets, mosquito net and food will be essential. The room is free of charge but normally the guests "contribute" with 50.000rp per day/per room.

Reach Sangata: from balikpapan take a plain (or charter a taksi by 350.000RP per taksi) to bontang 325.000 per person, then charter a taksi to sangata by 150.000 RP. You can do it in one day.

I spot 2 groups of orang-utans (5 in total). The forest, at least nearby the prevab, is not primary forest anymore. I haven't spotted proboscis monkeys or any other mammal in the park.

The river from papaceri to prevab is not scenic is wide and "naked".

In my opinion this park is OK to spot wild orang-utans, but if you are looking for a "jungle experience" in a primary forest with his typical rich wildlife, this is not the place.
Laszlo
25-Oct-2004 20:12 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
I would only like to add that it is also definitely possible, and a lot cheaper, to reach Bontang and Sangatta from Balikpapan via Samarinda by bus.

As for entry permits: I'd say it is still worth picking one up in Bontang as
1) You'll register your interest in the park thus support its existence
2) You'll be charged less to stay at Mentoko/Prevab if you have one

Thanks to both of you for the feedback!
avalpert
03-Nov-2004 01:50 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
I'm the ambitious american who asked about the itinerary above, I am a few weeks from starting it (now in New Zealand) and was wondering if anyone had updated experience at Ganung Palung and Batang Ai?
Laszlo
03-Nov-2004 02:11 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Don't hold your breath! ;-)
Unfortunately someone has recently been told by the American researchers who work(ed?) in GPNP (over the net from the US) that the park is currently closed for visitors.
However there is a good chance you'd still be allowed to visit if you turned up at the office in Ketapang - if you are keen to give it a try. Certainly worth visiting, if you can! Perhaps go to Pontianak and get someone to ring Ketapang from there.
Failing that, consider Betung-Kerihun or Bukit Baka as West Kalimantan alternatives.

Batang Ai should still be much the same as before - Malaysia is very stable and little changes there.
But I must admit I haven't heard from anyone else going there ever since I went myself - that's how little appetite for getting off the beaten track people have nowadays... :-(

Nice to see you are still going, BTW.
I'm so used to people asking about all these places only to decide that they decide it is easier go to Bali & Bukit Lawang, or Sepilok after all!
erose
04-Nov-2004 03:01 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA

I just spent 3 days in Kutai (end of October - with Dario above), and can add the following:

Suzuki has gone to Japan, but will be back "real soon now" (his living area looks pretty deserted though). The people who work with him are basically locals with no biology education but do track and film the orang utangs every day, making it easy to tag along and watch. They do know a lot about the habits of the animals and have walkie-talkies to help find them quickly.

Entrance Fee: 2500 / person.
For the 15-minute boat ride to the camp expect to pay the outrageous sum 100,000 RP (round-trip).
If you check in at one of the park offices they can SMS the guys at Prevab to pick you up, saving you the trouble of finding a local to charter a boat and paying even more.
Bring all you need to eat with you.
We gave them 50,000 / night but since we stayed 3 nights we also folded in the boat ride at 50,000. Since the money basically goes right into the pockets of the assistants (Suzuki not around) this is ok, I think. When Suzuki is around things might be stricter. As everywhere in Indonesia, establish prices in advance!

Getting to Sangatta is easy, just get on a bus from Samarinda (3 hrs). We skipped going to the main park office and instead got our permits at Sangkima, which is right on the main Bontang-Sangatta road. I did this because it was a Saturday. I do agree wth Lazlo that you should get yourself a permit to register interest in the park.

As Dario stated the park is in poor shape. This is very sad because it is obvious that a lot of effort was put into making something nice (trails, signs, boardwalks & camp prevab). Don't expect to be very far from civilization either - you can hear traffic noise and sometimes chainsaws from the camp.

I asked about going up the river to camp Mentoko, but Suzuki's assistants said that it was deserted ("rusak" :-) and required special permission to visit. They also said that the forest was more or less the same up there - a few pockets with little fire damage and much more destroyed.

PS not a single Indonesian we talked to in Samarinda or on the way to Sangatta knew what Kutai was, or even that there was a national park nearby! In Kalimantan they always ask us what we are looking for in the forest. Sadly, they have a long ways to go...
avalpert
05-Dec-2004 04:11 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Okay, just returned from Ganung Palung so I will share the details.
Tourists are not currently being taken to Caban Panti and researchers are not currently being issued permits. The employees of the park office did not know the reason for this and sounded more hopeful that permits would resume next year than certain. I am not going to guess at the reason other than to say there clearly was logging going on on that side of the park, we could see the downed trees and hear the chainsaw.

The good news is they are taking toursits into anotehr station in the park, though unlike Panti this patrol station is little more than a poorly cleared campsite; so pack accordingly.

Here are the practical details of visiting (if you want a more romantacized tale of our experience you can check out my travelouge)

You need to get to Ketapang to get the permit at the office as described above. You can fly to Ketapang from Java at Semarang (currently Deraya Air Taxi seems to be flying daily at 9am, but you need to check with there Semarang office for current details) it cost us 695,000 Rp. the boat from/to Pontianack costs between 85-95,000 depending on the boat and class.

The costs we paid were as follows (my Indonesian is near non-existant so I may have been able to negotiate some, but it didn't seem so):

Permit: 10,000 per person
Guide: 100,000 per day (ours was useful, he works as a patrol officer for the park service and when the researchers were here he worked as an assistnat helping htem track and log orangutan movements)
Porter: 50,000 per day (this is required, they use local villagers who are hit or miss, we had two one was a nusance and one was quiet and efficient. Make sure you know what you are getting when you leave the office, we were expecting them to carry our gear and when we first got there all they wanted to carry was the cooking equipment, tarps for tents, their clothes and their food.)
Cooking Equipment 70,000 rp (this is optional but if you bring your own make sure the pot will be big enough to cook their food as well or you will have to rent more equipment)
Videocamera/Camera: 125,000/25,000

You have to arrange your own transport to the registration office in a small village inland from Sikudana. You can get there by charter vehicle (it will cost you about 300,000) or you can take a bus to the turnoff for the village (they charged us 8,000 going there and 7,000 coming back) and then walk or hire an ojek (5,000) for the last few kilometers to the office.

You will be expected to provide food for you guide and porters.

All told it cost us ~100,000 rp for two of us, a guide and two porters for four days.

The first 1-2 hours of the hike are on easy paths used by the villagers to gather Durian, after that it gets tougher. The trail is steep and slippery through dense, but spectacular, primary forest. All told the hike in took us 5 hours and out took us 4. The campsite at the station is allright but infested during the day with bees and fire ants overnight.

As I said the jungle is phenomenal, their is a dense canopy up between 100-200 feet. As a result the wildlife viewing isn't great. Their are plenty of orangutan out there based on what we could hear but we were only able to see one clearly over 4 days (not terrible and more than we have any right to expect, but not as good as I've heard Panti would be). We also saw a troupe of gibbons (again we heard far more) a bunch of langurs and some hornbills.

All in all it was a difficult but rewarding trip and if you are prepared for a real jungle hike than I reccomend it.

Now we are heading on a bus tonight to Kuching where we will relax for a few days there and in Bako while we decide whether to head to Batang Ai or not. We are still planning on going to Danum (though I haven't heard back from my request to their website and will be calling them when we get to Malaysia) and to Kinabatagan, so we have to decide if Batang Ai will add enough to teh experience to warrant the effort. As always any opinions on this would be welcome.
Laszlo
05-Dec-2004 16:39 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Batang Ai is well worth visiting.
Wildlife is harder to see than in the Kinabatangan area, but the scenery is far better!
The boat-ride to get there kind of makes the trip wortwhile even in itself.
Do post updates if you make it.
stu_shaw
23-Dec-2004 14:24 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
I figure I can add a little to the info on TNK near Bontang/Sangkima. I spent three and a half months living in the Pertamina (Kilo 13) village in Sangkima. TNK has an office there but it is useless. If you want good information, a great guide and a super nice guy, ask around in the village for Bapak Boodi (not spelt correctly but that's how it sounds). (Ask in Sangata and they will tell you how to get to kilo 13 or stop at the office on the Bontang-Sangatta highway) He lives with his wife and kid. They both have forestry degrees and are from Java or Sumatra. They sort of speak english and maybe a bit of Dutch, but you'd be better in Indonesian. They are well informed and very interesting. Unfortunately, they are about the only people in the village who aren't employed by the oil company and as a result, they are sort of lonely. Still, if you go to their house you will be well taken care of and they are super nice.

Bapak Boodi took me and the group I was staying with to the park for a weekend. We were 20 people and he organized almost everything for us. We stayed at the guest house for one night for 100,000 IDR and our entrance to the park was 2 500 each. It was super cheap. They have an excellent trail, although some of the bridges/board walks are falling to pieces. They also have a really high tree house which is worth visiting. Pa Boodi will be happy to give you a tour, although I don't know what he will charge (he might do it for free).

I went to the park twice. Once it was myself, Pa Boodi and two others. We say a wild boar, some monkeys, snakes, birds, insects and lots of other things. Unfortunately we didn't see any orangutangs. I was told they leave deeper in the forest and are hard to see from this part of the park. All in all, i thought this park was a great spot for a beginner like me to see some jungle and meet people who knew what they were talking about and were really friendly.

If you go there and see Pa Boodi, say hello from stu.
avalpert
04-Jan-2005 02:11 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
I have updated information on Kinabatagan and the Danum Valley Research Center (we decided to skip Batang Ai and wen tup the Rejang instead).

In Kinabatagan the B&B has gone upscale to be similair in price to Uncle Tan's and Jungle Lodge. It now cost 150pp for the first night +100 for transfer and includes meals and 2 boat trips. Each additional day costs 100pp and includes one additional boat trip. A better and cheaper option is the Sukau Homestay program. It is an effort started by the Kinabatagan Orangutan Conservation Project to engage the locals in the tourist trade, creating an economic incentive fo them to help sustain what is left of the forest. You stay in a villagers house in Sukau and can arrange boat trips either on a set program of more with greter flexibility a la carte. The cost is 20pp for lodging, 10pp for lunch or dinner. Boat trips vary based on destination and cost from 60rm for the mennango river (probiscis sightings every afternoon) to 100rm for a night cruise. You can have a guide in addition to the boat driver for another 20rm. We saw one orangutan downriver from sukau, that is also where we saw the most nests. to contact the homestay you can try email at sukau1@tm.net.my or phone at 089-230-268 or 013-899-5082. Another advantage of this program is, when the elephants are not around, they will take you into the conservation area whjere orangutan concentration is highest, you cannot get in with any other lodging. This option also becomes a cultural experience and helps conservation efforts in an area that defintiely needs it.

Danum Valley was very difficult to get into. They do not really want tourists and to get in you need to be a student, reseracher or have a refernce from a conservation or enviornmental organization. If you do not have a student or association ID it would be helpful to have a refernce letter or fax. We got our permit by showing up at their offices in KK (after failing over the phone) and pretending to be studying sustainable development. In any case, the contact who you need to speak with is Ms. Rose John Kiddi and she has an office in their main offices on the 12th floor of the MTM building in Likas (a suburb of KK). The cost varries based on what class of visitor you are with Malaysian researchers paying the least and tourists without credentials paying the most. But it is still much cheaper than the lodge, two people for four nights including dinners and transport it cost less than 1 night in the lodge with transport.
The forest was spectacular, we saw three orangutan here in four days and a large number of nests. The trails are mostly okay but easily lost in some places, luckily it is easy to navigate if lost.

All in all, over about 2 weeks in Ganung Palung, Kinabatagan area and Danum Valley we saw five wild orangutan and many nests. A very rewarding experience.

For more romanticized accounts of our experiences you can read my travelouge on Kinabatagan and Danum Valley
poi1
08-Jan-2005 23:38 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
This has been an extremley informative thread. I visited Camp Leakey about 15 years ago and am sad to hear that it is not working out to plan. Between then and now I've seen all sorts of disasters unfold there: the logging,the uncontrolled forest fires, and the conflicts between the local Dayaks and the "transmigrated", non-natives, I have grave concerns for the Orangs. Sadly, ecotourism may be the only impetus for the Indonesian governemnt to make any effort towards conservation.

Indonesia is by far the most fascinating country I have ever been to. I've always wondered if it might be better if each of the island groups became independent.
orangbelanda
03-Feb-2005 20:50 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA

Staying at Kg. Batu Putih Walai Homestay is the cheapest, Batu Putih is the Village at the Kinabatangan Bridge where you start the boat ride to go to UT's Camp which is 25 minutes more/less. The Walai Homestay charge RM40 including meals/accommodation, the River Safari is RM60 per boat. All the Boatmen knows how to spot the wildlife, it was so easy anyway as wildlife tend to concentrate on the river banks-having not much forests left for them to hide. Do not be mislead about being in the jungle as almost all these areas are covered by Palm Oil plantaion. You will notice this when you start your boat trip from the bridge.There is also an interesting Caves here that holds some old wooden coffins run by the Sabah Museum for RM5. The Batu Putih Village is easy to reach - all buses from Kota Kinabalu, Ranau and Sandakan that goes to Lahad Datu, Semporna or Tawau all pass here. Very convenient if you are going onwards to Danum or Sipadan. The Batu Putih Village Walai Homestay was the first Homestay in Kinabatangan so it was surprising that nobody mentioned about this place.
Djedj
06-Feb-2005 23:10 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
GUNUNG PALUNG NOT WORTH A TRIP NOW

So I will complement post #13 as I just returned from a (most sad) trip to Gunung Palung ; by the way according to the porters' register last tourists were from 1st december 05 - that should be you #13 ?

I arrived in Ketapang by fast boat from Pontianak.
In Ketapang I went straight to Park offices - they have moved in January 2005 and can be now found here :
Jl. Gajah Mada, Kalinilam Ketapang
Telp. 0534-7707345

From the harbour very easy go straight on the road - it's an unmistakable light green building on the right handside, with a blue roof - though it is approx. 1 to 2 kms away from the harbour so you may consider taking an Ojek or Oplet.

Regarding the prices, post #13 is still very relevent ; porters are settled at 60.000 / day ; which you now pay upfront with park management, avoiding any further misunderstanding.

I went on my own and was fitted with two porters - very nice youngsters, great chaps - one of them carrying my backpack (which I was not expecting).
Looks like complaints from #13 have been heard - and fixed.

On Day 1, I was somehow surprised when my guide told me we were not to reach Lubuk Baji (the place with the waterfall where tourists are taken now) on the very day - but the next.
That was not what I had understood at Park Offices - so you may want that to be very clear to begin with.

We did not stop at the first shelter we met in the durian garden, but further up at the second one (they're wooden structures with plexiglas rooftops).
It was only 3:30PM and I would gladly have kept on - though I somehow felt the fact I was not carrying my backpack did disqualify me from insisting too much.

Second day - well the trek is hard but fun if you like walking upwards.
Thoug h we reached a nice plateau with impressive trees, where the guide and porters were quite taken aback as they were excpecting to meet gibbons that are "usually always there".
Bad luck - or was it ?

I was a bit surprised when we reached Lubuk Baji - a very simple campsite as already stated ; surprised as I was expecting the place to be bursting with wildlife, and it was strangely quiet.
I went to investitage the waterfall that gives its name to the area - had a shower there (which requires a little tenacity but is really rewarding).

When I came back I found the guide looked concerner ; he told me he was not sure we could see wildlife, as some people had been living here in a small hut - to gather durians.
After a frustrating walk around in a deserted area, I went to investigate the small hut.
Well I can understand why the wildlife has fled !
To gather durians, those b****** cleared a wide space under two huge durian trees ; "cleared" means destroying all vegetation, including felling a dozen trees or so - so that the durians fall on the floor and don't remain trapped in branches, and are easily spotted.
So there's a fucking clearing 25 X 15 meters no more than 30 meters away from the camp.
If you've been there you'll know it is a small area - so for now the place is sploiled.

Next morning we took advantage of the dawn calling of the gibbons to follow that sound track - I was able to see 4 of them before calling it quits one day before schedule - the place was just too sad.
So no probiscys, no hornbill, no Orang Utan...

I must say my Guide (Bandy) was really good all along - and kindly offered to refund part of the costs for the day I did not spend in the park ; thanks Bandy with a non sympathetic person it could really have been awful.

So I don't know if and when any of the wildlife will return to Lubuk Baji - if the problem is to last only for durian season or longer - but I certainly can't recommend going to Gunung Palung.
I warned my guide - telling him to inform his boss, that I'd post that report here - and that they would be welcome to report any update - hopefully improvement - on the situation.

What a sad experience - I am disgusted (oh and of course this clearing operation IS illegal)

Though to end on a lighter note - I was really angry that the place had been spoilt - and somehow used my...natural functions to spoil in turn the hut of those nasty persons ;-) - not very elegant, but deeply satisfying...
avalpert
08-Feb-2005 01:45 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
That was in fact me on December 1st; and I am disappointed to hear the current situation. The durian collection is big business for those villagers and I can't say I am too suprised that they would take it deeper into the park, but that is why rangers exist in the first place.

Maybe the Indonesian government will see all the goodwill being givin to its people by the world in Sumatra and return the favor in small ways; such as allowing researchers to return to the few areas left. My expectation however is that the situation will get worse in the near future and we will be lucky if there is anything left at all.
avalpert
25-Feb-2005 06:16 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
This article appeared today in the Washington Post talking about the attempt to thwart loggers in Ganung Palung and conserve orangutan's habitat. You can see the whole aricle here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51513-2005Feb24.html?sub=AR
(you need to register but it is free)

Apes Dwindle As Forests Fall In Indonesia
Conservationists Battle Loggers To Save Orangutans' Habitat

By Ellen Nakashima
Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, February 25, 2005; Page A12

KALIMANTAN PROVINCE, Indonesia -- Three men in a canoe drew near swiftly from behind and overtook another canoe carrying a local environmentalist, Bastarin, on a river deep in the wilds of the Borneo rain forest.

Bastarin, out to stop illegal logging and protect the orangutans that live in Gunung Palung National Park, pulled harder on his oar to keep up with the men. He was sure they were illegal loggers, but they disappeared from view.

2bibbie
10-Mar-2005 17:39 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Great apes pushed towards extinction (link to transcript at http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2005/s1320843.htm) - an interesting piece on the destruction of these magnificent animals. Birute Galdikas says that the future of orangutans as populations in the wild is very bleak- about 5 to 10 years. On being asked about rescuing orphaned young orangutan and reintroducing them into the wild. and can they go back once orangutans have been in captivity Birute replied with "Oh, absolutely. They're smart, they're opportunistic. The main thing that prevents them from going back is humans, the fact that humans will kill them.". There is no negative comment from her about the inability of orangutans raised by humans having never learned to fend for themselves or the point that fully-grown adult males and mothers with babies still showing up to be fed regularly are the most obvious testimony of this. Any comments from travellers that have seen this at the Rehabilitation Centres?
RedApe
10-Mar-2005 18:13 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
What you have noted happens all the time at most rehabilitation centers that do not transport their rehabilitants large distances from the center. At Bukit Lawang in Sumatra the apes were basically "feral" and "opportunistically (they're smart) " took advantage of the daily feedings, fruit given to them from self-appointed guides, and the convenient lounge chairs at the "Pongo Inn" to sleep. The group doing the work there have essentially broken away from the "tourism/rehab center" model and now place new, unhabituated orangutans in a stict quarantine, with only essential human contact. They are then placed in areas habitable for orangutans but away from tourists and other orangutans (to avoid competition and population pressures). This was done with the full knowledge of, if not the inspiration by, one of the original co-founders, Regina Frey...who saw that her efforts had gone terribly awry.

Birute's pledges at Tanjung Puting were notorious for this "bicultural behavior"...she babied them and provided human contact with almost all of the orangutans she had there. And reports are that baby orangutans died by the score from illnesses brought in from poor quarantine policies. An interesting book about this is Linda Spalding's "A Dark Place In The Jungle"

Outside Magazine Extracts

Reviews

If you've seen either the recent Nature programs on Tanjung Puting...the one starring Julia Roberts ("In The Wild") or the "From Orphan To King" you'll see a lot of this behavior.

I should point out that Willi Smits, who does almost all the rehabilitation work in Kalimantan avoids allowing any tourism to occur at his facilities. Once given adequate health care and basic training for climbing and foraging the young animals are placed in sort of an abbreviated "10-step" program that weans them of human contact...ultimately leading to release in areas isolated from close human contact.

So in both Kalimantan and Sumatra the new programs have evolved from the older systems established by Birute and others.
Laszlo
10-Mar-2005 19:05 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Quote
There is no negative comment from her about the inability of orangutans raised by humans having never learned to fend for themselves or the point that fully-grown adult males and mothers with babies still showing up to be fed regularly are the most obvious testimony of this. Any comments from travellers that have seen this at the Rehabilitation Centres?
As noted in the OP, I have been to Galdikas' main base at Camp Leakey in Tanjung Puting. Also as already noted in the OP, and now repeated by RedApe, the place is full of orangutans raised to be half-humans - most incredibly I saw some standing erect and walking on their two hind-legs!!!
Yeah, it must look very "cute" or "funny" to some people, but I think an animal with such behaviour belongs to a circus, not a national park. And the fact that orangutans show up to be fed regularly, in fact accounts for the very fact why the place is so popular/famous with tourists - "sightings" or "close-up encounters" can be guaranteed.
When I told an Indonesian park ranger who had earlier worked in TPNP that I thought feedings should be stopped there, he simply replied "They would die.".

Of course you can't expect Galdikas herself to advertise these facts - they are after all a testimony to her failure in rehabilitation.
I have always thought she should have stuck to field research - something she was once a great pioneer at.
smeng78
01-Apr-2005 01:23 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
I'm off to Danum Valley in about 1 and a half weeks' time. After much investigation, I finally found a tour operator who does the Borneo Rainforest Lodge at decent prices. Check out Ping Anchorage. Compared to the 200 USD/day stated by Laszlo, you'd find yourself paying about 130 USD/day for a 2 days 1 night tour package (non-Malaysians). I've opted for the 3 days 2 nights package before going over to the field centre for another 2 nights. For the Field Centre, you're better off contacting Ms Rose (email: rosejkj@icsb-sabah.com.my). If you email her, don't expect an immediate response. She normally takes about 3 weeks to reply no thanks to their server which keeps going down. But she'll get things sorted out for you. Probably best to call at: +6088- 326327/326300
dave2222001
11-Apr-2005 06:17 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Sungi Kinabatangan

Recently visited this area and though I would add information both here and on Lazlo’s orang-utan thread.

We Stayed at Robert Chongs new Jungle Camp which is located near the village of Bilit. This area does not seem to have had to much development as is reported for the Sukau area were many wildlife lodges are located.

To get to Bilit you turn right of the main gravel road to Sukau about 10 km before you get there.

In addition to the Camp the village does have a Homestay program and they can arrange river trips from there for wildlife viewing I would think if you just turned up there you would not have a problem finding the Homestay places or Robert could help to put you in touch as he is keen to ensure that the villagers have a Economic stake in the wildlife.

Roberts Lodge is located down river from Bilit about 10 min by boat. Best way to get there is to stay at Roberts house near Sipilock, this is the well known Labuk B& B (contact Tel 089 533 190 E Mail Labukbb@tm.net.my and labukbb@yahoo.com ) At the moment Robert seems to run his trips from there for 2 or 3 days duration though this is largely up to the requirements of the group and any future booking requirements. I am sure when he gets more customers that he will base himself there and arrange transport to the area separately.

He as selected this area due to the over capacity at Sukau as he says there can be up to 20 boats on the same small tributary at busy times there. And for Eco tourism this is likely to have an effect on the wildlife. When we were on the river in Bilit in 4 trips we only noticed 3 other boats all like the ones we were in with only 2 to 5 people on board.

A little background to Robert if you haven’t heard of him, He is from the area and has worked in Kinabatangan for many years, he has been employed by the BBC as a guide for camera crews working on well known wildlife programs. He is both knowledgeable of the area and the bigger picture of the environmental and economic picture for such areas, no one managed to ask him any questions that he did not have the answers for. His guiding is excellent and he has a very good eye for spotting wildlife, though it’s the information and knowledge that make him exceptional. On our trip he did all of the daytime activities but left the night trip to the Younger guides he was training. Being older myself I appreciate how hard it can be to spot things at night due to the aging effect on the eyes so this was for the best.

The Jungle Camp is new and only recently opened its very pleasant there and the whole camp is surrounded by an electric fence to keep the nearby Elephants out. (To understand this you have to think of the effects of an Elephant scratching its side on a wooden hut). The whole camp is surrounded by elephant tracks (Beginners stuff if you want to get into tracking). As is nearby Bilit which has a small cannon to fire to scare them away from the village.

We saw Elephants, Proboscis Monkeys, 3 other kinds of Monkey, Crocodiles, Numerous Birds especially Hornbills, Lizards, Civet Cat and Leopard cat. The whole visit was really nice and.

Although I have not personally visited other areas of the River I would recommend this area particularly for the Elephants and the lack of crowds.

If anyone needs any more info please PM me.
whatwhat
30-Jun-2005 10:42 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Laszlo - excellently informative thread!
I`m definately interesting in going to Batang Ai, but really would like some kind of confirmation that Laszlo`s information is still accurate - has anyone out there done this trip recently.
I`m just worried that I`ll bust my gut getting there - to the rangers post, to find no accommodation, or full accommodation or something like that!
I don`t suppose there is an email (!?!) or phone number......
stupid questions i guess!
Laszlo
01-Jul-2005 18:27 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Naive questions, I would say.
Of course there is no email or post at the ranger post, and more surprisingly even the Kuching offices seem completely clueless.
ASFAIK, no one from this forum has visited Batang Ai NP ever since this thread was posted. I had people telling me they were going only in two cases, and both parties cancelled the trip in the end. What this means is that what little accomodation is available there is VERY unlikely to be full. If you do go, don't forget to take food and do post those updates you wanted from others now!
Actually I am somewhat disappointed by how unadventurous people seem to have become nowadays - it looks like gone are the days when travellers were looking for remoter, unspoilt places, and everyone only wants to visit places bookable online and recommended by plenty of others who have just been there! :-(
Cassiecat
01-Jul-2005 20:00 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Great thread, Laszlo! I've been doing my research for a trip to Sabah and Sarawk for wildlife viewing in November. Interestingly, the LP search feature did not turn up this thread when I searched a week ago. I only found it because it got to the first page. I'm still in the process of choosing which places to go, and this thread has been very helpful. We'll only have two weeks in Malaysian Borneo, so I need to choose carefully. This thread should help me do so!
whatwhat
02-Jul-2005 04:29 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Some new info......

Had a quick look at some Malaysia guidebooks yesterday....

They have limited but nontheless interesting info about Batang Ai.

Now I can`t remeber the info exactly cos they stopped me from taking notes in the shop! However it did mention that cheap boats can be caught from Jetty at Lubuk Antu taking you to Batang Ai.
Now, this seems progress, because I wouldnt say the the 200 it previously cost is particularly cheap. However what it didn`t confirm was whether these boats go to the Rangers posts/longhouses.
hmmmm.....

I really wanna do it!
COSTENOB
09-Jul-2005 06:33 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Laszlo,

Good work on the thread, but I would like to disagree on your remarks on Semenggoh. The Centre has improved a lot. No caged orang utans and the whole is better and less toristic than Sepilok. Although they have not yet "rehabillitated"many orangs, they now work on money to do so. Together with the surrounding gardens on bamboo, plants and trees and the hopefully very soon opening orchids gardem, it makes a perfect half day trip from Kuching.
allezcisse9
09-Jul-2005 08:55 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
COSTENOB,

Your comments on Semenggoh piqued my interest. I will be going to Sarawak in early August only for only a few days on a student's budget. It sounds like you would recommend the Semenggoh facility. Could you possibly give a little more info on a typical visit? (i.e. best time for viewing, typical feeding/activity schedule)?

Also, could help me out with how to get there? I've looked quite a bit on the internet, and can't find much on transportation..... ideally I'd like to take a bus, but if it's really worth it, I'd shell out some more for a taxi.

Thanks so much, look forward to hearing from you :)
allezcisse9
09-Jul-2005 09:33 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Well, I managed to find out how to get there. In case anyone else is interested, here's the link

That said, I think some unbiased opinions on Semenggoh from forum readers who've recently visited would still be really helpful. The site offers a lot of info, but who knows how reliable it is.....

Thanks again.
radson
11-Jul-2005 12:10 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
anyone know about the tendency of some orangutans to try and rape their female human handlers. I have heard this story twice now. One from a volunteer direct and one friend of a friend story. Any thruth to this?
RedApe
21-Jul-2005 06:14 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Getting to Semenggoh is fairly easy...just take the Sarawak Transit Bus #6 from near the PostOffice. Cost is about RM$2 OW. Then there is a RM$3 entry fee. Feeding's are about 9 AM so you must leave Kuching by 8 AM to catch the feeding. Afternoon feedings are at 3PM (but may not have the number of apes appearing).

I decided to drop by the center with some friends for the first time in a few years and found that the center is actually somewhat active again, though they do not accept new adults. The reason why they have started to become involved is that the females are breeding quite rapidly and so the staff must now send the maturing adolescents into areas where orangutans once occupied (but are no longer known) in Batang Ai.

Most of these apes really are pretty well acclimated to wild activity, as their parents were released in the Forest Reserve some 10-20 years ago. But they can't stay there since there simply isn't enough room.

When I was there about 10 orangutans showed up, mostly females with young and adolescents. They actually didn't go to the feeding platform but primarily just hung about near the staff cabins and interpretative center. Most didn't even bother with the food. A few were thrown a banana or orange from a staffperson on the ground. But about 70% didn't even eat...and those that did maybe consumed one or two fruits. The wildlife Department staffperson said that they do not feed the animals from the ground to discourage terrestriality and human contact.. Richie, the resident dominant male, apparently hadn't been in for several days.

I got the impression that the orangutans mainly came to the feeding, not for human contact, but because it was a social activity for THEM. This is likely the consequence of a tradition of "meeting up" at such feedings (which now are mainly irrelevant). There is a natural parallel...when a fruit tree is heavily laden several females with young, immature females, and a dominant male may all come in and exploit that tree. Young may play together but the adults essentially feed without much contact. That's essentially what I saw at Semenggoh.

Visitors were allowed to watch them for about half an hour before being shooed away by staff...since "the orangutans should not be around people too much". One or two youngsters actually began to make nests, as if they were going to settle in for a siesta once the crowd left.

I spoke with the vet at the Center and he said that the only animals they have in quarantine is a sick gibbon...the orangutans are tested regularly (via fecal droppings or blood if they appear to have a cough) but do not appear to have contact with human pathogens (being wild born and/or long-term rehabitants).

If one has limited time and want to see "feral orangutans" I'd suggest that you visit Semenggoh rather than the Sepilok facility in Sabah. It seems that the Wildlife Department in Sarawak are not yet trying to make their facility a "tourism moneymaker" and the goal is still rehabilitation. They don't charge fees for cameras, videos, etc., one is not restricted to stand behind huge package tours, but can move about a bit more freely, and one can stroll about the grounds of the Botanical Research Forest (though not near the feeding area) which has some well-marked short trails. You could cover all of these in about an hour and a half and do some birding and floral/insect investigations. Bako would be far better for wildlife though.
RedApe
21-Jul-2005 06:22 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Radson- The rape of a female Indonesian cook was reported by Birute Galdikas herself in her "Reflections of Eden". Spaulding also refers to it, trying to follow up on what exactly happened. It's the only incident that I know of like this, though it is supposed to have been the same male that man-handled Julia Roberts!

YOUNG male orangutans without territories have been observedbyJohn Mitani to pursue and forcibly copulate with females even when they are anestrous. The fmales are often with a young infant, and there is no physiological rationale for mating success at such a time. It may simpy be due to utter inexperience, a "shot in the dark" strategy, or have some yet unexplained adaptive rationale.
puravida_uk
20-Aug-2005 02:04 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Hi Laszlo, I`m writing in the hope you`ll read this and be able to help.

My Girlfriend and I are planning on visiting the Batang Ai National Park sometime in September.
I`ve read on anoter post that you did this independently and I`d like like to ask you some questions about this.

You said you got a boat to the Ranger`s post for 200R - where did you actually get the boat from ? Did you have to arrange it privately, or is there some kind of regular service ? How long was the journey in total - a good couple of hours ?

Is the Longhouse where you stayed easy to find ? How near is it to the Ranger`s post ?

When you decided to return, how did you actually arrange for a boat to take you ? and was it the same price (200R)

I know you mentioned that Organgutans may be difficult to see, but was there much other wildlife ?

I hope you`ll be able to help (of course, anyone else out there who knows anything, please feel free to post!!!!)

Thanks!
jaimechico
24-Sep-2005 22:51 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
...Tabin info. Lowest price for the resort is 504 Ringitts per person (50% markup for solo travellers) this gives you 3days 2nights, guides, night drives, food all included. It's a last minute walk-in price from the office in Lahad Datu. It's not great value compared to what you can do on the Kinabatangan and Orang'utans are rare around the resort headquarters, which are unfortunately right on the edge of the rain forest. I did see nests when I was there recently, but none of the big orange fellas. There is a trail which leads into the park to the primary forest - it's 21km and could be done as a two day or more trek. The resort would organise a guide for this.

Options for budget traveller seem limited, the park won't give you any accomodation and trails are limited to those around the resort anyway.

That said, it's a very peaceful place and hornbills, elephants and smaller mammals are very common.

Luckily I found eight orang-utans on the Kinabatangan... so i'm happy
headdeball
18-Nov-2005 04:36 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Hiya,

I've just visited Sepilok and took a trip along the Kinabatangan river before I read Lazlo's post that started this thread. I have a couple of quick questions that I'm curious about. I'm particularly interested in any info with respect to Sepilok as it seemed well run when I visited the area recently.

1.) "Where many such tame orangutans have been relesed into a habitat occupied by wild ones, the latter were effectively eliminated by the newcomers who outcompeted them for food in the area and introduced human diseases." Is there published evidence to support this and is there any links to such research?

2.) "The orangutans in these situations are also constantly exposed to human diseases." Same again, is there published evidence to support this and is there any links to such research?

3.) Is possible to tag Orangutans (electronically for example) and track released rehabilitated orangutans to see how they fare in the wild?

Regards,
hdb
Cassiecat
04-Dec-2005 14:54 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
I have recently returned from the Danum Valley, having opted to stay at the Borneo Rainforst Lodge. The price looks steep (US$730 for two of us for three days two nights, including airport transfers, all meals, guides, etc.), but I felt it was well worh it. The hikes through the primary rainforest there are really amazing. We did see orangutans - actually three of them on the first day, as well as lots of other wildlife.

I must say I was impressed with how the BRL is run. Almost all of the employees are locals, and feel a real commitment to the environment and the wildlife.

We visited Kinabalu Park after the Danum valley, and the contrast was so great that we were really disappointed in Kinabalu. We went to Kinabalu for the plant life, but found the environment altered by the hordes of people there. I expect we would have enjoyed it more had we gone to Kinabalu before the Danum Valley.
geast
14-Jun-2006 07:26 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
I'm flying to Banjarmassin in Kalimantan and have a week before I fly back to Jakarta. I would like to see Orang Utans but is it possible in this area? If not then, as a conservation biologist, I would be keen to see other aspects of Borneo before they are logged/mined away - Any suggestions?

G
LizFH
27-Jun-2006 21:25 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Your information is informative and sadly quite true BUT do not include Camp Leakey in your derision as it truly does remarkable work with and for the orangutans.
dugless
02-Jul-2006 21:39 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Anyone know the current situation at CABANG PANTI in Gunung Palung reserve Kalimantan Barat? Have not read many posts recently and would like to find out any info on the logging situation as well as the research station.
alsch
20-Jul-2006 00:14 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Sukau B and B

I would like to add this place to the list of possibilities regarding the Kinabantang river. We spent about four days in Sandakan trying to find out the best way for us to visit the Kinabantang, best chance for wildlife without having to join on eof the crowded, and expenseive, tours. Unfortunately it seems in Sabah that everythingis pushed towards pricey tours at all times. We wanted to avoid Uncle Tans primarily because of the 600 visitors a month number and the 280rm per trip number. 280 rm seems an extortionate amount of money for a tour that, despite being advertised as 3D/2N is actually closer to 1.5D/2N, of which the majority of the main day you are left with free time to "play volleyball or soccer". er no thanks.

Instead we decided to go to Sukau B and B. This place is the end of the road, literally. You can get a bus from Sandakan bound for Semporna or Tawau and ask to be dropped at the sukau turn-off, this should cost 10Rm. From there there are regular mini-buses all the way to Sukau, 40km, which cost 20Rm. Put off by what we thought was an expensive price we hitched. It might have been worth the 20 though we know people that only paid 15. It took us about 8 rides, a bit of walking and about two hours along one of the worst roads in malaysia. It was easy to get rides however, most of the traffic is going to the surrounding palm oil plantations, surely the scourge of sabah, and one rich owner even gave us two bottles of water each for the journey.

Once at Sukau B and B you immediately feel relaxed however. The rooms are 20Rm per person, dinner is 10rm per person, and I have never seen such huge prawns. Jungle walks around are obviously free and the boat "safari's" are very reasonably priced, and charged per boat, up to 6 people. We took an evening cruise for 80Rm, for the boat, between two of us, saw loads of wildlife including the proboscis monkeys and a sleepy python.

The next morning the wildlife was not so prevalent, although I attribute it to being behind the horrifically overpacked boats of the pricey eco-lodge resorts, loud groups scaring the animals away! Still, we shared this boat with another couple so the price per person was 20rm.

The rooms are clean and spacious, though basic, the young guy who does the boat trips has good english and an even better eye for wildlife. The setting right at the end of Sukau is perfect as well.

I don't want this to sound like a brochure or a thinly-veiled advert but after spending four days looking for an alternative to the over-priced, over-packed tours I was so glad I found this, for me it was the highlight of Sabah.

We did not see wild orangutans but everyone else we have met who stayed there did, and crocodiles as well. We were just unlucky and the weatehr was not condusive to wildlife spotting.

Cheers,

Alsch
dugless
08-Aug-2006 12:18 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Just got a reply via e-mail from the Chief Researcher at Cabang Panti. She reports that they are currently working on the research station at CABANG PANTI but it will not be open until next summer most likely. This is info concerning the research station not Gunung Palung N.P.
Jorg
15-Aug-2006 01:13 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
TANJUNG PUTING PARK? ---- DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME

I came back to Jakarta yesterday after visiting Tanjung Puting National Park in Kalimantan. I was really dissapointed and I'm a bit annoyed that I wasted my time on it. It takes a long time to get there, and a lot of trouble to arrange if you do it independently. I made my way overland to Semarang, bought a plane ticket to Pangkalanbun (where I had to go to the police station to pay bribes and get documents, and then go to the parks office), then go to Kumai and find a KLOTOK boat to charter. Then the next day I set off for the park on the klotok boat. It was more than 2 days of transport, transit, and making arrangements. I thought that was ok, because I was expecting some great experience.

The Lonely Planet book recommends "at least 3 days on the river". I should know that I can't alway trust the book, but I could have seen everything I saw in one day with a speedboat. The klotok experience is very overrated anyway. People say that the klotok is nice and slow so you can enjoy the scenery and the wildlife, but there was almost no wildlife and the scenery was not very spectacular along the river. It was very monotonous and to be frank, boring. And the klotok is loud and bumpy so I couldn't relax anyway.

On to the main thing, the orangutans. On day 1 of my three day trip, the boat crew took me to Camp Leakey orangutan rehabilitation center where we saw the ORANGUTAN FEEDING TIME. It was ok, they put some bananas on a feeding stage, and some orangutans came from the forest to eat on the stage while tourists watched. After that the crew moored the boat and we did nothing for the rest of the day.

On day 2 they took me to Ponduk Tanggui, for ORANGUTAN FEEDING TIME. There I saw some different orangutans eating bananas on a stage while tourists watched. "Hmmm, ok, what are we going to do next?" I thought. In the afternoon, the crew took me back to Camp Leakey again...for another ORANGUTAN FEEDING TIME. Yes, more bananas and more tourists watching. Then we moored the boat and did nothing for the rest of the day.

On day 3 they took me to Pondok Tanggui again, for ----YES, you guessed it! Another ORANGUTAN FEEDING TIME. More bloody orangutans on stage eating bananas while tourists took photos. Then the crew fnally took me somewhere different, to Tanjung Harapan village. This is a small Indonesian village with the most unfriendly Indonesians I've encountered anywhere, and their contempt for tourists
was obvious. There are probably good reasons for that, but it made my visit very uncomfortable and unpleasant. But on the positive side, at least they weren't on stage eating bananas.

So basically I gave up 3 days of my short vacation (plus another fews days in transit and making preparations) to see orangutans standing on a stage eating bananas while crowds of tourists took photos. Don't get me wrong, seeing orangutans eat bananas is interesting for a few minutes, maybe even an hour or two. But think about whether you want to give up several days of your hard earned paid vacation for that, and book extra plane tickets and take long boat rides to do so. If you are expecting to see them in nature, you won't do that in Tanjung Puting. The feeding times feel very staged and very much like a zoo thanks to the crowds of tourists. I didn't see any wild orangutans, only the ones feeding, and I saw few other animals either. In 3 days I saw a couple of probiscus monkeys and 1 small crocodile.

Tanjung Harapan Rehabilitation Center is not currently open to the public, and I was told that Natas Langgui (sp?), the research center for probiscus monkeys and gibbons, had been closed. Anyway, there was little to see and it didn't feel very authentic and I was very disappointed. In hindsight I should have gone to Sumatra and visited to orangutan viewing center near Medan as a half day trip, and then continued on to Danau Toba or something. Using 4,5, or 6 days to get out to and stay in Tanjung Puting is a big waste of time if you ask me.

Just my two cents.
RedApe
16-Aug-2006 00:19 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Re. Alsch. Always good to hear of other alternatives along the Kinabatangan. But I think it's very much of a "different strokes for different folks" thing.

"280 rm seems an extortionate amount of money for a tour that, despite being advertised as 3D/2N is actually closer to 1.5D/2N, of which the majority of the main day you are left with free time to "play volleyball or soccer". er no thanks. "

Actually I think you are devaluing what occurs at Uncle Tans. Given that you enter and depart on the river (1.5 hours each way)...get a night boat safari (Day 1), a guided night walk (Day 2), an early morning and afternoon boat tour (Day 2), and guided morning walk (Day 2) and a gratis morning safari (Day 3) ...that's 5 boat trips/walks of over 1.5-2 hours each. Last time I was there (this June) we actually spent two trips at over 3.5 hours going nearly to Bilit so we could spot elephants. Most people find this almost "too much"..some actually skip the walks to rest.

That leaves only about 3 hours outside of meals, at the hottest part of the day, as "free time". Generally there is little wildlife to spot at that time. However, if an orangutan or other interesting mammal is spotted on the guided tour they will frequently take visitors back out to see if the ape is still feeding. Many people use that time to walk solo on the trails, fish in the dog-leg lakes, or use one of the paddle boats to explore the lake. Others want the rest from the breakneck schedule and sit and read on hammocks.

"This place is the end of the road, literally. You can get a bus from Sandakan bound for Semporna or Tawau and ask to be dropped at the sukau turn-off, this should cost 10Rm. From there there are regular mini-buses all the way to Sukau, 40km, which cost 20Rm. Put off by what we thought was an expensive price we hitched. It might have been worth the 20 though we know people that only paid 15. It took us about 8 rides, a bit of walking and about two hours along one of the worst roads in malaysia"

Just a few remarks. Your transport costs would have been RM60RT if you had travelled by bus without hitching. RM40 for 2 nights accomodation in Sukau...plus @RM10/meal? You'd get 6 meals through UT. That's about RM$60. So if you handn't of hitched you would have paid RM$160 for transport/accomodation/food. You paid for two boat trips at between RM$20-40 depending on how many share. So already you are at RM$200-240 for two boat rides. Uncle Tan's (with 5 boat trips and two guided tours) is RM$280. It seems the major benefit of your suggestion is group size and p0erhaps being able to squeeze a few Ringgits off the cost by hitch-hiking...at the same time you lose time actually observing wildlife on the river (the boat trips into and out of the camp).

BTW extra days at Uncle Tan's are RM$40, and one can gets the morning boat trip and either the afternoon or evening boat trip as part of that..and one can go on the walks as well. No extra charge.

" but after spending four days looking for an alternative to the over-priced, over-packed tours I was so glad I found this, for me it was the highlight of Sabah. "

Glad you saved the money, but on my visit we saw elephants ( a herd of 50), crocodiles (both night and day), several orangutans, leaf monkeys, long and stump-tailed macaques, a leopard cat, vipers and a python, civet cats, brindled pigs, giant and pygmy squirrels, flying squirrels, colugos, Storm's Storks, Buffy Fish Owls, 5 different species of hornbills, and more small birds and other raptors than I could bother to name. Many of these were actually first spotted by the guides at Uncle Tan's. They are the ones to locate and identify various frogs (including the worlds smallest, Microhyla borneensis) on the walks, and spotting rarer and more cryptic wildlife.

I personally feel that Uncle Tan's is good value, when actually fairly compared, though conditions are basic and if one is not willing to camp IN THE FOREST then it really might not be suitable for that type of traveller. Part of the reason that costs ARE so low is the reality that they DO have the benefit of numbers, though. And if you are put-off by that then your option, and have the time to manage things yourself, or those of the higher priced eco-tours seems reasonable.
mattcooley
17-Aug-2006 21:29 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
We have more updates on Danum Valley and Kinabatangan, we were there July 2006.

We were keen to see the Danum Vally after Lazslo's description, and a bit nervous after reading Post 16. However we had few problems getting there! We arrived in Lahad Datu on a Sunday to find the office shut (its open every other day) so checked into Tabin Lodge, clean cheap hotel if you get stuck, in centre area, couldn't find hotels in Fajar centre area where nature offices are.

Monday morning we turned up at the Danum Valley Field Centre office (which is next door to Borneo Rainforest Lodge if your price range is RM 450 a night, plus transport). The lady was not especially hesitant in asking us if we were "keen naturalists" (price bracket F, as Post 16 says, you pay a premium compared to 5 other levels of genuine researchers). I think if you turn up offering your ready cash they are very unlikely to turn you away. People we spoke to who tried to advance book had to consider writing a letter of application to go, so we recommend just turn up.

Transport wise you may pay to get there, we found their cheap minibus fully booked for a week, so paid RM300 (okay if 2 or more of you) to charter a nice pickup there, to leave in an hour. We were able to book onto a return minibus for RM40 each. Their minibuses run on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays only.

We stayed in the hostel for RM66 per night, you can 'camp' in hammocks for about RM30, or get a nice private room for RM160ish for 2. (these are all maximum prices, if you are a student of something nature related the price begins to drop down - bring creds to prove it). As for food, you can pay RM60 for full board, steep, but its good, and are you planning to live off cornflakes for a week? Well, bring em and save yourself RM18 per day for breakfast, good compromise, remember they're 2 hours from the town, and the food is good.

We saw 2 orang utans 3 days out of 4, watched them for up to 2.5 hours, saw them feeding on fruits and making nests one night, it was fantastic! At times they were just a few metres above our heads. We saw several nests too, as well as gibbons, macaques, hornbills of various kinds, mouse deer, wild pigs, monitor lizards.

If you go, hire the binoculars for about RM10 per day, you can see the facial expressions of orang utans if you find them! And go for a swim in the river from the little beach, its real sand so nice to cool down. Buy leech socks too.

Have fun!

Kinabatangan was much less beautiful after this. We did the easy option and went to Uncle Tans as the info office in Sandakan is shut Saturday and Sunday, and we didn't want to wait to ask around. We did ask about public buses to Sukau and didn't get any leads, met one guy who waited a day at the junction while taxi drivers lauged at him when he wouldn't pay RM 100 to go there.

Kinabatangan was nice and easy, all arranged for you, nice food, we saw lots of proboscis monkeys, the boat trips are nice, and if you like tarantulas and frogs the night walk is really good. Forest way less pretty, and you pass oil palm plantations which made us sad, but the wildlife is different. You might see orang utans, but check on the season of the trees being in fruit, otherwise no chance. I think its August near Uncle Tans, but contact them in advance to check.

Helen & Matt
bodiboardbeauty
08-Sep-2006 00:57 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Bukit Lawang

From Danau (Lake) Toba it is possible to get a tourist bus through Medan and onto Bukit Lawang, the journey takes around 9 hours and costs 140,000Rp per person. You can arrange this via the hotels on Tuk Tuk, or at the harbour at Parapat.

If coming from Medan the trip takes 3 hours and costs 75,000Rp.

The last hour of the journey to Bukit Lawang is atrocious as the road is virtually derelict. What with heavy traffic and massive rain fall the road is virtually impassable at points and the buses are forced to a pace little faster than a crawl.

However once there it is worth it. There is a rope bridge leading across to Eco Lodge, where I stayed. A very comfortable place, my large room costing 80,000Rp, with shower, WC, fan etc. It is close to the jungle and the river, with a good if a little limited menu available.

Our guide was recommended via Tuk Tuk, his name was Alek and he's been a guide in Bukit Lawang for 13 years. He was extremely knowledgeable, patient and not remotely pushy and is based either at Eco Lodge or Jungle Inn a little further down the river on the other side.

We chose a day trek for 275,000Rp each, including lunch and fruit.

We came across a mother and baby Oran Utan within 30 minutes of trekking, a truly magnificent sight. Throughout the trek we saw two 7 year old males and another female with a baby.

There was an abundance of Macaque's and a troop of Thomas Leaf Monkeys.

Throughout the trek Alek pointed out chameleons, different forna and forna and was very jovial.

The final stages of the trek brought us through the 'Rehabilitation Centre' which is now used to segregate poorly Orang Utans from the others to prevent spreading disease. The rehabilitation centre no longer functions, although it is possible to see post rehabilitated Orang Utans being fed there twice a day.

From a personal perspective it was thoroughly worth the trek to see wild Orang Utans in their natural habitat, especially pleasing to see babies, which suggests they are breeding well in the wild again. The other monkeys were a bonus.
Api
03-Nov-2006 02:31 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
I was actually looking for info on gibbons and stumbled on this. I just wanted to say something about the rehabilitation centres vs. wild orangutan issue. Yes, it is unfortunate that so much money goes to the centres when the same amount could probably do alot more for protection of wild populations, but it is actually 2 different issues - one of conservation (the wild ones) and one largely of animal welfare (what on earth do you do with all the orphans that are being generated?). Plus, the centres (some of them at least) are important for research into understanding some less understood aspects of orangutan biology / behaviour. Plus, I wouldn't actually like to see too many people trek into the forests to see orangutans as it isn't in their favour to become too habituated to people (of course this is weighed against more people meaning more forest protection - to some extent at least, although poachers will always find a way, and rehabilitated apes aren't meant to get used to humans either.). Anyway, I just wanted to say there are important factors on both sides, although I do agree that more money needs to go to the wild orangutans.
Api
03-Nov-2006 03:02 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
P.S. If you want the latest information on orangutan conservation projects and their distribution UNEP-WCMC have just published a great ape atlas. This has the most recent distribution maps. It also gives a run down on the rehabilitation centres etc.
Gniffer
04-Nov-2006 18:33 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Hi all,

Excellent thread btw, so thanks to Laszlo and all.

I am planning a trip to Indonesian Kalimantan for a week in January, specifically to trek in rainforest and hopefully to see Orang-Utan.
I was gearing up for Gunung Pulang until I read the posters comments about the forest clearing and the Durian 'farming'.

Does anybody have a recent update on the site? Is it worth to go? Can we stay at the research centre?
I see they have a contact and web-site so I will try it out also and report back.

Otherwise, which park do folk recommend for a trip such as this. We are happy to have basic accomodation etc., the priority is to see unspoilt forest and wildlife which is 1 or 2 days travel time from Jakarta.

Thanks
Laszlo
04-Nov-2006 18:43 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
If the priority is unspoilt forest, rather than easily seen wildlife, head for the interior.
Bukit Baka Bukit Raya NP had gorgeous forest when I was there, as did the even more remote Kayan Mentarang NP.
Both are well off the beaten track, so speaking some Indonesian would be kind of necessary to make the trip.

Gunung Palung's forest was logged around the edges even at the best of times, and Kutai's forests have long been in pretty bad shape.
But still, these parks offer easier wildlife sightings!

If still keen on GPNP, try and get an Indonesian speaker to call the park office for you before leaving JKT.
The park has an Indonesian language website here, which does have contact numbers.
byelukha
15-Dec-2006 01:43 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
We're in Lahad Datu currently where we just booked with Danum Valley Field Centre. It seems like they are wishy washy about who they let in. We turned up today and the first thing out of the receptionists mouth was that they don't let tourists at the center. We explained that we were biologists and she lighten up a little and told us that we need written permission from the HQ in KK before we could book. She sounded surprised that we hadn't set up reservations ahead of time. She gave us a brochure, though, which was chalked full of tourists info about DVFC. She told us to email the address on the back, which is incorrect (it was sent back to us). She also told us to contact Mr. Albinus at HQ for permission. He made it sound like no prob, we could do it as "backpackers." When we went back to the Lahad Datu office, all we did was tell her that he said it was ok and she was suddenly ok with tourists going.

So, it seems like it might be worth calling or writing the HQ ahead of time to get permission, otherwise you might waist a day trying to get a hold of the KK office from Lahad Datu.

Or maybe you could just tell the receptionist in Lahad Datu that you already spoke with Mr. Albinus on the phone and he gave you permission and hope that she doesn't confirm...

If you want the KK numbers: (6) 088326320 and 088326300.

We hope our reservations stick when we go back next week for the van... :)
gwitkin
19-Dec-2006 18:32 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Wife and I are traveling to either Danum or Tabin for 4 days in April. What is anyone's experience. We are early 30's can do long day hikes and want to get away from people.

Don't mind hiring a private guide and want to be able to try to set up a sensor activated camera.

Suggestions?

Thanks.
savetheorangutan
06-Jan-2007 05:58 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
A new opportunity for viewing orangutans and participating in eco-volunteerism is now provided by the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation at the Samboja Lestari Reforestation Project, near Wanariset. The nearly 200 orangutans at Wanariset have been transferred to this new facility which also houses the world's largest sun-bear sanctuary.
Volunteer programmes as well as short term visits to the idyllically sitruated Samboja Lodge, overlooking the forest and the Orangutan Islands are available.
Please visit www.sambojalodge.com or www.savetheorangutan.co.uk for more information. All profits go to support the work of the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation, the largest primate rescue project in the world.
Michelle
Pongo
25-Feb-2007 21:17 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Just to make the list of Laszlo comprehensiv:
The Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOS) has a second rehabilitation centre in Central Kalimantan, named Nyaru Menteng. It is near Palangka Raya and currently houses approx. 620 orangutans, mostly rescued from oil palm plantations. Just like the other centre Wanariset, Nyaru Menteng is not open to the general visitor.
cgusto
28-Feb-2007 11:02 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Updates on few things (it is a bit long but some decent info I think):

Kutai: We visited in November and it is still pretty much same as before. Mr. Suziki was there when we arrived though and it seems that he has gotten even more unfriendly to tourists. If he is not aorund the Indo researchers at the reasearch station can be contacted by the park rangers and can pick you up for much smaller fee than if you try to get someone else to take you (I think we paid them about 50,000 - 100,000Rp on our way back when Suziki had already left). If Suziki is there however he will not let them pick anyone up so you have to figure out how to get there some other way. We first talked to forest rangers in town and he was going to set something up but he said that it would be 500,000Rp or more which is bit over our budget. He also quoted a price to go downriver to look for proboscis monkeys as quite high (300,000 Rp or more). When we also talked to forest ranger he said that since Suziki was there it would be better if the ranger came along (of course for a fee) but we talked him out of this idea and decided to go on our own. You do not need a guide as the trails are clearly marked and easy to follow. The way we finally got to research station was by catching public microlet (maybe 10,000 Rp each) to Papa charlie (a company town which was not what we expected). I thought there would be more boats to catch but they were fairly absent but after waiting for awhile one passed by and we asked for a ride to Prevab. Along the way we saw monitor and long-tail macaques. When we arrived we asked them how much and they quoted 300,000 Rp which was a bit exhorbant for 20 minute ride. We asked them how much gas they used for this trip and they said maybe 40,000 Rp so we decided that something in the order of 100,000 Rp (although I forget exact amount) was more appropriate for their services. I am sure Suziki was not very happy to see those pesky tourists and he did good job of purposely avoiding us during our time here.

We stayed 4 nights at the very basic accomadation here. It is just a wooden cabin with no beds or anything. Bring misquito net if you have one or hammock would be nice. The little hut was at one time very nice I think when WWF and some other orgs gave them funding a few years ago. Since that time it has fallen into disprepair which is unfortunate. There used to be a sink I think and stove but it has all been torn out or stolen. There are no locks on any doors although noone is around except for Suzuki's team of Japanese (3 when we were there) and Indo researchers (4). When we arrived the rain had not started and there was no water to speak of. Wish we had brought some drinking water from town but thought there would be some from tap that we could at least purify. But it ended up that we had to use water from river for drinking and other necessary things (wash in river and if you wanted to use for flushing the toilet). Bring all your food and some way to cook it. So yes very basic but still a nice setting two feet from the forest. We did not pay for accomadation as no one asked us for anything in our limited contact with the researchers and the park rangers said it was free. We did pay the entrance fee to park which was actually paid at Sangkimah and good for our whole stay in park. I forget how much but not unreasonable.

What we saw: When Suziki around you cannot follow researchers but if he not there you can use them to help you look for orangs as others have said. We found all on our own but if Suziki was not aorund this would be surefire way to find orangs. we found 6 orangutans; our first a large male and one time we saw three at once in one tree (which I do not think happens very often). there was one lucky fruiting tree where we saw 5 of the 6 and almost everytime we came someone new was up there. There were tons of hornbills (oriental pied, wreathed, wrinkled and rhino mostly) but high in canopy and fairly scitterish (much more than in Kinabatangan) and many macaques. Also heard many gibbons but did not get a sighting. Saw few mouse deer on night walk. Did not think the forest as bad as expected from past reports and still many bigger trees left. The trails are well developed and used by researchers and it is very easy since very flat. Nice stroll in the woods looking for wildlife. no leeches but some nasty biting ants (wearing chocos like my girlfriend not recommended). Really an enjoyable place that it seems like hardly anyone goes.

We also checked out Sangkhima before prevab and the mangroves at Teluk Kaba (which I think maybe sort of closed since the sign has been taken down but no one had any problem with us going here). The boardwalk through the forest at Sangkhima is nice and we saw few macaques and birds. They do get orangs here too but when we were there we were told it was the wrong time of year and they had gone deeper in the forest. At Teluk Kaba the short mangrove boarwalk is nice (it is unmarked - look behind the station at the end of the road near the water) and the walk along dirt road to get here has been extensively logged making it very hot anytime after early morning and before late afternoon. The birding here in AM pretty good though. You can stay here at guest house (50,000Rp per person) or we asked if we could set up tent which at first OK with the guy but then when we set it he wanted us to stay in guest house and pay (for his pocket money I am pretty sure). We declined and stayed in our tent instead and he was OK with this after few minutes of discussion.

Kinabatangan and Sukau: We took advice of above post and stayed at Sukau B&B at end of road. We ended up paying van to take us there which was 25 RM per person which was too much but he would not go down. Once we arrived we were told it should be 10 or 15 RM. On our way out we hitched with a plantation owner's son who ended up going out of his way and taking us all the way to Lahad Datu. He was a nice guy and even showed us his father's plantation and how things work. Cannot say I agree with his business but the Malaysian govt is doing a good job at continuing to encourage the destruction of the forest and here like most places, people are interested in making money which oil palm plantations do. He told us that Shell was clearing huge swath of forest and setting up plantation to be used as bio-diesel fuel. So maybe that alternative energy is not always a good thing.

Anyway at Sukau B&B the son of the owner is very personable and speaks really good English although he broke his leg playing football so could not guide us. Instead his father, the owner guided us the first cruise (he was not quite as personable or knowledgable about the wildlife and how to find it). The first night we took a late afternoon and night cruise (it lasted about 6 or 7 hours and cost RM 100). We went down the Menonggo and luckily there were only 2 other boats (sometimes there are 20). It was amazing and the density of wildlife was absolutely phenomenal. In just few hours and along 2km stretch maybe we saw probably 10 groups of proboscis, 6 groups of mixed short tail and long tail macaques and 3 groups of silver leafs. We also saw about 4 monitors, a croc's eyes at night, a Wallace's tree viper and a number of hornbills. At night we spotlighted and saw about 10 Buffy Fish Owls, sleeping kingfisher and think a marbled cat.

When we got back that night though we met the brother in law of the owner who is now staying at the B&B for a year trying to help them develop the tour packages a bit more. He is from peninsular malaysia and is one of the nicest people that I have met on my travels. I have lost his info now but will update this if I find it soon. He has been working on the Kinbatangan for about 10 years as a guide and wildlife spotter for some research projects. He is very involved in the conservation projects along the Kinabatangan. We talked with and told him what we were interested in seeing and that we would love to go out with him. He has his own nice small boat which he is willing to go anywhere with. One traveler wanted to go to Semporna by way of river and he was willing to do this and we joined for the ride (it was 300 RM for the boat for this trip). He is willing to go out from early in the morning until past nightfall for spotlighting (so 14 hours) to what he says is one of best areas for wildlife (downriver near Albai where he used to live on a beautiful oxbow lake) for about 200 RM for boat. This is a really exceptional deal compared to other places and it really appears that he is not in it for the money. If you were to go for a shorter trip I am sure it would be much cheaper (60 - 100 RM for half day). He really enjoys what he does and is an excellent birder (one of our interests) as well. He can see and identify birds and other animals from far away and knows where things are from his long experience on the river. He is willing to plan your trip according to what you want to see and where you want to go. He is flexible and all around a great person from my judgement.

Around the Sukau B&B we saw a female orang and very small baby (only 200 meters away) and there is groop of red leafs that hangs around although we did not see them. There are pair of oriental pied hornbills always around and an hour's hike away there is a small limestone outcrop with cave. Elephants use this area to pass through and there were signs of their recent presence. On our trip downriver to Semporna (to drop of other traveler) we really wanted to see elephants but unfortunately a few weeks before the large herd had broken up which makes it difficult to find them and we were not so lucky. We did see many proboscis and gray leafs and macaques though and another two orangutans along river. We saw a number of Storm's storks, cormorants, rhino and oriental pied hornbills, dollarbirds, many pigeons and many other birds. No crocs but the day before our guide had been upriver and seen a 5 meter one. We ended up leaving a bit later than expected from Semporna after dropping off other traveler so our late afternoon spotting was not so full but we did see an amazing firefly show in Albai where trees lit up with thousands of fireflies like christmas lights. We ended up sleeping in Albai instead of heading back to Sukau. We just stayed on floor of our guide's relatives. They did not charge except for the amazing food which was the river prawns prepared three different ways (they were like miny lobsters and delicious). In the morning we left to go back to Sukau and it was a little misty and cool so many of the monkeys were still sleeping which was funny to look at. more nice birds along the way including an amazing helmeted hornbill (we were very lucky as that was only second time our guide had seen one along the river). It is a gorgeous bird. We also heard some gibbons and our guide let us of to go find one which we succeeded in doing. These are probably my favorite primates and their grace is just amazing. We also saw a huge male orang on our way back who was very close to river and right near a plantation.

Our guide told us it was up to us for how much we wanted to pay for morning cruise since he had already been paid for the trip to Semporna and he was just making his way back (so his costs for gas already covered). We decided to give him 50 RM and we headed on our way to Danum.

Danum: I was with byelukha who posted above and it would probably be good to contact them beforehand to make reservation. We ended up camping at Danum which took a little while for them to convince them that this would be OK. I think it was maybe because they had not cleaned the area in awhile and it seems that few people stay here. It was however a really nice setup with hamocks set up under a roof and it is elevated so no problem with wetness. There is a kitchen area and sink although no cooking equipment permanently there although I think you might be able to rent it. We brought our own and also all of our food since it is pricey to eat at field center. This worked well for us. It was 30 RM per night per person. Bring a misquito net perhaps. Vans to Danum only run mon, wed, fri as said before

We were there for 5 days and it was great. The most wildlife we found though was very close to station proper. From the restaurant deck which nice place to relax I saw gibbon swinging in trees, pig tailed macaque, giant squirrel, rhino hornbills and falconet catching butterflies. We saw troop of macaques and red leaf monkeys and juvenile orang and in front of education center and female orang right behind it. The nature trail is OK with observation tower and also saw red leafs here though nothing else. Went on coffin trail and did not see much except Bornean horny frog but forest nice. At night walking around station with spotlight we saw few civets and leopard cat and cool tree frog. Went on night drive and did not see much but it had rained earlier in day. There are the many resident pigs and sambar deer as well. Many Buffy Fish Owls and hornbills. Birding here is supposed to be great but I am still a novice and I find rainforest birding quite difficult. Many people have seen tons of birds here though as can be seen in books in lobby.

Other practical info: I think van is around 60 RM per person and entry permit 30 RM. They say you need a guide but that you can go on bird watching or night walks by yourself so I recommend that you do this and if they ask you just say that you thought you could go on your own for bird walks. Or you could be diplomatic and ask the people in charge if you can go by yourself and try to give them some good reason why. If you have money to pay for guide go for it (20 RM an hour is steep) and I have heard that they are not very knowledgeable. We went on a few longer hikes with no guide and had no problems with the staff (although it was Christmas and very few researchers there). We did find however that some of trails outside of the used research grid are very overgrown and often dead end. But there is plenty to see near the station and the forest is nice there. If you are up for a little adventure there was a group that was hiking from the station to the Danum Rainforest Lodge and sleeping in the forest. The guides do not do that often or ever but if you wanted to you could probably work something out if willing to pay.

One more thing if you want to check out blog for more info, it is below. There are linked pics and the entries about these places were placed on the blog in December 2006 and January 2007

SE Asia blog
philmk
07-May-2007 08:25 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Does anyone know if there are ANY opportunities for 'free volunteering' in Malaysia?
roman777
09-May-2007 06:52 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
hi i am heading to Gunung Leuser National Park on sumatra,
has anyone actual information? as I am running a little bit of time, should i skip Bukit Lawang completely or perhaps put it second after Gunung Leuser National Park although the geological order would of course set Bukit Lawang first as it is close to medan.

any help welcome!

roman, penang
Laszlo
09-May-2007 07:20 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
It depends where in Leuser you want to go.
If to Gurah, BL is out of the way, and a waste of time, I think.
If to Tangkahan, it could be a stopover on the way there.
moonschein1
30-May-2007 15:42 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Sabah update April 23-May 6 2007

this site was so helpful w/ our planning that here's an update for y'all! special thanks to Lazlo, Jerry, Dave/Eva!

We flew in and out w/ Royal Brunei to BSB (1045NZD from Auckland to London, no limits on stopover):
R.H. Soon Rest house—upstairs across from Brunei Hotel entrance; 25BD taxi from airport, or 1BD public bus (3 blocks from central bus station); 45BD for double plus single bed w/ toilet and hot shower in room—run down but clean and safe; 24hr reception and security. BSB airport has a rest. outside that has excellent food and fresh juices, coffee shop has free wireless.

Royal Brunei to KK (153BD rtn) flights are at random times. Our connection for the noon flight (from KK) was canceled, next flight was 7pm next day. Great customer service tho: their delayed flight made us miss our sandakan connection, they put us up at Le Meridien (the poshest hotel in KK) and gave us dinner, brekkie and transport.
KK- good prices on most brands SLR lenses at Canon Suppliers 2 blocks from Meridien.
Casaurina Hotel—close by airport w/ free shuttle (Fly Air Asia Express put us up their when they canceled our connecting flight Back to KK)

Ferry from BSB to Labuan is 20MR for first class several trips a day. FAX flies from Labuan to KK don’t know the price as we were comped by FAX for canceling our connection

Flying between KK and Sandakan:
Air Asia-75MR but only once/day
Malaysia Air-115MR 4 times if you book online w/ plenty advance can be 50MR
Mini bus between is only about 30-45MR

NO ATM AT SANDAKAN AIRPORT!!! We weren’t the only ones whose plans were affected by this. Make sure you stock up in KK or have time to run into town for ATM before your river plans.

KINABATANGAN RIVER:
Uncle Tans:
-3D2N 320MR (about 5 hrs boat (including to/from) 4 hrs walks, extra hour boat on 3rd am if space). extra days 60RM. You reach river bout 4pm for transfer leave river bout 11am for bus, so does feel more like 2D2N, but still good value, esp. if you do extra days. Lunch provided 1st and 3rd day at ops base. There is a basic B&B there for 25RM.
--they have several other options that didn’t seem to be advertised: you can do a jungle sleep/survival course for extra 2 days or they can take you down to Bilit for a homestay for extra days as well.
--if you want to go further down river they can arrange a fisher to take you for 60RM plus fuel
-accomodation Very Basic: mattress on floor w/ mozzie screen, single sheet, hole toilet, brown river water bucket shower. Handy that it rained most days at 2pm for washing! Capacity for 40ppl. I imagine would feel cramped when full. Very muddy, they have free wellies. Food surprisingly good, and lots of it—watch out for Macaques stealing your pancakes and beer!
-guides: enthusiastic, well rounded, relaxed and cheerful. If Orangs around will lead missions to see them again during down time.
--on our boat trip into the camp we saw: long and pig-tailed Macaques, oriental pied hornbills, 2 types kingfishers, and wild pigs. In camp were 3 orangutangs, civet cat, loads of frogs (including Jade and Harlequin Tree Frogs), Blue tarantula, chance to hold scorpion, and troop of Long tailed Macaques w/ endless antics. On river trips we saw 4mt croc, 8 otters, Rhinosaurus Hornbill, buffy fish owl, civet cat, silver leaf monkey, Proboscis monkeys, several types of butterfly.

We also went to Kinabatangan Jungle Camp, run by Robert thru the Labuk B&B in Sepilock # 089-533-190
-580MR for 3D2N (avg 11hrs boat including transfer, no guided walks) 200MR for extra day, 330MR for 2D1N. arrive at river and leave about mid-day, so longer than UTs. first glance expensive, but more than twice as upscale as UTs and not twice the price. We were in a raised cabin w/ 2 double beds and private toilet and hot shower. They made the bed w/ fresh linens every day. Food was beautiful, w/ a bit more Chinese and western influence than Malaysian. Laundry available 15MR/load. Filtered water always available, beers less expensive than UTs. If you request his driver can sometimes take you by Gomantong caves on the way there or back. Downriver from Bilit so less evidence of Plantations than at UTs=more wildlife. (but closer to traffic at Sukau)
--as mentioned in previous entry, Robert is an excellent guide for BIRDS, Elephants and mammals in that order. For reptiles and insects no interest at all, but if that’s your focus, he can recommend excellent private guides. If you have simply general interest, you will be happy w/ Robert, but just as happy w/ UTs guides. He excels if you have Specific Interests. He took us on 5 hour trip past Sukau in pouring rain to search for elephants. The Next day we wanted to try again and he only charged us 2.5MR for extra 50 litres fuel to take us almost to last town on river where we finally saw a herd of elephants, and were only boat with them for the hour and a half. On our last day we still hadn’t seen gibbons, so he extended the morning boat trip by 45mins until we finally found them.
In the visitor book are mentions of private hikes to find specific rare birds. He understands the lighting needs for photographers, and chooses routes based on the lighting as well as the wildlife. His boatmen are better trained than UTs, and can get much closer to the wildlife. For the night trip tho, we had to badger him to set up a guide to take us out on the river, and the couple that was there before us didn’t get a night trip. They went too fast and at first only looked for croc eyes, since that’s so easy. Had to cajole them a bit to go slower and look up into the grass and trees, but did find a leopard cat very close, so worth the hassles.
--elephants are much better here than at UTs. When the elephants passed by UTs in march, only one guide heard them, and raced after their trail but never caught up. At KJC they seem to hang around there for a bit longer, actually damaging the boathouse by trying to play football w/ the empty barrels. Robert knows where they cross the river and will make extra efforts to watch the crossing. As seen by him making 2 huge trips to see them when they were a long way away, if they are anywhere w/in 2 hours you’re almost guaranteed to see them if that’s your focus, as he’d easily make several trips to find them.
Keep in mind they move FAST, up to 10km/day.
-there was a storm stork wandering around the camp when we first arrived, and we twice saw white-crested/crowned hornbills.

SUKAU- previous entries mention the state of the road there, currently under construction so was even harder to get to, we were quoted about 300RM, tho we didn't make much effort. Hopefully by next year should be easy road, and cheap transport.
A couple we met went w/ SI and stayed at Abai and Sukau w/ them, loved it. They arranged in KK for 9 nights including turtle island, 3 nights KRiver, Gomantong Caves, 2 nights BRL in Danum, and Sepidan diving, including all transport to/from KK for 4444MR each. More expensive than independent, but limited time and no hassles, they were very happy and felt it was worth it.
Another couple arranged thru Borneo Eco Tours and loved it. They were the only lodge that had ventured down river looking for the elephants. They also had a guide for trekking through Sepilock sanctuary down to river, and then ferry and taxi back.

SEPILOCK Sanctuary: 30MR + 10 camera, multiple entry one day. Feeding time feels like a zoo, but my husband stayed there all day, wandering aroung the trails and Loved it, also got amazing photos of Silver Leaf and Macaque moms w/ babies suckling.
--Sepilock Jungle Resort: 45MR double w/ shared outside cold shower and toilet, 55RM double w/ private hot shower and toilet, 95/130 RM double w/ ensuite and AC. Brekkie “included” but only 2 pieces toast w/ excellent jam. Eggs 3RM extra and above. Poorly maintained, and only rude staff we’ve encountered in Borneo. Rest. Expensive for average quality: 10RM minimum for main dish PLUS 6RM for rice or noodles. Grounds are Large and Peaceful, w/ walking trails but little wildlife, rest. area good for hanging out as well.
--Labuk B&B is new and beautiful, reportedly w/ excellent food. Affiliated w/ Robert and KJC # above. 60RM double, w/ fan, I believe ensuite. Has AC rooms as well.
--rest house next to sanctuary 50RM double w/ fan, pretty small, but seems clean and friendly
We’d heard unpleasant things from girls staying in Sandakan, that’s why we stayed at Sepilock, also to get full day at Sanctuary.

DANUM VALLEY
--minibus 20 RM from the river junction, an hour to Lahad Datu.

DVField Center: a friend after calling 4 numbers was finally given Maria at 089-880-207 who was very helpful, booked him in, and confirmed that he didn’t really need a guide, as mentioned above. I found out that she is actually the booking agent for Borneo Rainforest Lodge, but her team was still quite helpful, calling the FC to check on availability for us. The prices they quoted us for the FC are:
Double room in hostel: 87MR/night
3meals:78/day
Park entry: 30 one time
RTN Transfer: 120 one time (9:30am there, 1:30 back) 180RM rtn for private times or airport
They claimed camping no longer option.
Seems the major difference w/ booking w/ BRL is transfer cost, above entries quote 40RM each way, but it seems the ease of booking and definite seat on bus may be worth the extra.

Unfortunately, there was a large gov’t group there for most of the dates we wanted, we’d been previously advised that if only 2 nights, better off at BRL w/ guides, as FC needs more time to find wildlife w/o help. Which is why we stayed extra time at Robert’s on Kinabatangan River, since still less expensive than BRL.

Borneo Rainforest Lodge: 555MR/pp/pernight. I asked for discount, received 10%, plus 30MR entry and 120MR rtn transfer.
--beautiful cabin on river, hot shower and toilet, deck w/ clotheslines, very friendly chatty staff come in evenings to close your blinds, turn on lights and mozzie repellant, food buffets decent, but better at KJC. The lodge has several comfy places to relax and several types of butterfly, the grounds are large and peaceful.
--If you have specific interests, Definitely pay the 150MR more for private guide: Wong if for birds (several Wongs, so clarify) and Donny/Danny? (head guide) for general all around and photography. Our guide was huge disappointment; his knowledge and experience was Excellent, but his people skills poor and enthusiasm non-existant. The Night walk was less than 40mins! After venting our frustration, we went on our own, thanking the boys at UTs for giving us some skills for searching and eventually found a flying lemur! Due to our dismal guide (the whole reason we went there!) Unless you pay extra for a private guide, I’d say you’re better off going to Uncle Tans for extra days to get a good foundation of hikes, and then stay at least 4 nights at FC doing independent walks.
--the previous night drive to ours saw 2 slow loris, and elephants. There was a large troop of Red Leaf Monkeys (Maroon Languers) just across the road from our cabin, and a fruiting fig up the road a bit w/ a family of gibbons, helmeted and black hornbills, and orangutang close by. Across the river we saw a great argus pheasant who apparently is pretty regular. Clouded leopard is rare, but territorial and seen about once a month sometimes bout 10am! Western Tarsiers seen average every 2 weeks. There’s a frog pond nearby that we watched a red-sided water snake eating a file-fared frog (?), found 5 different species, including Harlequin Tree Frog, and watched a Jade Tree Frog lay an egg sac.

LAHAD DATU
Tabin Lodge: 30MR for double w/ fan and cold shower, shared toilet. Basic but clean, quite loud.

Fly Asia Express Lahad Datu to KK : 20NZD online, several flights. Warning w/ FAX: 1st flight almost always gets canceled! Seems like this may be true on most routes. Industry has complained about their service so much that after only a year, the Malaysian gov’t has arranged to pay Malaysia Air a 60 Million Ringitt subsidy to take back the Borneo routes under their Firefly brand by next year. Until then, plan accordingly.

SEASONS:
July/August is fruiting season, so supposedly best for wildlife, but also extremely crowded. We arrived late April and were told several stories of things for the 2 weeks previous; either they always say that or early April really is a good time to visit. Several times we and others were the only guests at our respective lodges. Even so, around Sukau were almost 10 boats at a time, in peak can be more than 20 waiting to look at one tree of monkeys. Mt. Kinabalu was booked out for 2 other couples, so make advance arrangements. Feb has a tendency for flooding apparently. June is flowering time.
ENJOY!!!
happy to answer any other questions at moonschein1@yahoo.com. don't check the TT message center often, so may be slow in responding.
boldhaus
18-Jun-2007 11:47 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Hi Laszlo,

first thank you for your article.

Is it possible that you can give more information about reaching Batang Ai Park in Sarawak?

Is it not possible to eat together with the Iban who live in the longhouses?

Thanks
Gunnar
Gabi_K
20-Jun-2007 05:17 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Laszlo,
You seem to be the best informed person when in comes to Kalimantan. I plan to visit this summer with my son. We want to go to Kutai and the islands. I cannot decide which one is the best to stay: Derawan, Sangalaki, or Nabucco? We don't dive, but I want both of us to snorkle. My son can't wait to see the sea turtles. I don't want to be surrounded by crowds of tourists. My son would enjoy a piece of beach and easy snorkling ( close, but with plenty of fish, corals and other colorful creatures :) - he is just 5 years old. Which of the 3 islands would you recommend? Also is it better to plan staying a night in Kutai if we really want to see the orangutans or maybe a day : Samarinda - Kutai - Samarinda is enough? Do we have to hike a lot in Kutai ?- I don't mind, but 5 yeras old has his limits. And finally the last question. Flights from Balikpapan to Berau seem to be pretty full every time. Are there planes from Samarinda to Berau and if so, are they easier to get tickets for? Thanks for replay :)
Laszlo
21-Jun-2007 01:13 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
The longhouses at Batang Ai only had a few old Iban left staying in them, hence the need to take food.
You could cook it there for sure.
If you get there, post updates - I was there years ago!

Derawan is the cheapest island to stay on, do Sangalaki as a day-trip.
I really don`t think Kutai can be done as a day-trip. Stay a night at least, maybe more. No need to hike far there.
Gabi_K
21-Jun-2007 10:14 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Thanks :) Anything about Nabucco? Ok, I 'll plan a night in Kutai. I wish we could stay longer, but probably impossible :(
Guest
13-Aug-2007 03:42 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Just thought I should stick my oar in...

Stayed at Danum Valley Field Centre and Batu Putih last week.

With regards to transport from Lahad Datu to the field centre, I turned up on a Monday morning to be told that the bus was full and that I had to pay RM300 to charter a car. Susan at reception, seemed to imply that the bus was always full on a monday because of staff going back there after the weekend off. So if you are going to turn up unannounced, you might want to try it on a Wednesday or Friday morning instead. My ass was saved however, by two French guys with a hire car (to whom I am forever grateful), who walked in while I was at the field centre office :-). Bed in hostel dorm RM66/night. Full board 60/day. Guide 20/hour. Thanks to all on this forum who have shared their experiences on this, this was a great experience, and I'm forever thankful that you helped me get there. But I didn't see any orangs...

So onto Batu Putih. If you are getting the bus from Lahad Datu, tell the driver you want to go to Sungei Kinabatangan, as he didn't know where Batu Putih was, and ended up dropping me at the Sukau road junction. In any case, get off at the river (north bank) and go down to the yellow lodge under the bridge, this is the hq for Miso Walai, who have an apparent monopoly on homestays in Batu Putih. They will place you in a local home for RM56 per night accomodation and 3 meals. A boat tour on the river cost RM80 and a guide for jungle trekking RM25 for a half day. If you are alone it is probably no longer the cheapest option, as it does not seem to be as popular as Sukau - there were no other tourists there, so there was nobody for me to share boats/guides with. But saying that, I did get a feeling of actually staying in the village community - within 2 hours of arriving, I was playing volleyball with the locals. And I saw a solitary orangutan lounging about in the trees...

One last thing, there is now an ATM at Sandakan airport. Hope this helps somebody!
Gabi_K
29-Aug-2007 08:01 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
I just came back from Indonesia 2 weeks ago. I didn't see ape's and didn't go to Kutai - had no time. But I stayed 5 days on Nabucco island, and as I was asking about it and couldn't find much info, just a few words about the area.
I loved Nabucco. I was worried if my son (5) would enjoy there, as I heard the tiny island has no beach. It really doesn't , but my son loved the island. Nabucco is small but full of animalsboth under and overwater. I did some diving (just started there), and my son snorkeled around the dive boat with somebody from the dive center. The reefs are superb, corals in great shape, tons of fish small, big , any kind you might want. People on the island are great - willing to assist you in whatever you want to do, doing their best to help you enjoy the stay. Food is delicious. Bungalows are nice, simple , but very convinient with beautiful views. You never have time to get bored - there is always something to do. Our 5 days were full of activities, and I believe we could stay much much longer and still wouldn't have enough. We visited also Kakaban (jellyfishlake - wow) and Sangalaki (hired local boat for that). Sangalaki was amazig. The postcard -perfect-island, great reef around, sand, palms - all you want on an island - and to all of it turtles!!! we saw so many coming ashore to lay eggs. There are 8 people from Turtle Foundation living on the island. Tourist are not allowed to stay there now. The resort that used to be there doesn't operate anymore. People from foundation are very, very nice. we learnt a lot about turtles, saw Green turtles, and Hawksbills - both huge ones and babies, just hatched runnig to see.... we saw turtles nesting -an incredible thing to see. My son totaly absorb by what was happening around, stayed up till 3 in the morning, and even now , 2 weeks after, can't talk about anything else, but Nabucco and Sangalaki. I recommend the place to everyone. It is hard to get there, takes time and money, but is worht every minute and every penny and I am sure we will go again.
wus
15-Sep-2007 05:50 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Hi Laszlo,

Greenpeace (I don't know if only in Germany or worldwide) is campaigning to help orang utans in Borneo. They write that while I'm reading their letter (only 2 pages), an area equal to 3 soccer fields is being deforested in Borneo. They ask for a donation to help planting food trees for the orang utans, to send out patrols against illegal loggers and poachers, and to declare a "network" (Patchwork?) of more than 22 million hectares of rain forest on Borneo* a protected area, the "heart of Borneo". Have you heard of any such plans?

* in Germany, the term "Borneo" is still mostly used for the whole island, so we'r talking not only about Malaysian Borneo, but also the much bigger Indonesian part, Kalimantan.

I haven't been to Borneo or Kalimantan, but I have seen orang utans in Bukit Lawang 7 years ago. It was great to see these animals in their natural habitat. But from talking to rangers and locals I left with the impression that this habitat will be destroyed by logging. As we all know, there's some proof for this in the fact that a flood caused by illegal logging upriver from Bukit Lawang has washed away most of the village only a few years later. I have also been to other "protected areas" in Indonesia and more or less always left with the feeling that nothing really helps against the logging industry in this corrupt country. So I wonder what sense it makes to declare another area as "protected" if already the existing national parks offer no protection from illegal logging and poaching.

What is your opinion about this? How likely do you see it that actions such as those suggested by Greenpeace will have any positive impact?
wus
15-Sep-2007 12:18 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Correction: It's not Greenpeace, it's the WWF doing the campaign. Looks like I confused the 2 because their little brochure looks so similar to those Greenpeace often sends ....

And, of course I didn't only want to read Laszlo's opinion. Everybody on the board is most welcome to answer.
Laszlo
15-Sep-2007 17:35 		SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Having encountered lots of WWF projects in Indonesia that look great on paper (they produce LOTS of paper = reports) and employ lots of staff from both Indonesia and overseas yet are virtually non-existant when you actually visit the place where they are supposed to have their impact, I am rather sceptical about any of their new projects.
Ambitious new projects must be a great way to attract new funding though! ;-)

Actually Indonesian Borneo already has a rather extentive network of sizeable protected areas, certainly when compared to the mostly pityfully small parks in Sarawak. I think even if only the actual protection of these existing reserves could be strengthened, that would already be enough to conserve much the island's biodiversity.
As many of these reserves now form islands in largely deforested regions, I don't think linking them up meaningfully would be viable anyway. And as far as orangutans are concerned, "the Heart of Borneo" romantic as it sounds, is largely irrelevant. In much of the deep interior, the Dayak inhabitants (whose rights to "traditional" hunting, slash-and-burn agriculture, etc. WWF seems to wish to protect as much as wildlife these days) have long hunted orangutans to near extiction (with guns, not blowpipes, of course!). The huge Kayan-Mentarang NP is a good example of this.

Anyway, I bet this will be another paper-project, if anything.
If they wanted to make a real impact, they should work on guarding existing parks, aided by already existing Indonesian legislation.
But of course that's so much harder, earthier and less novel than drawing up proposals and lobbying overseas...

Also, I wonder if they are even proposing extending the network into Malaysian Borneo, where the small parks are separated by sprawling logging concessions and oil-palm plantations, and the government is much less tolerant of foreign interference than in Indonesia...
Laszlo
03-Feb-2008 12:49 		RE: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Tanjung Puting Update!

While I've always considered this park Kalimantan's major (and only) tourist trap, things seem to have gotten much worse now.
An English guy who visited the place recently told me that prices for visiting this park have increased enormously.
He had to pay 100.000/DAY for his entry permit, 150.000/night for simple homestay accomodation in Tanjung Harapan village, and sg. like 400.000/day for boat hire.
All that just to see some ex-captives, which could be seen much more cheaply in Sumatra or Sabah.
djavaman
04-Feb-2008 12:14 		RE: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Laszlo,
Been a while since I've been lurking around here. Thanks for your continued service to the community. I'm thinking of spend sometime in Sumatra in a few months. What would you recommend as the best nature spots on that island.
Unrelated, I'd like to discuss some stuff about Central Asia with you. Can you PM me?

Cheers,
djavaman
djavaman
18-Feb-2008 19:21 		RE: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Laszlo,
Terima kasih for your PM! I think we've settled on Central Asia, but will take your advice if we pergi ke Sumatra!
evenstar93
23-Feb-2008 08:29 		RE: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Its taken me a few hours to get through this thread but its been very educational.

Has no one been to Batang Ai National Park yet? Also no info on Kubah National Park, im currently doing a goggle search on both.

It has been very interesting reading the updates on here, especially as the thread has been going for years. Im not going out there till September, and although i will not be able to report my trip as well as others have, i will do my best.

Laszlo, thanx for all your input. Although the way im goingout to Borneo may not be ideal, i do hope to make the most out of my trip and to educate myself as much as possable.
Laszlo
23-Feb-2008 10:52 		RE: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
I have been to Batang Ai, but it surprises me too that no one else has reported going. After all, much less interesting places get crowds of tourists in Sarawak!
There is a little note on Kubah at the beginning of the thread, not more as it is not really a good place to see orangutans, other than a few captives at the Matang Wildlife Centre.
evenstar93
25-Feb-2008 03:40 		RE: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
I guess thats where i'll be going then, to the Matang Wildlife Centre :( Im much more looking forward to the 'trekking' i'll be doing to see wild Orangs, although to be honest i am not physically fit at the moment (something im working on)

Id like to know if yoyve seen a big difference between Sarawak and Sabah, both on the Orangutan side and the general side. Ive seen reports saying how Sabah can be dangerous for tourists (more serious things happening than muggings).
Laszlo
25-Feb-2008 15:32 		RE: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Sabah is perfectly safe, except maybe some of its off-shore islands.
It is the easier state to see wild orangutans and other wildlife, but otherwise I found Sarawak more interesting. Do start a separate thread for Qs on these things, and leave this one for ape-related posts.
rsimojoki
26-Feb-2008 21:38 		RE: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Selamat Tahun Baru, myself and my parents had a very special New Year trekking in Kedah, in Central Aceh in the Gunung Leuser National Park, in Sumatra.

If you are looking for an off-the-beaten track experience in Sumatra, and love nature, this could be the perfect thing for you. This place can be visited on its own or as part of a trip to Berastagi and/or Ketambe, and onwards through Takengon and to Aceh. Takengon is also in the national park, also beautiful, and accessible via bus or becak from Kutacane. If you do a search of this branch, you will find numerous posts on Ketambe.

We stayed in a guesthouse in the hills, in the heart of the national park above the village of Kedah, which is about 30 minutes from Blankejeren. This place exists alongside a sparkling river amongst many delicious trees, flowers, mosses, and ferns, twittering birds, and insects. We were woken by the sound of gibbons and siamangs hooting as the sun hits the top of the rainforest canopy. There is no electricity here - only gas lamps and a campfire - and the energy generated by the life seething in the forests. You need to bring warm clothes, especially if you trek up into the hills, as it is a little higher altitude and cooler here.

Mr Jali owns the guesthouse and Mr Usman assists him. They also really looked after us - supplying us with an endless stream of songs, jokes, cups of tea and coffee, tobacco, cooking amazingly inventive food, and carving us wooden rings and bracelets and wooden aeroplanes from fallen trees.

There were no other tourists there, and this place is not in the Indonesian LP. Three years ago the place was set on fire by GAM and tragically, Mr Jali lost some of his family. Since then people don't seem to be coming to Aceh because they think it is dangerous. Well since the tsunami there is true peace in Aceh and it is 100% safe for tourists. I am writing this post because I really hope some of you will consider coming here - to generate income for the local people who have so little - and if ecotourism improves in the NP there is a better chance to stop the logging.

We had an amazing experience trekking on New Years Day. As we were somewhat underprepared - I had inappropriate shoes and my parents bought their suitcases (!) - we decided to go on a day trek. In the first two hours, we saw thick forest, blue green hills, an orangutan, black gibbons, monkeys, many different types of birds including the hornbill, huge centipedes, strange lizards and exotic butterflies. I can imagine that a two or three day trek would boggle the mind.

We were very surprised to see a large male orangutan so easily. After spotting nests and broken fruit on the ground, our guides knew that the furry man of the forest was near. They scuttled us around the forest and eventually spotted him, just chillin' up in the trees and feeding his face.

It was an experience just to watch Mr Jali and Mr Usman move through treacherous mud, tangled vines and spiky plants, all the while keeping an eye open for signs of animals. These guys really made our trip - they taught us allot about how to look after the forest and are also, I think, natural born entertainers!

Kedah is also the best place for those wanting to climb up to the summit of the big mountains in Aceh. A minimum of 3 days trekking (return) is required to reach the top of the Bukit Barisan Range (Mt.Angkasan). A guide is compulsory by law and should be as it is very remote and rugged terrain. The climb from Kedah travels through an incredible change in forest from 50-60metre rainforest giants full of primates to the higher cloud forests full of moss and orchids to the bonsai forests and glacier carved alpine meadows at around 3000metres. It is simply a naturalists paradise. You can also go on treks to the mighty summit of Gunung Leuser(the name of the national park) which stands at 3440 metres and looks out over the west coast of Aceh and the Indian Ocean and the curvature of the Earth as Sumatra spreads out below you like a globe. Treks to Gunung Leuser require a minimum of 12-14 days and is very difficult terrain with lots of tigers holing out at nighttime to let you know they are there.

HOW TO GET THERE:

There are frequent buses from terminal Padang Bulan in Medan, going to Blankejeren, which is a small town between Kutacane and Takengon on the central road through Sumatra which ends in Banda Aceh. The bus takes 9 hours, and passes through Berastagi, Kabanjahe, and Kutacane. As I mentioned, it also is worthwhile checking out Berastagi or Ketambe, which is only half an hour from Kutacane.

We came from Ketambe, which is three hours from Blankejeren. From there, we went to Kedah via the village of Kutanpanjan (30 mins from Blankejeren), then up the hill to Kedah via becak (approx 20,000rp and 15 minutes). When we got to Kutanpanjan, and asked for Mr Jali, were escorted to Kedah by friendly locals. From Kedah, it was about a half an hour walk up to the huts.

FURTHER INFORMATION/WHO TO CONTACT

www.gunung-leuser-trek.net
gunung-leuser-trek@gmx.net

Mr Jali - 0859 6077 6934
Sigi (his friend) - 0812 695 6835
And if you can't get through to either of them, try Mr Gayo - 0815 333 22244 or 08 528 364 64830

By the way, prices are very reasonable!
teddycricket
15-Mar-2008 17:13 		RE: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Hi Laszlo (or anyone else),

Thanks very much for your helpful posts, especially the orangatan post. I was wondering if you stay at the danum valley field center can you still do the night drives. I'm a huge wildlife enthusiast, so would like to see as much as possible.

Also, I'm going to be taking a year off after I graduate this spring (zoology major no doubt), and will be traveling throughout SE Asia. It seems like you have lots of experience, and I was wondering if you have any must see/must do suggestions for SE asia for a huge wildlife enthusiast.

Thanks,
TC
Laszlo
17-Mar-2008 03:32 		RE: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
FWIW, when I stayed at DVFC, night-drives were available there.
But there were not enough people around to split the cost.

I think Indonesia is easily the best country for wildlife in SE Asia in general, due to the enormous diversity.
The best parks are in Java, but Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Papua and Nusa Tenggara all have good wildlife-watching possiblities.

Malaysia and Thailand have some good spots too, other SEA countires much less so in my experience (too much hunting).
Whosit
25-Mar-2008 11:42 		Re: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Hi. I'd like to add my thanks to Laszlo for this excellent fount of information, and to the many others who have kept it updated. We are 2 diving couples who are planning a trip to the Maldives in November of this year. We would like to spend a few days (jobs prevent longer) in a rainforest en route. We thought we could go to Taman Negara, since we are flying through Kuala Lumpur or Singapore, in early November before we fly on to Male. While researching this forest, I discovered the Danum Valley---wow! That sounds much better to all of us. We have one problem, which is that I prefer less structure and they prefer...more structure! My compromise would be to decline our tour operator's suggestion of Sepilok Nature Resort (1 nite) followed by Rehab Centre in morning/2 1/2 hr boat to Kinabatangan Riverside Lodge (dinner& 1 nite), followed by land transfer to BRLodge(stuff that evening, 2 nites, trek etc, then depart. I think we should at least snip out the Sepilok stop. Do you agree, and does anyone have an opinion on the Kinabatangan Riverside Lodge? With that extra day we could spend more time in Danum Valley. Would that be worth it in November, or not? I saw one post re November that wasn't too promising. Thanks for any suggestions.
Laszlo
30-Mar-2008 10:21 		RE: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
You could definitely skip Sepilok to have longer in Danum.
I think going in November is still OK unless you want to stay at Uncle Tan's which is prone to flooding.
dbusty
09-Apr-2008 12:57 		Re: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Hello,

I am currently planning a trip to hopefully see wild orangutans this summer. I am having difficulty picking where to go due to time restraints, travel routes and comfort levels of my travel companions. I am hoping to use about 2 days and 3 days at the max for this trip, including travel time.

I am either flying into Singapore or Bali and wanted to know what my best options would be. We would like to see as much wildlife as possible or have the best opportunity to see and interact with orangutans, but everyone in our group won`t be able to handle the most difficult treks. We also dont have alot of time to spend so I need to find one that is easy to travel to and from, while also meeting our other needs.

I understand that things might have to be lost, but any help you could give would be great.
Tashylv
20-Jul-2008 19:48 		RE: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Hi - don't know if anyone still looks at this thread, but was trying to get contact details for the sukau B&B and only get the rainforest lodge when i search on the internet - anyone know how I can get in touch with them?
Laszlo
20-Jul-2008 20:16 		RE: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
You get in touch with them in person, by going to Sukau.
Most such budget places are not set-up for online booking.
Tashylv
20-Jul-2008 20:30 		RE: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Thanks Laszlo - have read all your advice and it's great. Do you know if it is okay to wait until I get to Sandakan on 21st August to arrange tours - (we have about 8 days in the area total) - I usually travel to places without booking in advance, but a number of people have said I should book in advance this time so we don't miss the things we want to do which are :

2 or 3 days in Sunai Kinbatangan
2 days Labuk Probiscus Monkey Sanctuary
overnight turtle island.

we are looking for a kind of middle ground between backpacking and a 'holiday' as both work in teaching and projects for teenagers, so need a bit of a break that will be amazing but also refresh us!

thanks,

Tash

Laszlo
20-Jul-2008 20:35 		RE: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
I believe that advance bookings are adviseable for Turtle Island, but unnecessary for the others.
And if you visit the Kinabatangan, visiting Labuk is also unnecessary - you'll see plenty of Proboscys Monkeys around Sukau.
Around Sukau there are a number of various options including homestays (see among the replies here) so I am sure you will get something even if the B&B happens to be full or closed. Post updates! ;-)
Tashylv
20-Jul-2008 20:38 		RE: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Thanks very much - that's great - I'll take your advice and decide on something else to do instead of the labuk sanctuary.
bestita
04-Aug-2008 18:11 		Re: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Hi Laszlo and anybody else who might be interested to visit Gunung Palung and other orangutan forests located in the Ketapang Regency,

I've been working and living in the Ketapang area for the past five years, first for Yayasan Palung, a local NGO working to conserve the orangutans in Gunung Palung and then as a biologist for Fauna and Flora International, surveying all orangutan forests found in the Regency. My main job at Yayasan Palung was to develop eco-tourism activities in and around the park. As the Cabang Panti research station can now be only accessed by researchers and commercial documentarists (willing to pay the high entrance fees to this location), we developed two alternative destinations located in the park's buffer zone: the Lubuk Baji and Batu Barat (or Kubang Hill) sites. Visitors to both locations have good chances to see orangutan and all other Bornean wildlife.The GP park management office has now created a nice weblog with all updated information in English: http://gunungpalungnationalpark.wordpress.com//
We are also trying to develop new locations and activities. I shall update you on them as soon as they become available.

Additionally, there are other forests in the area where orangutans, wildlife and the local culture can be easily observed, particularly the Sungai Putri Forest, a 70.000 ha peat swamp forest located between Gunung Palung and Ketapang City. This forest host a large orangutan population and FFI is now pushing the local government to protect the entire area from conversion to oil palm plantation. There are several options to visit the Sungai Putri Forest, by boat or trekking, but bear in mind that the area has not yet been developed for tourism of any sort. The only published information about it can be viewed at: http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/hidden-colony-of-orangutans-is-discovered--in-the-forests-of-borneo-761325.html

I will be happy to help organizing trips to any of these locations. Just contact me....beastita@yahoo.com

Cheers
Tita
laksasarawak
15-Sep-2008 05:50 		Re: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Notes of our experiences and costs of our recent trip (August 2008) to Tanjung Puting can be found here.

Edited by: laksasarawak
jogabonito
02-Nov-2008 18:43 		Re: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Hi all, and thanks for all the comments so far, they've been quite useful.

I'm heading over to Medan in December and thinking of going to Ketembe. Has anyone been recently to know the prices etc?

Thanks :)
Api
28-Nov-2008 16:23 		Re: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
An up-date to Laszlo's reading list:

The GRASP programme through UNEP (http://www.unep.org/grasp/) has several up-to-date documents available. It also keeps the information up-dated.
montyman
02-Jan-2009 18:46 		RE: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
If you go from Samarinda to Sangatta and want to go to the Orangutan Sanctuary there.
Lonely planet moderator please note this update:

Important if going to Kutai National Park Sangatta You no longer need to stop off at Bontang for the permit, You can now obtain this from the head park Ranger Mr Supiano tel: mobile: 081346348803 he will arrange the permit for you and also to pick you up, you will need a photo copy of your passport and also your Indonesian Visa for the passport when bus drops you off at Sangatta from Samarinda get an Ongtek and ask for Cabo Jaya here mr Supianos team will take you by boat to the sanctuary 75,000r for the night and take your own food. the angot will charge you more than the usual 5,000 pp maybe 8,000rupiahs the boat will cost 300,000r return You will also be charged 35,000r for camera and 9,500 park fee.
If going onwards from here to Malaysia the buses and shared taxis to Berau stop at Warun Samarinda opposite Hotel Prima We stayed losman Mutia Dewi just along frm the warun Samarinda 140,000 for 3 of us in 4 bed room with nice cuppa tea in morning free.
from Warun Samarinda yu catch the bus in the evening to Berau from there is the bus then boat to Tarakan and from here the boat to Malaysia, but a warning unless you are Harrison Ford adventurous type mabe easier to take bus back to samarinda in wet season and fly to Berau or Tarakan from 300,000rupiah. it took me two days one smashed car and up t your necks in mud with you pushing the car through it at times ad I'm sure there waere many just lost in the mud as it was deper than the trucks jammed in it at times too fun for the adventerous though
Thanks also to Lazlo for your fact sheet on orangutan factories in Borneo, which made me head for this one, in kutai national park
hope this revised info helps
montyman
eyyz26
23-Feb-2009 01:39 		RE: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Thanks to everyone for this thread, esp to Laszlo who is ever so helpful with all the info on Indonesia.

I wanna ask if anyone who's been to Kinabatangan recently and stayed at Miso Walai Homestay. The price is definitely cheaper than staying at Uncle Tan's, and I can charter a boat and hire a guide, which still amounts to a lower price, I suppose?

I'm travelling alone but I would like to do the jungle treks in the night time and wonder if it's possible if I stay in Miso Walai and hire a guide to do that in the night time? How high is the possibility of meeting other travelers at Miso and sharing this cost?

I reckon that if I stay in Miso for 2 nights(RM65 x 2), and go on 2 boat trips (RM45 + RM35), and possibly hire a guide for 2 times (RM25x 2), it would amount to RM260 the max? Anyone who has done the same recently and shed light on this would be great! Thanks!

Eunice
montyman
23-Feb-2009 08:44 		RE: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Kutai and the road to hell from Sangatta to Berau and onward to Tarakan
Orangutans and mud bath rd to hell
kingwilly
23-Apr-2009 14:50 		Re: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
thanks for a very informative and helpful OP.
Maart83
05-Jun-2009 01:53 		Re: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
In the last week of july we arrive at Jakarta. We have 6 weeks to spend in Indonesia and at first we go to kalimantan. We had the plan tot go to the Tanjung Puting National Park, but I read here that is not that good. Is it better to go to another park to see wildlife and maybe orangutans?
Is here someone with tips for me?

Greetings from Holland!
Laszlo
05-Jun-2009 02:23 		RE: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Come on, this thread, both the OP and the replies, is full of tips!
antonina
21-Jun-2009 17:51 		RE: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Has anyone been to the Gunung Palung NP lately and has some recent info?
ralpheroo
06-Jul-2009 23:38 		RE: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Laszlo, and others, first of all thanks a lot for the valuable information!

Next month I'll be traveling in Sabah, and I wanted to go to the rainforest lodge - I checked already more than 6 weeks ago and there was no availability (I suspect all has been booked in advance by tour operators). I was wondering what would be my best chances to see orangutans in the Danum Valley? Could you just go to Lahad Datu and go from there to Danum Valley Field Centre? In other words, does it pay off to just go Lahad Datu and take your chances from there?

Something else: when I contacted the rainforest lodge they indicated there was no availability there, but they offered accomodation for Tabin instead. Is this worth going? (almost same price as for rainforest lodge)...
Laszlo
07-Jul-2009 01:22 		RE: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
There is a post on Tabin here, it is less interesting than Danum by all accounts.
Surely there could be no harm in asking about DVFC in Lahad Datu...
ralpheroo
08-Jul-2009 07:08 		RE: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Laszlo, thanks for your quick response! I'm considering to go only to Lahad Datu for the DVFC - do the chances of staying there outweigh the detour? Or would it be possible to make some sort of reservation (couldn't find anything like that so far)?
Laszlo
08-Jul-2009 13:34 		RE: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Read the OP!
etal4
15-Jul-2009 08:01 		Re: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
We're heading to Gunung Palung next week on July 22nd. Any recent update on the Lubuk Baji or Batu Barat sites or suggestions on itinerary?
The gunung Palung web site has not been updated since last July 2008. Any info update on the park would be much appreciated!
Laszlo
15-Jul-2009 14:04 		RE: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
I'm pretty sure you will not get any updates, so please do post them yourselves once you are back! ;-)
audian
16-Jul-2009 00:56 		Re: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
The prices and info on the website are pretty much the same now as they were in 2008:
http://gunungpalungnationalpark.wordpress.com/prices/

If you want to arrange a trip, you can contact Gunung Palung National Park's main office in Ketapang:
Phone: +62-534-32720 (Around 7am-3pm Western Indonesian Time, M-F)
Email: btngp@yahoo.com

Or just go to the office when you get there, but if you come on the weekend you might have to wait a few days before heading up to the park.

They have another office in Sukadana, which is nearer where you enter the park to go to Lubuk Baji or Cabang Panti, but I did not get a number for there.
bestita
16-Jul-2009 13:37 		Re: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
All correct... The Sukadana office doesn't have a phone number simply because there are no phone lines in Sukadana, only cell phone towers.

Actually, tourists are not allowed to Cabang Panti research station, although a special research, documentary or expedition permit (SIMAKSI- Surat Izin Masuk Kawasan Konservasi) can be applied for at the Forestry Department in Jakarta. We are trying to ease the process by sorting out permits through our connections from Ketapang. People who are interested in visiting Cabang Panti can contact directly the Gunung Palung office in Ketapang (well in advance).

We are also opening a new location on the southern side of the park. The trip, lasting three days to 1 week, essentially consists in hiking deep inside the Park to the Riam Berasap Waterfall (an aerial view can be seen in the first pics at http://gunungpalungnationalpark.wordpress.com/photos/). Given the grater hiking distance and the fact that no visitor facilities have been developed at this site, it is indicated for the fitter and more adventurous.

Prices for the trips to Lubuk Baji and Batu Barat haven't increased much since the blog was last updated. I'll try to get the guys to update it with the new activities...including the possibility to hire jet-skys at the beach in Sukadana, fly over the park on ultralight and rafting in the lower Siduk River

Cheers
Tita
skauff
15-Aug-2009 18:08 		Re: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Hi,

We are a french family with a seven year old daugther and just came back from Kalimantan.
We went to Kutai National Park for two days.

i write this message to update the infos about seing Orangutans.
Sorry for my bad english.

We saw a mother with her one year old child and a couple very close and for a long time.

Even if the park is very close to the very busy city of Sangatta, the experience is very nice.
The "jungle" is not primary forest and there are several tracks so it's easy to spot the orangutans but the rainforest experience is limited..
So we did also a three hour walk more deeper in the forest wich was very interesting. There are no Orangutans but the forest looks more like primary forest.

Of course all that has nothing to do with an adventure in unspoiled rainforest but is a very easy way to see wild Orangutans with no other tourists around you and the forest is not so bad looking as often reported specially if you go walk a couple of hours.

The japanese team was at Kutai when we visited so we had to sleep in the ranger's house witch is a very basic accomadation but everybody is very nice and we shared the place with two other couples of tourists and an amreican scintist who does some research on the food of the Orangutans.

As far as we understood the japanese doen't like at all to see tourists but the rangers doen't care and organise trips from Sangatta as written in a previous post. The rangers told us that there are only some toursits in july/august, never more than five or six at the same time. It's unebelivibable that one of the few possibiltys to see wild Orangutans easily has not attracted more operators or decided the governement to get more money from it. This situation is for sure the only reason that it's possible to see Orangutans so easily and in complete privacy. I hope that the situation is not going to change beacause people we met who camed from the malayasioan part of Borneo told us that it is like a zoo there and also it is the guarantee that the Orangutans are not disturbed to much.

We are used to travel in Africa on our own and love the wilderness but still we found the experience of seeing wild Orangutans really amazing and we would advice everybody who visit Borneo to go there for two days. We also did a boat tour on The Mahakam River and attended the anual cultural festival in Tengarong. Both were alos great exepriences as the peole is very friendly. We loved the fisherman villages with wood roads ! Of course alos no wilderness and to many coal transporting boats on the river but as in Kutai you cruse ten minuts with a small boat away from town and you are able to see the endemic Long Nose monkeys !

For those who want to see unspoiled rainforest it's possible to do a one week trekking in the moutains. There are two flights a week from Samarinda and it takes one hour to go there. That's what our guide told us.

If someone wants more informations or pictures, just ask and thanks to Laszlo who decided us to go to Kutai after reading his messages.

Stephane
marttin
01-Sep-2009 21:59 		RE: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Hi,
we are going to Ketembe/Gunung Leuser/Sumatra next week. Do you know what is the reasonable price for 2-4 days trekking? And how many days is trek between Kutacane to Bukit Lawang?
Thanks
buggslife
04-Nov-2009 20:39 		RE: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Well, this thread is fantastic.

I plan to spend about 4 weeks in Indonesia in March 2010 and am driven by wildlife and nature in general. I have been reading a lot on different options but still cannot decide on which national parks to visit (these will be the focus of the trip).

I have spent time in several areas of rainforest before but never in Asia so I'm looking for some advice.

I noticed an intesresting comment by Laszlo:
"The best parks are in Java, but Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Papua and Nusa Tenggara all have good wildlife-watching possiblities."

This surprised me a little since Sumatra sounds 'more wild' than Java and Kalimantan sounds like is still has huge areas of true virgin forest. All the reading I have been doing, however, paints a worrying picture paticularly for Kalimantan to the point where I am considering not even including it on my visit (something I had not even considered before).

So, where would you recommend for a rich forest national park, full of wildlife (from insects, to frogs, to birdlife to mammals)? I can't fit much in such a short time.

3 parks on Java sounds great:
meru betiri
Alas Purwo
Ujung Kulon

And on Kalimantan:
Ganung Palung
maybe Kutai for a quicker visit
or
Sungai Putri (if it is still intact)

Any suggestions? I would like to spend at least 2 nights in each park either camping or whatever is available - up to 6 nights if it is remote.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

Edited by: buggslife - meant Ganung Palung
montyman
04-Nov-2009 21:37 		RE: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
on lazlos great info sheet I did kutai and travelled on road Ha! Ha! to tarakan and sabah (What roads see picure of tanke up to top in mud.re,inder that jan is rainy season Ha! Ha!
driver wrecked his car and cried all night after I used an axe to straighten out win and rope to tied to bridge to pul out radiator away from fan etc etc youd think he d be grateful fr my repair job but he cried all night over car he loved Ha! Ha! hia face sas it all picture was taken in morning when he had to go back to singatta to have proper repair job done
watch drivers face after repair job
Laszlo
05-Nov-2009 04:07 		RE: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
buggslife, Sumatra may have much more forest than Java, but that does NOT necessarily translate into better parks and better wildlife-viewing.
Sumatran parks are facing lots of problems like illegal logging and poaching, while Java's smaller parks tend to be much better controlled.

On Java, if you have to pick one, UKNP may be the best.

On Kalimantan, GPNP has better forests than KNP, but you may find actually spotting bigger species harder.
Pipis
16-Nov-2009 21:53 		RE: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Hi Laszlo and everyone else,
Ive been reading this awesome thread for the last couple of weeks trying to get a handle on it, but have now decided to ask your opinion. So much amazing information!

My friend and I are going to Indo for 3 weeks in early Dec.
We are females age 30, lots of backpacking experience, both practical-grew up on NZ farms, Im a midwife, my friend is a photographer. We have both travelled Indonesia previously on surf trips- to reasonably remote spots and as a child I lived for a year on an Island just off Borneo. We don't speak Bahasa Indonesia (past basic pleasantries, numbers etc).

So for this trip we want to visit the Orangutans probably in Indonesian Borneo. We want to see good jungle and wild Orangutans- obviously photography is a focus for my friend. We will have about 10 days max which will include travel to and from Bali. Budget is reasonably tight- but can stretch a bit for some things (if a flight would save 15 hours on a bus would definitely consider it).
We won't have tents etc so would like to go somewhere with some basic accommodation and cooking facilities- although happy to cook ourselves.

From what Ive read Im thinking about probably Gunung Palung or maybe Kutai

1) Which area would you recommend?
2) What is the condition of the forest/ wildlife populations in these areas now?
3) Any tips/info on travel and accom there would be appreciated.

If anyone has this information I would really appreciate your effort in responding!
Thanks heaps!!!

Incidentally- We won't be going there, but I found this and as far as rehabilitation goes it looks pretty good- does anyone knowif they actually do rehabilitate successfully?
http://getaway.ninemsn.com.au/fsasia/malaysia/813798/borneo-orangutans
Laszlo
16-Nov-2009 23:30 		RE: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
GP has better forest (well in the interior) but orangutans are easier to see in Kutai.
Of course photo ops are far better at rehab centers.
Travel tips are quite a lot pn this thread already - read back!

Matang has been discussed early on this thread - it is basically an open-air zoo, with a few young orangutans undergoing "rehabilitation" outside the enclosures in the surrounding small Kubah NP.
Unlike at Sepilok or Semenggoh there are no feeding shows involving these though, hence its lower profile.
bestita
20-Nov-2009 15:40 		Re: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
As usual, Laszlo has the best tips to offer: after visiting various national parks and talking to several travelers and researchers, it seems to me that the parks with the most stunning rainforests that can be seen in Indonesia are Ujun Kulong in Jawa, Leuser in North Sumatra and Gunung Palung in Kalimantan.

Wildlife viewing, however, is sometimes easier in smaller or partly disturbed forests (disturbed meaning that local communities hold forest gardens where they mostly grow fruit trees, increasing food availability for the wildlife inhabiting these areas, too). The first place to visit in order to see orangutans is, of course, Tanjung Putin, but spotting a big, wild male or a female with baby while trekking in the jungle definitely offers a different experience! The orangutan’s favorite habitat (where they live at highest densities) are swamp forests, where trees are naturally smaller and the canopy more open (simply because when trees reach a certain size they fall due to the unstable swampy soils). Kutai and Sungai Putri are probably the best spots, but in both areas forest environments have been damaged either by fire or logging and the forest is not that spectacular. Gunung Palung offers some good chances to observe wild orangutans (I’d say, about 50% chances on a 3 days trip), especially the Batu Barat (swamp forest) and Lubuk Baji (hill forest surrounded by fruit gardens) sites. Both sites have camping and cooking facilities (well, the Batu Barat river camp is under construction right now and will be ready in December) and wildlife is very easily observed on 3-days trips.

The Park rangers have just finished surveying a large area right in the middle of the park, around the Riam Berasap waterfall. The area, characterised by steep valleys carved by the Siduk River, is covered by pristine, unspoiled jungle, huge trees and close canopy, as well as the rapids, canyons and waterfalls formed by the river. Logging never reached this large area and even local Dayaks are scared to enter it, since, they say, is inhabited by forests spirits. This means that no hunting is carried out and the wildlife is much easier to observe than in other Dayak populated areas (during the 10 days survey, the rangers spotted orang-utans, deer, barking deer, a bear and even a clouded leopard, as well as the common hornbills, langurs and gibbons!). I reckon this is one of the few left pristine forests that can be still visited in the World. The Riam Berasap site is, however, more difficult to access, requiring somehow higher fitness levels. No infrastructure are present, apart for some trails which will be soon cut and marked, and a normal trip would last about 6 days.
jiejie
21-Nov-2009 23:06 		RE: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Thanks for this thread, I have worked my way from start to finish and gotten quite an education. I do have a remarkably simple question that, research the internet as I might, can't seem to get a straight answer on--hence I need some straight-talking advice from the experts:

I have a chunk of free time coming up in February, the better part of 3 weeks ex-KUL. The original plan was to spend it in Sarawak and Sabah, with about a week's chunk given over to wildlife watching (yes OK especially the orangutans, I admit). Kinabatangan looked like it might fill the bill, though after reading this thread, I realize I have some other options and I'm not committed to Malaysian Borneo. I'm continuing to peruse those options.

The question is this: February weather in most of the region can still be really rainy, and this past Feb, Kinabatangan had terribly heavy rain and flooding. Normally, rain doesn't bother me for normal human/cultural based activities and I've had no problem dealing with rainy season in past Februaries in places like Bali. However, it occurred to me that heavy rain might seriously affect one's ability to find wildlife in the actual wild? Do the animals disappear beyond visual reach, or does heavy rain make it difficult logistically to get out and see them?

I'll be travelling solo so will have to likely bear full freight for transport costs, etc. and want to make the most of the opportunity whenever I visit. As I live in Asia already, this will not be my only chance at visiting Borneo (or elsewhere in Indonesia) at a better time of year. So if the advice of the expert panel on this thread is "February = lousy timing" I'm fully prepared to reschedule this mission to a better time of year. Advice anyone?
Laszlo
23-Nov-2009 20:05 		RE: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Kinabatangan would be the worst affected area in heavy rains, as it is a floodplain. Hillier rainforests like GPNP or Batang Ai NP would be least affected.
bestita
25-Nov-2009 14:08 		Re: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
yep, if you don't mind getting wet (it's the rainforest, at the end of the day), the wildlife viewing wont be much affected by the rain. Actually, it will be full durian season in West Kal and orangutans will be easily spotted wherever durian trees are fruiting.
Reaching the places could be more difficult, though.. I guess you'd fly from KL to Kuching and then travel by bus. The road to Sri Aman (for Batang Ai) is good and will be allrite, but you might get stuck by floods after the border with Indonesia (if you plan to travel to Pontianak and then on to Gunung Palung). Check with the bus companies running the route Kuching-Pontianak for infos (Damsi, SJS, Bintang Jaya or PB)
buggslife
25-Nov-2009 20:06 		Re: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
About the rain - one thing I would say that actually going out in the forest looking for wildlife during rain and afterwards (when drips continue to fall from trees) is actually tough. As you probably know, much of wildlife 'watching' stems from listening, especially in dense jungle, but with all the drops of rain hitting the ground it's a battle. You're listening for something moving through leaf litter, or the sound of a moving branch when something jumps between trees.

Of course you'll always get rain in the rainforest so you just deal with it. In fact, being the wet season the rain may even be more regular with timing - someone else will have to answer that for Kalimantan (I only know the neotropics).
jiejie
25-Nov-2009 22:09 		RE: SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Thanks for replies. You've all given me more to consider, and I may reframe this trip or postpone until (relatively) drier times. I certainly don't mind getting wet, but sloshing through the forest with 100% leeches and 0% orangutans might end up being a bummer of a balance. Good point about sound of heavy rain obscuring wildlife jungle sounds--I'd thought of things more visually and neglected the other senses.