SEEING ORANGUTANS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA ... - Thorn Tree travel forum

Posted
15-Jul-2009 14:04
by: Laszlo

Posts: 6,114
Registered: 11/03/01

105

I'm pretty sure you will not get any updates, so please do post them yourselves once you are back! ;-)

My info & thoughts:
on East-Indonesia.info: Indonesia, West Papua, Maluku, Ternate, Ambon, Saparua, Banda, Kei
on VirtualTourist.com: Papua New Guinea, Philippines, New Caledonia, Eritrea, Djibouti
on Thorn Tree: Seeing Orangutans, Kalimantan, SE Asia Islands FAQ thread & Samoa Warnings

Posted
16-Jul-2009 00:56
by: audian

Posts: 1
Registered: 16/07/09

106

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.

Posted
16-Jul-2009 13:37
by: bestita

Posts: 8
Registered: 04/08/08

107

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

Posted
15-Aug-2009 18:08
by: skauff

Posts: 1
Registered: 15/08/09

108

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

Posted
01-Sep-2009 21:59
by: marttin

Posts: 26
Registered: 03/07/09

109

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

Posted
04-Nov-2009 20:39
by: buggslife

Posts: 42
Registered: 12/01/06

110

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

Posted
04-Nov-2009 21:37
by: montyman

Posts: 4,167
Registered: 09/05/03

111

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

montyman St East Asia , montyman2008 on flikr , montyman in Europe, Ukraine, Estonia ,Latvia,Berlin

Posted
05-Nov-2009 04:07
by: Laszlo

Posts: 6,114
Registered: 11/03/01

112

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.

My info & thoughts:
on East-Indonesia.info: Indonesia, West Papua, Maluku, Ternate, Ambon, Saparua, Banda, Kei
on VirtualTourist.com: Papua New Guinea, Philippines, New Caledonia, Eritrea, Djibouti
on Thorn Tree: Seeing Orangutans, Kalimantan, SE Asia Islands FAQ thread & Samoa Warnings

Posted
16-Nov-2009 21:53
by: Pipis

Posts: 54
Registered: 25/10/06

113

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

Posted
16-Nov-2009 23:30
by: Laszlo

Posts: 6,114
Registered: 11/03/01

114

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.

My info & thoughts:
on East-Indonesia.info: Indonesia, West Papua, Maluku, Ternate, Ambon, Saparua, Banda, Kei
on VirtualTourist.com: Papua New Guinea, Philippines, New Caledonia, Eritrea, Djibouti
on Thorn Tree: Seeing Orangutans, Kalimantan, SE Asia Islands FAQ thread & Samoa Warnings

Posted
20-Nov-2009 15:40
by: bestita

Posts: 8
Registered: 04/08/08

115

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.

Posted
21-Nov-2009 23:06
by: jiejie

Posts: 1,143
Registered: 30/06/02

116

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?

Posted
23-Nov-2009 20:05
by: Laszlo

Posts: 6,114
Registered: 11/03/01

117

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.

My info & thoughts:
on East-Indonesia.info: Indonesia, West Papua, Maluku, Ternate, Ambon, Saparua, Banda, Kei
on VirtualTourist.com: Papua New Guinea, Philippines, New Caledonia, Eritrea, Djibouti
on Thorn Tree: Seeing Orangutans, Kalimantan, SE Asia Islands FAQ thread & Samoa Warnings

Posted
25-Nov-2009 14:08
by: bestita

Posts: 8
Registered: 04/08/08

118

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)

Posted
25-Nov-2009 20:06
by: buggslife

Posts: 42
Registered: 12/01/06

119

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).

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