By 9.05am on a Monday morning, whilst walking through the Indonesian jungle, we had already seen a mother Borneon Orangutan and her baby. That morning, we were awoken at 5am by the sounds of the dawn jungle chorus. We had slept on the roof of our Klotok, a traditional Indonesian wooden boat exclusively for us. Although seeing a baby orangutan is adorable, this had already been ticked off our list in Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre. We wanted to see an alpha-male; a real King Louis from the Jungle Book.
Today, there were no Monday blues, no disappointing thoughts that it was the beginning of the week; they had been replaced by an amazing experience that we would always remember. This is our Indonesian Orangutan Adventure.
How did you spend your Monday morning?
Today, there were no Monday blues, no disappointing thoughts that it was the beginning of the week; they had been replaced by an amazing experience that we would always remember. This is our Indonesian Orangutan Adventure.
How did you spend your Monday morning?
Cruising down the Sekonyer River
As soon as I heard you can hire a boat to cruise down a river looking for wild and semi-wild orangutans, I knew this was something I had to do! This particular adventure is in Tanjung Putting National Park, a short 1 hour 10 minute flight from Jakarta, and we pre-booked a 3D/2N tour with the amazing Kingfisher. We wanted for nothing on this trip, and during the entire time we were made to feel like royalty.
Tours can be arranged around your flight arrival time either in the morning, afternoon or like ours, in the evening.
We boarded our own personal Klotok, an traditional Indonesian boat, just before the sun set which we watched in comfort.
As soon as I heard you can hire a boat to cruise down a river looking for wild and semi-wild orangutans, I knew this was something I had to do! This particular adventure is in Tanjung Putting National Park, a short 1 hour 10 minute flight from Jakarta, and we pre-booked a 3D/2N tour with the amazing Kingfisher. We wanted for nothing on this trip, and during the entire time we were made to feel like royalty.
Tours can be arranged around your flight arrival time either in the morning, afternoon or like ours, in the evening.
We boarded our own personal Klotok, an traditional Indonesian boat, just before the sun set which we watched in comfort.
A Klotok? What on earth is that? It’s a 2-storey wooden boat used for cruising down the Sekonyer River. The top deck is where we spent our time either eating, sleeping, or lazing around on comfortable lounge chairs spotting all manner of jungle wildlife.
Our Klotok for the two nights
This was our home for the two days
Our amazing crew - Darwin (guide), cook and captain
Different type of Klotok you can hire
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Another example of a Klotok
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At the beginning of the trip we cruised past Nepa Palm trees at the very mouth of the river but soon we found ourselves in more familiar jungle surroundings. If you want the boat to go faster you can just ask the captain, but cruising slowly is best so you can take in the relaxed surroundings, and keep an eye out for wildlife.
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We saw long tailed macaques, proboscis monkeys, crocodiles and kingfishers. Interestingly, we saw the unnatural swaying of trees caused by wild orangutans swinging through them but never actually saw the orangutans themselves. Wild orangutans stay away from humans and if they hear or see human activity, they disappear quickly.
This family of long tailed macaques were viewed whilst cruising down the river
We spotted this cheeky proboscis monkey from our Klotok
The main beauty of a Klotok is the open sides; as we floated down the river, the gentle breeze licked our faces and we listened to gentle bird songs. We always felt so chilled and happy; you can’t put a price on that in this day and age!
Views when cruising down the Sekonyer River
After a scrumptious dinner of curry chicken, rice, mie noodles and veg, the captain prepared our sleeping quarters for the evening – a cosy mattress under a stylish mosquito net. It felt more like a 4-poster bed than an open-air Klotok, and we couldn’t resist the urge to lay down.
Our scrumptious dinner - so much food for just two of us!
Our sleeping quarters for the evening underneath the stars
The jungle noises were hypnotic as the sound of frogs, crickets, cicadas, birds and wild proboscis monkeys honking at one another filled our ears. A single fire fly circumnavigated the room and before we knew it, we had drifted off to sleep.
This is where we spent a night - we literally pulled over in our Klotok and moored up for the evening
Orangutan Feeding Stations
Pondok Tanggui (daily feeding at 9am)
During the course of our trip we had four opportunities for orangutan encounters, orangutan translated means "old man of the forest". These feeding stations are set up part-way into the jungle, and there are around 6,000 orangutans who live here. Around 5,000 are wild and the remaining 1,000 are rehabilitated, it is these orangutans that supplement their diet from the feeding stations.
After our filling breakfast which included tea and coffee served in china teacups with saucers, we took a short 15 minute walk into the jungle. We passed interesting plants like pitcher plants (a prey-trapping plant which has a deep cavity filled with digestive fluid liquid).
Breakfast - another delicious filling meal
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Sy enjoying his morning tea from a china cup!
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Pitcher plants on the jungle floor
As we walked towards the camp named Pondok Tangut, our guide made orangutan “howl” noises in order to call them to the platform. Within minutes we had seen three orangutans swinging through the trees which included a mother and her baby. As we reached the small clearing, we couldn’t believe our eyes as a 33 year old alpha male named Doyok was already there, happily munching his way through a pile of sugar cane.
Doyok and his pile of sugar cane
He was huge in comparison to the other orangutans and displayed the typical large cheekpads and big sagging pouch of skin underneath his chin commonly associated with an alpha. Wow! This was the King Louis Jungle Book experience I had been hoping for. Isn't he magnificent!
We were fairly close to the feeding platform - you can see Doyok in the background
We enjoyed about 20 minutes of his company before he wandered off, then it was the turn of the other orangutans in the area to come join the party!
In total during the 1.5 hours, we saw about six different orangutans, including the mother and baby from earlier who had made their way over to the feeding station. The mother would keep her baby close to her, almost shielding it away from prying eyes but every now and then he would poke out his little face to a chorus of click-clicks from visitors’ cameras.
In total during the 1.5 hours, we saw about six different orangutans, including the mother and baby from earlier who had made their way over to the feeding station. The mother would keep her baby close to her, almost shielding it away from prying eyes but every now and then he would poke out his little face to a chorus of click-clicks from visitors’ cameras.
If you look closely you can see the baby hanging from his mother
There was a shy orangutan who would climb onto the platform, grab a handful of food then disappear back into the jungle for his morning feed, which he did a few times.
Shy orangutan grabbing his handful of sugar cane
We visited in late January so there were still fruits on the trees which meant the orangutans can feed themselves and have no need to stop at feeding stations. With this in mind, we were very happy with our encounters; sometimes you see lots of orangutans and other times you see none at all. We were extremely lucky to see Doyok as he doesn’t come here often. When we were leaving, we heard Doyok making his long call which he does when the local females have rejected him. Doyok doesn’t like rejection, it annoys him, so he makes a long call to call in females from afar – an absolutely amazing noise to hear!
Camp Leakey (daily feeding at 2pm)
The most famous of camps in the area is Camp Leakey named after the late famous naturalist Dr Louis Leakey who helped and encouraged Dr Birute Galdikas to pursue her dream of studying wild orangutans. Birute Galdikas is to orangutans what Diane Fossey is to the Mountain Gorilla and Jane Goodall is to chimpanzees; Dr Leakey trained all three of these phenomenal women. Galdikas and her team have dedicated their lives working tirelessly to conserve and protect orangutans since 1971. Camp Leakey is the site of the longest continuous study of any of animal in the history of science.
Camp Leakey (daily feeding at 2pm)
The most famous of camps in the area is Camp Leakey named after the late famous naturalist Dr Louis Leakey who helped and encouraged Dr Birute Galdikas to pursue her dream of studying wild orangutans. Birute Galdikas is to orangutans what Diane Fossey is to the Mountain Gorilla and Jane Goodall is to chimpanzees; Dr Leakey trained all three of these phenomenal women. Galdikas and her team have dedicated their lives working tirelessly to conserve and protect orangutans since 1971. Camp Leakey is the site of the longest continuous study of any of animal in the history of science.
The walk into the jungle takes around 30 minutes. Next to the hut where rangers keep the food, we saw a mother named Peta and her baby. They hang out here to grab the food as soon as the rangers open the door instead of swinging to the feeding platform – smart thinking Peta! Why make your way to the dinner table when the cupboard is right in front of you?
Peta and her baby hanging out by the food cupboard!
Our first visitors of the day were four wild boars – well that was unexpected! Apparently the boars congregate around the feeding platform waiting for the rangers to sweep the excess food and fruit skins onto the floor, then it’s lunch time for these bad boys! At three times the size of the wild boars we are used to seeing in the UK, we were nervous at how close they were but in Borneo, they seem harmless. We watched as they schnuffled around – until the arrival of the orangutans that is, then all eyes turned to them!
Once again we were blessed with seeing around five orangutans plus another mother and baby as they all gracefully swung in one by one through the trees.
When we headed back to our Klotok, at the end of the boardwalk in front of the boats was Peta and her baby, she knew there was food on the boats and wanted more! She could smell the deep-fried chocolate covered bananas our cook had made as a snack upon our return and wanted to join in – no Peta, that’s ours and we weren’t sharing!
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Tanjung Harapon (daily feeding at 3pm)
At this station we had three sets of mothers with their young of three different ages, newborn, baby and an infant who was still learning to climb but would always keep one hand on his mother for reassurance.
At this station we had three sets of mothers with their young of three different ages, newborn, baby and an infant who was still learning to climb but would always keep one hand on his mother for reassurance.
The first orangutan on the feeding station was Gundul, the 34 year old alpha male. He munched on a few bananas and hung around (literally) before disappearing high up into a tree – one of the thinnest trees in the forest. I have no idea how it managed to hold his weight!
Gundul - the 34 year old alpha male
Gundul chilling high up in a tree
All was fine and dandy, until all of a sudden Gundul came crashing through the jungle at some speed cracking branches along the way, making a loud howling noise. He raced purposely towards one of the mothers who had fled the platform into a nearby tree.
Now, we have seen enough David Attenborough documentaries to know that alpha males acting in this way doesn’t always end well for mother and baby, so all sorts of thoughts entered our heads. Gundul’s strength and power were clearly visible – it was daunting, especially as he appeared to be heading towards us! As it turned out, Gundul fancied a bit of hanky-panky with one of his women! It didn’t matter that this one was holding a baby (his baby as well!) but thankfully it all quietened down quite quickly.
After a few minutes, when Gundul’s back was turned, the mother made a quiet and swift escape with no harm to her or her little one (and no hanky-panky).
What a magnificent experience to hear and witness! Never in my wildest dreams could I have hoped for this orangutan alpha male behaviour.
Now, we have seen enough David Attenborough documentaries to know that alpha males acting in this way doesn’t always end well for mother and baby, so all sorts of thoughts entered our heads. Gundul’s strength and power were clearly visible – it was daunting, especially as he appeared to be heading towards us! As it turned out, Gundul fancied a bit of hanky-panky with one of his women! It didn’t matter that this one was holding a baby (his baby as well!) but thankfully it all quietened down quite quickly.
After a few minutes, when Gundul’s back was turned, the mother made a quiet and swift escape with no harm to her or her little one (and no hanky-panky).
What a magnificent experience to hear and witness! Never in my wildest dreams could I have hoped for this orangutan alpha male behaviour.
Different colour rivers
The Sekonyer River is an unattractive brown colour caused by coal mining. The miners strip away the trees which removes the root systems holding all the soil in place. When it rains, all the loose soil is washed into the river making it a reddish brown colour.
The River Leakey is black which is the true natural colour of these rivers, and how it should be due to the rich pete (rotting organic material) in the soil. At one point where the two rivers meet, a line is clearly visible separating the two.
The Sekonyer River is an unattractive brown colour caused by coal mining. The miners strip away the trees which removes the root systems holding all the soil in place. When it rains, all the loose soil is washed into the river making it a reddish brown colour.
The River Leakey is black which is the true natural colour of these rivers, and how it should be due to the rich pete (rotting organic material) in the soil. At one point where the two rivers meet, a line is clearly visible separating the two.
The brown Sekonyer Ricer meets the black River Leakey
Observing Orangutan behaviour
We were blessed to have the time and opportunity to view the orangutans on four different occasions. This meant we had plenty of time to simply sit down, observe their behaviour and social interaction, as opposed to just snapping away in excitement with our cameras as we have done in the past (including on this trip!). Over the course of the two days, I would say in total we spent around 4.5 – 5 hours with these gentle creatures, and it was wonderful to be near them and “orangutan watch” (like people watching, but with apes instead of humans!)
On one occasion, as we were nearing one of the feeding platforms, we heard the cry from a young orangutan in a tree directly above us. His mother had taken her little baby to the platform and left him behind so he was crying out for her in distress. His pitiful wails were heartbreaking, but thankfully he later made his way to the platform to be reunited with his siblings.
We were blessed to have the time and opportunity to view the orangutans on four different occasions. This meant we had plenty of time to simply sit down, observe their behaviour and social interaction, as opposed to just snapping away in excitement with our cameras as we have done in the past (including on this trip!). Over the course of the two days, I would say in total we spent around 4.5 – 5 hours with these gentle creatures, and it was wonderful to be near them and “orangutan watch” (like people watching, but with apes instead of humans!)
On one occasion, as we were nearing one of the feeding platforms, we heard the cry from a young orangutan in a tree directly above us. His mother had taken her little baby to the platform and left him behind so he was crying out for her in distress. His pitiful wails were heartbreaking, but thankfully he later made his way to the platform to be reunited with his siblings.
This young orangutan was distressed as he couldn't see his mother
Doyok the alpha male was also there and he did the same as he had done the day before, let out a big fart, then got up and left, which was hilarious! As he was leaving the platform, the young child from earlier put his arm around his mother for protection.
The distressed youngster is reunited with his mother and puts a comforting arm around her
One of the mothers appeared to be feeding for two! She would peel her banana, shovel one into her mouth followed in quick succession with about three or four bananas then discarded the peels.
This mother would shovel banana after banana into her mouth in quick succession
Some of the orangutans would pick up three or four bananas or sugar cane, stuff them in their mouths whole, then climb back up a tree to eat them in peace.
The social interaction with the males was interesting, or should I say lack thereof. There were around three different males who took it in turns swinging onto the platform for their feed but they were clearly mindful to never be together. We noticed how they would move out of one another’s way when they sensed another male was near. If the males come together, then they fight.
Bananas are not worth fighting over!
Bananas are not worth fighting over!
The males would take it in turns swinging in, pick up a handful of food and return to the tree
Orangutan Facts
- Never use a flash to photograph the orangutans – Ahmed from Camp Leakey is blind in one eye caused by the flash from tourists’ cameras over a period of years.
- The name “orangutan” derives from the Indonesian/Malay words “orang” which is person and “hutan” meaning forest. So orangutan literally “person of the forest”, but are often referred to as "old man of the forest".
- Alpha males generally dominate an area of around 8km.
- Males can grow up to 5ft high and weigh around 120kg. Females can grow up to 4ft high and weigh up to 45kg
- The females will rear their young until 7 years old, the longest in the animal kingdom.
- A female can begin to reproduce at 15 years old and can continue until she is around 35.
- On average in the wild, orangutans can live beyond 50 years of age.
- The strength of a male orangutan is at least 8 times great than that of a man, a female’s strength is approximately 4 times greater.
- On the feeding platforms, the orangutans are given sugar cane, bananas, sometimes pumpkins, sweet potato and oranges, basically a mixture of anything sweet!
- Orangutans sleep in nests high up in the trees and they make a new one every day. This is because they can spend a lot of time in these nests which includes going to the toilet and they obviously want a clean place to sleep.
An orangutan handprint (but which one is the orangutan?!)
How to get to Tanjung Puting National Park
From Jakarta it’s a 1 hour 10 minute flight to Pangkalan Bun which is the nearest airport to Kumai, the port to take you into Tanjung Puting National Park. Kalstar and Lion Air offer reasonably priced flights (ours were £80 return per person) which you can purchase either directly, or through a comparison website such as Traveloka.
If you are not in Jakarta and are in another part of Borneo, Jakarta is still the main airport and the majority of flights will be via there.
When to visit
Orangutans can be viewed all year round but the numbers you will see at the feeding stations depends on whether or not there is a lot more fruit on the trees. It is obviously better for the orangutans if there is more natural feeding, however if there is more natural food for them to feed on, not so many will visit the feeding stations. In saying that, we went in low season and saw on average of at least five at each station.
High season is July – September and there can be as many as 20 klotok’s (meaning more people) at each feeding station.
Low season – the trees have more fruit which means the orangutans feed naturally in the wild and less visit the feeding stations. What this does mean is less people and prices are cheaper – make sure you negotiate the price!
Klotok hire
You have a choice of hiring a Klotok and crew separately yourself but in truth, it does appear rather long winded and complicated. Alternatively you can use a tour operator which, in my opinion, is far less hassle and very reasonably priced when you consider what is included. We booked with Borneo Wisata (who was the first Klotok in the National Park) and cannot rate them enough – booking was so incredibly easy and we had zero stress (email Harry [email protected] or Tel: +62 (0) 81 2500 0508). We simply told him what day and time our flight would be arriving and he took it from there. For around 6,500,000 IDR (low season) you will have an All Inclusive package and you do not have to worry about a thing!
All inclusive includes an attentive crew, excellent food, all entrance fees, camera fee, all snacks and refreshments and in fact, you are treated like a King/Queen! Included is an extremely knowledgeable guide (Darmin was amazing!), Seriously, I cannot rate Harry and his team highly enough!
Travel facts
Travel facts
- The official currency is Indonesian Rupiah’s (IDR). £1 = 18,000 IDR.
- The official language is Bahasa Indonesia which is similar to Bahasa Malaysia (Borneo) and throughout Indonesia in general.
- There are no ATM’s or credit card facilities en route so take some cash with you in case you want to buy anything at the local village. ATM’s are in Pangkalan Bun and Kumai.
- When you are in the jungle, there will be no phone signal, no wi-fi or internet.
- Take mosquito repellent with you and use it, not just at night but when you walk into the jungle.
- A free 30 day visa is given at the time of arrival (not for all countries). A 60 day visa can be obtained in advance from consulates and embassies. You can also buy a Visa on Arrival for US $35 at the airport in Bali, Lombok & Jakarta, this will need to be extended for a further 30 days at Immigration before the 30 day expiry.
- If you can speak just a couple of Indonesian words, you will receive a big smile in return, even if you simply use “Pagi” (morning) and “Terima Kasih” (thank you) it will be hugely appreciated.
Have you viewed orangutans in the jungle? If so, share your experience with us in the comments section below!
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