Kumai - Charging up the river in Geteks - note the fumes!
Since our last posting we have had the most exciting time in Kalimantan, Borneo visiting some of our early ancestors. We reached the south coast of Borneo at the mouth of a large river system and made our way upstream with dense tropical jungle on both sides. Ten miles upstream we reached the grubby little but very
busy port town of Kumai. There is ribbon development along one side of the river at Kumai with all manner of craft tied up to slap dash wharves and piles. Buildings are generally low rise with the unusual exception of a handful of 4 storey high buildings without windows but just small openings. On enquiry these are swallows nest houses where thousands of swallows come to deposit saliva on nests to make the delicacy "birds nest soup" so sought after by Asians and Chinese.
busy port town of Kumai. There is ribbon development along one side of the river at Kumai with all manner of craft tied up to slap dash wharves and piles. Buildings are generally low rise with the unusual exception of a handful of 4 storey high buildings without windows but just small openings. On enquiry these are swallows nest houses where thousands of swallows come to deposit saliva on nests to make the delicacy "birds nest soup" so sought after by Asians and Chinese.
Once again this is a rigid Islamic settlement with huge mosques everywhere and the habitual supersonic sound systems. So fundamentalist we could not even buy Bintang !!! The local Regent put on a day tour of the region followed by a formal dinner at a rebuilt Sultans Palace in the nearby regional town of Pankalanban. The highlight of the tour was a charge up the river in the local longboats (labelled Getek Wisata or Tourist Boats) powered by Chinese diesel engines with long direct drive shafts. They laid on 50 boats, all led by
local Polisi boats and the sound and mayhem was a sight to behold as the local river dwellers came out in their thousands to gork at these 'long noses' (thats what they call us ) disrupting their life. Interestingly the traditional inhabitants in this area are Dayaks, a tribe renowned renowned for their small stature and their head hunting prowess (in the past) plus use of blowdarts for hunting (still in use).
local Polisi boats and the sound and mayhem was a sight to behold as the local river dwellers came out in their thousands to gork at these 'long noses' (thats what they call us ) disrupting their life. Interestingly the traditional inhabitants in this area are Dayaks, a tribe renowned renowned for their small stature and their head hunting prowess (in the past) plus use of blowdarts for hunting (still in use).
Next day we boarded our Klotok (traditional river boat) with two other couples from Moon Mist and Double Dutch for our three day cruise to visit the famous Gorillas in the Mist....the Orangutans. The Klotok took us up a tributary of the main river about 40 miles deep into the rain forest to Camp Leakey where a
research and rehabilitation station for Orangutans has been operating for over 30 years. En route we traversed a series of croc infested waterways to finally get up to the camp and on arrival at the camp wharf we were immediately greeted by a middle aged female Orangutan called Seiswee. (look at pics with B)
research and rehabilitation station for Orangutans has been operating for over 30 years. En route we traversed a series of croc infested waterways to finally get up to the camp and on arrival at the camp wharf we were immediately greeted by a middle aged female Orangutan called Seiswee. (look at pics with B)
It was just a sensational welcoming experience but there was much better to come. That first afternoon we came face to face with many adults and infants andfound ourselves clicking furiously away with the digital cameras to get some special pix. This is where digitals come into their own as you can click away happily knowing you can discard the duffed shots. That evening we went downstream to anchor and have sunset drinks and a spontaneous poetry recital by our resident poet laureate Rob from Moon Mist who had written a special verse on the Orangutan visit worthy of publication. We had a traditional Indo dinner (noodles and thumbnail sized bits of meat - one piece each) before retiring to sleep on mattresses on the top deck in the open under mozzy nets. The food, ablutions and accommodation were very basic but hey you are in the tropics and this is the real thing. We felt we were with Livingstone going up the Nile.
Next day we went back to Camp Leakey and took in more 'up close and personal' viewing with a variety of young and old orangutans including as luck would have it the oldest Alpha male in the area, a big chap called Kassarsi, a 49 year old who up until 3 years ago was the king of the jungle until being toppled in a series of full on physical fights with one of his sons, Tom.
Poor old Kassarsi being Alpha male #1 for 25 years used to have all the females at his disposal, indeed queuing for his attention but alas now Tom is 'the man'. Kassarsi is still a huge specimen but he has the saddest face in the tribe, all scarred and battle tired with the look of a human in an old folks home.
Poor old Kassarsi being Alpha male #1 for 25 years used to have all the females at his disposal, indeed queuing for his attention but alas now Tom is 'the man'. Kassarsi is still a huge specimen but he has the saddest face in the tribe, all scarred and battle tired with the look of a human in an old folks home.
We also sighted at close range a variety of monkeys in their natural habitat playing like monkeys do including some mammoth jumps between trees and more than a few misses, hitting the lower shrubbery from great heights.
We have spent the last few days at Belitung Island 200 miles to the Northwest of Kumai and a few nights back we had the farewell dinner with our fellow cruisers and the next day cleared Customs and Immigration to exit Indonesia. Today Sunday we commenced sailing north to Singapore, island hopping the 330 miles
until we reach the busy Singapore Straits where an East and West traffic separation system operates as this is among the busiest shipping lanes on the planet. We will accordingly schedule our transit of the Straits for daylight hours. Until next blog.
Regards P and B
until we reach the busy Singapore Straits where an East and West traffic separation system operates as this is among the busiest shipping lanes on the planet. We will accordingly schedule our transit of the Straits for daylight hours. Until next blog.
Regards P and B
