Kumai & Orangutans!!

Well hello again we are in Borneo Kalimantan Indonesia. Anchored up a river. Took us 4nights from Lombok (an island next to Bali) to get here. Even though its the wet season we have had no rain to speak of other than when we were at sea, but occassional thunderstorms in the afternoon. Managed to get the washing done while on passage, filled the dinghy with rain water chucked the clothes in, fantastic. Really hot days! Yesterday for about 35AUD each we had a full day on a speed boat to see the orangutans, there are only 4 places in the world to see them! The national park here have given 30% of it away for logging. To be honest it doesnt look like much of a rainforest. Where there is deforestation it has been almost impossible for trees to regrow due to salination and erosion, we were walking through big sand pits at times. Unfortunately we couldnt make it all the up the river due to a naughty orangutan who blocked the river while he was trying to get across to the other side when he swung on a tree he must have felled it! People from other tour boats tried to free the debris but couldnt, so we missed an excellent spot where there are many orangutans who come very close so you can touch them..
 Because the orangutans are in a rehabilatation program, there are set feeding times where a ranger comes with a bucket on his back full of bananas. The king Orangutan bashes and crashes through the trees to meet the ranger. The ranger calls to the orangutans wooooooooohoooooo wooooohooo and they all hang around the feeding platform awaiting their bananas. I got too close to the king and he grabbed a tree and started shakin it at me! So I backed off.

Heading up the River on a beautiful morning

My name is Ben Muirden haha

Yes guilty ...

A crazy fungus that grew overnight, -it wasnt there when the rangers were walking the previuos night

Hooning down the river yeee haaa

Local boat riding our wake

Yoga is good first thing in the morning

Waving to a local boat

If i can grab just one more bunch ill be set!

King of the jungle looking down on his relatives

See the king wranger ? He's just siiting there eating his heart out.

How many bananas can i fit in my mouth??

Many people taking pics

View up the river to see the orangutans

Whole rainforest on a barge

While watching the sun set the other night, the pleasant view was disrupted by an ugly site, a barge heavily laden with rainforest! It takes 50years for one tree to grow and they go in to rape what looked like a whole fucking forest in a day!While we were coming up the Kumai river, we saw a police boat, who had their indonesian flag up, dudley rushed forward to dip our flag as a sign of respect and then he watched with much excitement, to see the man on the police boat rush up the steps and pull his flag down, to acknowledge we dipped our flag.

Police boat who dipped their flag

Little village by a creek in Kumai

They do their washing in the dirty water and it comes out clean

Anchorage on the Kumai River

Next stop Malaysia but we will go to many small islands along the way, so Ben and Lea when you coming to visit??? And anyone else? Bye for now... Take care Love Tanya and Dudsooooooooooooooooxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx