Orangutans

Once again I had a great sleep but V less so, but we were up, showered and ready to go for breakfast and our first adventure! The sounds of the jungle were all around us as we walked down…lots of birds and insects all hidden in the lush trees. We had fruit, toast and marmalade and didn’t bother with the beans, sausages or beef stir fry with noodles. All tasty though, and the staff as always were very helpful and friendly.
We finished off and met up with Remi for the drive to the two Sepilok conservation areas, one for orangutans and one for sun bears. They were right next to each other and less than 1km from our lodge, so quite a brief journey! Once we arrived Remi helped get our tickets and stow our bags, then took us into the orangutans sanctuary where we walked on boardwalks through the huge trees….he explained that some of the tallest and straightest were called ironwood by the locals as they produced immensely strong timber, but even these and other trees were sometimes felled by termites that eat them from the inside until they topple. (One reason sun bears help the forest by eating the termites apparently).
We arrived at an indoor viewing area to see the young orangutans getting fed, sometimes like this morning joined by macaque monkeys who come in from the forest to grab some of the food. So lovely to watch close up as they peeled their bananas, nibbled the lettuces and greenery and squabbled with each other in between swinging around on the ropes.
From there we walked over to the open air viewing platform and spent nearly an hour gazing at the wild orangutans and macaques who come to be fed each day at 10am and 3pm. It was amazing. Early on, a huge dominant male arrived (extra) which is rare apparently. He was huge and very clearly the boss. He moved so slowly, not only around the feeding platform but also even in his small movements as he peeled bananas and nibbled at the greenery. A lot of his time he resolutely had his back to us but he occasionally gave us the side eye or moved around to interact more with a couple of the females. They had young babies with them, who mainly clung on tight to their mothers as they worked around the platform and occasionally set off across the ropes to either eat in peace or just hang around somewhere else. They used their hands and feet almost interchangeably, sometimes swinging off with a hand and foot gripping the rope and food in each of the others. The macaques ducked and dived around them, squabbling amongst each other.
We waited there until pretty much all the other tourists had left…so amazing just to be so close to these beautiful animals. From there, we walked across to the sun bear conservation area. These were animals that had been rescued from the forest if orphaned or hurt, or released from poachers or villagers keeping them as (caged) pets, and some clearly were stressed (walking round in small circles despite having large forest areas to explore) from their experiences, but those that were not still suffering are released into the wild again as soon as they are fit (extra). We wandered around the different enclosures and looked at them dozing, feeding and yawning. There was filming for National Geographic going on whilst we were there and they were just setting up ropes and equipment through the forest to make it possible…what a lot of work goes on behind the scenes for these programmes.
Remi was telling us all about all the animals we saw as we walked around, and pointed out the ‘giant bees’ in one of the trees. There was a telescope nearby so we could get a close look (extra) but they didn’t look very giant to us!
Back to the bus and a short drive home, then we had a set lunch which was delicious…bruschetta to start then fried calamari, chicken and pineapple curry, stir fried veg and rice, followed by ice cream (although we’d moved to the comfy seats overlooking the lake by then and he forgot to bring the ice cream!). The staff are so lovely here…our waiter was explaining how to haggle in Malaysia and trying to teach us some useful phrases, but to be honest things are so cheap for us here it seems unnecessary!
We chatted and drank ice cold beers before walking back to the sanctuary to watch the orangutan feeding time again, this time arriving early so we could get a prime location. We weren’t disappointed! The male didn’t arrive this time, but two females with babies did and once again we enjoyed an hour just gazing at them and the macaques. One of the young was quite independent and obviously older than the other as she kept jumping off on her own and going swinging along the roses, sometimes sideways or upside down, but always dashing back if her mum moved away. One of the females took against the handrail on the steps that the ranger uses to carry up the food, and was rocking it back and forwards to try and break it but eventually gave up. I imagine if she does that each day it will give out soon!
Once it was nearly time to go, and there were only 5 or 6 of us left, one of the females with her baby suddenly appeared on the rail of our walkway and the rangers moved us back so we could let her pass. She climbed up the poles to walk along the grill covering the viewing area and down again the other side then slowly wandered off up the walkway. We collectively held our breath as she passed by….magic! What an amazing day, but given this is a sanctuary it’s not surprising we’ve seen all these animals. Even though some of them were wild they come to be fed and watched…the rest of our trip will be less predictable but perhaps the more thrilling for it. We’ll see, but certainly fabulous to be so close at the start of our adventure.
We walked back, sweltering, and picked and tried a banana en route (disgusting, as it wasn’t ripe!). Walked up to our lodge to shower and change….we didn’t try the outside bath….and work on transferring photos and recharging devices, before walking back to the restaurant. We wrote our journals and chatted in the comfy chairs, then had a game of scrabble (getting ‘axe’ on a triple word score was a highlight for me) before dinner. I had laksa spaghetti with squid, prawns and mussels which was delicious (£8!) and V had a burger with Asian slaw…also very good, and we made our way through another couple of cold beers.
Back up the hill in the dark to our lodge where we found a spider in the bathroom…V’s only thing she’s frightened of, so since she’s womanfully coped with my worries about heights and bats so far this holiday I stepped up to put the spider outside and away from her. Much giggling was involved in capturing and releasing it safely!
Earlyish night after a(nother!) great day.