Indonesian Borneo: Camp Leakey Orangutans

Upon arrival in Semarang, you will be met and transferred to the Ciputra Hotel. The rest of the day is yours to relax at the hotel or to explore the city at your leisure.

After breakfast this morning, you will be transferred to the airport for your flight to Pangkalan Bun. Upon arrival in Pangkalan Bun, you will be met by your local tour guide and transferred by taxi to the Kumai boat docks. Then, board a traditional, motorized wooden boat, traditionally called a “klotok.” Enjoy a ride across Kumai Bay toward the beautiful Sekonyer River. Take a ride on the Sekonyer River to Rimba Lodge, located on the edge of Tanjung Putting National Park. Along the riverside, you will notice the varied array of vegetation, ranging from Nipah and mangrove forests to evergreens of the peat swamps to dry land forests. Tanjung Putting National Park covers a huge area of more than 415,000 hectares and hosts some of the world’s most diverse flora and fauna, including the famous orangutan. On your boat ride, stop at Tanjung Harapan to make arrangements for your travel permit to the National Park. After approximately 2 hours on the Sekonyer River, you will arrive at the Rimba Lodge, a forest lodge built on stilts and constructed from ironwood. Strategically located besides the orangutan sanctuary, the lodge is simple, clean, and comfortable. Its Dayak achitecture and spaciousness as well as bright surroundings combine to give you an enormous feeling of serenity and harmony with nature. After you check in at the lodge, enjoy the afternoon observing proboscis monkeys, which are native to Borneo. They usually return to the trees along the riverbank to rest during the night. Return to your lodge for your overnight stay.

After breakfast, take a boat ride upstream about 1 hour to Pondok Tanggui, an animal rehabilitation center. A short walk on the ironwood boardwalk will take you to the ranger’s post. Continue from here for about 20 minutes to the feeding platform, located in the midst of the jungle. At the feeding platform, you will see orangutans being fed. Take some photographs and learn about orangutans from your guide. Orangutans are often curious about human beings and may want to investigate your pocket or your belongings,, so be careful not to get too close to them. Keep a safe distance of about 5 meters and listen carefully to your guide’s instructions. After spending time at the feeding platform, you will return to the boat in order to travel to Camp Leakey, a historic research station located in Tanjung Putting National Park. On your 2-hour boat ride, you will notice when you enter the blackwater river. Lunch will be provided onboard the boat. The boat can moor under the shade of the trees, so you can enjoy your meal as well as the tranquility of the forest. Arrive at Camp Leakey in time to see the afternoon feeding session. After you enjoy watching the orangutans feed, return to the boat and travel back to the Rimba Lodge.

Enjoy breakfast at the Rimba Lodge this morning, and then board the boat to return to Kumai. From the boat docks in Kumai, you will be transferred to the airport in Pangkalan Bun for your flight to Semarang. Upon arrival in Semarang, you will be connected to your onward flight.