Our drive to the airport was uneventful and the flight from Padang to Medan is only an hour, and cheap, especially if one buys their ticket right before the flight. The airline just wants to fill seats at that point. We got off the plane and looked for a ‘Mr. Bintang’ placard but Haidir didn’t have one; he had his little brother with him. When we got to the van his mother was there, and a driver. We drove three hours before we reached Bukit Lawang and by that time it was dark. Haidir is a great guide with green jungle in mind. If you need a guide I highly recommend him.(phone: +6282164639041 or email; muhaidir7718@yahoo.com).
Mark and I hopped on the back of a pair of motorcycles and off to the river part of town we went. It was a short drive up a partially paved single track along the bank of the 20 meter wide roaring river. It had rain recently and the river was up the banks. We discussed where to stay and Haidir, our transportation, our trekking guide, our personal assistant suggested the Garden Inn. http://bukitlawang-garden-inn.com
The rooms were not expensive and close to the restaurant. The food was good, everything from western to traditional Indonesian. As we walked up the stairs two French girls were discussing their trek into the jungle. My French is not good but I could tell they were excited about something. We sat down and had a beer and engaged the ladies. They had great photos of Orangutans and other monkeys. Mark and I signed up for an over-night trek and set our minds on the following morning; what to bring and what to leave behind. We wouldn’t need much.
Haidir showed up at a little before 9 am and waited for us to finish breakfast and get our act together. We started out walking back down through the river banked town. Locals can build within 300 meters of the river but no further; it becomes National Park. On the way in we went through a bunch of Palm tree groves for palm oil. Haidir and the other locals would prefer it if big businesses stayed with rubber trees because they're part of the jungle. Palm Oil trees are not part of the jungle.
The hike was not for the weak hearted. I was drenched from head to toe for two days. It took us about an hour before we saw our first Orangutan. Our ‘other’ guide was sitting on the trail and led us to them; it was a mother and two year old son. Seeing an animal in the wild verses in a cage is a remarkable experience. Orangutans don’t like to come to the ground; they’d prefer to be in the trees.
We ran in to a cobra which wanted nothing to do with us and then we ran into a band of ‘punk rock’ looking long-tail monkeys. After that there were other Orangutans, 15 in all. We pulled into camp well before dark and enjoyed the afternoon with some monitor lizards and another band of monkeys. Through the trees we could hear something bigger coming towards us. It was an Orangutan with a three year old baby clinging to her back. She sat close to us for awhile then decided to join us. She broke off a branch and hit a monitor lizard in the head which apparently was in her way. The monitor lizard moved off slowly. Haidir suggested we head into the woods and leave for awhile. We didn’t and she was finally coaxed away for the night.
The rain came to our three sided tent and we listened to it pound against the tarp and ground. By first morning light nothing was stirring, but not for long. A morning swim under the waterfall and monkeys, monitor lizards all made an appearance.
We took off for the second day straight up a ridge of massive trees and roots. Like I said before, this trek is not for the weak hearted. Haidir offers 1 day, 2 day, 4 day and 10 day treks. Haidir prefers the longer treks because they are deeper into the jungle; a less traveled path and more animals.
We popped out of the woods above Bukit Lawang and had a great lunch then hopped in to an inner tube raft and went down river over swollen rapids and laughs. As we approached town we saw other inner tube rafting enthusiasts.
This story may be short but the memories will hold forever.
http://davidcdagley.com http://davidcdagley.blogspot.com/
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder