BEST SIGHTINGS OF ORANGUTANS

Orangutan means 'man of the forest' & they are great apes with 97% similar DNA to us.

Only places now left to see the orangutans in their dwindling numbers is in Sumatra & Borneo.

Bukit Lawang in Sumatra would have to be the best place to have a real orangutan experience & possibly interaction. lt's not easy to get to & the trek can be difficult sometimes so it's for serious wildlife lovers looking for that unique experience.

Bukit Lawang is about 85 km from the Sumatran capital Medan, possibly one of the ugliest cities in lndonesia.  But it takes at least 3 hrs to travel! The roads are crowded & in poor condition. There is a choice of mini-van, big bus or private car. The mini-van is an experience in itself. Costs a few dollars, maybe 20-40,000 rupiah, leaving from the Pinang bus station. Big bus is slightly slower but it's not as crowded. And a private car is about $35 if you organize in advance.

There is a variety of tours, but the most popular & best is a 2day trek, spending 1 night in the jungle. Costs about $35 or $40 dollars depending on your guide. Best to book a guide & a tour at Bukit Lawang. Then you can meet & talk, discuss a price & ask questions. There are 70 registered tour guides in the area & not enough tourists to go round. Dont be surprised if you just happen to meet one in the city of Medan or on the way in the bus. You will definitely be greeted by many at the bus station in Bukit Lawang. From the bus station you need to get a becak (tuk tuk) to the river, about 50c. Large range of accommodation, my favourite is Bukit Lawang Indah, great family run guesthouse on the other side of the river, about 50,000 rupiah pn.

The guides explain as you enter the Gunung Leuser National Park, that it is not a zoo and there are no guarantees that you will see orangutans. But now that the guides all have hand phones & are all in contact with each other, it is usual that they share information & it's extremely likely that you will have a close encounter. Along with several other species of primates.

There is an old female orangutan called Mena that all the guides are afraid of. She has been known to attack. But she only attacks lndonesians. Apparently her baby was poached many years ago by an lndonesian & she became a little crazy with the grief. She has never forgotten & she attacks when she sees them. She is very strong & the guides usually carry fruit to throw at her & run.

The Gunung Leuser National Park is in very rugged & mountainous terrain which requires a good standard of heath & fitness. lt's no walk in the park. But the guides are very experienced & knowledgeable and will know where to take you, it's not a competition. Meals are supplied on the way & overnight is on a rubber mat under a plastic tarp. Songs are sung around a camp-fire, there's lots of games & laughs and all is good with the world.

It's a fabulous & memorable couple of days with lots of photo opportunities. The guides are on a first name basis with some of the orangutans & there is occasionally close interaction. The return is by tube-raft down the river & over small rapids, it's roller-coaster exciting.

Orangutans are great apes as opposed to monkeys and have 97% DNA in common with us. Due to the logging & planting of palm-oil plantations, their habitat is diminishing & are expected to be extinct within 10 years if there is not a major turn around. l travelled for 9 hours one day through northern Borneo & the scenery was continuous palm oil plantations. The only place l saw orangutans there were in rehabilitation centres.
So one of the last places to get up close & personal is Bukit Lawang. Longer treks deeper into the jungle in search of elephants & tigers can also be arranged.

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