#6 Orangutan trek in Ketambe

The night before the hike we stayed in a nice guesthouse called “The 1000 Hills”. We had a standard room with a nice garden view. Later that evening we realized that we also had a roommate, a small gecko that lived behind the bed. But for this night he had to move out 🙂

The next day after breakfast, we set out to the jungle with our guide, Jamaica, at least he claimed that was his second name and after telling us that we (to be honest) forget his first name. Jamaica was anyway easier and more fun.

[1] The Sumatran Orangutan (Pongo abelii) is one of the three species of Orangutans and can only be found in the north of the Indonesian island Sumatra. The name Orangutan is based on two separate local words, “orang” (people) and “hutan” (forest). Derived from malay it translates in to “person of the forest”

After a 30 minutes walk along the road, we finally stepped into the jungle. The plan was to spot Orangutans[1] while walking to our camp for the night. To be fair, it is not a real trek/hike it is more like moving 20-30 meters in a direction and then watch the trees again to spot the monkeys, therefore it is not tiring but all the standing around makes you an easy target for leeches[2] and they are on you most of the time. So do not forget your special leech socks before going into the jungle (good that we got a pair from the guesthouse :)).

[2] A leech is a kind of worm that feeds by sucking blood from other animals or humans.

Sadly we did not see any Orangutan till lunch, but we knew that chances were high to see one in the next 2 and half days. As we arrived for lunch at our camp, food was already being prepared by Jamaica’s uncle, Ismail (or just Is). Is was our cook and camp caretaker for the trip. The camp we stayed in had 2 big camping tents (for 2 groups) made out of transparent plastic folia. There were also two cooking spots. At that time there was also another group of people in the camp having lunch. They stayed the night before in this camp and already saw multiple Orangutans. We were a little bit jealous, but also excited to search around more. Unfortunately,
it was not our day, also after lunch, we did not see anything, only Thomas’s langur[3].

[3] Thomas’s langur or Thomas leaf monkey lives only in the northern part of Sumatra.

The first night in the plastic tent was good, we only had one unwelcome guest, a snake, which turned out to be just a frog but our guide nearly jumped out of his sleeping bag without opening it. 🙂
The next day, right before breakfast we finally got lucky! A mother Orangutan with here baby passed the camp. It was amazing, they were swinging just 20 meters away from us from tree to tree, then they went high up the tree behind our camp, and they stayed there for easily an hour or more to let their fur dry out from last night rain.

To get some better pictures I (Mattias) tried to follow them, of course, just in flip flops. So on the way back, I slipt on some wet rocks and fell on my ass. It was sooooo painful! I even had to take painkillers to sleep (fortunately after a few weeks, it was good again).
When will I learn?! 🙂

After breakfast and a swim in the river to cool my ass, we started another hike to see more Orangutans. This time it did not take that long. We even saw one big male, which was making lots of noise. Jamaica already saw him on trips before and named him King Louie. He was with another smaller female, but she swang away the minute we arrived. Until lunch, we followed Louie around. It was funny because it looked like he was watching us the same way, as we were watching him. For us, the goal of seeing an Orangutan was already fulfilled, so after lunch, we decided to go for some natural hot springs. It was an easy hike, around 30 minutes along the river.
The hot thermal water was mixing with the cold river water, so you could decide your temperature (depending on where you sit). It was amazing! For the rest of the day, we relaxed in the hot water. In the evening we played games and we talked with our two guides.
We exchanged information about daily life routines in Europe and Indonesia. Jamaica also told us, that he wants to propose to his girlfriend, so he has to save a lot of money, not to buy a ring as we thought (well, that also), but We were also to buy out his future wife from her family. The parents and the family set the price. We asked what is the reason for different buyout prices for girls (cos there is). We thought maybe it has something to do with their beauty or family status. None of those. The girl is the most precious when she has… well-paid job! 😀

On the last day, we felt a bit lazy cos we already saw 4 Orangutans, but we still went out for a short hike to another area. We did not see anything, but for us, the trip already paid off. So after lunch the four of us started to walk out of the jungle. On this walk-out, we saw 5 more Orangutans!! One mama with here baby we met directly at the street and they crossed the street above our heads (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUcf7-1LiVk).

This trek is worth our highest recommendation. Not only will you have the chance to explore the deep jungle with a guide, who seems to know it by heart, but you will also have a chance to eat local food, cooked freshly by the river, spend lots of time with local people and get to know their habits and points of view to today’s world. And that’s what is truly interesting while traveling.

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