Miss Clarke's Adventures

Well, I survived!  Spending a week, deep in the heart of the Bornean jungle, was a thoroughly enjoyable, unique and fascinating experience.

Our journey to Batang Ai National Park began with a six hour mini-bus drive.  This was then followed by a thrilling long boat ride which lasted almost three hours!  It was such a long (and bottom numbing) journey as the water levels were very low.  Therefore, the boatmen had to frequently jump out and literally drag the boat over stones and even huge logs – it was quite an experience!  However, after the nine hour journey we finally arrived at our base for the week – a traditional longhouse.

Longhouses are the traditional homes of the Iban tribe.  They are gigantic wooden structures which are built on stilts.  Several families (usually over 30 people) live under one roof with separate rooms leading on to one communal veranda.  Visitors must always enter a longhouse via a steep wooden ladder at the front of the house.  The longhouses are usually situated on the banks of fast floating rivers which the Iban people use as their ‘highway’ for travelling.

Each day, following a HUGE breakfast cooked by our guide, we set out on a trek.  All trails begin with a steep climb away from the river which quickly takes you deep into the unspoilt tropical rain forest.  Although it was very humid, it wasn’t unbearably hot as we were always sheltered by the dense jungle canopy.  Walking through the rain forest was truly awe inspiring.  The only sounds we could hear were the cicadas buzzing and the occasional call of the rare Argus pheasant.  However, we had to stop frequently to check our hiking boots for leeches – we didn’t want any of them sucking our blood!

Despite doing several treks through the jungle, we were not fortunate enough to see wild orangutans. However, our local guides did spot many signs to suggest they were in the vicinity.  Signs included: broken branches; half eaten wild fruits and fresh orangutan nests in the tree tops.

As well as trekking each day we also participated in other activities. We were taught how to weave using rattan and I managed to successfully weave a mat and a basket!  We also went swimming in pools below a gushing waterfall which was exhilarating to say the least!  In addition, we  planted jack fruit trees.  In order to identify the trees we planted, we had to carve our names in wooden sign posts.  Hopefully I will be able to return to Batang Ai in six years time to see the tree providing fruit for the local orangutan population!

Although I must admit that I was a little apprehensive about spending a week in the jungle, almost completely isolated from civilisation, I thoroughly enjoyed my time there.  However, I have the utmost admiration and respect for the Iban people and their way of life.  I’m quite certain that I would struggle to live in such a remote area without access to a television, computer, telephone, washing machine etc. It was a fabulous experience but a week was long enough!

Greetings from Sarawak, Borneo!

Currently, I am on a tour of the state of Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo.  After spending the last two months in extremely hectic and noisy cities, it is wonderful to swap the sound of blaring car horns and speeding motorbikes for the gentle humming of cicadas in the jungle!

My first port of call in Sarawak was at Matang Wildlife Centre.  The principle aim of Matang Wildlife Centre is to rehabilitate injured or orphaned orangutans and release them back into the jungle.  However, this is an immensely difficult and time consuming process as some of the rescued orangutans have been kept as pets since they were babies.

Whilst staying at Matang, I worked as an orangutan keeper!  My day began at 8 am when I had to thoroughly clean the orangutans’ night dens.  Sweeping the rubbish; hosing the den; then scrubbing it clean with disinfectant before giving it a final hose down was tiring work.  However, I loved every second as all the time I was being watched by the orangutans!  Each one would come right up to the enclosure and watch me intently!  Aman, a dominant male orangutan, watched me particularly carefully – probably making sure that I didn’t miss a spot!  Peter, another large male orangutan, also watched me with great interest and would often reach out to try and touch me.  Therefore, I had to be very careful as although orangutans are absolutely adorable and look quite gentle, they are exceptionally strong.  Without intending to hurt you even a young orangutan can inflict a serious injury!

After cleaning the enclosures, I would scatter an assortment of fruit around.  I would always try to hide the food so that the orangutans would have to use their brains a little to find the food.  It may sound like a very simple trick but these tiny gestures are all vital in the rehabilitation process.  Another way of encouraging these intelligent creatures to use their brains is to put small food items into a giant ball!  I stuffed nuts, sunflower seeds, dates and raisins into a huge ball (like a bowling ball).  The ball only had small holes drilled in it so the orangutan had to try and figure out how to extract the food items. It was fascinating to watch the orangutans and it made me appreciate just how intelligent and human like these  beautiful animals are.

One of my favourite orangutans was Ali who is just over a year old.  He is taken to the jungle twice a day by his keeper, Sandy.  During this time, Sandy does exercises and activities with Ali to try and re-introduce him to the jungle and encourage him to find food and live independently.  It’s a long process but Ali is doing well and hopefully he’ll soon be released into the wild where he belongs.

I thoroughly enjoyed my experience of looking after orangutans and I will certainly consider returning to Matang Wildlife Centre in the future to carry out more voluntary work.  However, for now I’m off to the jungle to try and spot wild orangutans! I’ll write again soon once I’m back from the jungle!

Love from,

Miss Clarke x