My main reason for coming to Borneo was this amazing ape and I was not let down. It was one of the best experiences of my life. It is crazy how people like these guys are. Especially the babies. Everything about them is human like except for all the hair of course. Before I made it to the Rehab Center I met a guy who had the experience that I wanted. He was on a hike by himself and an Orangutan actually came up and touched him on the head. This is what I was going for as well.
The rehab center is a huge tourist attraction, so there was a ton of people there. It was a bit a bummer having to deal with all these people, but they were there for same reason as I was. It did´t seem that way though. Many of the people were just running around and talking not paying any attention to the apes. That was bit annoying. The way the center works is that there are two feedings per day. One in the morning and one in the afternoon. Everyone gathers on a deck a few meters away from the feeding platform. It is mash of people competing for the ultimate picture. This is when you see them eating and fighting off all the other smaller monkeys, but I was not going to get my one on one interaction in the middle of all this. I was lucky to have met my friend before because he told me about the extra hike. There is a trail that goes beyond the feeding platform, but it looks to be blocked off. You have to ask for an extra ticket when checking in to get a the hiking pass (at no extra charge). They make it difficult to because they don´t want all the people from the platform going back into the jungle...it is just too many people. You have to wait around for all the people to leave the feeding platform then sneak off on the trail that appears to be blocked off. They have a barrier set up with workers hanging around to make it look like you are not supposed to go beyond that point, but if you do go they don´t say anything.
I did this the first morning I was there and saw nothing except for the 4 leeches that were crawling on my leg and few small macaques. I was a bit disappointed about that, but I thought maybe my expectations were too high. I went back for the afternoon feeding and there were less people at the feeding which was nice. I did the same thing...hanging around till most people had left then walked further down the pathway. This time it was a different story
. As soon as I turned the corner there was a young adult orang swinging on a rope only a few meters away. I couldn´t believe it. I was so close to him. I just sat down right there in the pathway and watched him show off for a bit. He was swinging around by his arm then his leg just trying to impress me, it was great. Then he swung off of the rope and landed in a tree right in front of me. He climbed right down the tree and walked right up to me. He sat at on the balcony rail just two feet away. It was awesome. I was so close to him I actually reached out and touched him. It didn´t last long because one of the staff came up and walked him back into the jungle, but it was a highlight of my life. To make things even better as soon as the young guy was escorted off a younger orang came up just down the way and started showing off as well. This one was a baby it probably weighed around 8-10 lbs. She played around the walkway in the trees and on the rail for a good 30 min. I just sat and watched her play around like a little kid. I could not have asked for a better experience with the orangs. It truly was a once in a lifetime experience. Except for the fact that I plan on returning there someday :0)
The rehab center is a huge tourist attraction, so there was a ton of people there. It was a bit a bummer having to deal with all these people, but they were there for same reason as I was. It did´t seem that way though. Many of the people were just running around and talking not paying any attention to the apes. That was bit annoying. The way the center works is that there are two feedings per day. One in the morning and one in the afternoon. Everyone gathers on a deck a few meters away from the feeding platform. It is mash of people competing for the ultimate picture. This is when you see them eating and fighting off all the other smaller monkeys, but I was not going to get my one on one interaction in the middle of all this. I was lucky to have met my friend before because he told me about the extra hike. There is a trail that goes beyond the feeding platform, but it looks to be blocked off. You have to ask for an extra ticket when checking in to get a the hiking pass (at no extra charge). They make it difficult to because they don´t want all the people from the platform going back into the jungle...it is just too many people. You have to wait around for all the people to leave the feeding platform then sneak off on the trail that appears to be blocked off. They have a barrier set up with workers hanging around to make it look like you are not supposed to go beyond that point, but if you do go they don´t say anything.
I did this the first morning I was there and saw nothing except for the 4 leeches that were crawling on my leg and few small macaques. I was a bit disappointed about that, but I thought maybe my expectations were too high. I went back for the afternoon feeding and there were less people at the feeding which was nice. I did the same thing...hanging around till most people had left then walked further down the pathway. This time it was a different story
. As soon as I turned the corner there was a young adult orang swinging on a rope only a few meters away. I couldn´t believe it. I was so close to him. I just sat down right there in the pathway and watched him show off for a bit. He was swinging around by his arm then his leg just trying to impress me, it was great. Then he swung off of the rope and landed in a tree right in front of me. He climbed right down the tree and walked right up to me. He sat at on the balcony rail just two feet away. It was awesome. I was so close to him I actually reached out and touched him. It didn´t last long because one of the staff came up and walked him back into the jungle, but it was a highlight of my life. To make things even better as soon as the young guy was escorted off a younger orang came up just down the way and started showing off as well. This one was a baby it probably weighed around 8-10 lbs. She played around the walkway in the trees and on the rail for a good 30 min. I just sat and watched her play around like a little kid. I could not have asked for a better experience with the orangs. It truly was a once in a lifetime experience. Except for the fact that I plan on returning there someday :0)
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