33) Central Indonesia: Bali to Borneo. 29 September to 14 October, 2015.

There are two large bodies of water that need to be crossed in order to get to the Asian mainland. One was behind us, a four day sea crossing from Darwin to Kupang, Indonesia. The other in front of us, the Java Sea from Bali to Borneo. For the rest of the journey from Australia to Malaysia there are numerous islands to help you make small overnight jumps in preference to a large sea crossing. 

Most of the fleet left Lovina Beach together bound for a small island to the east of Java, then onto Bawean, a group of islands in the middle east of the Java Sea, and then onto Borneo. We planned to take this route too but first we wanted to check out the National Marine Park on the northwest coast of Bali. 

SW corner Palau Menjangan.

So off we went with the crew on Blue Sky to Palau Menjangan. You have to pay about 20,000 rupiah (AUD $20)/24 hours to anchor and then dive/snorkel the reef from the southwest to the southeast and then the eastern shore of Palau Menjangan, but it is definitely worthwhile. The amount of coral and fish is amazing and we were so glad we stayed behind to do it.

We had almost no wind from the north for the two months so far, which would have helped us sail across from Timor to Bali, but as soon as we had to go north, you guessed it, the wind showed up. We jokingly have another name for our boat - “On The Nose”, coined by a friend of ours, because no matter in which direction we have to go the wind invariably comes from that direction. 

Indonesian fishing boats.

So we left Palau Menjangan around midday and it was too late to get to the eastern islands of Kepulauan Kangean, so we stopped on the north east coast of Java, in Jankar. The winds then slowly increased each day and we made the decision to inch our way along Java’s northern coast instead of ploughing head first into rough seas to get across to Bawean. 

Very elaborate construction.

We mistakenly thought we could get some respite at night in the bays along the north coast of Java, but to our distress there wasn’t any that you could safely navigate into, so we had a series of rough days and then very rolly, uncomfortable nights. We should have just put up with the bad weather for one or two days and go across to Bawean, but you always know what to do in hindsight.

FAD's (Fishing Assist Devices) are everywhere.

We finally made our way along Java to the port of Semarang where I got off. Peter took Reverie and set out for Karimum Jawa (KJ) another island group about a third of the way across the Java Sea. We needed to keep heading north or were going to be late leaving the country; otherwise we both would have stayed in Semarang. 

Peter enjoyed the welcome ceremony in KJ and had a lovely few days resting and working on the boat while the weather calmed down again. My thyroid levels were getting high again and so I needed a few days rest in Semarang and to get more thyroid medication. Several days later when the weather calmed down, Peter on Reverie and myself on-board a local ferry, crossed the Java Sea to Kumai, in Borneo. 

Kumai was a scheduled stop on both the 'Sail Indonesia' and the 'Sail2Indonesia' itineraries but to the organiser's heartbreak and dismay hardly any of either fleet showed up.  

Hey the feeding station is this way.

A lot of the boats on the 'Sail Indonesia' rally did not come as they had been delayed like us in Medana Bay, so if they were going to catch up with the rest of the fleet, make other scheduled stops and leave the country before their visas ran out, then they chose to give Kumai a miss. It was a long way to get to Kumai and most boats did the long leg direct from KJ to Beiltung, rather than two long hauls, one to Kumai and then another to Beiltung.

The 'Sail2Indonesia' fleet had more time but most boats decided against going because an email had been circulated amongst the fleet that the smoke from the fires in Kumai was extremely thick and posed serious health concerns.

Both Peter and I decided to go to Kumai, Borneo as we didn't have a history of any respiratory illnesses. Secondly, being palm oil free in Australia for the last three years we were extremely interested in seeing the deforestation (burning forest to plant palm trees) independently and see what Indonesia was doing to support the wildlife affected by these practices.

Feeding platforms to help support hungry Orangutans.

Lastly and most importantly we had come to see the wildlife and particularly the Orangutans. Seeing wildlife is the reason we travel and the reason we sail, as it enables us to get to some remote places.








I arrived in Kumai three days before Peter and the smoke was pretty bad. You could not see the other side of the narrow river from the pier, nor could you see the boats anchored half way across the river. It was heavy and thick and it did make me cough quite a lot. I donned a mask from the local Chemist but it didn't make much difference, as it was only ever going to keep the larger particulates out. 

The Alpha Female trying to get some 'me' time.

I found it very distressing thinking that the smoke was thousands of acres of pristine forest going up in flames. The poor villagers are paid a pittance by the palm oil companies to clear land for palm oil plantations. The cheapest, quickest and easiest method is to burn it and they even burn National Park. 

Another problem is the fires do not extinguish after the burn because the flames penetrate the peat soil underneath. This smoulders away under the topsoil for months, literally until the wet season arrives, the water then penetrates the peat soil and eventually the fires are extinguished. Then the whole process starts again the following dry season. The Government does nothing to stop this practice by the villagers and more importantly does not stop the palm oil companies. It really is distressing. This year the smoke was so bad it reached Singapore and Malaysia and both countries were exerting a fair bit of pressure on Indonesia to act. Hopefully this will work.

Gorgeous.

Rather than wait around for three days Peter suggested I go to Tanjung Puting National Park to see the Orangutans with friends from the other boats. I managed to hitch a ride on board a traditional Indonesian boat, with Suzie and Paul from Firefly. Most companies have a three day tour which offers the three feeding platforms and a night wildlife walk. Luckily for us a two day tour was on offer for participants from both Indonesian rallies.

The two day tour offered Camp Leckey and all three feeding platforms but not the night walk. It also provided a young guy to boat-sit while you were away overnight. This seemed ideal so we quickly booked, paid and were on our way the following morning. Not long after our departure we all wondered whether we had made the right decision to pay a lot of money for this tour, as we were concerned that we would not see much due to the smoke haze. Luckily, the further we travelled upstream towards Camp Leckey and into Tanjung Puting National Park the clearer the air became. The trees were doing a splendid job soaking up the smoke.

Approaching the National Park we were extremely lucky to see two wild female Orangutans, one with a baby, that were living in the remaining forest on the opposite side of Tanjung Puting National Park.

OK - we are out of here.

Once inside the National Park and over two days we were taken on boardwalks through the forest to the three different feeding platforms. Here the staff distributes bananas, mandarins and watery milk three times a day, to the Orangutans. The Orangutans decide whether they wish to turn up and partake in the extra food on offer or stay in the jungle and consume their normal diet. Because of forest destruction there often isn't enough food for the Orangutans to eat, so this support is critical. It is here that people, roped off from the animals and jungle, get to quietly watch and enjoy seeing the spectacle. Overall we saw 15 female Orangutans, 9 adolescent and 9 baby Orangutans and 1 male Orangutan.

The Alpha Male Orangutan.

We also got to see Camp Leckey, the park headquarters, which was established by Dr Birute Galdikas in 1971 to study Orangutans in the wild. Tanjung Puting became a National Park in 1982 and she also helped set up the Orangutan Foundation International (OFI) in 1986, which helps raise money to fund her continued study and to support the Orangutans.

We slept on the deck of the boat on mattresses with mosquito netting while the four crew slept, worked and ate downstairs. There was a very basic toilet and shower, all you need really. The company was excellent, the guide had good English and was keen to tell you everything you needed to know, and the cook managed to put out quality and quantity food three times a day plus snacks. She was a divorced mother with children to rear on her own and with no Government support. She did an excellent job as the food was delicious.

A male Proboscis Monkey.

We saw so much wildlife during this tour. Not only the sheer amount of Orangutans we saw but we also able to see a great number of Proboscis monkeys and Macaque monkeys, as they line the waterways during the early morning and late afternoon. We were also lucky to see a Gibbon, a few Squirrels, several wild Boar, one green tree Frog, several Hornbills and few azure Kingfishers.





Overall, we were blown away by this trip and we were all so happy that we had made the right decision to sail out of the way when running late to come to Kumai. It was so worth the hard yards to get here and we were rewarded in so many ways. All the crews from every boat that made it here in 2015 raved about the experience and were so impressed with the friendly local people and the opportunity of seeing Tanjung Puting National Park.

It really was the highlight of the whole three months in Indonesia. I would do it again in a heartbeat.