Life on the Equator

We meet this morning at Ngurah Rai Airport for our flight to the island of Flores, gateway to the Komodo National Park. Upon arrival we transfer to our luxury phinisi (traditional Sulawesi hand-built wooden sailing vessel) and settle into our home for the next two nights. Our plan today is to sail directly to the area where Komodo dragons are found, for late afternoon photography. While looking for dragons we may also encounter buffalo, deer, and other local wildlife. We then return to our ship for a delicious, relaxed Indonesian welcome dinner.

Komodo National Park was established in 1980 with UNESCO World Heritage status given in 1991. Komodo dragons (Varanus komodoensis) are the world’s largest monitor lizard. They can grow to lengths of up to 10ft and typically weigh 150lbs. As the apex predator in the Komodo National Park the dragons are an exciting and formidable reptile to witness in the flesh. Expert Park Rangers will guide us as we capture powerful images of dragons in their natural habitat. Komodo National Park is also known for its spectacular volcanic islands which we will spend time photographing. In between the photography there is time to relax and soak in the idyllic views as we sail through the azure waters of the Flores Sea in style and comfort.

This morning we begin the return cruise to Labuan Bajo and transfer to the airport for our flight to Surabaya. We arrive at Surabaya in the afternoon and check in to our hotel. The rest of the day is yours to refresh and prepare for our travel to Borneo/Kalimantan.

This morning we take a short domestic flight to the island of Borneo, which although is only 73% controlled by Indonesia is the largest land area in the country's archipelago. Indonesian Borneo is known as Kalimantan, and we will be basing our stay here in the Tanjung Puting National Park which is home to approximately 6,000 Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus). Tanjung Puting National Park was originally established as a reserve in the 1930s by the local Dutch government to protect the orangutans and proboscis monkey found here. In 1977 it was designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and was given National Park status in 1982. There are three orangutan rehabilitation centres found within the park.

Upon arrival we will be met by our local jungle guide and transferred to our private riverboat, which is called a klotok. From the port it is approximately two and a half hours to the jungle lodge located in the national park. The lodge is simple, with clean, comfortable rooms which include air-conditioning and private bathrooms with western facilities and hot water. All of our meals will either be served at the lodge or aboard our klotok and are tasty and nutritious.

During our stay we will maximising our time in the field as we explore the national park’s main river by klotok in the search for orangutans. We will make visits to the orangutan rehabilitation centres and photograph at the feeding platforms, which have been set up in the jungle to support released orangutans. In addition to orangutan, wildlife which we expect to encounter as we cruise the river includes proboscis monkeys, langurs, macaques, hornbills and kingfishers.

After breakfast we take the return flight to Surabaya. We then transfer by private vehicles and travel to a nearby town in the East Java province, visiting an adjacent volcano along the journey. We arrive at our hotel in the early evening.

We are out early again this morning to explore a nearby traditional produce market. As this area is well off the tourist trail we are the curiosity here and the local Javanese are very friendly and welcome having their portraits taken. We then return to the hotel for breakfast and later in the morning we move to a nearby town, where we will be based for three nights.

After breakfast we return to Juanda International Airport, Surabaya, to begin the journey home.