Wild Encounters from Borneo to Bali - 7

September 27 - 28, 2014

Day At Sea and Bali

Last Day At Sea on the National Geographic Orion

September 27 was a day at sea filled with some interesting lectures and final packing. There was also final photo editing, as my pictures had to be turned in by 2:00. Do you have any idea how difficult it was to narrow down several thousand to my most interesting five? I actually threw in some fun people pictures as well.

The day ended with the Captain’s Farewell Cocktail Party in the lounge and then dinner.

September 28, disembarkation day, finally arrived. Since we had a 1:00 flight out of Denpasar, Bali we were in one of the earlier groups to leave the ship to go directly to the airport. It was hard to say good-bye to new friends and some we had traveled with before. This had been a fun trip and a relaxing chance to become acquainted with Lindblad’s latest ship, the National Geographic Orion. We hope to be aboard her another time.

Paul has disembarked in Bali.

The flights home were long, but uneventful: Denpasar, Bali to Singapore; Singapore to San Francisco via Hong Kong. As the flight didn’t arrive in San Francisco until after 9:30 pm, we had arranged to spend the night and fly on home to Portland the next day. It was actually refreshing to arrive home to cool and damp weather since we had been in such a hot and humid climate for the whole trip.

That is all until our next trip. There always seem to be plans for something else, so keep checking for our next post, next year.
That's it for now. Grace and Paul

Wild Encounters from Borneo to Bali - 6

September 26, 2014

Orangutan Care Center and Quarantine

Greeters on way to bus

This morning we were assigned to go to the Care Center in the morning. It was a short bus ride from the ship and near the town of Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan. This Orangutan Care Center and Quarantine (OCCQ) facility was created to take care of confiscated ex-captive orangutans.  Eventually they added orphans whose mothers had been killed by the Palm Oil developers. They currently have 340 orangutan orphans that are being raised with the end goal of releasing them to the wild. The center has modern facilities to diagnose and treat problems.

After a tour of the main treatment center we were divided into three groups. Since orangutans are susceptible to the same kinds of germs and diseases as humans, we all wore surgical masks when visiting each area. We were not allowed to take anything in with us, including cameras. Hence, we took no photos of this part of the trip. (Sorry) Most of us even removed our glasses and took everything out of our pockets as the young orangutans are prone to grabbing almost anything. The orangutans are divided into three age groups and taken into different areas to play and learn how to get along in the wild. Our first stop was in a play area for the young ones, up to about age three. They had quite a gymnastics setup to help them learn how to swing through the branches of trees. I think all of us got to hold at least one of them.

The second group we visited was the older juveniles. We walked out along a boardwalk and each orangutan was out with a handler. Some walked along with us and others were up in trees. They were all carefully watched over. 

Grace and Dr. Birute Galdikas

The last group was between ages 4-6+ and they loved to have people play with them. One unexpectedly descended onto my back and gave me a big hug. I have to say that was another highlight of the trip. He/she held on for quite a while then climbed back onto the play equipment. This was when I experienced the texture of orangutans’ hair. It is very wiry and coarse. Unlike other primates, orangutans do not groom each other, so their long hair is just as they each keep it.

That afternoon we had a chance to go back into town to look around and attend a cultural show, but we both opted out. This was the first thing on the whole trip we did not attend. I was busy editing photos so as to have some to share for the group slideshow the next day.

For dinner that night we had a special invitation to dine with Jack and Rikki Swenson out on the back deck. It is always fun to spend some extra time with them; even after all the years we have been traveling together.

That's it for now. Grace and Paul

Wild Encounters from Borneo to Bali - 5

September 25, 2014

Tanjung Puting National Park & Camp Leakey

Finally, the long awaited day arrived; our visit to Camp Leakey to see orangutans. The ship docked near Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan in the southwest part of Borneo. 

We started loading all 13 Zodiacs at 7:30 for a two-hour-long ride up the Sungai Sekonyer River. Along the way we began seeing some orangutans and proboscis monkeys in the trees.

At the first landing we disembarked and walked about a mile on a wooden boardwalk to the first feeding station. The handlers brought big baskets of bananas, grapefruit and sugar cane. Then they poured milk into two bowls. 

Deep in the jungle workers began a loud mournful call signaling the orangutans that the food was ready. Soon a female orangutan came with her tiny baby clinging to her back. The pair enjoyed drinking some milk then sauntered over to eat a few bananas before leaving the platform and heading for the forest.

When no more orangutans came, we left for the long walk back to the landing. We boarded Klotoks - the double deck wooden boats that provide the main form of transportation along the river. We were about six per boat as we headed slowly two more hours further up the river to Camp Leakey.

 Dr. Biruté Galdikas, who dedicated it to the study of orangutans, founded Camp Leakey in 1971. She had been traveling with us on the NG Orion and this was a “home coming” for her. From the landing we had another long walk to the camp and the feeding station. Since Camp Leakey was open to the public, there was a seating area from which to watch the platform. 

Again, the workers brought big baskets of bananas, grapefruit and sugar cane sticks and poured milk into big bowls.  Again, in the jungle, began the loud “come to dinner” calls. Soon a mother and adolescent youngster came to eat a little and drink some milk. 

Right after they left the platform “Tom,” a big male, climbed onto the platform. He was magnificent and huge. He is well known to the workers and Dr. Galdikas had hoped he would show up. Since fruit and grubs were plentiful in the forest, not many orangutans came, but those that did gave us a good opportunity to observe and photograph them in the wild.

Eventually the mother and older baby came back and there was an amusing interaction between them and Tom over a bowl of milk. First the young one took one can and drank from it as did its mother. Then Tom slowly reached over and took the milk can back. He clearly was showing his dominance.

During the hour that we watched, the orangutans came and left several times. Each time provided some interesting interactions.

Soon some of us were guided over to Dr. Galdikas’s house where she sat on the porch visiting with members of our group. Sitting slightly behind her, loving hand on the Doctor’s shoulder, was Siswi. When Dr. Galdikas founded Camp Leakey in 1971 it was in the middle of Siswi’s mother’s habitat. So Dr. Galdikas had known Siswi since she was born, 40 years ago. The obvious bond between the two of them was precious. Although Siswi is wild, she came to spend time with Dr. Galdikas and was even tender with others who came to sit and visit. I have to say that observing this interaction was a highlight of the trip.

After a reasonable stay at the camp we walked along the path back to the landing where the Klotoks waited for us. There was a real traffic jam with so many boats in such a narrow river. Eventually we were on our boat, second to leave, heading slowly back down the river for a four-hour-long cruise all the way to the Orion.

Proboscus Monkeys

Klotok Cruise back to ship

Along the way we saw many proboscis monkeys, most of them already high in the trees bedded down for the night.  And here and there we captured pictures of a few more orangutans. Once we were underway we were served snacks and soft drinks to help last us until we re-boarded the ship for dinner.

We were treated to a lovely sunset as we cruised along, finishing the journey in the dark. The Klotoks took us all the way across the large river and quickly each tied up to the side of the ship to let us off before moving out of the way. All in all, it was a very full, eventful and enlightening day. Dinner was on the back deck as soon as we were back.

That's it for now. Grace and Paul

Wild Encounters from Borneo to Bali - 4

September 21 - 24, 2014

Kuching and Bako National Park, East Malaysia, West Borneo

Two Days At Sea

September 21 we arrived on the island of Borneo at Kuching. Borneo is occupied by three countries: a slim section in the northern part belongs to Malaysia, a little hunk of that is the country of Brunei, and the rest of the island belongs to Indonesia. Kuching is the capital of the East Malaysian state of Sarawak.

In the morning we took a bus into town and around a bit. Since we didn’t exchange any money, we didn’t buy anything. We walked along the nice waterfront and browsed through some of the shops. Some people found some interesting things to purchase.

After lunch on the ship we took the city tour. One quick stop was at the Cat Monument, since the name Kuching means cat. The other stop was at the Sarawak Museum. It had some interesting things but was in bad need of renovation.

Dancers on the ship

Back aboard we had the usual recap and briefing, and then we all went out to the back deck for a Cultural performance by local dancers. They were very good and everyone enjoyed the show.

September 22 found us at Bako National Park. In the morning we took the Zodiacs along the steep cliffs to a sandy beach landing. The hike was actually a climb up a long flight of rickety stairs to an ocean overlook. Along the way we saw a several species of carnivorous pitcher plants.

Carnivorous Pitcher Plant

In the afternoon we landed on a larger sandy beach near the park headquarters. There we encountered our first primates. After seeing the viper in the bushes we spotted a number families of Macaque Monkeys. They were doing the usual grooming and a mother was nursing a small baby. One had found a can of Coke and used a number of methods to drink it all. 

Next came the Proboscis Monkeys playing up in the trees. They are large and have very prominent noses, as their name suggests. These are very unusual monkeys.

September 23 – 24 were days at sea in the Java Sea. Time was filled with a number of interesting lectures. They included Brian Skerry, the National Geographic Photographer; Dr. Lawrence Blare, the Global Perspectives guest speaker; Dr. Birute Galdikas, founder of Camp Leakey and an orangutan researcher; Tom Ritchie, naturalist; and Jack and Rikki Swenson, photo instructors. All were very interesting and informative.

Eating on the back deck

The weather continued warm and humid. Since the Java Sea was so shallow, we did not see any interesting sea life or mammals, as we are used to seeing. It was also a good time to get caught up on photo editing.

That's it for now. Grace and Paul

Wild Encounters from Borneo to Bali - 3

September 20, 2014

Pulau Senua, in Riau Island Province, Indonesia

Local Dancers

This morning we anchored near Pulau Senua, another uninhabited island. To begin the morning we took the Zodiacs to a beautiful white sand beach. We walked a short distance to where a group from another island in the chain presented a variety of traditional dances to entertain us. At the end they engaged our fellow passengers in the dances and had their pictures taken with some of us.

We then enjoyed the warm water. Some snorkeled and Paul even rode on the glass bottom boat before we went back to the ship for lunch. In the afternoon we enjoyed two presentations. Jack Swenson, one of our photo instructors, talked to us about “Bringing Light to Life.” Next we had a presentation entitled “Introduction to the Malay Archipelago” given by Dr. Lawrence Blair, our Global Perspectives guest speaker.

After the evening recap and briefing, we had a Seafood BBQ out on the back deck café. It was delicious. This is the first trip (cruise) we have been on where the weather was warm enough to have both breakfast and lunch and sometimes dinner at the Outdoor Café on the back deck.

That's it for now. Grace and Paul

Wild Encounters from Borneo to Bali - 2

September 18 – 19, 2014

Singapore to Pulau Lintang Island

National Geographic Orion

September 18, after being picked up at our Singapore hotel and given a short city tour, we embarked Lindblad Expedition’s newest ship, the National Geographic Orion. The first evening aboard was filled with the usual routines: greetings from the captain and crew, get settled into the cabin, mandatory ship safety drill, welcome aboard briefing and dinner. We had a little time to explore the new ship, which is quite elegant and functional at the same time. She holds 100 passengers and is a true “expedition” ship. She carries thirteen zodiac boats, at least nine double kayaks and a glass bottom boat for those who do not snorkel. She is well equipped.

Good variety of corals.

September 19 found us anchored off the island of Pulau Lintang, one of the Anambas Islands in the South China Sea. After breakfast and the mandatory Zodiac and Snorkeling Briefing, we checked out our snorkeling equipment. We were ready to disembark for the pristine white sand beach on the uninhabited island.

The water was delightfully warm, and the snorkeling was acceptable with some very lovely corals. By the time we were done, the ship’s crew had set up a BBQ lunch on the beach. The food was delicious. We could have stayed on the beach for the afternoon, but chose to go back aboard and get in our showers early. 

The evening was filled with the usual recap of the day, a briefing for the next day and Captain Mike and his officers hosting a Welcome Reception before dinner.

That's it for now. Grace and Paul

Wild Encounters from Borneo to Bali - 1

September 12 – 18, 2014

Singapore

Waterfall at Shangri-La

After spending a great evening in San Francisco attending “Beach Blanket Babylon” and the next day taking the “Duck Boat Tour” with Mary and Charlie (Paul’s sister and brother-in-law) we caught our flight to Singapore, via Hong Kong, just after midnight.

We went to Singapore three days ahead of our expedition cruise. That cruise would later take us from Singapore to Borneo, ending in Bali. When we arrived at the Singapore airport, a driver met us and took us to the Shangri-La Hotel. The weather was hot and humid, as we knew it would be. The hotel was lovely, and we spent day one just recovering from the long flights and jet lag.

Outside Raffles Hotel

The next day we decided to take the “Hop-on Hop-off” bus tour of the city. The first place we got off was in front of Raffles Hotel, established in 1887 by two Armenian brothers and named after Stamford Raffles who established modern Singapore. We walked around much of the hotel complex but never discovered the main lobby, which we understand was luxurious.

Singapore Flyer

From the hotel Paul decided to walk on to see the famous Singapore Flyer, which is a giant Ferris wheel. We could see it easily but getting there was difficult because the main streets were blocked with traffic barriers.  Singapore was busy getting ready for the Formula-One race held that weekend. The Flyer stands 541 feet high and contains 28 pods, each holding 28 people. It takes about 30 minutes to make one revolution. By the time we got there we decided not to take the ride. The sky was so smoky and hazy the view was not good. Instead we walked to the next spot to “Hop-on” to the bus and continued our tour of the city aboard the double-decker bus. The tour was narrated. We sat on the top deck and by then it was very nice to just sit.

 

Singapore is a lovely large city that is immaculately clean, and everything is very orderly. We found our way back to the hotel area, stopped for some lunch, and went back to rest before going back out for dinner at the local Hard Rock Cafe.

Singapore Zoo

The second day we spent the morning visiting the famous Singapore Zoo. It was nicely laid out in the rain forest, but in the end, it was a zoo. We both decided we prefer to see animals in their native habitat. We did have our picture taken with the resident Orangutans, however.

On the third day Lindblad staff members, including our photographer friends, Jack and Rikki Swenson, met us. Before taking us to board the ship they gave us a city tour. It included the Orchid section of the Botanical Gardens and a Bum Boat ride on the Singapore River.

By 4:00 we had cleared immigration and were checked in to board the National Geographic Orion, which was our home for the next eleven days.

That's it for now. Grace and Paul

Baja, California: A Remarkable Journey

Baja, California: A Remarkable Journey

A Lindblad Photo Expedition

Aboard the National Geographic Sea Lion

March 31 - April 14, 2014

 

This particular expedition is so remarkable that we have taken it three times. Each time brings more and new interesting interactions with the sea, the land and their inhabitants.

After a flight from Las Angeles to La Paz, Mexico and a very long bus ride across the Baja peninsula to the Port of San Carlos on Magdalena Bay, we boarded the National Geographic Sea Lion. The first morning we had a chance to walk across sand dunes to Sand Dollar Beach. Back on board we raised anchor and headed north into the Pacific Ocean. Because of a storm that had passed through the entire west coast, the seas were very rough. The trip north to San Ignacio Lagoon, where we arrived the next morning, was well worth staying hunkered down and missing a dinner – most on board suffered from mal de mer.

The morning of April 2 we anchored just outside the protected waters of San Ignacio Lagoon and waited for the Mexican panga drivers to come meet us so they could guide our DIBs (inflatable landing boats) into the lagoon. Both morning and afternoon, and again the next morning (3 visits) we went into the lagoon, which is one of the major nurseries for California Gray Whales. Because of the shallow bottom and warmer waters it is an ideal place for the grays to give birth to their calves.

Those waters, which used to be used by whalers who nearly wiped out the gray whales, are now protected, and the whale population has rebounded.

As we entered the lagoon, the mothers and calves frequently came up to our inflatable boats and many seemed very curious about us. They often came close enough for us to reach out and pet them. Such experiences were awesome and exciting for us. There were also great, but difficult photo opportunities.

The gray whales were ready to leave with their calves for the long journey to the Bering Sea where they feed all summer in the rich waters. This is a twice-yearly migration of 5,000 miles each way.

By lunchtime on April 2 we were all back aboard and sailing south toward the tip of Baja, with the seas and wind at our back. After a morning stop the next day back in Magdalena Bay on April 4, for kayaking and boat rides into the mangroves, we continued sailing south, always watching for whales and dolphins. We soon came upon a pod of playful orcas that came very close to the ship. Everyone rushed on deck, cameras clicking for about half an hour.

We got up before sunrise April 5 to be out on deck as we rounded the cape at Cabo San Lucas. We hoped to see the rocks glow as the sun rose. Unfortunately the sky was cloudy. We continued a short way to dock at San José del Cabo where we disembarked for various tours and walks around town while the ship refueled and took on water. It was an interesting town. One stop was at a glass blowing factory.

Back aboard for lunch, we continued sailing north in the Sea of Cortez. By late afternoon we found a playful pod of humpback whales and they entertained us for an hour, interrupting a lecture on the geology of the Baja. Sea life always trumps lectures, and sometimes-even meals.

For the next eight days, April 6 – 13, we sailed north, then back south among the many offshore islands. Many times we landed on islands for hikes: long, medium, short, and photo meandering. Most islands had a variety of plants and cactus including the endemic Cardón cactus, which looks a lot like our saguaro but with many arms.

At several locations we were able to snorkel. There were Sea Lions as at Los Islotes. There were a number of kayaking opportunities for those who wanted to do that. We didn’t, this time.

We continued to see rich sea life including many species of birds. Some islands are protected breeding grounds so we settled for boat rides along or around them. It was fun to see Blue-footed Boobies this far north. The list of bird species we saw was extensive.

By April 9 we had made it as far north as Santa Rosalia where we spent a few hours wandering through that non-touristy fishing and mining town. The copper mines have re-opened recently. Then, we continued north, as far as Guardian Angel Island, rounding the north side east to the west side, and then we headed back south.

The weather was warm although some days were windy enough that we found shelter on the leeward side of the islands for walks and hikes. A number of days we had lunch out on the sun (bridge) deck and one evening we stayed ashore for a lovely barbeque on the beach. The food was great and on shore Jack Swenson serenaded us with camp songs.

One afternoon we anchored and took our landing boats to the dock at Bahia do Los Angeles. It appeared that they had hired every vehicle in town to drive us to the Boojum Tree forest, 18 minutes away. These trees are very unique and strange looking and are listed among the top ten bizarre plants in the world. It was good that I had my wide-angle lens.

There were many opportunities for great photography throughout the cruise and many of us who had brought along our laptops were able to show a three-minute slide show of our favorite shots after dinner on next to the last night. I think we hit an all time record with 19 laptop and iPad shows representing 21 passengers. Paul even put together a show using my iPad. This is one of the fun parts of a Photo Expedition.

By the morning of April 14 we were at dock in La Paz where we disembarked right after breakfast for a brief tour and then transport to the airport for the flights back to Arizona to continue our stay there.

That's it for now. Grace and Paul