Orangutans are more commonly seen in the wild from May to June. Photo / Sarawak Tourism Board
Orangutans are more commonly seen in the wild from May to June. Photo / Sarawak Tourism Board
In Malaysia, Brett Atkinson surmises that if the orangutans want to "walk like him and talk like him" they'd better find some more suitable footwear first.
Just after we drive past the Big Durian, the command is given.
"You need to go shopping."
Ninety minutes after an early morning start from Kuching, my mission to seek out orangutans on Sarawak's Red Ape Trail has apparently been ambushed by the need to pick up a few quick items at the Serian morning market.
My chatty guide, Bading, is equally definitive when it comes to what I need to buy. I already have a waterproof torch, but he's insistent I also get a rain poncho – despite the presence of blue skies above – and a pair of cheap jungle shoes, known locally as "Adidas Kampung" - a mashup of Crocs and cut-off gumboots that are apparently essential for anyone entering the forested riverine labyrinth of Malaysian Borneo's Batang Ai National Park. The poncho's a straightforward purchase, but after visiting at least 10 stalls, there's not a single pair of size 11 jungle shoes to be found. Exploring the park's rainforest and rivers, guess who's going to be continuously taking off and putting on his flash Timberland hikers for the next few days.
The Red Ape Trail offers a good chance of encountering the primates. Photo / Sarawak Tourism Board
Fortified with breakfast noodles and kopi ais (iced coffee), it's another three hours on increasingly narrow roads before we reach a simple jetty on the southern edge of the Batang Ai reservoir. From there, a narrow open-topped boat zips us north across the water, and within 15 minutes, Bading's recommended market purchase is proving its worth. An impetuous tropical downpour comes seemingly from nowhere, and battling almost horizontal rain, my bright blue poncho offers excellent value for money at just six Malaysian ringgit (around $2).
The sudden change in weather also makes it difficult for our boatmen to identify the forested entrance to the network of rivers that leads to Borneo Adventure's Nanga Sumpa Lodge, but eventually the rains clear, and we enter an opening to negotiate the Batang Ai and Delok rivers for another 90 minutes, alternating between speedily coursing through deeper waters, and being carefully poled by hand when the way becomes too shallow. In a few places, we all need to get out and push. Bereft of jungle shoes, I'm the only one who stumbles along in bare feet on the river's rocky bottom.
Nanga Sumpa River and Bridge to Longhouse. Photo / Brett Atkinson
Located on a bend in the Delok river, Nanga Sumpa Lodge is linked to an adjacent Iban longhouse by a wooden bridge, and after a full day of travel, we're welcomed to the Iban community with a few hours of cross-legged on-the-floor conversation and multiple shots of tuak, a fiery spirit distilled in the village from fermented rice. It's heady stuff, so I wisely retire to one of Nanga Sumpa's simple wood-lined rooms in preparation for an early start on the Red Ape Trail the following morning.
Fringing Indonesian Kalimantan just a few kilometres to the south, Malaysia's Batang Ai National Park is the only place in Sarawak where visitors can see orangutans in the wild, and it's estimated around 95 per cent of Sarawak's estimated 1600 orangutans live in the park or the adjacent Lanjak-Entimau Wildlife Sanctuary.
Poling through the shallow waters of the river. Photo / Brett Atkinson
The full Red Ape Trail experience takes three challenging days, but Bading is confident there's a good chance of encountering the primates on this morning's more moderate three-hour hike. Ascending a spidery ridge soon after leaving the lodge, the trail continues through tall stands of dipterocarp rainforest, and conversation is kept at an absolute minimum. Bading's well-practised hand signals point out the cooling waters of the river below us, and various orangutan nests are suspended high in the forest canopy. Most of the nests are now empty, abandoned as the nomadic orangutans roam the forest looking for food.
Even seeing the nests is a thrill, but after 90 minutes on the trail, there's suddenly a subtle rustling right above us. Bading damps down our excitement with his hands, and directs our eyes upwards to see a shaggy, rust-coloured orangutan in the canopy just metres away. The interaction is brief, with the adolescent female soon swinging effortlessly away to continue her semi-solitary existence, but down on the ground our small group of hikers are all sharing the same delirious grin after witnessing one of southeast Asia's great wildlife experiences. When Bading explains that just a handful of orangutans are known to live in this area of the sanctuary, we know we've been extremely lucky.
Street art in Kuching references their much-loved orangutans. Photo / Sarawak Tourism Board
Checklist
When to go: The drier period from April to September is the best time to visit Sarawak, especially around the fruiting season from May to June when orangutans are more commonly seen in the wild.
Planning ahead: Kuching-based Borneo Adventure offer trips combining hiking, cultural interactions and wildlife watching throughout Sarawak, Sabah and neighbouring Brunei (borneoadventure.com).
An easy day trip Sarawak's state capital of Kuching, the Semenggoh Wildlife Centre features semi-wild orangutans in their natural rainforest habitat. Up to 20 often swing by at 9am and 3pm daily, lining up to feed on bananas, coconuts and fresh fruit (semenggoh.my).
