Orangutans and Dragons

You meet your Tour Leader either at the airport or at your hotel. At 8:00 am, you transfer about 40 minutes to Sei Gohong village, then board local canoes to see orangutans on Pulau Kaja, managed by the Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS) Foundation. After observing the orangutans, you return to Palangka Raya harbor, and you board the Rahai’i Pangun for lunch and a short upstream cruise through the city. You then travel 30 minutes by vehicle to Bukit Rawi and Sigi to see the painted sandungs, receive a Dayak welcome, and learn about local history. Finally, you return to the boat to begin the downstream cruise and moor overnight in a quiet location.

Note:
Please be aware that this itinerary is designed to be flexible. The aim to follow the schedule as described, but due to weather, tides, preferences of trip members, and other factors such as the learning of the opportunity to investigate exciting new discoveries, can sometimes need to change course. The boat captain and your Trip Leader make the decisions to maximize trip safety and your overall enjoyment—come prepared to be flexible!

In the morning, you take motorized canoes on Lake Bagantung to see birds, wildlife, and villagers fishing. Back in Pusaka village, you try the local shadow boxing exercise. Then you cruise to Tumbang Nusa village for a walking tour of traditional life. The boat continues past Selat and Badak Islands, where orangutans may be seen, and moors overnight in a quiet spot.

The boat continues downstream to the village of Pilang where you take a short walk in the forest area near the village to see the process of rubber tapping (Mamantat) and rattan harvesting (Manetes). The village guide also points out some local medicinal plants growing in the forest. You then have a walking tour of the village to see some of their traditional livelihoods. Watch the local ladies at their rattan weaving process and meet the villagers. Over a special tea and coffee, with traditional Dayak cakes, be entertained with a Kacapi (two-stringed instrument) performance. Escaping the heat of the midday sun, you return to the boat for lunch. The boat cruise downstream to find a quiet mooring place for overnight

Early morning, the Rahai’i Pangun sets off upstream to visit the village of Pusaka, where you learn the local self-defence or shadowboxing exercise. Farewelling the villagers, you return to the boat for your final village stop at Tundai, a tiny fishing village perched atop raised walkways. On the edge of an expansive blackwater lake, you float through here on canoes, admiring the stunning reflections and learning more about the unique fishing practices. You leave the boat late morning to travel to the airport for your onward journey to Bali.

Taking the early morning flight from Bali, you are met at the airport in Komodo by your tour leaders and taken straight to your boat. As you settle into your new home, head to your first snorkeling session of the trip.

Go ashore searching for the fearsome Komodo dragons found only in the Komodo National Park. This is the world’s largest lizard, growing up to a length of three meters and weighing up to approximately 70 kilograms. Enjoy some magnificent snorkelling on some of Komodo Park’s best reefs. Snorkel at a favorite hangout of sea turtles, where we will have a chance to swim with these gentle reptiles as they cruise along the reef’s shallow water.

Wake up off the coast of a beautiful, uninhabited island with a beach of pure white sand with some sparkles of powdered red coral, creating the effect of a “pink beach.” You spend the morning here, swimming, paddleboarding, and snorkelling on the beautiful coral reef that lies parallel to the beach. Cruise to a nearby active volcanic island where you can enjoy a unique snorkelling experience where volcanic gases escape in the form of bubbles from the sea floor among the corals, with the metallic black volcanic sand below being home to an abundance of very interesting invertebrates. Spend the day at a strange and mystical volcanic island with a sunken crater lake in its center that was filled with saltwater when the nearby Mt Tambora catastrophically erupted in 1815. Here you can swim, kayak, and paddleboard on the lake.

Prepare for an exhilarating opportunity to swim with whale sharks, the majestic, gentle giants of the sea. These massive but harmless animals have long congregated here in the bay, but now, thanks to travellers like you, a mutually beneficial alliance has been formed with the local fishermen, who have their traditional small floating fishing platforms in the bay that attract the sharks. You can’t be guaranteed a sighting, as these wild animals aren’t on a leash, but fingers crossed that you see them.

Visit the beautiful village on Moyo Island for an amazing experience. Walk to the stunning waterfall and enjoy a refreshing dip in the cool water.

Visit a nearby active volcanic island where you can encounter a large wooden pinisi boat with the same pedigree and history as SeaTrek’s very own ships, being built on the beach. Walking around this small village, get a feel for their simple way of life, chat with the locals, and maybe buy some handmade textiles as a souvenir. Entering the Komodo National Park again, you can go snorkelling and beachcombing. You have the opportunity to participate in the coral restoration program, where you can see how the corals and fish populations have grown since they were first transplanted in 2015.

Experience the famous SeaTrek beach BBQs under a night sky filled with millions of stars as you feast on the fantastic local delicacies prepared by your chef, all accompanied by live musical entertainment from the talented crew.

After breakfast on your last day, take on a scenic drive towards Melo Village, where you witness the traditional Caci dance performance. Local strongmen perform a ritual whip-fight between two rivals in which the players, each armed with a rattan shield and a whip, try to hit each other while dancing to the rhythm of traditional acoustic instruments. After lunch on the boat, you say farewell to the crew and your fellow shipmates as you disembark and continue onto your next destination.