Wild orangutans can only be found in two places in the world - on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. Sadly, the habitat of these great apes is dwindling, due to palm farming, deforestration and mining.

In northern Sumatra, orangutans can be seen at Bukit Lawang, near the scenic Bohorok River. Visitors stay in small hotels or ecolodges and trek to feeding platforms that have been erected in the jungle.

In Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo), there are several options for viewing orangutans. The one that we love and highly recommend is Camp Leakey in Central Kalimantan. This adventure is more than just viewing orangutans, though the orangutans are certainly a highlight of the trip. The Camp Leakey adventure is also about traveling into the jungle on a private klotok river boat, complete with guide, boatman and a personal cook who prepares meals on board.

On a recent trip to Central Kalimantan, I boarded my klotok boat at Kumai, a port located not far from the town of Pangkalan Bun. In addition to small boats that are headed into the jungle, Kumai handles cargo ships and huge ferry boats that the locals use to travel to other islands. Situated along the shore are a series of large buildings with hundreds of small holes in the outer walls. The sole purpose of these buildings is to provide nesting areas for swallows. I thought that was a very nice gesture towards preserving wildlife. In fact, once the hatchings have grown and flown away, the nests are harvested for export to China and other areas where bird's nest soup is considered a delicacy.

Diane Embree
February 8, 2014